Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, we'll find a place to nitrate it later. But it's only noon now, so let's grab something to eat first and then continue our journey. We'll nitrate it whenever we find a water source."
After she finished speaking, she took the basin out of the warehouse, washed her hands, and the two of them ate something quickly before setting off. Today was their third day on the mountain, and tomorrow would be the fourth day. Dark Night would surely have returned by then.
As for the dark night she had been talking about, after traveling for a day and two nights, changing horses several times along the way, they finally arrived in the capital. Of the emperor's sons, only the crown prince had his own residence and needed to live outside the palace; the other princes all lived in the palace.
Only after the crown prince ascends the throne and they are granted the title of prince can they move out of the palace. Of course, if a prince has made meritorious contributions, he will also be granted the title of prince in advance and move out of the palace. However, so far, no prince has been granted the title of prince.
Having evaded the palace guards and attendants, An Ye finally entered the Second Prince's palace. With the permission of the captain of the guards, he was led into the Second Prince's study.
"Second Prince, these are letters that Madam An and Madam Xia asked me to bring back." An Ye clasped his hands in a salute before taking out the thick stack of letters from his bosom.
With the Second Prince's permission, Shadow took the letter and placed it on the table. Xiao Zili picked up the top one, glanced at it, and then, suppressing his excitement, began to read the rest.
"Dark Night, Madam An, did they say anything?"
An Ye shook his head. "No, that night, after Madam An and Madam Xia dealt with the assassins sent by Magistrate Liu, they went to Jinnan City. I went with them. When they returned, they only asked me to give the letter to my master, and said nothing else."
He was too excited at the time. He should have asked Madam An and Madam Xia if there was anything he needed to tell them. But since they didn't call him, it must mean they had nothing to say.
Xiao Zili finished reading all the letters before leaning back in her chair. "They didn't send me anything. I thought they would ask me for something after such a great achievement."
“Master, isn’t it perfect that Madam An and Madam Xia don’t want any benefits? They said before that as long as you are willing, they can help you get that position. Now it seems that this is the first step. As long as we seize this opportunity, you can enter the Hanlin Academy.”
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Zili instructed, "An Ying, go and tell the Left Chancellor and the Grand Commandant that I'm entrusting my entry into the Hanlin Academy to them."
"Yes, Master." Shadow said, and then disappeared.
Looking at Dark Night standing in front, he said, "Go back and protect Madam An and the others. Tell me that I am very grateful... Well, that's a bit unnecessary. Later, have Dark Rain pick out some things from the storeroom and take them back to the two ladies. Then go to Dark Moon and take Flying Eagle away. If anything happens, send me a message. Running back will waste time."
Dark Night clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Yes, Master. I shall take my leave now." With that, he left to find Dark Moon and Dark Rain.
Looking at the letter on the table, Xiao Zili rarely smiled. Lord Wu, if he was not mistaken, this was the Right Chancellor's relative by marriage, the Prefect of Baiyun City. He did not expect him to be so bold as to mint coins privately. He just did not know whether the Right Chancellor was involved.
Unfortunately, he is still too weak. Even with the participation of the Right Chancellor, he is not able to contend with him. After all, the Right Chancellor is Consort Xu's father and the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather. If it weren't for the Emperor's concern about the Right Chancellor's family becoming too powerful, and the fact that Consort Xu had already become Empress, his mother would have died long ago instead of being the puppet she is now.
His father thought he was very clever, using a fake empress to replace his mother. But his father didn't know that from the first moment he saw the fake empress when he was five years old, he had already recognized that she was fake. His maternal grandfather and uncles also knew this, but were just waiting for the right opportunity.
Now that we have these letters, although we can't bring down the Right Chancellor, it's worth it to bring down his in-laws. With the help of the Left Chancellor and the Grand Commandant, he can also smoothly enter the Hanlin Academy.
The next morning, Xiao Zili took the letter to the Taiqing Hall. After being informed by the eunuchs in the hall, he was allowed to enter. As soon as he entered, he noticed several pairs of sharp eyes. He knew whose eyes they were without even looking, but he was not afraid at all and walked forward without changing his expression.
Then he knelt in the hall and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace!"
The Emperor glanced at his second son below and said, "Rise. What brings you here?"
Although he didn't like this son, he was still his son, and he needed to keep the Protector General in check. Even if he didn't like him, he still had to send people to protect and take care of him. Fortunately, this son was timid enough to stay in the palace every day and didn't go out to cause him any trouble.
Xiao Zili stood up and lowered his head slightly. "Father, I went to Jinnan City some time ago and discovered something strange there. But because I wasn't sure, I came back early and only left the guards to investigate."
"Yesterday, the guards reported that Magistrate Liu of Jinnan City has been audacious enough to not only steal and sell official land, but also to mint coins without authorization. These are his correspondence with another official, and there are other letters here as well."
Before he finished speaking, he glanced at the Right Chancellor without making a sound. Seeing the change in his expression, he knew that the Right Chancellor was also involved in this matter. His father was truly pathetic. There were countless people in the court who were the Right Chancellor's men, yet he was still complacent, thinking that it was all because of his good management.
After hearing what he said, the Emperor's face turned extremely ugly. "Zhao Jin, go and present the letter to me for me to see."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Jin stepped down, took the letter, and presented it to the emperor.
After carefully examining the letter, the Emperor slammed it on the table in a fit of rage. "Zhao Jin, show this letter to the other ministers!"
"These correspondences have been going on for several years. Why didn't anyone notice for so long? What were you doing?"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
"Censor Liu, Minister Chen, investigate this matter for me. If it is true, execute their entire families."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Imperial Censor Liu and Minister Chen stood up shakily, then hurriedly made their way outside.
"Speak if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned!" Zhao Jin shouted loudly.
Seeing that no one was speaking and everyone had lowered their heads, he had no choice but to shout, "Court adjourned!"
The emperor stood up abruptly, flicked his sleeves, and left, followed by the other eunuchs and palace maids.
Xiao Zili watched the departing ministers, who were gathered together discussing something, and then slowly made his way to the palace.
"Second brother is truly capable. He hasn't left the palace for several years, and on his first trip out, he discovered such a significant matter. It truly surprises Your Majesty," said Crown Prince Xiao Zicheng as he walked over.
He thought the assassins he sent out last time would kill him, but he was incredibly lucky. Not only did he survive, he returned safely. It seems that the assassins were sent by the Grand General, otherwise the palace guards would not have been able to withstand them.
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