In the afternoon, the sky was a bit overcast.

It's cold when the wind blows.

This isn't a late spring cold snap; it's just how things are as winter turns to spring.

In the Zichen Palace, the current emperor sits there with his eyes closed.

The Duke of Zheng rushed over to pay his respects to the sage.

As for the whole Fan Tongwen affair, it had nothing to do with the Duke of Zheng, but did the Duke of Zheng know about it? Probably he did.

So this is just a discussion. The key point is that once he's made his share of the benefits, that's it; the emperor usually turns a blind eye.

But he wasn't done yet. He came to Sheng'an to show off. His mother dared to order the Crown Princess around. Would he be pointing at the Emperor next?

Fan Tongwen's mother is eighty years old, and she dares to talk about the emperor.

The eunuch handed a box to the Duke of Zheng.

Zheng Guozheng sat upright, watching intently. He was so engrossed that he almost knelt down again!

The box wasn't large; half of it was filled with flying coins, totaling five million taels of silver. There was also an account book containing approximately thirty million taels.

This wasn't ordinary flying money; it was more like an IOU. In short, if you took it to the Bai family, you'd have to pay them one million taels.

Fan Tongwen is the Bai family's biggest creditor, the Zhang family also owes one million taels, and the Fu family owes five hundred thousand taels.

Fan Tongwen was not only involved in illegal mining, but he also illegally minted coins.

He did everything lawless and capable, yet he thought he was incredibly capable, that the common people were alright, and that his mother was a living Bodhisattva.

It's not that ordinary people are stupid; they're happy to pretend to be stupid when they haven't suffered any losses.

Whose interests were affected? The imperial court, and broader interests.

If the imperial court is short of money, won't it have to ask the common people for it? Can we just abandon the imperial court and let the Great Stone Kingdom attack us?

Duke Zheng proposed, "Investigate thoroughly; Fan Tongwen deserved to die."

He nodded in agreement.

Duke Zheng said, "The Bai family should be investigated. This is damaging Empress Wenming's reputation."

He nodded in agreement.

The Duke of Zheng may lack ability, but his nephew does. Besides, investigating the Bai family isn't that difficult, so why can't it be done? Knowing how incompetent they are, how dare they act so self-righteously?

A palace attendant ran in to report: "Fan Jing seized the knife and killed three people."

Duke Zheng said, "Chop off both of his hands first. The Fan family's affairs weren't done by Fan Tongwen alone; those whose hands are not clean should all be chopped off first."

The eunuch saw that the emperor nodded, so he left.

How arrogant must someone be to dare to seize a knife and kill someone after being arrested?

Judging from his appearance, he's killed quite a few people before; not just anyone with a knife would dare to do that.

Even the Duke of Zheng, who had such a good temper, was furious.

Xie Zhou quickly comforted his maternal uncle. "My dear uncle."

The Duke of Zheng felt much more at ease seeing him and said a few more words, which was rare for him: "It is precisely because they are indulged that the order has been broken."

Xie Zhou listened respectfully.

After a short while, Zheng Guozheng said, "It's rare that the Chang family is so clear-headed."

Xie Zhou said, "Haven't we made enough trouble already?"

Duke Zheng was speechless. Fortunately, the Chang family, being the closest relatives, were reliable.

Bai rushed to the palace.

He was over seventy years old, more senior than the Duke of Zheng; he was still in good spirits and considered a respectable member of the Bai family.

He sold Fan Tongwen's mansion, owed Fan Tongwen one million taels of silver, and had many other entanglements.

Bai Zeng remained unfazed even when facing the emperor, and could even ignore the crown prince.

The crown prince was busy trying to earn interest from the Great Stone Kingdom, which wasn't easy, because he needed to do it well to impress his son.

I'm currently resting with my eyes closed. Lately, I've been feeling low on energy.

Bai Zeng thought it was a good idea and said to the emperor, "With the empress's position vacant for so long, the country is without a ruler."

Duke Zheng also closed his eyes to rest. Since the Bai family was going to be investigated anyway, he might as well let him have a good time.

Bai Zeng dropped a bombshell: "What kind of behavior is this Eastern Palace? The Crown Princess is a daughter-in-law, a junior."

Xie Zhou didn't slap him across the face not because he was well-mannered, but because he had other reasons for it.

Bai Zeng was quite dissatisfied with the Crown Princess: "Her background is illegitimate, her origins are unclear, her behavior is unrestrained, and she is suspected of being a demon."

Despite his advanced age, Bai Zeng spoke with increasing vigor: "Ever since the Crown Prince took a concubine, Great Zhao has been plagued by numerous troubles. In the past, it was peaceful and prosperous, and the people lived in harmony; Wunu Kingdom had maintained friendly relations with Great Zhao for many years, and Dashi Kingdom also had friendly exchanges with it."

The King of Wu rushed into the palace.

Bai Zeng didn't take it seriously.

The King of Wu didn't take it seriously and told the emperor, "The Fu family is the Fu family, and I am my subject. We will investigate not only those related to Fan Tongwen, but also others."

Please have him sit down.

The palace official showed the box to the King of Wu.

Then another eunuch brought two maps, showing some mines near Sheng'an that could be privately mined.

After reading it, the King of Wu said, "Those guilty should all be executed, and the others should be sent to the army."

Bai Zeng was furious: "What did you say?"

The King of Wu retorted, "Remember, the Great Zhao came first, then the Bai family. What does the Great Zhao lack from you? You're still greedy. Your heart should be ripped out and examined."

The King of Wu was busy and left first.

The Wu Prince's Mansion lacks nothing, and so does the Fu family; they really shouldn't be so greedy.

Bai Zeng trembled with rage and shouted at the emperor, "The Prince of Wu!"

The emperor said, "He is my elder brother. He is neither from Wunu Kingdom nor Dashi Kingdom. If you can't even tell the difference, you're getting senile. I'll find you a quiet place to rest."

Today, they had Bai Zeng dragged away and locked up.

Make sure he's well-fed and clothed; whether he's satisfied or not is irrelevant.

Xie Zhou remained silent. Some people are shameless; don't be surprised.

Seeing that it was getting late, we invited my uncle to stay for dinner.

Forget it, Duke Zheng should go back.

He had almost everything the palace had; that was enough for him to live.

Today I'm going with my son to see my eldest grandson.

Xie Zhou should stay with his father, the Emperor. Once the stone gets bigger, it will probably be spending all its time in the Zichen Palace.

Qing'e Palace.

Little Xie looked at his grandfather and sighed, "I don't really like him. He's a bit too much of a clingy grandfather."

These days, she's so happy to hold her grandson that she forgets all the bad things that happened during the day.

Kids should be filial to their grandpas; grandpas are still very nice and good-looking.

The grandfather and grandson looked at each other. Most people wouldn't stare at a person's face, but today's grandson just felt that his precious grandson was soft and cuddly.

Yan Boxuan stood there dumbfounded, his maternal grandfather no longer cared about him, and his younger cousin didn't even look at him.

But he was still very happy, which was a happy thing in itself.

Xie Zhou was quite satisfied with him. He could play with the stone for a year, and then he would go to school next year.

Today, as he sat down holding his eldest grandson, the little boy grabbed his hand and tried to nibble on it. Today quickly wiped his hand clean.

The little boy was nibbling on his grandfather's hand and playing happily with him.

Yan Boxuan couldn't figure out what they were playing.

Xie Fufu estimated that Yan Boxuan wasn't smart enough.

Hachiro and Kyuro dragged Jūrō to call for their father, the Emperor.

He responded with a nod, still bowing his head to play with his eldest grandson. What's so fun about his son?

Shiro came over, supporting his father's leg, and looked at his nephew. His nephew was indeed handsome.

Hachiro wanted to show off: "Is Ishiki hungry? I'll make something delicious."

Today, I find my son quite amusing: "He can't eat anymore."

Hachiro reacted quickly: "Your son is filial to your father."

The emperor said, "You are still young now, but I will be waiting to eat what you make in a few years."

Hachiro was then appeased.

Jiulang stood to the side, smiling.

Juro rolled his eyes.

Stone, hehe.

Looking at it now, the eldest grandson is still the most fun.