"Regarding the matter of raising soldiers, the Xu family is using my money, but the soldiers they raise only listen to the Xu family. Moreover, the number of soldiers reported by the Xu family does not match the actual situation."
Fearing that asking the emperor for money would arouse suspicion, the Xu family lied, claiming their manor treasury had been robbed. In reality, they had secretly moved everything inside to support their army, yet still maintained that their treasury had been stolen.
"What?" Mr. Shi looked at the Crown Prince in shock, forgetting all etiquette, and spoke loudly.
The crown prince remained silent, his face filled with anger, and walked to the chair where he sat down.
"Your Highness, but didn't the Xu family support you? Why would they do this?" If it were anything else, it would be fine, but since it involves soldiers, this is no small matter.
The Xu family lied about the number of soldiers they were maintaining, which clearly showed their disloyalty. It's no wonder they were suspicious; a subject maintaining an army is not for self-preservation, but for rebellion.
"I don't know why the Xu family did this." The Crown Prince sat in his chair, and after his anger subsided, a look of dejection appeared on his face.
Xu Ding doted on him from a young age, comforting him when he was punished and fully supporting him when his father wanted to establish a crown prince.
He had entrusted him with almost the most important matters and had never doubted him. Now, suddenly someone was presenting the facts to him, telling him that the Xu family had been lying to him all along.
The crown prince simply could not accept this.
"Your Highness, how did you learn about this? Is the information reliable? Could someone be deceiving you?" Mr. Shi was clearly also incredulous, so he raised his questions.
“I sent ten trusted men to investigate this matter, but only one returned, covered in wounds, having been chased all the way back. He saw it with his own eyes, and he brought back the evidence.”
A trusted confidant? Since it was a trusted confidant who investigated, then it must be true. Mr. Shi glanced at the Crown Prince. He had been by the Crown Prince's side for many years and naturally knew what the Crown Prince was thinking at this moment.
However, the Crown Prince couldn't say it out loud, so he needed to have someone else express it so that when it was brought up later, he wouldn't feel it was his fault and wouldn't feel guilty.
Moreover, the Xu family still supports the Crown Prince, and since the Crown Prince has not found suitable supporters, it is not appropriate for him to fall out with the Xu family.
"Your Highness, in my humble opinion, the most urgent task is to deceive everyone." Mr. Shi quickly came up with an idea.
"What's the meaning?"
“Your Highness, the most important thing right now is to ensure that Lord Xu is unaware of your investigation. Those who are hunting down your confidants must be killed before they can send a message to Lord Xu.” Mr. Shi made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Your Highness, when did the pursuers stop? Did they follow him into the capital, or did they withdraw just outside the capital?" Mr. Shi asked hurriedly.
If they have already entered the capital, it means that Xu Ding may already know about this matter. If they have not yet entered the capital, we must intercept them and prevent them from spreading the news.
“Outside the capital, they stopped after seeing my men enter the capital and did not pursue the matter any further.” The Crown Prince sat up straight, knowing that the most important thing at the moment was to keep it from Xu Ding and absolutely not let him know about this.
"However, my confidants also had other identities at the time, so it might not be discovered that they were from the Crown Prince's residence."
“Your Highness, we cannot afford to take any chances with this matter. Even if they can't find out now, it doesn't mean they won't find out in the future. The people chasing you have seen the faces of Your Highness's confidants, so only by killing them can we ensure your safety for the time being.”
Moreover, to avoid arousing suspicion from the Xu family, the Crown Prince cannot send his own people to carry out the operation. Lord Xu is always cautious, and if the Crown Prince's people were to act, it would be easily discovered. Mr. Shi stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then came up with a solution.
"If I'm not suitable, then who else is willing to wade into this mess?" The Crown Prince felt that what Mr. Shi said made a lot of sense. He was so caught up in his anger that he forgot about the most important thing.
But who else but my own people would do this for me?
Almost instantly, a suitable option came to mind for the crown prince.
Mr. Shi already had the answer in his heart, but in order to highlight the Crown Prince's wisdom, he could only pretend to be troubled in thought. When he saw the Crown Prince's eyes light up, he quickly asked.
"Has the Crown Prince already chosen a suitable candidate?"
"Emerald Pavilion or Green Ripples Pavilion, they specialize in this kind of business, and as long as the money is there, they won't ask any questions." At this moment, the advantages of Emerald Pavilion and Green Ripples Pavilion suddenly became apparent.
They are neither affiliated with the imperial court nor subordinate to anyone, so they are the most suitable people to do this.
Mr. Shi's eyes lit up when he heard the two names. Although he had already thought of these two places, he still praised the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Highness is wise."
"But which one should we choose?" The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly. Qinglan Pavilion had not been around for long, but judging from his recent commissions, they had been very efficient and accurate in their work.
Cuiwei Pavilion has been in the capital for a long time, and Qinglan Pavilion is slightly cheaper than the other two. More importantly, he had previously entrusted both Qinglan Pavilion and Cuiwei Pavilion to investigate the Xu family's military training.
The message from Qinglan Pavilion arrived faster, although it was only half an hour later. But in matters like this, even a difference of just an incense stick's time can lead to drastically different outcomes.
"Then let's choose Qinglan Pavilion. The people from Qinglan Pavilion are very efficient." The Crown Prince made the final decision.
“The people from Qinglan Pavilion are indeed very suitable. However, Your Highness, I have a slight concern. Does Your Highness know the background of these two forces? I am worried that if one of these two forces is affiliated with the Xu family, then this matter may need to be reconsidered.” Mr. Shi frowned, somewhat worried.
"Mr. Shi can rest assured. Although we don't know whose power they are, they have absolutely no connection with the Xu family. They were the ones who found out about the Xu family last time."
Previously, the Crown Prince had also had this concern, so he commissioned two different agencies to investigate the matter. The results they found were almost identical, which is why he thought of this just now.
"Very well, Your Highness. Time waits for no one, this matter must be dealt with immediately." Upon hearing this, Mr. Shi also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't the Xu family, that was fine. If it were the Xu family, wouldn't that be walking into a trap?
The crown prince summoned someone in and quickly sent him there with the silver.
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