"Jiang Kai, right?" Chu Jinghuai looked at him and said slowly, "Didn't you see the three words in front of the gate of Prince Su's Mansion before you came in?"

The plaque hanging on the gate of Prince Su's Mansion was written by Chu Jinghuai himself. The three characters were bold and large, and no one in the entire capital could match them.

Jiang Kai lowered his head, clasped his fists and said, "I have seen it, and I am only following orders. Please calm down, Your Highness."

Chu Jinghuai sneered: "On orders? On whose orders?"

Jiang Kai replied, "Your Highness, the Emperor ordered me to investigate the matter of the Pingliang Governor's stolen money."

Chu Jinghuai's eyes turned even colder when he heard this. "Are you saying that I took the stolen money?"

Jiang Kai frowned. If he said yes, without solid evidence, he might anger Prince Su; if he said no, wouldn't his trip to Prince Su's mansion be in vain?

His mission this time was to bring Prince Su back to the Dali Temple for interrogation. As to whether it was the stolen money that Prince Su had embezzled, it was not important at all.

As long as Prince Su is imprisoned in the Dali Temple, someone will help him confirm this matter.

Thinking of this, he said with a stiff upper lip: "Please, Your Majesty, don't embarrass me."

"What if I don't go with you?" Chu Jinghuai sat on the chair, tapping the armrest lightly with his right fingers.

Jiang Kai gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, you are disobeying my order."

"Disobeying the emperor's order?" Chu Jinghuai glanced at him coldly, emitting a majestic aura. "This prince has the imperial sword bestowed upon him by his father. I have the power to execute first and report later. How dare you, a mere fourth-rank official, shout in front of this prince?"

After saying that, Chu Jinghuai looked at Chen Jingxi and said, "Go and bring me my sword."

Jiang Kai's face turned pale. He didn't expect Chu Jinghuai to be so tough. He didn't know what to do for a moment.

Seeing this, Chen Jingxi smiled faintly, "Your Highness, calm down. Why do you always ask for a sword? Let's talk it out. Lord Jiang is just following orders."

When Jiang Kai heard this, his back straightened up a little involuntarily. He was just following orders, and Prince Liang Su didn't dare to really attack him.

Chu Jinghuai sneered.

Chen Jingxi looked at Xie Liangbai standing aside and continued, "This gentleman accused my prince of embezzling the stolen money, but as far as I know, the prince only interrogated Kuang Yi. The one who actually raided the Kuang Mansion was Lord Lu Tingmian, who went to provide disaster relief. Isn't Lord Lu a greater suspect?"

"This...this..." Xie Liangbai was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to respond.

Chen Jingxi understood and said to Jiang Kai, "Master Jiang, since Mr. Xie is Kuang Yi's staff member, he is his accomplice. How can his testimony be convincing? This princess now suspects that he is deliberately seeking revenge and slandering the prince. Come, arrest this man!"

When Xie Liangbai heard this, his face turned pale instantly and he hurriedly shouted: "Master Jiang, save me!"

Jiang Kai was about to speak up to stop him.

But Chen Jingxi said coldly: "Master Jiang, are you trying to shield the criminal?"

Jiang Kai quickly shook his head, "I dare not, I dare not."

"That's good." Chen Jingxi smiled slightly, "Come here, take him away."

Jiang Kai watched Xie Liangbai being dragged away, his heart sank. The only witness was gone, and he had no evidence to implicate Prince Su. He was trying to figure out how to find an excuse to leave in a respectable manner.

Chen Jingxi's voice sounded at the right time, "Master Jiang, is there anything else you want to deal with?"

Jiang Kai quickly bowed and saluted. "No, it was because I listened to slander and almost misunderstood the prince. I will order my men to withdraw and take my leave."

Chen Jingxi chuckled, put down the teacup in his hand, and slowly stood up. "Master Jiang, don't be impatient. The matter is not over yet."

Jiang Kai's heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding came over him. "Princess, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"It's nothing serious. It's just that you all caused quite a bit of trouble in my palace today and damaged a lot of things."

When she said this, everyone's eyes turned to the scattered porcelain fragments on the ground, and their brows couldn't help but frown.

Chen Jingxi called out softly, "Butler Wu."

Wu Kuan hurried forward, "What do you want, Princess?"

"Count how many things are broken on the ground?" Chen Jingxi said lightly.

When Jiang Kai and the others heard this, they vaguely understood something, but they were not sure.

Chief Steward Wu responded, and a moment later, he returned with an account book in hand. "Princess, the damaged items are: two huanghuali chairs, three red sandalwood chairs, five high-quality Guanyin vases, seven plum vases, and three lotus leaf-lidded jars..."

As Chief Steward Wu reported the damaged items one by one, the expressions of Jiang Kai and the others became increasingly grim. They knew that they would not be able to escape unscathed from this trip to the palace so easily.

Chen Jingxi nodded and asked, "Butler Wu, how much are all these things worth in total?"

Wu, the steward, coughed lightly and replied according to Chen Jingxi's previous instructions, "Princess, the total is fifty thousand taels."

There was a sudden cry of surprise from the crowd.

Jiang Kai looked down at the porcelain fragments on the ground with a frown. He could swear that the total value of these things was no more than one thousand taels.

Chen Jingxi was very satisfied and said, "Master Jiang, how do you plan to give me these fifty thousand taels?"

Jiang Kai gritted his teeth and said, "Princess, how can these things be worth fifty thousand taels?"

Chen Jingxi smiled and said, "If I say it's worth it, then it's worth it. What's the matter, Master Jiang, are you trying to shirk your debt?"

"I dare not. But this fifty thousand taels is too large a sum for me to come up with at once." Jiang Kai's forehead began to sweat.

"Then return it slowly," Chen Jingxi said in a relaxed tone, "but this princess doesn't like to delay too long. If Lord Jiang doesn't return it soon, don't blame me for being rude."

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