“Crown Prince, this is the last time I will call you that.”

As Sheng Yun spoke, she took small steps back, each step revealing her disappointment in Zhu Haogan: "I came to beg you today because I was too confident in the friendship we formed since childhood. Indeed, the imperial family is the most ruthless. You are no longer the brother in my heart."

After saying that, Sheng Yun turned around and jogged away from the flower field of the East Palace.

As a child, Zhu Haogan was also so honest, upright, and gentle. But that small figure has been crushed by time, and the person before us is no longer him.

Watching Sheng Yun run away from him, Zhu Hao felt as if his heart had been ripped out, and a tearing pain shot through his chest!

His eyes gradually turned blood red, as terrifying as a blood moon.

The old folks often say that those in the imperial family are no ordinary people; when the emperor is enraged, thunder and rain will follow. This saying seems particularly apt today. The sky, which was a clear blue expanse when the clouds first arrived, has suddenly been covered by clouds and a wind has risen.

The cold wind howled, causing the curtains hanging on the pavilion to flutter incessantly, and the falling haze cast a heavy shadow on Zhu Haogan's forehead.

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking, and after a long while, he squeezed out three words through gritted teeth: "Wei—Cheng—Xiu!"

*

The sky, which was covered with dark clouds, was split open by a bolt of lightning, revealing a bright white crack! Then came a muffled rumble of thunder that swept across the streets, and soon a fine drizzle began to fall over the entire city of Shengjing.

Li Qingchen sat behind his desk, reviewing the message that had just been sent back from Wu County.

The men he sent to Wu County last time had not been recalled. Three days ago, the Wei family suddenly encountered trouble, so he immediately sent a message by carrier pigeon, asking them to try to investigate the Jiangzuo Dam. If the dam was deliberately damaged, there might be some traces left behind, and he hoped to find some clues from there.

However, after reading the message from Wu County, Li Qingchen couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The other party had acted swiftly and decisively, leaving no clues whatsoever.

After reading it, Li Qingchen handed the note to the candlestick and lit it, burning it to ashes. Then he got up and walked to the window.

He opened a window, and the chill from outside, mixed with raindrops, splattered in and hit his face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt a refreshing coolness that was also incredibly soothing, making his mind seem much clearer.

The Wei family's matter was slightly more difficult to handle than he had imagined. Regardless of whether it was the Prince Jing's Mansion or someone else who took action this time, it was clear that it was the result of meticulous planning, not a spur-of-the-moment decision, which is why the matter was handled so flawlessly.

It would be difficult to overturn the verdict against the Wei family, especially since Emperor Pingjia wouldn't give him much time. After all, the pressure on an emperor after such a disaster is unimaginable; he must be thinking of the cries of the aggrieved, the resentment of the people, and the endless impeachments submitted by the censors day and night.

Therefore, regardless of whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one, and regardless of whether Wei Zheng was wronged, the Emperor hoped that he would take the blame to appease public anger.

Natural disasters are often attributed to the incompetence of the ruler, while man-made disasters can easily serve as an outlet for discontent. With Wei Zheng as a scapegoat, the people naturally stopped cursing the "dog emperor."

This may seem like an unsolvable situation, but there is actually still a way out.

Li Qingchen opened his eyes and looked into the distance through the heavy rain. His sharp gaze seemed to penetrate the thick walls and reach the prison cells of the Dali Temple.

I just don't know if she dares to.

A faint, enigmatic smile played on Li Qingchen's lips when a knocking sound came from the door.

The rhythm was clearly Yuan Que's. Li Qingchen didn't turn around, but only said "Go".

Yuan Que pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that no one was behind the desk, he turned his gaze to the window. He first greeted Li Qingchen, and then reported, "Your Highness, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, Zuo Huan, just sent a message."

"say what?"

"It is said that the Censorate will formally interrogate Wei Zheng in three days, and Wei's family members who are detained in the Dali Temple will also be interrogated at that time."

After a pause, Yuan Que continued, "The Left Deputy Commander also said that this time they will use severe punishment to force Wei Zheng or his family to confess the whereabouts of the embezzled funds for dike construction."

Family members being tried and even tortured together is a common tactic in Taiwanese prisons. Sometimes it's very difficult to get a person to talk, and even severe torture may not make them confess. However, if you start with their family members and make them watch helplessly as their family suffers because of their stubbornness, you can often achieve excellent results.

This bond of kinship is the best point of entry during criminal proceedings.

Therefore, Li Qingchen was not surprised that the Censorate resorted to such a treacherous tactic; he simply repeated, "Three days later?"

It seems that time is running out for him and the Wei family, and that is the only path they can take.

Yuan Que, unaware that his master had already made up his mind, anxiously advised, "Young Prince, perhaps the eldest son's words have some merit. Your Highness and I have devoted over the past ten years to the future of the people of Qiao Kingdom. It is indeed not appropriate to gamble everything on a single woman! Although I also feel that Miss Wei is innocent and pitiful, human nature is unpredictable. It is hard to guarantee that she will not confess to your hoarding of weapons under severe torture, thus negating your merits."

"What, you also think that only the dead have the tightest mouths?" Li Qingchen turned around and glared at Yuan Que.

Yuan Que frowned deeply, knowing that his words today were somewhat disrespectful, but for the sake of the greater cause, how could he be so soft-hearted as to act like a woman? So he decided to go all out.

"Young Prince, I am aware of your entanglement with Miss Wei. If you truly cannot bring yourself to do it, simply remain silent, and I will know what to do!"

After saying this, Li Qingchen remained silent. Yuan Que took this as tacit approval, performed his farewell ceremony, and turned to carry out his mission as he wished. However, at this moment, a distinct and resolute voice suddenly came from behind him:

"No one is allowed to make decisions on their own. I will settle this matter myself tonight."

After saying this, Li Qingchen strode out of Jingchen Pavilion.

Crystal-clear raindrops cascaded down from the eaves of the veranda, like gauze curtains hanging on both sides. It was a torrential downpour.

...

In the women's prison of Dali Temple, there were not many female prisoners. During the day, there were still a few people visiting, but at night it was completely silent. Even the prison guards went to the side to sleep, and not a single person could be seen moving around.

A sudden downpour around noon also affected the prison cells. The mud-brick roof had been in disrepair for years and had many cracks. They were not noticeable on ordinary days, but water would drip into them when it rained.

Fortunately, the rain didn't last long and stopped before evening, otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to sleep all night.

Although the rain had stopped, the dry grass spread on the ground was soaked. Wei Shuwan had no clean place to sit, so she simply leaned against the wall and stood in the corner, looking up at the mud ceiling.

She had spent three nights here and was almost used to the atmosphere. Every night she had a hard time falling asleep and had to stare at the dark mud ceiling for half a day before she could gradually feel sleepy.

Tonight, she did the same, earnestly tilting her head back to count:

"One, two, three..."

"What are you counting?"

The sudden, deep male voice startled Wei Shuwan, who was intently looking up at the sky!

She instinctively took two steps back before she could see that the person standing outside the prison, looking at her through the iron bars, was Li Qingchen…