The three of them were practically losing their temper.

Jing Le looked at the three of them strangely: "What's wrong with you? Are your eyes bothering you?"

Why are you staring at me like that? Do you have sleep in your eyes?!

Jing Le raised her chubby little hand and immediately rubbed it.

"No."

This scene amused Emperor Jing and his two companions.

"Ahem, Xu Hai, prepare the meal. Tell the imperial kitchen to prepare a few more dishes that Lele likes."

Emperor Jing coughed lightly, changing the subject.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this old servant will go immediately."

Eunuch Xu bowed and withdrew.

"The palace examination has concluded today. Yan Yongning stood out the most, ranking first. Ji Chun and Wu Yan followed closely behind, one as the third-ranked scholar and the other as the second-ranked scholar. They will enter the palace to receive their titles in two days."

When Emperor Jing saw that Jing Le was no longer talking about the fourth prince, he did not bring it up again, but instead started talking about matters of the court.

"They are really amazing."

"No, Father, why are you telling me all this? I'm not going to be emperor anymore. What's the point of knowing so much about court affairs? To rebel?"

Jing Le didn't show it on her face, but she was inwardly cursing wildly.

Emperor Jing was a little troubled: Lele, you don't need to rebel. I originally intended to pass this empire to you anyway.

It seems the influence hasn't been enough; I'll have to take him to court every day from now on to cultivate his character from a young age.

Third Prince: It would be great if my sister became emperor. With such a powerful emperor protecting her, the people of Dayong would be blessed.

Fourth Prince: Indeed, my younger sister is very powerful and is the best candidate.

And so, the three of them tacitly agreed to this arrangement.

Speaking of Yan Yongning and the other two, it seems I just learned that Fourth Brother's death was also related to them.

Jing Le continued flipping through the script, completely unaware that the three people next to her had perked up their ears again.

[When Yan Yongning and the other two had their rankings taken by someone else, they had only ranked at the bottom of the second class in the palace examination. However, due to their connections with the Prefect of the Capital, the three of them quickly rose through the ranks.]

The fourth brother inadvertently discovered the secret of the three taking the blame, unaware that the Prefect of the Capital was the mastermind. He unintentionally informed him of this.

The result was predictable.

On the way back to his fiefdom, the fourth brother's men were bribed by the Prefect of the Capital and hired assassins to kill him. In the end, his hands and legs were crippled, and he was thrown into the mountains.

[A prince starved to death, and his body was even devoured by wolves.]

That's really tragic.

After reading it, Jing Le glanced at the Fourth Prince with pity, which made the Fourth Prince's heart pound wildly.

Fourth Prince: What?! I was betrayed by those around me, my hands and feet were crippled, I was thrown into the mountains and starved to death, and even after I died, I was eaten by wolves...

That's so tragic.

The fourth prince felt aches and pains just thinking about it.

The third prince also cast a sympathetic glance: "My fourth brother must be the most miserable among his brothers. He lost his hands and feet, starved to death, and was eaten by wild wolves. It hurts just thinking about it."

It seems it's good that I was poisoned to death early on.

Bah, what do you mean "good"? With my sister around, none of them have to die. It's good that they're alive.

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes slightly: It seems that the martial arts skills of the princes still need improvement. Tomorrow, I will have Yingyi and the others lead people to teach them. The same goes for the eldest, second, and ninth princes.

The eldest and second princes, who were far away in their fiefdoms, both sneezed.

They had no idea that even after arriving in their fiefdom, their father, the emperor, would send people to supervise their martial arts training.

Soon, Xu Hai and the imperial kitchen staff had prepared the dinner.

The group enjoyed a delicious meal before parting ways.

...

On the other side, after comforting the three wealthy gentlemen, Liu Shanchang left the mansion as it was getting dark.

I arrived alone at a secluded little building.

Who goes there?

As soon as I approached the door, I was blocked by a figure.

"Let's talk business."

Liu Shanzhang, wrapped in a black cloak, spoke in a deliberately low voice as he made his contact.

"Come in."

The man stepped aside to let Headmaster Liu in.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary little building, but inside it's a hidden gem.

This is a stronghold of a notorious assassin organization in the capital city.

Without connections, I really wouldn't know where they were.

In addition to hiring hitmen, you can also buy and sell information here.

This is why Headmaster Liu wanted to come.

None of his men returned after the operation that day, so something must have gone wrong.

However, he did this secretly behind the back of the Prefect of the Capital, so it was not appropriate to ask him for help.

Meanwhile, the buyers were urging him on, which gave him a huge headache.

I made the difficult decision to open this place.

"I want to buy the lives of these three people."

Upon meeting the person who was to receive them, Headmaster Liu did not waste any words and handed over a slip of paper with the names of Yan Yongning, Ji Chun, and Wu Yan clearly written on it.

The other party glanced at it, his eyes flickered, and he said, "These are the top three in the first-class examination, so the price is not as high as usual. The top scholar gets 100,000 taels, and the second and third scholars each get 50,000 taels."

Headmaster Liu was surprised by the price, which was many times higher than that of others.

But after calculating the amount of silver he had received, he gritted his teeth and handed over the only 100,000 taels of silver he had on him:

"Deal. Here is 100,000 taels. The remaining 100,000 taels will be paid after the deal is done. It must be completed within these two days."

The person receiving the silver note accepted it and replied with a smile, "That's fine."

He then directed into the darkness, "Hengyi, take a team of men and deal with these three."

"yes."

The person was not seen, but the voice could be heard.

Having not noticed any other people present, Headmaster Liu, seeing how powerful the people here were, left with peace of mind.

...

The moonlight was as dark as ink.

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