Chapter 155 A Friendship
Xiao Yin knew what he wanted from a young age.
He was backed by a powerful family; his mother was one of the four imperial concubines.
He was exceptionally talented, and even his appearance was most similar to his father, the emperor.
Why should the position of crown prince be given to that incompetent fool!
Just because the crown prince was born to him and that woman?
How could a stable boy's daughter compare to her mother, who came from the Zheng family?
He had taken action against that good-for-nothing a few times.
He discovered that his father's men were actually protecting that good-for-nothing!
Everyone believed that the emperor was a benevolent ruler, and this changed with time.
He's old, and even a little senile.
But only he knew that his father was a true emperor.
He had witnessed his father's ruthless methods; this monarch was merely seeking a balance.
As long as he is still alive, the position of crown prince can only belong to that incompetent fool.
If his father discovered that he harbored ambitions to usurp the throne, he dared not gamble that he might be eliminated as a stumbling block to that incompetent fool.
Therefore, he disguised himself and secretly cultivated his own power.
Unfortunately, Qin Jinzhi has ruined everything!
He used to think that his father's favor towards Qin Jinzhi was just a display of imperial grace.
Now he was uncertain; he was unsure of the thoughts of this high and mighty monarch.
Should we investigate whether this was Qin Jinzhi's idea or the Emperor's idea?
Was Qin Jinzhi's disguise deliberate?
Where did she go three years ago when she wasn't at Baique Temple?
What did she learn from Zheng Wenbo?
If everything was a pretense, how could Qin Jinzhi, raised by someone like the Emperor, be an ordinary person?
Everything today is spiraling out of control.
“Your Highness, now that things have come to this, Zheng Wenbo cannot be allowed to live no matter what! As long as Zheng Wenbo and his family are dead, none of our worries will come to pass. You have already been granted the title of king. As long as we kill Zheng Wenbo, we can set off for our fiefdom immediately. At that time, the emperor will be far away, and we will have our own way to go!”
Xiao Yin's face was grim. "Transfer all the assassins kept outside the city to the capital."
"yes!"
Qin Jinzhi returned to the Thousand Birds Bureau, where Cui Ying was organizing files.
"What use would a prince have for a large amount of silver?"
Cui Ying thought for a moment, "We should try to win over the officials."
"What if the amount of silver he needs is so enormous that it cannot be calculated?"
Cui Ying put down the file, walked to the door, looked around, and then closed the door.
"Are you planning a rebellion?"
Qin Jinzhi was speechless.
Cui Ying curled her lips and said, "Among the people I know, only you have money to this extent. You've already started to win over officials. The next step will definitely be to raise an army. You don't even need to raise one. Your Qin family already has a million-strong army. Rebellion is a piece of cake for you."
Qin Jinzhi was satisfied with her answer. "Then tell me, if someone else were raising an army, where would they hide so many people?"
Cui Ying thought for a moment, "I don't know, I guess they'll be kept in some deep mountain forest, otherwise it would be a serious crime of treason if so many people were discovered."
Qin Jinzhi lay back in the chair, swinging her legs, and remained silent for a moment. "Have the Thousand Bird Guards spread some news for me."
Cui Ying looked completely innocent. "What news?"
Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow. "Just say that I brought someone from the Zheng family into the Thousand Birds Bureau for protection."
Cui Ying pursed her lips, wondering which unlucky guy she had targeted this time.
With so much silver in taxes, aside from bribing officials, Xiao Yin must have used it to support his army.
If he is not discovered, he can lead his troops into the capital when his grandfather passes away and the crown prince ascends the throne.
But where will he keep so many soldiers?
"Princess! Li Jin requests an audience!"
"Come in!"
Li Jin walked in from outside. "Princess, these past few days, the two flower maids and I have checked all the spice shops in the capital, but none of them sell it. However, I heard that someone sells this stuff on the black market. It is said that a box of Cold Toad Incense is worth a thousand gold pieces."
Qin Jinzhi frowned. The black market was a chaotic place; once you reached it, half the trail went cold.
"Then let's investigate the materials needed to make Cold Toad Incense and see if anyone is a long-term buyer of the raw materials for making Cold Toad Incense."
Li Jin pulled a list from his pocket. "This is a list of all the long-term raw material buyers."
Qin Jinzhi chuckled softly. It seemed that bringing Li Jin under her command was a wise move.
"Find some people to keep an eye on these people and see who among them has dealings with the Crown Prince. If they don't have enough money, they can get it from the accounting office."
Li Jin put the list away. "Yes, Princess! I'll go right now."
"etc!"
Li Jin turned around and asked, "Does the princess have any further instructions?"
Qin Jinzhi said, "Go back and give me a list of places outside the capital where a large number of people can be hidden."
"I'll go back and prepare right away."
After Li Jin left, a Thousand Bird Guard came over.
"Commander, Eunuch Hong has arrived."
Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow, "Eunuch Hong?"
When she went out, Eunuch Hong looked at her with a smile.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Shen Changqing, the Military Governor of Jiangnan, shall be temporarily imprisoned in the Thousand Birds Bureau. So be it!"
Qin Jinzhi frowned. "What the hell?"
Eunuch Hong carefully handed over the imperial edict and asked everyone around him to step back.
Then he whispered, "Shen Changqing has been escorted to the capital, but everyone is declining to take on the case regarding the floods in Jiangnan. They can't just leave him out there, so..."
Qin Jinzhi was speechless. "They were afraid of being implicated and refused to take him, so they sent him to me."
Eunuch Hong smiled ingratiatingly.
Qin Jinzhi snatched the imperial edict. "It seems this Jiangnan military governor is quite powerful. So many people in the capital dare not take his case. It seems he has a lot of leverage over him. Fine, I'll take him in."
Eunuch Hong breathed a sigh of relief. "Then this old servant will return to the palace to report."
As soon as Qin Jinzhi turned around, a small gold ingot was in the hand of Eunuch Hong.
Since she doesn't dare to do it, then she will go after Shen Changqing.
Qin Jinzhi arrived at the prison cell, where Shen Changqing was meditating calmly.
He showed no signs of dishevelment.
"Chen, Changqing, the military governor of Jiangnan, you're quite imposing. So many people dare not take your case."
Qin Jinzhi sat across from him in his cell, peeling an orange.
Shen Changqing opened his eyes and looked Qin Jinzhi up and down.
“You are Ziyi’s daughter, but you don’t resemble him at all; you resemble his wife.”
Qin Jinzhi nodded and put a segment of orange into her mouth.
"You know my father?"
Shen Changqing nodded calmly, "We have a relationship."
Qin Jinzhi nodded. "How deep is your friendship?"
Shen Changqing gestured with his hand to indicate a distance the same width as his face.
"About this deep."
Qin Jinzhi raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you save him when he died?"
Shen Changqing thought for a moment, "There's no way to save him."
Qin Jinzhi tossed him the remaining half of the orange, "Tell me about it?"
Shen Changqing didn't stand on ceremony and started eating right away.
"I can't tell you here. Let me out, and I'll tell you."
Qin Jinzhi smiled and said, "Then call me when you're ready to talk."
"Don't you really want to know how your father died?"
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