Chapter 14: Even a Mosquito’s Leg is Meat

Chapter 14: Even a Mosquito’s Leg is Meat

Xiao Ce let out a bitter laugh, a ruthless gleam appearing on his face as he said, “For over a decade, they failed to kill me. Now, that possibility is even slimmer! In today’s matter, I have done no wrong. Imperial Father, even if you want to kill me, you need a reason, right?”

Nan Changfeng smiled and said, “Prince, you are right. It seems Lord Xing was correct; you have hidden depths, and the entire Imperial Court of Great Xiao has misjudged you. For our Great Xiao Kingdom to lose you as the Crown Prince is our Great Xiao’s loss.”

Seeing this, Xiao Ce looked towards the Death Row Prisoners on the side.

“Thanks also go to Lord Xing this time, for sending us these treasures.”

Nan Changfeng followed Xiao Ce’s gaze. “I did not expect you to discover the uniqueness of these men in such a short time, Prince? It seems Lord Xing’s careful plans were not in vain.”

Xiao Ce said, “Lord Nan, I will not make things difficult for you. Please trouble yourself to go to the palace and truthfully convey my meaning to His Majesty.”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce walked to Nan Changfeng’s ear and whispered a few words.

After listening, Nan Changfeng looked at Xiao Ce in surprise, clasping his hands and saying, “Prince, you are truly divine. This way, both sides can be satisfied.”

Xiao Ce waved his hand. “Lord Nan flatters me! I just trouble you, Lord Nan.”

Nan Changfeng clasped his hands. “It is my duty.”

After speaking, Nan Changfeng hurriedly went to the Imperial Palace.

…

Seeing this, Xiao Ce called out a name from the remaining group.

“Yan Jia.”

A tall, thin man walked out from the crowd.

The man’s appearance was ordinary, but a hooked nose paired with sharp eyes.

At one glance, one could see this man was extraordinary.

This Yan Jia was also someone Xiao Ce discovered while looking at their profiles earlier.

This man served as an archer in the army, claiming to have the skill of hitting a willow leaf at a hundred paces.

He was sentenced to death for the crime of desertion.

However, Xiao Ce did not believe such a man would desert.

There must be hidden reasons.

“Prince, I am here!”

Xiao Ce did not waste words. “This Prince appoints you to the position of Grand Commander, leading a thousand men. You choose them yourself. Wait here!”

After hearing Xiao Ce’s words, Yan Jia was somewhat stunned. “Prince, I was a deserter, that’s why I was sentenced to death.”

Xiao Ce looked at Yan Jia and said coldly, “I only believe what I see! The world says I am trash. Do you think I am?”

Yan Jia shook his head, his sharp gaze unwavering. “No!”

Xiao Ce patted Yan Jia’s shoulder. “This Prince has never misjudged anyone. Do you think you will desert again?”

Yan Jia’s gaze was firm. “Naturally not.”

Xiao Ce then said no more. “Then do well.”

With that, Xiao Ce led the remaining thousand men back to the Crown Prince’s Mansion.

As soon as they arrived at the Crown Prince’s Mansion, they saw many carriages parked at the entrance.

Lin Zhong was at the door to welcome them.

Seeing Xiao Ce returning with a large group of people,

Lin Zhong came over. “Prince, did everything go smoothly?”

Xiao Ce smiled and replied, “Of course everything went smoothly. Have all the influential families and nobles from the Capital arrived here? Shall we begin when they are here?”

Seeing this, Lin Zhong said, “Prince, do you really want to sell it?”

“If not to sell, then keep it for what? This Prince either does not return, but once I do return, This Prince will live in the Imperial Palace!”

If this were before today, Lin Zhong would have definitely thought the Crown Prince was talking nonsense.

But after Xiao Ce’s series of actions today, he felt it was not impossible.

“Prince, however, you’ve made such a stir in the Capital that even those powerful nobles dare not come. Those who came are merely some merchants.”

“Merchants are fine too. Merchants have money, don’t they?”

As Xiao Ce spoke, he asked Lin Zhong to lead the way.

…

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, Rong Heping was already in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

“Your Majesty, the King of Northern Desert has been enfeoffed, and he has taken three thousand Death Row Prisoners and surrounded the Treasury Department. This is rebellion…”

Rong Heping exaggerated his accusations against Xiao Ce.

Emperor Xiao Dingbang listened, his face livid. He slammed the table and said, “That useless beast! First he hit Yang’er, and now he dares to openly lead troops to blockade a government office! I am still in the palace, and he dares to be so arrogant and tyrannical, committing evil deeds.”

Xiao Yang quickly chimed in, “Yes! Imperial Father, is that trash Xiao Ce crazy?”

Xiao Dingbang stood up, his face dark. “Summon all the Black-Armored Guards for me. Come with me to see what exactly he wants to do…”

Just as he walked out, he bumped into Nan Changfeng who was hurrying over.

Rong Heping quickly said, “Lord Nan, why are you in such a hurry? Has your Military Affairs Department also been surrounded?”

Nan Changfeng nodded, clasped his hands, and said to Xiao Dingbang, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the King of Northern Desert brought an IOU and asked us for weapons, armor, money, and provisions for three thousand elite soldiers.”

Xiao Dingbang said, “Hmph, is he openly challenging me? Then I will go see for myself!”

“Your Majesty, I believe it is not advisable for you to go. Have you not heard? This matter actually has little to do with the King of Northern Desert,” Nan Changfeng said.

Xiao Dingbang was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Rong Heping, who had earlier exaggerated and omitted details unfavorable to Xiao Yang, quickly said, “Lord Nan, what do you mean by that? Surely you are not saying this is the Emperor’s fault!”

Nan Changfeng looked at Rong Heping and said, “Lord Rong, did you not report truthfully to His Majesty? This matter would not have come to this were it not for the obstruction by the Second Prince.”

Emperor Xiao Dingbang looked at Rong Heping and Xiao Yang beside him. Seeing their evasive glances, he guessed a thing or two.

“Lord Nan, what do you mean by that?”

Nan Changfeng explained the whole story from the beginning.

“Father, my intention was…”

Emperor Xiao Dingbang waved his hand and said, “Yang’er, you did nothing wrong either! And what you said was not wrong? That trash is just seizing an opportunity to cause trouble.”

Nan Changfeng was shocked. He knew the Emperor was biased, but he never imagined the Emperor could be this biased.

Indeed, when you dislike someone, even his breathing is wrong.

He now realized that the internal and external troubles of the Great Xiao Kingdom were not unrelated to the Emperor before him.

Seeing that Xiao Dingbang did not blame him, Xiao Yang let out a sigh of relief and said, “Imperial Father, then shall we arrest him for treason?”

Nan Changfeng hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, you cannot. This matter has become known throughout the city because of the King of Northern Desert! Moreover, the King of Northern Desert is in the right in this matter. If we rashly arrest him, I fear…”

Seeing Nan Changfeng stop halfway, Xiao Dingbang asked, “Fear what?”

Nan Changfeng prostrated himself on the ground. “I fear it may incite a popular uprising! If the news reaches the Northern Desert, with the Turkic war imminent! It may also shake the army’s morale!”

Emperor Xiao Dingbang’s gaze was sharp. He actually regretted it deep down.

He had now completely lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

“So, Lord Nan, in your opinion, what should we do?” Xiao Dingbang asked.

Nan Changfeng said, “Actually, the King of Northern Desert does not necessarily want Your Majesty’s rewards. He wants a protective talisman from Your Majesty, because the news of Your Majesty’s rewards for the King of Northern Desert has already spread. Part of these rewards are meant as army provisions! If the King of Northern Desert goes to provision the troops with just an IOU, I fear it will cause unrest!”

“Therefore, I believe we can first supply the weapons, money, and provisions for the three thousand Death Row Prisoners. Then, give a portion of the money and provisions for the army. As for the rewards for the King of Northern Desert himself, the King of Northern Desert has already said he can be understanding.”

“Then, Your Majesty can write an IOU document for the rewards of the King of Northern Desert’s fiefdom, and distribute the provisions for the army and the weapons, money, and provisions for the three thousand Death Row Prisoners.”

“This way, we can show that the Imperial Court is indeed in difficulty, but even under such hardship, it is willing to reward the border garrison troops! This sufficiently displays the Imperial Majesty’s awe! It can also stop the murmurs of the common people.”

Hearing this, Emperor Xiao Dingbang’s eyes brightened slightly. “Do you think he will agree? And how much money and provisions do you think is appropriate to give?”

Nan Changfeng said, “Your Majesty, if you trust me, I will surely satisfy the King of Northern Desert. There are a total of forty thousand garrison troops in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. According to the Military Affairs Department’s rules for army provisions, it is generally five to ten taels of silver per person. I believe, given the Great Xiao Kingdom’s tight finances, we should reward with five taels of silver and five jin of grain per person.”

“This way, the total for the army provisions would be two hundred thousand taels of Silver and two thousand dan of grain. Adding the provisions for the three thousand Death Row Prisoners. The total is only two hundred thousand taels of Silver and ten thousand dan of provisions. It is sufficient!”

Although Emperor Xiao Dingbang still felt some heartache hearing this, he agreed. “Alright, Lord Rong, you go with Lord Nan to convey my decree to Xiao Ce.”

Saying this, Emperor Xiao Dingbang went to write another document.

Nan Changfeng took the Emperor’s decree and bowed before leaving.

Xiao Yang looked resentful. “Imperial Father, are we really giving him so much money and grain?”

Emperor Xiao Dingbang said with an ugly expression, “Hmph, isn’t it because of your sharp tongue? However, I have my own plans. If he leaves empty-handed, he is actually safer. If we give him this much money and provisions, it will definitely affect his marching speed. Moreover, it’s like sending a fat sheep through the market!”

“Wouldn’t those bandits and rebels rob him? Lord Nan is right, the portion we give is for provisioning the army. If Xiao Ce is robbed of these money and provisions after taking them, would the border garrison troops let him off? At that time, I can also hold him accountable! Then, I can rightfully strip him of his princely title! By then, he would be a stray dog. Wouldn’t killing him be easier than stepping on an ant?”

“Imperial Father is wise. If so, he originally came to ask us for a protective charm? Little did he expect he was asking for a death warrant instead?” Xiao Yang’s earlier dejection vanished, replaced by excitement.

Emperor Xiao Dingbang looked at Xiao Yang’s gloating expression and said, “Before that trash leaves, don’t go looking for him either. Perhaps your Ninth Uncle has already set a trap for you over there.”

Xiao Yang, his face still swollen, nodded and said, “Imperial Father, your son knows… After he leaves the Capital, he will suffer.”

At this moment, in the Crown Prince’s Mansion, everyone was enthusiastically bidding!

Xiao Ce was using an auction method.

At first, these merchants were somewhat hesitant.

After all, Xiao Ce was a Deposed Crown Prince. And he had caused such a commotion in the Capital today…

They feared spending money to buy the mansion, only to have it confiscated by the Emperor later.

Later, the Prince of Zhenguo came personally to guarantee it.

Only then did the merchants start bidding one after another.

However, looking at their bids,

Xiao Ce was somewhat disappointed, because for such a large Crown Prince’s Mansion, after half a day of bidding, it only reached a little over a hundred thousand taels of Silver.

It seemed housing prices in ancient times were still not that great.

The Prince of Zhenguo, Xiao Dingshan, looked at Xiao Ce’s expression and said, “Ce’er, think it’s too little?”

Xiao Ce looked at the Prince of Zhenguo with a bitter smile. “Ninth Uncle, and this is thanks to your face. But even a mosquito’s leg is meat.”