Good! My stupid son finally rebelled!

kindness?

Xiao Yuanshan trembled violently upon hearing this. He obviously did not expect that Emperor Wu would be so eager to let him enter the palace at this time?

There must be something fishy.

Although Xiao Yuanshan was surprised, he did not dare to delay for a moment. He quickly got up and rushed towards the imperial city. When he arrived outside the imperial study, he carefully inquired.

pity.

Apart from Liu Jin, no one knew what had happened. This made Xiao Yuanshan frown, and he had a bad feeling in his heart, as if something big had happened.

inside the house.

Emperor Wu actually knew that Xiao Yuanshan was coming, but he did not choose to summon him. Instead, he deliberately kept him hanging.

at this time.

Strictly speaking, Emperor Wu had already taken Xiao Yuanshan for granted: "This old man is the Minister of Revenue of Daqian. Such a big thing happened below, but he didn't say anything at all."

"I trusted him so much."

“It’s really hateful.”

Emperor Wu wanted to slap Xiao Yuanshan a few times, but after all, he was his brother who had been with him from nothing to everything, so it was inevitable that Emperor Wu would have some reservations about their old friendship, not to mention Concubine Xiao and Ling Yu.

This is also the reason why he did not touch Xiao Yuanshan.

One night passed in the blink of an eye.

The next day.

When the first rays of sunlight in the early morning shone down, the entire inner courtyard of the imperial palace seemed to be covered with a layer of silver frost, which looked very beautiful. However, Xiao Yuanshan had no intention of appreciating such a beautiful scenery.

He hadn't slept or gotten up all night, so his knees were already numb. He kept tapping them to relieve the pain.

inside the house.

Liu Jin respectfully brought a bowl of lotus seed soup to Emperor Wu: "Your Majesty, Duke Xiao has been kneeling outside all night."

"Humph."

Emperor Wu snorted: "This old man kneels down for his own good. Otherwise, he really thinks that he is second to none and can do whatever he wants."

"As long as I am still here, the prince will always be the prince."

Liu Jin was shocked by Emperor Wu's words and bowed quickly: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life and not old yet."

"Go to hell." Emperor Wu cursed and drank the lotus seed soup in his hand: "Let that old bastard Xiao Yuanshan roll in."

"Yes."

Liu Jin came back to his senses and hurried out of the house. Xiao Yuanshan noticed that the door was open, and his eyes were filled with anticipation. When he opened his eyes, he found that the person who came was Liu Jin, with a smile on his face.

"Liu Zongguan, is His Majesty willing to see me?"

"Ah."

Liu Jin quickly helped Xiao Yuanshan up and said, "My Lord, His Majesty is waiting for you. I will not accompany you any longer."

"and many more."

Xiao Yuanshan pressed Liu Jin's arm and chuckled, "Manager Liu, I heard that your spies were very active last night."

"I wonder what happened to make you so nervous?"

Xiao Yuanshan was clearly testing him, and Liu Jin did not hide it: "Duke, to be honest, the Sixth Prince sent back a message last night from 800 miles away, saying that a fine iron ore was discovered in Huaitong."

"Do you know what the refined iron ore means to my Daqian?"

"and."

"The ore has been mined. According to the information sent back by the Sixth Prince, the mined ore was enough to make a thousand elite weapons. Now, no one knows where these weapons are."

"I have been ordered to investigate this matter thoroughly. Your Majesty has been generous and given me ten days. If there is no clue, I am afraid that this is the end of me."

Although Liu Jin spoke in embarrassment, his eyes were always watching the changes in Xiao Yuanshan's expression.

iron ore?

When Xiao Yuanshan heard these two words, his eyes widened in disbelief, and his body trembled violently, as if he had been electrocuted: "How is this possible?"

"Your Highness, are you seeing things?"

Liu Jin shook his head: "Absolutely not. Besides, the person who mined it was the former governor Zhou Ren. Does the Duke know this guy?"

"Know...know him." Xiao Yuanshan's forehead was covered with cold sweat: "Manager Liu, this has nothing to do with me."

"Could it be that Your Majesty is suspicious of me?"

Xiao Yuanshan also knew what the ore meant, and was shocked. Liu Jin shook his head: "Duke, nothing has come to fruition yet, so don't think too much about it."

"And His Majesty didn't ask you to come here for this matter."

"In the secret letter sent back by His Highness this time, he specifically mentioned that he met some retired veterans in Huaitong. Their situation was no different from that of beggars."

"I am still a centurion of Daqian, and I ended up having to make a living by forging iron."

"I haven't seen anything about salary at all."

After Liu Jin finished speaking, Xiao Yuanshan almost fell to his knees, his face instantly turning pale. Liu Jin hurried forward to support him: "Duke, what are you doing?"

"Why such a great ceremony?"

"Get up quickly."

Liu Jin deliberately suppressed his laughter and stepped forward to support him. Xiao Yuanshan forced a faint smile and said, "Thank you, Manager Liu."

"The Duke."

Liu Jin said meaningfully: "Your Majesty has not been in a good mood recently, you must not go against His Majesty's wishes."

"Otherwise it will be very troublesome."

Xiao Yuanshan smiled bitterly and thanked him. Liu Jin sighed, "Duke, I'll take my leave now."

"After all, I still have to deal with some tedious matters, so I won't accompany the Duke for long."

"Good good."

Xiao Yuanshan nodded repeatedly and watched Liu Jin leave, the expression in his eyes constantly changing. Hearing the cough coming from inside the house, Xiao Yuanshan suddenly came back to his senses and his scalp went numb.

There was barely any hesitation.

Xiao Yuanshan bowed his head and entered the house, sweat dripping down his forehead: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."

kindness?

Emperor Wu simply nodded: "Kneeled outside all night?"

The gentle words were like thunder, exploding deep in Xiao Yuanshan's mind. In a few moments, Xiao Yuanshan completely prostrated himself on the ground: "Your Majesty, I heard that you were resting."

"I dare not disturb you."

Emperor Wu waved his hand to interrupt Xiao Yuanshan's words: "Don't be so polite."

"I only have one question for you today."

Emperor Wu's expression suddenly turned stern, and the latter's heart trembled: "Your Majesty, please feel free to speak up."

"I, an old minister, will tell you everything I know."

Emperor Wu smiled contemptuously: "You have been in the position of Minister of Revenue for so many years. I am afraid you have made a lot of money, right?"

thump!

Xiao Yuanshan was frightened and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, although I am in a high position, I dare not do anything disobedient."

"I hope Your Majesty will understand."

"For so many years, no matter what it is, I have always followed your majesty's orders and issued them completely without any reservations."

When Xiao Yuanshan said this, he almost cried. Facing Xiao Yuanshan's expression, Emperor Wu just smiled faintly: "Then why I heard that the Daqian soldiers retired."

“But they didn’t get the compensation they deserved.”

"Should you give me an explanation about this matter?"

When Xiao Yuanshan heard this, his expression suddenly changed: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I hope Your Majesty will punish me."

kindness?

Emperor Wu looked surprised and asked, "What crime have you committed?"

Gulu.

Xiao Yuanshan swallowed hard and said, "Your Majesty, three years ago, I, the old minister, made the decision on my own to reduce the salaries of the retired elite soldiers by half."

"I have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor."

"I hope your majesty will punish me."