My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"The Eldest Princess?"

Upon hearing Zhao Sheng's reply, Jiang Xiaobai's eyes narrowed slightly: "Hehe, so Senior Brother Zhao is from the Princess's residence."

"Junior Brother Jiang, you can't say that!"

Zhao Sheng remained expressionless and smiled slightly, "I'm just a staff member!"

"A staff member... who is also a staff member in the Princess's household."

Jiang Xiaobai looked at Zhao Sheng, his smile undiminished: "However, His Majesty has ordered me to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Rites, and you, Senior Brother Zhao, just happened to appear at Minister Chen's residence."

"If this gets out..."

Jiang Xiaobai paused, staring at Zhao Sheng, and said, "Aren't you worried about causing trouble for the Princess?"

The pavilion fell silent for a moment.

Chen Zhanqiu's expression also noticeably darkened.

This kid is mocking him both openly and subtly.

Damn, you can imagine how angry he was.

But Jiang Xiaobai is currently under the identity of an imperial inspector, so he can't make a scene and can only keep suppressing it.

Zhou Chaomian remained silent throughout the entire event; no one dared to provoke him, so it was best for him to remain invisible.

"Hehe, Junior Brother Jiang, you're overthinking things."

Zhao Sheng remained calm and smiled, saying, "I am merely an advisor and cannot speak for the Princess."

"I... can only represent myself."

"oh."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded, reached for the teapot, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Then he picked it up, took a light sniff, shook his head, and said, "Tch, what lousy tea! Even a dog wouldn't drink it!"

As he finished speaking, Zhao Sheng slowly put down the teacup he had just picked up, his face twitching slightly.

Chen Zhanqiu clenched his fist, inwardly cursing Jiang Xiaobai, before finally saying coldly, "Young Master Jiang, if there's nothing else, please leave."

"Yes, I have!"

Jiang Xiaobai raised his head and said with a smile, "I'd like to walk around your Minister's residence."

"Hmph, no way!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhanqiu immediately snorted coldly, "Jiang Xiaobai, what do you take my Minister's residence for?"

"If you have evidence, you can turn my entire mansion upside down, and I won't say a word."

"But I, Chen Zhanqiu, am completely innocent. You have no evidence whatsoever, yet you dare to roam freely throughout my Minister's residence?"

"I have this."

Jiang Xiaobai reached into his robes and slapped a silver talisman onto the table with a snap.

The moment the silver talisman landed on the table, Chen Zhanqiu's face froze.

"This is as if His Majesty were here in person."

Jiang Xiaobai looked at Chen Zhanqiu and said slowly, "What? Does His Majesty need to produce evidence before he can even walk around your Minister's residence?"

"you……"

Chen Zhanqiu's face twitched slightly as he stared at Jiang Xiaobai, forcibly suppressing his anger. He raised his hand and beckoned a servant: "Take Young Master Jiang and show him around the manor."

The servant immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

Then, the servant turned to Jiang Xiaobai and said, "Young Master Jiang, please."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded in satisfaction, put the silver talisman back into his pocket, and got up to walk outside.

Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang naturally followed.

But after taking only two steps, Zhao Sheng's voice came from behind.

"Junior Brother Jiang."

Jiang Xiaobai paused and turned around to look.

Zhao Sheng sat in the pavilion, his expression still calm, but his words were not as polite as before: "Let me give you some advice."

"Oh?"

Jiang Xiaobai raised an eyebrow slightly: "Senior Brother Zhao, please speak."

Zhao Sheng looked at Jiang Xiaobai and said slowly, "If I were you, I would be a good prince."

"Eat, drink, have fun, and live a peaceful life; I won't go through all this trouble."

Zhao Sheng paused for a moment, then added, "Also, this should be the last time I call you Junior Brother Jiang."

The atmosphere in the pavilion suddenly became somewhat chilly.

Zhou Chaomian kept his head down and did not speak.

Chen Zhanqiu picked up his teacup and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

Jiang Xiaobai stood there and glanced at Zhao Sheng.

After a moment, he smiled and said, "Oh, then I'll call you Senior Brother Zhao one last time."

After saying that, Jiang Xiaobai turned around and led Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang out of the pavilion.

After Jiang Xiaobai and the others had walked away, Zhao Sheng shook his head slightly: "This person is unlikely to amount to anything."

"I really don't know what my teacher was thinking, why he took him as a disciple!"

At this point, Zhao Sheng frowned and said, "The Prime Minister's reputation is important, but his own reputation is equally important."

"Hehe, perhaps... Elder Lin really misjudged this time."

After hearing this, Chen Zhanqiu smiled faintly.

Zhao Sheng didn't say anything more, but picked up his teacup, but quickly frowned and put it down again.

……

Here, Jiang Xiaobai, led by the servant, began to wander around the Minister's mansion.

Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang followed behind, looking around.

Everything appears normal inside the Minister's residence.

The servants were doing their work, and the guards were patrolling the courtyard; there was nothing particularly glaringly wrong.

After walking for a while, the surroundings gradually became quieter.

Jiang Xiaobai then suddenly looked at the servant and said, "Your master seems to trust you quite a bit."

"Your Highness, what makes you say that?"

The servant was stunned for a moment.

"Hehe, I'm walking around like this in the Minister's residence."

Jiang Xiaobai smiled: "If he didn't trust you, why would he send you?"

"Your Highness is joking."

Upon hearing this, the servant quickly lowered his head and said, "I am just an ordinary servant in this household, how could I have any trust or distrust?"

"If we're talking about someone the master values, then it's naturally our Steward Qian."

"only……"

At this point, the servant paused.

"Just what?"

Jiang Xiaobai raised an eyebrow.

"However, Butler Qian had to go out on some business a few days ago!"

The servant hesitated for a moment before speaking, "They haven't returned yet."

"Going out?"

Jiang Xiaobai's brow twitched slightly: "Your master didn't kill her, did he?"

"this……"

Upon hearing this, the servant's face changed drastically, and he shook his head: "Young Master, please don't joke like that, I can't bear the responsibility!"

"Oh……"

Jiang Xiaobai smiled and continued walking forward, casually glancing around.

A moment later, he suddenly stopped.

In front of him was a courtyard.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and a brass lock hung on it.

There were no servants around, making it seem particularly deserted compared to other parts of the mansion.

"What place is that?"

Jiang Xiaobai looked at the courtyard and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Your Highness, there's nothing to see there."

The servant followed Jiang Xiaobai's gaze, and his expression visibly changed: "It's just an abandoned courtyard?"

"Abandon the hospital?"

Jiang Xiaobai smiled and walked directly towards the courtyard.

But after taking only two steps, the servant hurriedly stepped forward and blocked Jiang Xiaobai's path: "Your Highness, you can't go there!"

"Oh?"

Jiang Xiaobai stopped and looked at the servant with a tense expression, asking curiously, "Why is that?"