The workers who built the basement are all buried underground; no one will leak a word of it.
Yun Duoduo's eyelids twitched. [Oh my god, I thought this guy was just greedy, but I never expected he had blood on his hands?!]
You've got some nerve, haven't you?!
"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I absolutely did not sell smuggled salt!" Huang Meipin frantically waved his hands to clarify.
"Oh, so Lord Huang really built a basement?"
“In Nanyang, building a basement without permission is a violation of Nanyang’s laws!”
Yun Duoduo looked at Huang Meipin with feigned surprise.
Because officials in the previous dynasty had built basements without permission to persecute and abuse children and women, from then on, it was forbidden to alter buildings without authorization. If any alterations were to be made, an application had to be submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for approval.
Huang Meipin clearly did not follow the regulations and privately built a basement of unknown purpose without the court's knowledge.
Huang Meipin's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.
Tan Biao's lips trembled slightly, and he gave Yun Duoduo a meaningful look.
Yun Duoduo felt a malicious gaze falling on her. She turned her head and saw Tan Biao looking at her fiercely. Yun Duoduo pricked up her ears and listened carefully, but Tan Biao's mind was very calm and she could not hear anything.
[You pervert, you're next!]
Yun Duoduo had a vague feeling that if she didn't deal with Tan Biao soon, she would be the one to suffer in the future.
"Well, Huang Meipin, how dare you!" Yun Beiye slammed his fist on the table, already enraged.
"Guards! Please summon Lord Huang to the imperial prison!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare me! I... I was confused for a moment, Your Majesty..."
"Hmph, a moment of folly! Are you going to use the funds meant for resettling refugees to build a castle in the air?!"
Where is Xiao Xuheng?
"Your subject is here!" Xiao Xuheng, the commander of the Imperial Guards, knelt before the palace.
So his name was Xiao Xuheng. He used to be called Commander Xiao. This was the first time Yun Duoduo had ever heard of Commander Xiao's name.
The Xiao family members all have such nice-sounding names; one is Xiao Xuheng, and the other is Xiao Jinyu.
"Go to the Huang residence and investigate. You must get to the bottom of this!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After receiving the order, Xiao Xuheng led a troop of imperial guards to the Huang residence.
"Alright, you may all leave now. I'm tired too." Yun Beiye rested his hand on the table, rubbing his temples and sighing inwardly.
Huang Meiping possessed considerable skill in military command and managing subordinates. As the Prefect of the Capital, he performed his duties reasonably well, and no major disturbances occurred in the capital.
Unexpectedly, they had secretly built a basement.
[His salary was far too low for such extravagance; he must have embezzled a considerable amount of the court's funds.]
"We, your humble servants, take our leave."
Seeing Yun Beiye's displeasure, Tan Biao and Kang Fuguo tactfully bowed and prepared to leave.
Kang Fuguo had just turned around when he suddenly remembered something and came back. “Your Majesty, since Lord Huang has been dismissed, the Prefect of the Capital cannot be without a leader. I believe that Young Master Jin, Jin Jinzhi, is very suitable.”
"Yes, from this day forward, Jin Jinzhi will take over the position of Prefect of the Capital!"
Yun Beiye caught a glimpse of Tan Biao out of the corner of his eye. Just as Tan Biao was about to recommend someone else, Yun Beiye pointed to Jin Jinzhi.
Tan Biao swallowed hard, saying nothing more, but his gaze on Kang Fuguo held a hint of malice.
[Master Kang, danger. 】
Yun Duoduo gently patted Yun Beiye's shoulder and comforted him, "Father, Father, please rest for a while. Duoduo won't disturb you in the Zichen Palace anymore."
Yun Beiye nodded and said nothing more.
Yun Duoduo left the Zichen Palace, looked at the thick snow piled up on the ground in the palace, and then looked at the empty palace road and pavilion in front of the Zichen Palace.
"Oh dear, isn't anyone coming to pick up this princess?"
When she arrived in the morning, she sent Ah Xiang back first. In the past, Zhao Zhongquan and Xia Xiazi would escort her back to Fushuang Palace, but today, Zhao Zhongquan and Xia Xiazi were both sent away to attend to other matters.
Her own father also had many worries, and she was unwilling to trouble the already few servants in the Zichen Palace.
The snow on the ground was very deep. Yun Duoduo walked down the steps and stepped into the snow, with half of her leg almost sinking into it.
[Emma, this snow is really deep.]
"Little princess? This old minister will escort the little princess back."
Kang Fuguo saw Yun Duoduo standing at the entrance of Zichen Palace, looking around. He walked over to Yun Duoduo with a smile.
Seeing the fawning smile on Kang Fuguo's face, Tan Biao scoffed disdainfully, "Hmph, sycophantic and pedantic!"
"That stinking old geezer actually tries to curry favor with His Majesty's favorite; he's utterly despicable!"
"You spineless wretch!"
After saying that, he glared at Yun Duoduo, rolled his eyes at Kang Fuguo, and left.
Yun Duoduo glanced sideways at Tan Biao, cursing inwardly, "[He seems to have that serious illness!]"
[Tan Biao is truly laughable for lacking integrity; he acts as if he knows what integrity is.]
"Let's go, this old minister will escort the little princess back."
Kang Fuguo bent down and picked up Yun Duoduo.
"Thank you, Uncle Kang."
When Kang Fuguo heard Yun Duoduo call him "uncle," he was very happy, and his eyes and brows were full of smiles.
He carried Yun Duoduo in his arms as they walked through the snow, making a "crunch, crunch" sound.
"These eunuchs and maids in the palace are so lazy. They don't even bother to clear away this thick layer of snow."
"If His Majesty and the Empress find out, they will definitely be in big trouble."
“Yes, Duoduo thinks so too.” Yun Duoduo finished speaking and then yawned widely.
"The little princess may not know this, but this old minister has a granddaughter named Kang Miaomiao, who is a bit older than the little princess. This old minister also has a grandson who is about the same age as the third prince."
“A while ago, they were saying they were choosing a study companion for the little princess. Originally, this old minister wanted my granddaughter to come to the palace to accompany the little princess in her studies as well.”
As Kang Fuguo spoke, he took off the official hat he was wearing and put it on Yun Duoduo's head.
The hat was huge. After Yun Duoduo put it on, everything went dark, and she couldn't see anything.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Kang Fuguo, worried that Yun Duoduo would get cold, used his hat to block the snowflakes from falling on her head.
[Uncle Kang is so kind! Oh, where's my little cotton hat?]
Yun Duoduo remembered that she had left her hat in the Zichen Palace.
"However, our Emperor probably felt that this old minister was in charge of money and that his family was too materialistic, so he refused to let his granddaughter enter the palace," Kang Fuguo continued.
【this……】
Yun Duoduo felt a little embarrassed and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
She was about to speak, to say something like, "Father didn't mean that, Lord Kang is overthinking it."
Before she could speak, Kang Fuguo continued, "My grandson, Qiming, is quite clever and quick-witted. He accompanied me to the palace today. If the princess doesn't mind, she may take a look."
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