It was common knowledge among all officials and civil servants that the Xizhou Dam would be destroyed by the flood.

The Xiliang spies hidden in Kyoto could not possibly have been unaware of this.

Bombing the Xizhou Dam at this time would be tantamount to standing up and taking the blame for the Jinwang Party; Xiliang would be more likely to have lost his mind.

But what they could see through at a glance couldn't possibly escape the Emperor's notice. This wasn't about cleaning up the mess; it was blatantly provoking the Emperor to his death. These people were far too audacious.

Shen Wan had a feeling that things weren't so simple. She looked at Xie Jingyan, about to speak, when suddenly there was a knock on the door and a servant came in and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you to the palace."

The fact that Xie Jingyan was summoned to the palace at this time was undoubtedly because of the Xizhou Dam.

Since it was a serious matter, Xie Jingyan didn't delay and immediately got up.

The Emperor only summoned Xie Jingyan, but Xie Jingyin and the First Prince heard about it and rushed to the palace immediately, where they met at the carriage stop.

The two have been vying for the crown prince position, engaging in open and covert struggles, to the point where they fight whenever they meet.

Upon seeing Xie Jingyin, the eldest prince said, "The Prince of Jin has quite the audacity to blow up the Xizhou Dam and frame Xiliang."

Xie Jingyin found these words amusing. "The Crown Prince allowed his subordinates to sell the imperial grain reserves privately. When the matter was exposed, he burned the granary. Hasn't the Crown Prince noticed that the Emperor has been disrespectful to you lately? How could I not learn from this lesson and do something so blatant?"

The eldest prince was also laughing, "So you're saying the Xizhou Dam was really destroyed by spies from Xiliang?"

"Then this spy from Xiliang is far too adept at understanding the Prince of Jin's intentions."

The two were at loggerheads.

Their eyes clashed.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves interrupted the exchange between the two.

The two turned their heads and saw Xie Jingyan riding over.

Xie Jingyin asked curiously, "Why did he also enter the palace?"

“It was Father Emperor who summoned him to the palace,” the eldest prince said.

The eldest prince entered the palace directly from the Ling Prince's residence, so he naturally knew that the emperor had sent someone to inform Xie Jingyan.

Xie Jingyin's eyes darkened instantly. His father had summoned Prince Ling more often than he had recently. He glanced at the eldest prince and said, "Don't let us fight to the death, only to have Prince Ling reap the benefits in the end."

The contest between him and the eldest prince for the crown prince position hinges on whether he first uncovers the water smuggling case at the Meizhou granary or the eldest prince first uncovers the embezzlement case at the Xizhou dam.

However, Prince Ling was involved in both cases, and while they were locked in a fierce battle, racking their brains to bring each other down, he quietly reaped all the benefits.

The people of Meizhou built shrines for the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang and the eldest son of the Yun family. The Xizhou Dam was about to be washed away by the flood. Based on this one sentence, the credit was given to the eldest son of the Yun family. It was precisely because of these credits, plus two million taels of silver, that he obtained a pardon and was able to save the life of the heir of the Prince of Yanping in a critical moment.

The eldest prince watched Xie Jingyan walk towards the imperial study and said, "What is Prince Jin worried about? Sixth Prince was already kicked out of the game six years ago. Even if you and I fight to the death, it won't be Sixth Prince who reaps the benefits, unless—"

"There were other hidden details in Consort Chen's case back then."

If there were truly hidden circumstances surrounding Consort Chen's case, considering the Emperor's affection for Prince Ling back then, coupled with his guilt over demoting Prince Ling to guard the imperial tombs for four years, even if they joined forces, they couldn't shake Prince Ling's position.

The Imperial Study.

The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, and ever since he received the urgent message from Xizhou, his anger had not subsided.

Eunuch Yuan stood by, but he couldn't persuade them to stop.

The Emperor's princes are all incredibly bold.

To cover up the crime of privately selling reserve grain, they set fire to the granary. In order not to expose the embezzlement of the Xizhou Dam, they even blew up the dam directly. That dam cost the imperial court hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and took two whole years to repair.

The eldest prince and Prince Jin outwardly showed great respect to the emperor, while Prince Ling would often provoke the emperor, but it was Prince Ling who truly cared about the world.

It's just a pity that he was implicated by Consort Chen...

The two princes are willing to do anything to win the crown prince position; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are ruthless. If they were to actually win, even Eunuch Yuan would worry about the future of the Great Chu.

Xiao Xizi brought over tea, and Eunuch Yuan presented it to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please have a cup of tea to calm your anger."

This was already the fourth cup of tea that Eunuch Yuan had served to the Emperor.

The emperor picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slammed it down on the dragon table.

When Xie Jingyan entered, he saw this scene and said, "Even if the Xizhou Dam is not destroyed, it will be washed away by the flood in a few days. It cannot be saved in the end. Why is Father so angry?"

He really just adds fuel to the fire with his words.

Even Eunuch Yuan had no idea why the Emperor had summoned Prince Ling to the palace. Was he already angry enough?

The emperor was already furious, and his face turned even greener.

The Emperor was angry about the corruption at the Xizhou Dam, but not to this extent. After all, it's impossible for such a large project to be completely free of corruption, though the degree of corruption varies. But the repeated destruction of the Xizhou Dam's blueprints wasn't enough; now they even dared to bomb the dam itself. This is utterly reckless and lawless.

The Emperor looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "Go to Xizhou to investigate this case."

"I'm not going!"

The answer was concise and to the point.

This was the second time the Emperor had entrusted him with the Xizhou Dam case, and this was the second time Xie Jingyan had refused.

If he were capable of taking over, he would have done so last time, instead of waiting until now.

Knowing full well that he wouldn't care, I still went to him.

The Emperor was furious, his head practically steaming. Eunuch Yuan quickly advised, "His Majesty entrusted this case to Prince Ling, which shows he has high hopes for you..."

"They have high hopes for me?"

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