The window was kicked open, and a dark figure crashed in from outside, fell to the ground, rolled several times, and finally landed at Xiao Tang's feet.

Yan Shi instinctively drew his long sword, about to point it at the dark figure...

The dark figure lay on the ground and coughed violently twice.

Just by hearing the cough, Xiao Tang knew it was the city lord.

With a "whoosh," Yan Shi had already placed the knife against the man's neck.

The man stood up stiffly. "It's me, Lord Yan Shi. Please don't act rashly."

"Yan Shi, he is the city lord."

Yan Shi naturally understood as well, and felt a little annoyed.

"Lord City Lord, what are you doing?" Not only did you trespass into the Princess's bedroom, but you also barged in in such a confusing manner. Isn't that courting death?

"I have something to discuss with the Princess... cough cough cough!"

The man clutched his chest, intending to utter important information, but instead coughed up blood.

Xiao Tang saw it all and immediately realized he wasn't faking it; he was genuinely injured.

"Alright, Yan Shi, prepare a room for him; he's injured."

Yan Shi was clearly not satisfied.

Is it reasonable for the princess to treat this man with such seriousness, since he doesn't seem like a good person?

Seeing that he was still standing there, Xiao Tang was annoyed and slightly raised her chin, "Hurry up and go, don't dawdle."

Since things had come to this point, Yan Shi had no choice but to grab the man by the collar and drag him out.

The man, with two streaks of blood still clinging to the corners of his mouth, stiffly turned his head and said to Xiao Tang, "Your Highness, I truly have something important to tell you."

Xiao Tang was also curious to hear what this man had to say.

So she called out to Yan Shi.

"Throw him back."

Yan Shi then temporarily threw the person back.

"Lord of the city, please speak. What do you want to tell me?"

The man looked up and met the woman's seemingly smiling eyes and the fierce look in them. Just one glance was enough to tell how menacing she was.

Undeterred, he answered earnestly, "Your Highness, it's about the robbers. Today, the robbers found out that I handed over all the silver to you, and they're after me."

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

She even raised her hand and gently wiped it.

Xiao Tang didn't know if it was his "powerful aura" that made him nervous, or if the chase had left him with psychological trauma.

"They're hunting you down?"

“Yes, Your Highness!” He lowered his eyes. “You City was already like this before I took the position of city lord.”

“Those robbers formed gangs, and now they’ve become robber gangs.”

"In order to control the entire Youcheng, they imprisoned my parents."

"Being the city lord isn't easy for me either. If I resist even slightly, I'll immediately face the danger of losing my life."

"It wouldn't be difficult for them to support a new city lord."

"But I can't, my parents are still in their hands."

"Therefore, I could only reach a negotiation with them, and they agreed that they would not take any of the silver that was handed over to me."

After he finished explaining, he hung his head, looking dejected.

Xiao Tang could clearly tell that he was telling the truth.

He pondered for a moment.

"In that case, you may stay here. We can discuss the rest in detail tomorrow."

After saying that, she gave Yan Shiyi a look.

Yan Shi nodded knowingly and dragged the man away.

This secluded city... has a lot of trouble.

She looked at the ledger beside her, her expression solemn.

"Your Highness?" Ruyi called out cautiously, "Have we meddled in things we shouldn't have?"

Judging from this, it seems like... something I shouldn't be meddling in.

Since the Regent doesn't care about this small amount of money, the Queen insists on getting it back...

"Ruyi, do you think I'm meddling in other people's business?"

"Ah... I, I didn't mean that, I was just afraid..." Ruyi realized she had said something she shouldn't have, and was so annoyed she wished she could find a block of tofu to smash her head against.

"Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. I'm just worried."

Xiao Tang twirled the account book in her hand, a half-smile on her face. "If it were meddling, why would the Regent give me these account books and land deeds?"

"ah……"

That's because you're a princess!

The prince gave you these land deeds and account books because he was afraid you would run away, so he used this money to keep the princess in check.

Even so, Ruyi dared not say it aloud.

"Alright, that's all, you can rest now."

Ruyi scratched her head, not daring to say anything.

I'm really afraid that the more I say, the more mistakes I'll make.

Xiao Tang put away the ledger, rubbed his slightly sore temples, and slowly lay down.

As she closed her eyes to rest, her mood suddenly became somewhat heavy.

Could it be that the main villain knows this place is too troublesome, so he never gets involved?

wrong.

The villain is indeed someone who hates trouble, but is also a trouble-terminator.

Absolutely, a one-size-fits-all approach solves all problems.

If a major villain were to do this, given his style, he would probably just massacre the entire city.

That night, Zhang Jinxiu, who lived next door, heard a man in black come over to report the situation, and she slammed her fist on the table in anger.

She gritted her teeth.

How could this happen?

"That damned Geng Zhuo! He was made city lord, not to tip people off!"

Geng Zhuo is the name of the city lord.

The man in black said, "Sister Jin'er, I think we should make a decisive decision right now. I'll send someone to arrest that city lord..."

The man made a throat-slitting motion.

Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of the person directly?

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