After leaving Jingren Palace, Xue Shu returned to Xichang.

Since he came back from Tianjin Guard and won the favor of Emperor Longfeng, Xichang has changed its appearance. Xue Shu first promoted several outstanding soldiers from the 500 soldiers who followed him to Tianjin Guard to be the leaders, and then transferred 3,000 soldiers from the four guard camps to fill the staff of Xichang. Although he is only a thousand households in charge of criminal justice, all the people in Xichang are his staff and follow his orders.

As soon as he entered the room, the head of the guard on duty came up to him and asked, "Would you like to go back to your room and rest?"

Xue Shu waved his hands and said, "Let's go check on Chen He first."

Chen He is now being held in the Xichang Prison. Xue Shu has interrogated him once before, but Chen He is a tough guy and is loyal to Yin Chengjing, so he just endured it and said nothing.

Xue Shu was not in a hurry at first, thinking that he was too old to withstand severe punishment, so he did not push him too hard, and only locked him up in a dark cell for a few days to temper his will.

But after what happened today, Xue Shu was filled with anger and just wanted to cause some trouble for Yin Chengjing, so he didn't want to wait any longer.

No matter how tough a person is, he still has his weaknesses. He didn't believe that Chen He was really not afraid of anything.

He ordered people to bring Chen He to the torture chamber.

Chen He was locked up in a dark cell for several days, without light, water, or even a sound. He was in a state of depression. When he was carried out by two guards, he stared for a long time before he saw that the person in front of him was Xue Shu. He cursed, "You bastard, what do you want?"

Xue Shu squinted his eyes and looked at him, then said slowly, "Master Chen, are you still unwilling to confess? The silver that was seized from your home does not match the amount that Wan Youliang confessed."

Chen He said with a spit, "Wan Youliang is just making up a story, so it's not true! I have been an official for decades, working diligently and not slacking off for even a moment. You, a bastard, don't even think about forcing me to confess! I would rather die than let you succeed!"

"Master Chen is indeed a man of integrity." Xue Shu smiled with an ambiguous tone, "I just wonder if your grandson has inherited Master Chen's integrity?"

Chen He's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean?"

Xue Shu sat down on the chair and looked at him with contempt: "You don't think that you can save the Chen family by sacrificing yourself, do you?"

He clapped his hands, and a guard led a boy of six or seven years old in. The boy looked confused, and when he saw Chen He tied to the rack, he rushed over, calling him "Grandpa".

The guards behind him grabbed him in time and prevented him from going forward. The boy then struggled and cried.

Chen He's eyes trembled, and he said hatefully, "You bastard! He's only six years old!"

"We heard that when Lord Chen was at home, he doted on this little grandson the most. Now it seems that the rumor is true."

Xue Shu smiled, but his expression showed no pity. He stood up slowly and picked up a piece of red-hot iron with pliers: "Young Master Chen is smart and cute, and what Master Chen did will not affect our family. Even if the Chen family is ruined now, when the young master grows up, there may be a chance for him to make a comeback." He paused and slowly moved the red-hot iron closer to Young Master Chen: "But if our iron falls, Young Master Chen will be missing something, and the future hope of the Chen family will be cut off."

Anyway, the iron slowly approached, only one foot away from Young Master Chen's cheek.

The boy probably sensed the danger instinctively, and he started to cry and scream with fear, mumbling “Grandpa” for help.

Chen He's eyes were wide open, bloodshot and bloodshot.

Xue Shu had a smile on his face and stared at him firmly, with the iron in his hand gradually approaching.

For a moment, the only sounds in the torture chamber were the children's terrified cries.

Apart from that, no one said anything. It was a terrifying silence.

Seeing the red-hot iron getting closer and closer, the red light of the iron was already reflected on the child's fair cheeks. Chen He finally couldn't hold it any longer and shouted hoarsely: "I said! Don't touch him!"

"That's right." Xue Shu smiled, removed the pliers, threw the branding iron back, and said to the guard, "Take the young master outside, and wait for Master Chen to explain everything that needs to be explained. It's a good opportunity for the grandfather and grandson to be together for a while."

Chen He looked at him with hatred, but he knew that he would not act until he saw the rabbit. He did not dare to anger him again, so he could only tell him everything.

Xue Shu looked at the signed confession with satisfaction, and said to Chen He with hatred in his eyes: "Master Chen, you don't have to look at me like this. You suffered a lot in this prison to cover up for the third prince. You didn't know that if we hadn't arranged people to watch you, your whole family would not be saved. Speaking of which, you should thank us for saving your life."

After saying this, without caring about what Chen He would do, he took the confession and went to report to Emperor Longfeng.

Emperor Longfeng had just summoned people from the Ministry of Works to discuss the renovation of a Taoist temple. A number of ministers' homes had recently been raided, and the treasury was quite abundant, so Emperor Longfeng began to think of renovating the Taoist temple.

When he heard Xue Shu wanted to see him, he threw the blueprint back to the newly appointed Minister of Works and said, "Revise it. This Taoist temple is not grand enough."

The Minister of Works took the drawings and walked out with a bitter face, just as he passed by Xue Shu.

He looked at him from the side and saw that Xue Shu had a stern face and a strong anger between his eyebrows. He seemed to have noticed his gaze and glanced at him, which made him feel cold from the bottom of his heart.

The Minister of Works did not dare to look at him any longer and hurried out.

Xue Shu entered the hall and bowed.

Emperor Longfeng put his hands on his knees, leaned forward and looked at him: "What's the matter?"

Xue Shu was different from Gao Xian, Gao Yuan and others. When he met Emperor Longfeng, he never said any flattering words and rarely spoke nonsense. He presented Chen He's confession directly to him.

"Chen He has confessed. This is his confession."

Emperor Longfeng took it and just glanced at it casually, but when he saw Yin Chengjing's name, he stopped and his face gradually became ugly: "It's the third brother?"

In his impression, the third son Yin Chengjing never liked to participate in government affairs or make friends with officials. Although he was a bit dissolute and always hung out with actors, he didn't have to inherit the throne, so it didn't matter if he was a little indulgent. In addition, Yin Chengjing's biological mother, Concubine De, was an old lady in the Qian Mansion. Although she was no longer pretty, she was gentle and considerate, so he was willing to visit her occasionally.

Therefore, while he felt relieved about his son, he also showed some tolerance and love for him.

But the confession presented by Xue Shu now broke his consistent impression of the third brother.

Unbeknownst to him, the third brother had colluded with Chen He and got a share of the profits from the Changlu Salt Field!

Emperor Longfeng was always suspicious. He had never suspected Yin Chengjing before, but now he was suspicious. He began to wonder if Yin Chengjing had really only been involved in this one incident over the years? Were there other officials in the court working for the third son?

Originally, he thought that the Crown Prince was the only one threatening him, and he intended to support the Second Son to check and balance the Crown Prince. But now it seems that the Crown Prince is not the only one eyeing the throne under his butt.

Emperor Longfeng suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "Go and summon the third prince!"

When Yin Chengjing was summoned to Yu's study, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Today, something happened in the banana garden, and Emperor Longfeng summoned him. No matter how you look at it, he is involved in both. But he had already cleaned up the matter of the banana garden, so no matter how they investigate, they can't find anything to do with him.

Yin Chengjing calmed himself down and went into Yu's study.

When he saw Xue Shu standing beside him, his eyelids twitched for no apparent reason. Just as he was about to salute, Emperor Longfeng threw an inkstone at his feet, splashing ink all over him.

Yin Chengjing was startled and knelt down immediately, looking panicked: "Father, please calm down. I wonder what I have done wrong?"

Seeing him pretending to be innocent, Emperor Longfeng smiled. He looked at his son for a long time, as if he was meeting him for the first time. After a long while, he threw Chen He's confession at Yin Chengjing's feet: "You can read it yourself."

Yin Chengjing's heart skipped a beat. He picked up the confession and took a look at it. He immediately threw his head to the ground and said, "It is all because of my son's evil mind. Please don't let me get angry and hurt your health."

Seeing that he was not making excuses, Emperor Longfeng's anger subsided a little, and he looked at him with an unreadable expression: "Oh? Can you tell me what's going on?"

Yin Chengjing's eyes were dark, and he trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, you know that I have always loved to keep actors. Two years ago, I fell in love with a famous actor and wanted to recruit him, but I was short of money... At that time, I happened to have some friendship with the second son of Minister Chen's family. When I was drunk, I overheard him reveal the deal between Minister Chen and Wan Youliang, and I became interested..."

He was well aware of Emperor Longfeng's concerns, so he pushed all transactions between him and Chen He into a monetary relationship.

Emperor Longfeng would feel more at ease with a dissolute playboy who mixed into government affairs in order to support actors than a scheming and ambitious son who tried to win over ministers and covet the throne.

After listening to him, Emperor Longfeng's expression softened. However, he was suspicious and did not believe him completely. He just said with a sullen face, "No matter what your motive is, you have made a big mistake by invading the salt policy. Considering that this is your first offense, you will be fined one year's salary and confined for three months. And the actors in your house are too corrupt. I will dismiss them when I go back today."

Yin Chengjing seemed calm at first, but when he heard that Emperor Longfeng wanted him to dismiss the actors, his eyes became turbulent.

Deducting salary or confinement was not a big deal, but many of those actors were his secret agents that he had cultivated with great effort, and they were just using their identities as actors to pass on information. If they were dismissed and forced to go into secret, it would be inconvenient for them to act in the future.

He wanted to say something else, but Emperor Longfeng didn't want to listen anymore. He waved his hand and sent the man away.

Yin Chengjing gritted his teeth and retreated, having to endure it for the time being.

Xue Shu glanced at him and curled his lips imperceptibly.

After Yin Chengjing left, the emperor looked at Xue Shu again and asked another question: "I heard that the prince summoned you today."

He seemed to be asking casually, but Xue Shu did not ignore the temptation in his eyes.

Xue Shu did not deny it either, and bowed and replied, "Yes. Your Highness the Crown Prince drank a little too much today, and probably recalled some unpleasant things that happened between you and me in Tianjin. He punished me to kneel for half an hour, and gave me a set of clothes that I had worn before, and asked me to wash them."

He lowered his head, and his tone was as calm as ever.

Emperor Longfeng had not expected such an answer. He was surprised for a moment, then he laughed: "The prince has always been kind, why is he so rude to you?"

"My personality has never been very pleasing, so it is understandable that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince dislikes me." Xue Shu did not seem to be dissatisfied: "Besides, I am loyal to Your Majesty, so as long as Your Majesty trusts me, it is enough."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longfeng's smile widened, and there was no more probing intent in his eyes.

The reason why he valued Xue Shu was because of his unpleasant personality. If Xue Shu was like Gao Xian and others, good at currying favor with others and getting close to the princes and courtiers, he would be worried.

The more people hated and impeached Xue Shu, the more relieved he felt.

Emperor Longfeng was in a good mood. After praising him, he sent him away.

When Xue Shu came out of his study, it was already dark outside.

He glanced in the direction of Ciqing Palace from a distance, and realized that many eyes were probably on the prince today. It would be inconvenient for him to go there, so he went straight back to Xichang.

Although he is now the actual person in charge of the West Factory, Xue Shu still lives in the room he was assigned at the beginning. His room is extremely simply furnished, with no unnecessary items except the necessary utensils.

After returning to the room, Xue Shu closed the doors and windows, turned on the lights, and then took out Yin Chengyu's clothes.

The clothes were packed in the package and were already a little wrinkled. Xue Shu stroked them carefully with his fingers and gently smoothed out the wrinkles. The material of the prince's robe was naturally very good, the satin was soft and smooth, and when his fingertips stroked it, it felt like delicate skin.

Xue Shu suddenly recalled the figure reflected on the screen.

The screen was so thin and the room was so quiet that even though Yin Chengyu tried to slow down his movements and lower his voice, he could still see and hear everything.

Xue Shu closed his eyes, and the expression on Yin Chengyu's face when he threw his changed clothes to him appeared in front of him again.

His plump lips were slightly curled, and his eyes looking down at him were like a baited hook, leading him to indulge in it step by step.

Knowing clearly that it was a trap and a wrong path from which there was no return, he stepped into it willingly and excitedly.

Xue Shu held up the snow-white undershirt, buried his face in it, and took a deep breath.

The fragrance of snow plum and the scent of heather are mixed together, and the clear and cold fragrance of winter plum is also tainted with the breath of desire, making people want to pick it and desire to possess it.

The author has something to say:

Gougou: Your Highness must be seducing me.

Your Highness:

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