Fei Baogui's consistent approach is that if I'm unhappy, others can't be comfortable either.

I hadn't originally intended to harm Magistrate Liu, but I got agitated by the old man's airs and ended up putting a little too much sleeping potion in the soup.

After they had emptied Magistrate Liu's pockets of all his money, they discovered that he was actually a big fish.

However, it seems the dosage of the sleeping potion was a bit too high; after waking up, Magistrate Liu looked rather foolish.

"It's good that he's stupid. If he's stupid, I won't have to commit any more killings."

After reminiscing about his good deed, Fei Baogui sold Magistrate Liu to the bandits he had been cooperating with.

These bandits are no ordinary people. In fact, they own a silver mine in Liyuan Ridge, near Liyuan Town.

As for who the owner behind this silver mine is, no one knows; all that is known is that he has connections to the highest levels.

Silver mining cannot function without miners, and Fei Baogui was one of the sources of silver miners.

When the bandits learned that the person sent was the newly appointed magistrate of Linrou County, they had designs on him.

I just received the task from above.

That meant obtaining all the secret recipes from the workshops in Zhao Family Village.

After receiving the mission, the bandits inquired around and learned that the workshops in Zhao Family Village were like goose that lays golden eggs. No wonder the higher-ups cared about this small village.

The bandit leader went to great lengths to curry favor with his superiors.

After careful consideration, I felt that simply taking the secret recipe from Zhao Family Village wasn't enough. After all, a secret recipe is only secret if one person knows it; if two people know it, it's no longer a secret recipe.

Since we're already in a situation, we might as well go all the way. The mine is short-handed, so it's time to hire some more people.

Fei Baogui is like a pillow delivered when you're feeling sleepy.

Anyway, he wasn't a good person, so they dressed him up temporarily and made him impersonate Magistrate Liu.

First, try to get the secret recipe. If they don't give it to you, that's okay. Just find a way to move into the village.

They put the sleeping potion into the well. Once the villagers were drugged, Fei Baogui would send a signal at night, and they could wipe out Zhao Family Village without bloodshed.

Even if the people in Zhao Family Village don't need Chinese medicine, it doesn't matter. With just one or two hundred skilled fighters, how could they not wipe out a small village?

That's the kind of confidence I have.

Fei Baogui, who was added to the role at the last minute, suddenly became Magistrate Liu. Even more so, the bandit leader wanted Fei Baogui to take up his post directly with Magistrate Liu's official credentials.

With that kind of workforce, the mines would never have to worry about finding workers.

Although the plan was a bit rough and the idea a bit bold, the bandits didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, even the most ruthless commoners are afraid of knives.

Sure enough, when all the bandits woke up in their iron cages, it was as if they were still dreaming.

"Brother, what's going on? Where is this?"

Why are we locked in an iron cage? I remember we were in the woods before.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Who knows how I ended up in this place when I woke up? Did I run into something unclean?"

Similar topics arose among the bandits.

Under torture and coercion, Fei Bao confessed. Naturally, the interrogation could not be limited to him alone; the bandits were also interrogated in turn.

When the confession, half a foot high, was placed on the table, both the garrison commander Hu Chengxiao and Tie Hua's hands were sweating. It seemed they had stumbled upon a case they shouldn't have.

Hu Chengxiao once again sent Tie Hua to deliver the thick confession to Lord Duan, the prefect of Lingnan.

"Lord Duan, I have completed my mission and will be returning now."

After saying that, he turned and ran away with his soldiers without looking back.

After reviewing all the testimonies, Lord Duan inspected the prison carts brought by the guards. He knew full well that the constables of the prefectural government were not very skilled.

"Alright, there's no need to get these people off the vehicle. Just keep them locked up inside."

They all look plump and strong, so they probably wouldn't starve to death even if they didn't eat for two or three days.

Give it water once a day, and remember to add some seasonings to it.

Be careful, everyone. If they get the chance, none of us will escape being killed.

Also, take the keys to all these prison vans. Remember, no one is allowed to come within three steps of a prison van.

As for water, there are bamboo tubes, right? Just pour water directly into the basin inside the prison cart using the bamboo tubes.

No one is as careful with the key as Lord Duan; he now treats these bandits like livestock.

After explaining the matter of the bandits, Lord Duan hurriedly reported to the emperor, as this was no longer something that a mere prefect like himself could handle.

Naturally, two memorials were written: one was the official one, and the other was sent through the secret guards of the family.

By the time the official memorials were intercepted, the emperor had already read all the testimonies.

"Hehe, big rat, big rat..."

The entire Yan Prince family was imprisoned, and the Seventh Prince, who was close to him, was also confined to his Prince's Residence.

The downfall happened overnight. At the grand court assembly the next day, all the ministers trembled with fear and dared not utter a sound.

They were terrified that if they said the wrong thing, losing their official position would be a minor matter, but losing their heads would be a major one.

Officials from Prince Yan's faction were also suspended from their duties and investigated, resulting in a complete reshuffle.

Vacancies need to be filled, but deciding who to fill them is a complex matter.

These past two days, the Emperor has felt that he has lost quite a bit of hair.

The emperor was even more worried about his soft-hearted, noodle-like crown prince.

He just couldn't understand why the child he had with the Empress was such a pushover.

This is awful, so awful.

In fact, his son is not a pushover at all.

He was just lazy, and seeing his father working so hard every day, he felt that he might die young.

From the moment he was born, he was the crown prince, destined to sit in that position for the rest of his life.

Letting go might mean utter ruin.

What to do? Finally, he came up with a good idea: to raise the next generation as early as possible.

The crown prince became a father at the age of 17.

At 34 years old, he feels he has taken another big step closer to successfully escaping the fate of dying young.

The eldest son is now capable enough to stand on his own.

When the emperor summoned him to the Hall of Diligent Governance, the crown prince brought his eldest son to pay respects to his father.

"Your Imperial Uncle Yan is secretly mining silver, raising a private army, and disregarding human life. What do you think of this?"

The Emperor gave the Crown Prince no chance to beat around the bush and asked the question directly.

"If this has been investigated and clarified, then we should proceed according to the laws of our Divine Dragon Kingdom. If it has not been clarified, we should give Uncle Yan a chance."

The emperor really wanted to give his son a beating.

When will you make any progress?

Don't forget, you are the Crown Prince, do you understand? You are to inherit my empire.

"If things continue like this, how can I feel at ease passing this empire to you?"