"Your Highness, although I have made many mistakes, they are not serious matters..."
"Not a big deal?" Huo Chengche frowned, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.
Liang Sheng felt a chill run down his spine and quickly changed his tune, "No, no, no, what I meant was that the crime was not serious enough to be unforgivable!"
Huo Chengche narrowed his deep eyes.
Liang Sheng immediately said, "Your Highness, although I am somewhat opportunistic and greedy, and prone to changing my stance depending on the wind, since taking office, I have never committed any act of disregarding human life! Although I am intimidated by the power and authority of the wealthy and powerful and unable to rid the people of harm, I have absolutely no intention of harming them!"
"Hmm," Huo Chengche said with a cool smile, "I know, which is why the previous Prefect of the Capital was dismissed from his post, imprisoned, and demoted to a ninth-rank official before leaving the capital. Lord Liang, how about I reserve a seventh-rank position for you?"
Liang Sheng met the boy's faint, cold smile, and his crying face froze.
The little boy, though he didn't understand what the prince was saying, immediately said in his childish voice, "The prince is so nice! Uncle, look, the prince is so easy to talk to. He discusses everything with you. My dad said that everything should be discussed and agreed upon."
Liang Sheng gave a dry laugh.
The little boy tilted his head, pouted his chubby little mouth, and asked, "Uncle, is what Niannian said wrong?"
Liang Sheng was about to say "No" when, in the instant he opened his mouth, he suddenly felt the air around him freeze, and a tremendous pressure pressed down on his head, making it hard for him to breathe.
He couldn't help but look up, first meeting the little boy's clear, innocent eyes, then the cold, sharp gaze beside him, deep and unfathomable, full of warning.
Liang Sheng's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed hard, quickly cutting off the words that were about to come out. He gave a stiff smile and stammered, "Yes, yes, yes... You're absolutely right. His Highness the Crown Prince is... is a very good person..."
The little dumpling, having received approval, immediately shone with dimples and nodded vigorously, letting out a loud "Mmm." His wobbly, childlike voice echoed in Liang Sheng's ears, piercing his heart and making him want to cry.
Huo Chengche glanced at Liang Sheng indifferently, "What? Judging from your reluctant tone, is there something you feel is against your will that you can't say?"
Liang Sheng was jolted awake. He immediately patted his chest excitedly and spoke earnestly, "How could that be! Every word of my praise for Your Highness is true! It comes from the bottom of my heart, from..."
"Very well," Huo Chengche glanced at Liang Sheng, who was spouting endless nonsense as soon as he opened his mouth, and said coolly, directly interrupting his endless ramblings, "Since that's the case, then I'll discuss with Lord Liang whether you'll walk to the Ministry of Justice prison yourself, or whether I'll have someone escort you there?"
"No, no, Your Highness, let's discuss this again!" Upon hearing this, Liang Sheng quickly returned to the main topic. "Your Highness, you see, the crimes I committed were not entirely my fault, were they? And I wasn't the one who started them!"
"Oh?" Huo Chengche raised an eyebrow and looked down at Liang Sheng.
When it came to serious matters, although he still wore a fawning smile and had the frivolous look of Snake, a closer look revealed the word "serious" in his eyes.
Huo Chengche smiled with interest and followed up on his question, "If you weren't the instigator, then who was?"
"Of course it's Your Highness!" Liang Sheng chuckled obsequiously, but his eyes flashed with seriousness.
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