"Reporting to the Marquis, the Prefect heard that His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived and is waiting outside the mansion to pay his respects."

The words of the servants from the Marquis's residence broke the tense atmosphere.

In front of outsiders, Xiao Chengci and Shang Huai restrained their tense demeanor.

Shang Huai took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Cousin, the prefect has arrived. Would you like to see him?"

"Of course I want to see her. I also want to know how my 'Sixth Sister' died."

Shang Huai said he wouldn't keep him company any longer, "Then see you, cousin. I'll go to the kitchen to see how lunch is going."

Xiao Chengci didn't want to see Shang Huai for the time being, so he agreed.

The servants of the Marquis's residence brought the prefect over, and the prefect knelt down to pay his respects to Xiao Chengci.

Xiao Chengci first asked about the tax revenue in the northern city and the harvest of the people.

The northern part of the city is cold, and there is basically no harvest in winter.

Therefore, the tax revenue in the northern part of the city is not high. If the tax revenue were high, countless people would starve to death.

"When the Sixth Princess first entered the territory of the North City, she was targeted by bandits. How did the prefect ultimately decide the case?"

The prefect bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, those bandits have all been arrested and executed by my rank."

"So fast?"

“Your Highness, these bandits who ambushed and killed the princess deserve to die ten thousand times over. Moreover, I have discovered that they have a number of other murders on their record. Therefore, I have decided to execute them immediately to appease public anger.”

In the end, all the people who accompanied the Sixth Princess were dead.

All the robbers were dead.

They can say whatever they want, and even if Xiao Chengci wanted to investigate, he wouldn't find any evidence.

Xiao Chengci then asked, "Where are the bodies of these robbers?"

"After the execution in the market, according to custom, if there were family members to collect the body, they would carry it back; if there were no family members to collect the body, it would be thrown outside the city to be food for wild animals."

Xiao Chengci pressed further: "Executed in the vegetable market?"

"I dare not lie, there were quite a few people who went to watch."

The origins of these robbers are clearly questionable.

Xiao Chengci had previously thought that Shang Huai had the Zhenbei Army disguise themselves as bandits.

Since this group of "robbers" was executed in the market with so many people watching, it couldn't possibly be the Zhenbei Army.

Xiao Chengci dared not gamble on the others, but Shang Huai had been in the army since childhood and regarded the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army as his own brothers. He would not let these people die in vain.

"Have you found out where these robbers are from, what they did before, and why they became bandits in the mountains?"

The prefect hesitated for a moment, then said, "No need to investigate. These people have blond hair; they are Xiongnu."

“Interesting.” Xiao Chengci tapped the table and looked at Pei Minxue. “A bunch of Huns, running around in the mountains to the north as bandits? They must have a lot of free time.”

Pei Minxue nodded in agreement, "They've probably suffered a lot of defeats and have nothing better to do."

Xiao Chengci naturally knew that the prefect of this place was still an official of the imperial court in name only.

In reality, the one who is truly loyal is Shang Huai.

Merchants have been based here for hundreds of years; calling them local tyrants wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Two years from now, once the General Who Guards the North retires, Emperor Xiao will likely bestow upon him a title of king from a different surname as a reward, showing him great favor.

Then he'll be a true local tyrant.

"Alright, you can leave now."

Xiao Chengci was too lazy to ask any further questions, knowing he probably wouldn't get what he wanted from him anyway.

The prefect bowed and took his leave.

The prefect did not leave the Marquis's residence, but instead went to find Shang Huai, who was chopping wood in the backyard.

Shang Huai was filled with anger, but had nowhere to vent it, so he could only use it to chop firewood.

It turns out that Pei Zhi wanted to marry him because she had been hurt by Xiao Chengci.

Pei Zhi gave Xiao Chengci everything, yet Xiao Chengci still dared to break her heart.

How would you match Xiao Chengci?

At this point, Xiao Chengci even shamelessly flaunted it, truly deserving of less than the best behavior of pigs and dogs.

Did Pei Zhi's cold also stem from her grief over Xiao Chengci's heartbreak, leading to her eventual death?

Shang Huai had heard many storytellers recount how a woman, after being heartbroken, became depressed and, after a minor illness, took her life.

Pei Zhi was such a healthy, cheerful, and carefree woman.

The woman who accompanied him on horseback hunting must have been heartbroken by Xiao Chengci, which is why her condition worsened.

Shang Huai had been wondering how Pei Zhi could have died from a simple cold.

Xiao Chengci, that culprit, truly deserves to die!

The prefect took two steps back, watching General Shang chop wood with more ferocity than he was chopping people.

I'm really worried that General Shang might accidentally cut him.

Shang Huai took the handkerchief handed to him by the servant, and the prefect quickly stepped forward and told Shang Huai about his conversation with Xiao Chengci.

"Judging from Your Highness's tone, Your Highness must be suspicious."

Shang Huai said coldly, "If you have suspicions, then you have suspicions."

The prefect was somewhat worried: "If His Highness becomes suspicious and investigates, it will inevitably cause some trouble."

Although they handled it very cleanly, leaving no survivors.

Not to mention keeping any survivors, even the corpses were disposed of.

"If you're scared, you can go and surrender to Xiao Chengci now and explain the reasons."

The prefect immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Excellency is too kind. I would never dare to have such a thought."

"They only sent a fake princess to test the Marquis, and now..."

Initially, Shang Huai did not intend to kill this so-called sixth princess.

Although Shang Huai is not exactly a kind-hearted person, he wouldn't resort to such unscrupulous means.

Only after the "Sixth Princess" was captured and cried uncontrollably did she realize that she was not the Sixth Princess at all.

Shang Huai realized that he had fallen into a trap.

The suspects have already been arrested; Shang Huai has no way back.

For his own sake and for the sake of the Zhenbei Army behind him, Shang Huai had no choice but to leave no survivors.

"If he really angers me, I'll make sure he, the crown prince, never returns."

Upon hearing this, the prefect immediately knelt down in fright, saying, "My lord, please be careful what you say."

The prefect was terrified, sweating profusely. This was the crown prince!

If His Highness the Crown Prince were to have an accident in the northern part of the city, the prefect doesn't even dare to imagine what kind of chaos would ensue.

"I've even imprisoned my own father, what am I afraid of?"

The General Who Guards the North, knowing what Shang Huai had done, kicked him hard.

After the General of the Northern Garrison finished his battle, he wanted to drag Shang Huai back to the capital to apologize.

How can Shang Huai return to Beijing?

Upon returning to Beijing, Shang Huai knew that he would never be able to return to the North in his lifetime.

Therefore, Shang Huai decisively sent his own father to the manor and placed him under house arrest.

As for his grandparents, Shang Huai only said that the weather was cold and they were going to spend the winter at the manor.

This happened every winter, and my grandparents never suspected anything.

"But this is the Crown Prince after all. I urge you, Lord Marquis, to consider the situation in Beicheng and the Zhenbei Army, and not to act rashly."

Shang Huai threw down his axe and said coldly, "I know what I'm doing. You can go back now."

The prefect dared not say more, bowed and took his leave.