Mu Jin glanced at Su Yi and asked, "What are you doing in my residence?"
Su Yi said, "I originally wanted to come and have breakfast with A Jin, but I didn't expect it to be so lively here. Seeing that no one was there to entertain me, I found a place to sit and wait for A Jin to finish her business before coming to find you."
"Is that so? But I have many things to attend to and cannot entertain Your Highness Yi. If you are comfortable sitting on the roof, then please continue. I will not disturb Your Highness's good mood."
After Mu Jin finished speaking, she led Eleven and Qing'er toward the dining hall.
Su Yi curled his lips and muttered to himself, "This woman is truly heartless. On such a cold day, she didn't even invite me over for a cup of hot tea."
Qing'er glanced at Mu Jin and whispered, "Prince Yi has been waiting for Miss for a long time. Why don't we invite His Highness to the dining hall to have breakfast together?"
Mu Jin scoffed coldly, ignoring Qing'er's words.
A gust of wind swept by, and Su Yi gently landed beside Mu Jin. He said with some grievance, "You woman, you are so stingy. I stood on the rooftop all morning in the cold wind, and you wouldn't even offer me a cup of tea."
Mu Jin rolled her eyes at Su Yi: "Prince Yi, why did you send this cup of tea from the General's Mansion? Besides, if I don't give it to you, are you really not going to drink it?"
Hearing Mu Jin say this, Su Yi smiled with a hint of frivolousness and said, "That's true, Ah Jin really understands me."
Inside the dining hall, Su Yi was putting a steaming hot bun into his mouth. He closed his eyes and chewed carefully, then smiled and praised, "The breakfast at the General's Mansion is indeed extraordinary; it's much tastier than anywhere else."
Su Yi ate one dish after another, but Mu Jin moved the plate away from him.
"What business does King Yi have with me?"
Su Yi said, "Last night, everyone in my manor went out to help the General's Mansion catch that assassin. Today, no one is taking care of breakfast, so I thought I'd come to the General's Mansion to try my luck and see if there's any breakfast ready. I also wanted to ask A Jin for a serving! A Jin, give me another one."
"Was that assassin captured by your men this morning?" Mu Jin asked in surprise.
"Yes, my men searched outside all night. They put in so much effort and manpower. Is it too much to ask for breakfast in return?"
After listening, Mu Jin moved the plate back to Su Yi.
Su Yi picked up another steamed bun and put it in his mouth, smiling at Mu Jin as he said, "Thank you, Jin."
Su Yi's help in capturing the assassin was unexpected for Mu Jin. She couldn't understand why Su Yi would help her, nor did she have time to figure it out, because she still had to go out with Eleven to inquire about buying grain. So she stood up.
"Thank you, Prince Yi, for helping the General's Mansion capture the assassin. However, I have many matters to attend to today, so I will not keep you company any longer. Please enjoy your meal. If you are not full, the kitchen will send you more. There will be as much as you need."
After Mu Jin finished speaking, she turned to leave, but Su Yi grabbed her hand.
"Wait a minute, sit down first. I have something important to tell you."
Mu Jin frowned: "What is it?"
Su Yi blinked his charming eyes and smiled, "It must be a very important thing for A Jin."
Mu Jin sat back down at the dining table, narrowed her eyes, and looked at Su Yi with a look that clearly urged Su Yi to speak quickly and get to the point.
Su Yi pretended not to see it, and slowly picked up the bowl in front of Mu Jin, ladled a bowl of bird's nest porridge from the stew pot next to the dining table, placed it in front of Mu Jin, and smiled.
"Eat this bowl of porridge first, then I'll talk. I just saw you eat a piece of jade cake; that's hardly enough to fill you up."
Mu Jin thought to herself, "Su Yi is actually bothering me now: What is it?"
Su Yi looked at the bowl of bird's nest porridge in front of Mu Jin and gestured with his lips. Mu Jin had no choice but to take a spoonful and put it in her mouth.
"Ah Jin, are you planning to purchase a batch of grain recently? If I were to say that I know how to buy rice from the Southern Shu Kingdom, would Ah Jin be interested in this?"
Upon hearing Su Yi's words, Mu Jin's heart skipped a beat. Right now, she was indeed worried about how to buy grain. If what Su Yi said was true, that would be great.
Mu Jin asked, "Is this really true?"
Su Yi laughed: "Really?"
"What conditions would King Yi require for him to help me secure enough grain? After all, I need to buy quite a lot of grain."
Mu Jin asked Su Yi this because she didn't believe Su Yi would help her for no reason, but she didn't know if she could accept the conditions Su Yi offered.
Su Yi blinked his charming eyes and said with a smile, "As for these conditions, I need to think about them carefully."
Meanwhile, in the yamen, Li Yansong sat in Zhao Wude's study, picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and then put it down with trepidation.
Seeing Li Yansong's uneasy expression, Zhao Wude couldn't help but sneer inwardly, but he didn't show it on his face.
"Prefect Li, I am just asking a few routine questions. Just treat it as a discussion between colleagues about the case. There is no need to be nervous."
Li Yansong felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Why were there so many yamen runners standing around when colleagues were discussing the case? It was one thing to have yamen runners, but what about the clerks who had ground the ink and were sitting on the side waiting? This was not a discussion of the case between colleagues; it was clearly taking a confession from a prisoner.
Li Yansong forced a smile and said, "Lord Zhao is right."
"What crimes did those ten prisoners commit? When were they sentenced? When were they arrested and imprisoned?"
Li Yansong picked up his teacup again and took a sip of tea to mask his nervousness.
"In the early part of the eighteenth year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, the people in the Sishui area were frequently robbed and injured by this group of mountain bandits. Therefore, I ordered that the bandit's den be destroyed. All ten of them were sentenced to five to ten years in prison and were also tattooed with their names."
"Was it the negligence of the jailers in Sishui County, or...?"
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