My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

Cui Qimo was skeptical.

After the death of the previous emperor, he did not leave him a single copper coin from his father's private treasury. He had also looked everywhere to find out where the silver and money in his father's private treasury had gone, but he had never been able to find it.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but believe it a little more.

The man continued, "But because the late emperor left in a hurry, only Eunuch Fu was told where the money was. Many years ago, Prince Jing got the news from somewhere, but he was helpless because he thought Eunuch Fu had already passed away with the late emperor. Today, he learned that Eunuch Fu might still be alive, so he thought about finding Eunuch Fu and asking him the truth."

Just for money?

At this moment, Cui Qimo felt that either he was a big fool, or his son was a ruthless person.

The late emperor and Eunuch Fu loved him so much since he was a child, and all he wants is money?

If he really wanted to break into the Dali Temple dungeon just for a large sum of money, it was indeed not worth it, so he chose to leave when he couldn't get in.

"Are you sure they haven't discovered your identity? Am I not saying this intentionally just for you?" Cui Qimo asked cautiously.

"Your Majesty, it's impossible. I have been hiding very well over the years. Although I cannot replace Zhuang Xiang's position in Prince Jing's heart for the time being, Prince Jing never hides anything from me."

Cui Qimo nodded with satisfaction, thinking of the time when Mei Xueer was abducted by the prince and Cui Hongjing went to chase her with an injured leg, and he did not hide it from this person and even took him along.

There was also that time when Mei Xueer came to question Cui Hongjing after she learned that he had said in front of the emperor that she had lost her virginity and could not have children, and she even chopped down the osmanthus tree. Cui Hongjing did not hide the whole process from him.

And the day before Prince Xiao's wedding, he opened the mechanism behind the calligraphy and painting without hiding it from this person - although he didn't find anything suspicious in the dark room later.

Over the years, this person has brought back a lot of news about Prince Jing's Mansion. If Cui Hongjing really suspected him, he would definitely be on guard against him at all times and would never let him know so much.

Perhaps, he really had never doubted this person.

Maybe, I really thought too much.

Perhaps, that will was also a figment of the imagination, and what the late emperor left him was nothing more than a fortune sufficient to ensure his wealth and prosperity for the rest of his life.

Perhaps, he really was just an ungrateful person who had completely forgotten the favor the late emperor had shown him and only thought about how to protect himself.

If all you want is a lifetime of wealth and honor, I can grant you that.

"You go back first. This time, follow Prince Jing on the Western Expedition. Keep a close eye on me along the way. If there is solid evidence... don't be lenient, and don't ask for permission." Cui Qimo waved away the people kneeling at his feet, racked his brains for a long time, and suddenly stood up, "Old man!"

Eunuch Li pushed the door open quietly and walked in. "Your Majesty."

"Put on plain clothes and follow me to the Ministry of War."

……

The Zhenguo Military Department also has a dungeon, which is used to detain those who have committed crimes in the army.

If someone in the army committed a crime, either the crime was serious and reported directly to the emperor. After approval, if he was able to survive temporarily, he would be sent to the Ministry of Justice's prison or the Dali Temple's dungeon; or he would be given a minor punishment and imprisoned in the Ministry of War for a few days.

Therefore, the dungeon of the Ministry of War was equivalent to a temporary or transitional prison, not big, and the guards were relatively lax. Many people even forgot that there was a dungeon in the Ministry of War.

The dungeon of the Ministry of War is located in the northeast corner of the Ministry of War. It has only a small iron door for entry and exit, and is not hidden. What is hidden is that there is a tunnel under the dungeon, and at the end of the tunnel, there is a cell.

This cell had no windows, and there was no sunlight all day long. The only light was the dim oil lamp.

A gray-haired old man was standing hunched in front of a stone wall, holding a stone in his left hand and drawing something on the wall.

The dim light from the passage shone in, casting the swaying, mottled shadows of the iron bars on his face.

Hearing the footsteps approaching, the old man slowly turned around, glanced at Cui Qimo, without any reaction, then turned back and continued painting on the wall.

Cui Qimo looked in the direction of his hand and said in a low voice, "Eunuch Fu, have you figured it out? How many days have you been here?"

Eunuch Fu did not even turn his head and answered slowly, "There are still twenty-eight days left, and it will be exactly fifteen years. The emperor has never treated me badly in providing me with three meals a day, so I am still breathing and can calculate how long it has been since the late emperor passed away."

"How dare you! You don't even kneel when you see the emperor!" Eunuch Li shouted harshly.

Cui Qimo waved at Eunuch Li, sneered, and walked in.

"Do you think that as long as you don't tell me what the late emperor left behind for Prince Jing, I won't kill you? That's why you are so fearless?"

A trace of mockery appeared on Eunuch Fu's face. "Your Majesty is merciful! Over the years, you only cut off one of my arms, and left me with my left arm, so that I can eat and count the days. I can still speak, hear, and see."

"Eunuch Fu is almost sixty, right?"

"Thanks to the emperor, I am still alive." He turned his head suddenly, staring at Cui Qimo with his cloudy eyes. His face, which was full of wrinkles, looked sickly pale because he had not seen the sun for many years.

Cui Qimo suddenly sighed, and said with some grief, "Eunuch Fu, why do you have to do this? You have served the late emperor loyally for decades. As a son, how can I not be grateful, and how could I kill you? But you always think that it was me who caused your father's death. I have no way to prove my innocence, but I don't want you to go out and slander me, so I can only imprison you here. I have done my best for you."

There was an undisguised sarcasm in Eunuch Fu's eyes, "That's why I just said that the emperor is merciful."

He paused, "But I wonder why the emperor condescended to come here today?"

Cui Qimo paced twice in the prison, looked around the cell, and spoke slowly, "Not long ago, the Crown Prince of Changguo was assassinated in the capital of my Great Zhen. Changguo used this as an excuse to declare war on my Great Zhen. Eunuch Fu also knows that Changguo is becoming increasingly powerful, and it has the Tiger Division Iron Cavalry. But even so, I cannot help but fight, and I must not surrender, otherwise I will be ashamed of my ancestors. Therefore, I still selected 300,000 elite soldiers and went west to fight the enemy."

Eunuch Fu's eyes flickered, "I am a useless person, and a eunuch. Your Majesty does not need to inform me of such important matters of the court."

Cui Qimo stopped and nodded, "Eunuch Fu is right. But the commander of these 300,000 elite troops is Prince Jing. I have appointed him as the General of Pingchang, and he will go out tomorrow. Eunuch Fu, don't you care?"

"You——" Eunuch Fu gritted his teeth and took two deep breaths, "The emperor knew that this trip would be dangerous, and he wanted to take the opportunity to kill Prince Jing!"

Cui Qimo laughed, "In fact, it's not that there is no chance of winning. No matter how much I dislike Prince Jing, I won't take his life at the cost of my own life or death. It's just..."

He turned his head and looked at the old face of Eunuch Fu. "Eunuch Fu may not know in prison. Although my Dazhen is known as a land of fish and rice, there have been natural disasters in recent years, the treasury is empty, and the grain reserves are insufficient. I really have no power to ensure the supply of food and armaments for this 300,000-man army. Fortunately, Dongbin has had a good harvest every year in recent years, and there is some grain in stock. I agree to sell some grain to my Dazhen, but the silver in the treasury is really limited. If the food and grass of this army can't keep up, Prince Jing will have no chance of winning. He is also stubborn and arrogant. If we lose the battle, I am afraid that he would rather die with his soldiers than live in shame."

"You?——" Eunuch Fu understood what he meant, which was to make sure that Prince Jing would never come back alive.

"In an emergency, I have no choice but to shamelessly ask for help from Eunuch Fu." The emperor's cold eyes fell on Eunuch Fu's face, "I remember that my father's private treasury had at least millions of taels of silver, but when my father passed away, all the silver disappeared. I wonder if Eunuch Fu knows where the silver is. Please tell me something. Even if Eunuch Fu has some misunderstandings about me, these silvers are related to the victory or defeat of my Great Zhen in this battle, and even more so to the life of Prince Jing. Please carefully consider the pros and cons of this matter."

The veins on Eunuch Fu's forehead throbbed, his lips trembled, and after a long while he gritted his teeth and said, "That's your son, your own son!"

"Humph, my son?" The emperor's voice suddenly became louder, and he angrily said, "He is not my son!"