The most dissolute couple in the capital

Liu Lu kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab with a dull thud: "Your Highness, this servant has long known about Steward Sun's shady dealings outside, but has never reported it. This is the crime of knowing but not reporting!"

Li Chengjing raised one eyebrow, his tone unreadable: "Oh? What kind of shady business could he be involved in? Could it be that besides buying fake soil and taking kickbacks, he also dismantled and sold the door knockers of the Prince's mansion?"

"That's not all!" Liu Lu didn't dare to look up. "Steward Sun, using the Prince's Mansion's token, secretly acquired a spacious three-courtyard residence in Fenglefang outside the city, and inside... he even keeps a mistress!"

Upon hearing this, the entire flowerbed was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Steward Sun suddenly straightened up, pointed at Liu Lu, and cursed, "Liu Lu! You eunuch, you're spouting nonsense! You're trying to force me to my death!"

Liu Lu completely ignored his tantrums and continued to spill the beans at lightning speed: "That mistress was a widow, and she brought a thirteen-year-old son with her when she came in. Steward Sun not only recognized that son as his own flesh and blood, but also allowed him to use the name of the Prince's Mansion to bully others outside."

"That kid went on a gambling spree at the biggest gambling den in the south of the city, 'The Money-Looting Cave,' and racked up a debt of five thousand taels of silver! The Money-Looting Cave has got hold of him and has been forcing Steward Sun to embezzle public funds from our manor's accounts over the past few months to fill that bottomless pit!"

When I asked him to investigate, he actually found quite a bit of information.

Throughout history, most powerful ministers have fallen from grace because of their spendthrift offspring.

It's truly ironic that this eunuch, Steward Sun, was forced to enjoy such family bliss.

At this point, Liu Lu was already in tears.

He crawled two steps on his knees and cried out in anguish, "Your Highness! This servant originally thought that Steward Sun had served you for many years and was getting old, so I assumed that he had been bewitched by some vixen outside and couldn't bear to expose him and ruin his reputation in his later years."

"But now that the Princess Consort has just taken over the management of the inner quarters, not only does he not restrain himself, but he dares to go even further, creating this mess of fake earthen flowers to deceive you, and even trying to frame the Princess Consort for poor management! This servant can no longer stand by and watch. Even at the risk of being punished by His Highness, I will remove this cancer and absolutely cannot let him continue to wreak havoc on the Prince's residence!"

These words were spoken with great righteousness and unwavering loyalty.

His skill in using others to do his dirty work and kicking someone when they're down is truly masterful.

She turned to look at Li Chengjing beside her. Judging from his usual behavior, if he knew he was being treated like a money lender and fleeced, he would probably have kicked him by now.

However, Li Chengjing looked down at Liu Lu, who was kneeling at his feet.

At that moment, Cui Qingyi saw an extremely oppressive indifference in him.

That was a scrutiny truly belonging to the heirs to imperial power, to the imperial family and nobility.

"Liu Lu, that's a very eloquent statement." Li Chengjing smirked, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Reluctant to expose you? Or have you seen an opportunity to profit?"

Liu Lu's crying stopped abruptly.

Li Chengjing's gaze was like a knife, tearing through Liu Lu's pretense word by word: "When he was suppressing you and stealing your credit, why didn't you come forward to report it? Now that the Princess Consort has investigated him and he's about to fall, you rush to give him a push and sell yourself a good price for loyalty in front of your master?"

Liu Lu felt a chill run down his spine and straight to the back of his head, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his undergarments. He lay prone on the bluestone slab, his whole body pressed tightly against the ground, his teeth chattering, not daring to utter another word in protest.

Cui Qingyi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

She re-examined the man in front of her, who was ridiculed throughout Chang'an as the "number one playboy."

This person usually talks nonsense and has no sense of propriety. He has a handsome appearance and a mouth that can infuriate people, but I never expected him to be so shrewd.

That's right, where would the royal family raise a real fool?

He may not be good at the Four Books and Five Classics, nor does he like to get involved in power struggles, but that doesn’t mean he is completely ignorant of the game of power.

After reprimanding Liu Lu, Li Chengjing turned his head, his gaze passing over the trembling Steward Zhao and landing on Steward Sun, who had collapsed into a limp mess.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Li Chengjing's voice turned completely cold.

Steward Sun opened his mouth, letting out a few hoarse gasps: "Your Highness... this old servant is innocent... it was Liu Lu who framed me..."

"Alright." Li Chengjing interrupted him impatiently, clearly having lost interest in even listening to his excuses. He turned and beckoned to the commander of the guards standing nearby, giving him the order directly.

"Bring that widow and that eldest son who owes gambling debts to me at the address Liu Lu gave me. I want to see for myself who dares to take money from my Liang Prince's mansion to bribe the casino owners!"

The commander of the guards accepted the order and left, the chilling sound of armor plates clashing gradually fading into the distance.

-

The withered flowers in the yard rustled in the wind, and a deathly stillness, as if a storm was brewing, filled the air.

Manager Zhao knelt on the ground, his eyes darting around frantically. Manager Sun was finished; his mistress and eldest son were going to be arrested along with him. Wouldn't he, the accomplice who bought the fake soil, be next?

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Steward Zhao scrambled forward on his knees, "This servant is guilty, but this servant will atone for my sins by performing good deeds! Steward Sun has embezzled far more than just these few cartloads of fake soil!"

Cui Qingyi sat upright in the armchair, slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Oh wow, so it's starting to bite.

Li Chengjing lowered his eyelids, his usually amorous peach blossom eyes now revealing no emotion: "You'd better say something useful. If you dare to try to fool me with some petty theft or shady dealings, I'll plant you in this fake soil as fertilizer."

Steward Zhao trembled with fright and blurted out, "It's spices! Your Highness, Steward Sun has taken the most of the spices you use to make cosmetics!"

Upon hearing this, Butler Sun, who had been slumped like a limp rag doll, suddenly sprang to his feet and roared hoarsely, "How dare you slander me!"

"Bah! You still dare to be arrogant even when you're about to die!" Steward Zhao finally lost his temper and turned to Li Chengjing, quickly saying, "His Highness loves spices; everyone in the capital knows that. Steward Sun is in charge of purchasing them, and he always reports the prices of top-quality goods. But in reality, the goods he buys are often of the wrong grade!"

He became more and more anxious as he spoke, his voice trembling: "Incense is not like cloth or silk; laymen can hardly tell the difference between good and bad. Take agarwood, for example. The real top-grade agarwood sinks immediately in water, and its fragrance is rich and long-lasting. One ounce costs twenty ounces of silver."

"There is a type of 'semi-sinking' aquatic fish of medium quality, which looks extremely similar to other aquatic fish. It sinks more slowly in water, and it's almost indistinguishable without close inspection. Yet, its price is only 30% of that of the top-grade aquatic fish. Every time Steward Sun buys aquatic fish, he mixes in at least three or four pounds of this semi-sinking aquatic fish with every ten pounds of it, but he always quotes the price as if it were top-grade."

Lee Seung-kyung's eyebrows furrowed.

Steward Zhao continued, "And there's also borneol. Your Highness uses a lot, and Steward Sun reports exceptionally high losses. He claims that borneol is too strong and easily loses its flavor if not stored properly, hence the 30% loss each month. But I went to the storeroom to check, and all the spices were perfectly fine; not a single sealed jar was touched. Where did the 30% loss come from? He secretly resold all that 'lost' spice!"

"You say he used inferior goods and exaggerated losses, do you have any evidence?" Li Chengjing's tone was completely calm. "I cannot convict him based solely on your words."

Steward Zhao had obviously thought of this as well. He crawled half a step on his knees and said urgently, "Your Highness, this servant has a way to prove it! Steward Sun has been sourcing his spices from Baihe Incense Shop in the East Market all these years."

"Baihe Fragrance Shop is the largest spice shop in the capital. Your Highness is a major customer, and they must keep detailed records of every transaction. If we bring them Baihe Fragrance Shop's ledgers and compare them with our Prince's Mansion's ledgers, we'll see exactly how much was bought, what grade it was, and at what price! Steward Sun will be implicated in every penny he pocketed!"

As an independent third-party shop, Baihexiangfang's accounting books were beyond the reach of Steward Sun.

Butler Sun, who had been kneeling and stubbornly resisting, finally broke down completely.

His eyes rolled back, a desperate "clucking" sound came from his throat, and he slumped limply to the ground.

"OK."

Li Chengjing stood up.

He casually brushed off non-existent dust from the hem of his robe and turned to the guard beside him: "Go, take a group of men and bring the manager of Baihexiangfang to me. Remember, make him bring all the account books from the past few years with the Liang Prince's Mansion, not a single one can be missing."

The guard clasped his hands in obeisance and replied, "Your subordinate obeys!"

"Wait a minute," Li Chengjing added, "and while you're at it, summon the shopkeeper who sells soil as well, and bring his account books too. I have some free time today, so let's settle the accounts together."

"What if they refuse to come and settle accounts?" the guard asked cautiously. After all, Baihe Fragrance Shop could grow so large in Chang'an, so it was inevitable that some powerful families were behind it.

Li Chengjing kicked over a pot of withered chrysanthemums beside him and roared righteously, "You refuse to come? Why don't you tell them my brother is the Emperor?! Anyone who dares to disobey will be treated as an accomplice! Go!"

"Yes!" The guards accepted the order and led their men out of the courtyard like wolves and tigers.