Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

It was a hot July afternoon.

The scorching heat was unbearable. Even on the bustling streets of Kyoto, there were only a few people around.

A purple carriage shuttled through the streets and, escorted by the East Palace guards, soon arrived at the gate of the Prince of Chu's Mansion.

After the announcement, Crown Princess Ling Feiyan got out of the carriage.

The living room is filled with the aroma of tea.

Ling Feiyan and Shen Wanying sat side by side in the main seat.

"Would the Crown Princess like to come to our house and try this premium first-class tea?" Shen Wanying smiled and gestured with her hand.

Ling Feiyan nodded slightly, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said, "It tastes good."

Putting down the teacup, Ling Feiyan said with a serious face: "I came to your house today only for the matter of refined salt. I hope the Crown Princess will be flexible."

Shen Wanying smiled slightly and did not comment on Ling Feiyan's purpose.

But she did not agree immediately, instead she sighed and said: "I was indeed in charge of the refined salt matter before, but something happened in the past few days, and now the King of Chu has taken over personally.

If it were before, I would definitely sell it to the Crown Princess, but now... I'm afraid this matter needs Chu Ning's consent."

The atmosphere at the scene became quiet at this moment.

Ling Feiyan didn't expect Shen Wanying to refuse so readily.

It seems that Chu Ning had made some preparations in advance, otherwise, with Shen Wanying's personality, she would not easily refuse anyone.

If we want to solve the refined salt problem, we have to start with Chu Ning.

"In this case, I will personally talk to the King of Chu!"

"That's really unfortunate. The King of Chu is not at home right now. He went to the Ministry of Justice and said that he wanted to personally check the body of Zhao Wuji, the third prince of Zhao."

"It doesn't matter. I'll wait for him here."

Seeing Ling Feiyan was so determined, Shen Wanying could only shake her head helplessly: "In this case, I will send someone to inform the King of Chu and ask him to come back as soon as possible."

Shen Wanying did not lie to Ling Feiyan. At this moment, Chu Ning was indeed in the Ministry of Justice checking Zhao Wuji's body.

Ministry of Justice, morgue.

Chu Ning covered his mouth with a silk scarf in his right hand and, accompanied by the Minister of Justice Ling Haoran, personally examined the corpse.

At this moment, Zhao Wuji had become a stiff corpse, but his stomach had been cut open by Chu Ning with a knife.

The coroner didn't dare to dissect Zhao Wuji's body, but Chu Ning did!

Looking at the empty stomach of the corpse which still showed no signs of poisoning, Chu Ning's face suddenly turned ugly.

The coroner with a goatee and white clothes sighed and said, "Your Highness, Zhao Wuji has nothing in his stomach, and his organs are shrinking and his muscles are collapsing. This is dehydration caused by not drinking water for a long time.

It is certain now that he was starved to death!"

Chu Ning nodded slightly with a serious face, then waved his hand to signal Ling Haoran to come out and speak.

When she got outside, Chu Ning put down the scarf in her hand and gasped for breath.

After finally regaining his composure, Chu Ning asked in a cold voice, "Master Ling, has anyone come to visit Zhao Wuji since he was imprisoned here?"

Ling Haoran's expression changed slightly: "To reply to Your Highness, no one has come to visit the prison."

Chu Ning frowned, a look of doubt on his face.

Zhao Wuji is a prince after all, how could he starve to death so easily?

Although Feng Mulan did starve this guy for a few days, it was impossible for her to really starve him to death.

This matter is very strange.

But I have no clue at the moment. If I want to investigate, I probably won’t find any clues for a while.

While he was deep in thought, Ran Ming came to report: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess is here, the Princess asks you to go back."

Ling Haoran on the side was stunned.

Why would his daughter go to see Chu Ning?

Look at the sky.

It is already evening, and it will be night when Chu Ning returns. What is the purpose of looking for Chu Ning at this time?

Chu Ning came back to his senses when he was surprised. A playful look appeared on his face. "The Crown Princess came to the mansion in person. I cannot neglect her. Let's go back!"

Ling Haoran immediately bowed and saw him off.

When Chu Ning rode back to the palace, the sky had already darkened and red lanterns were hung at the gate of the palace.

Shen Wanying personally greeted him at the gate of the mansion.

"Why aren't you in there accompanying the Crown Princess?" Chu Ning dismounted and asked with a smile.

Shen Wanying shook her head slightly and said with a smile, "I thought you would be back around now, so I came here specially to welcome you in, so as not to disturb your conversation with the Crown Princess."

As they talked, the two walked towards the mansion.

Shen Wanying continued, "She came for refined salt and to lobby for the prince."

Chu Ning grinned: "Be a lobbyist? You must be prepared to pay the price."

The two came to the door of the hall. Shen Wanying did not go in, and Chu Ning came to the living room alone.

A stern face was reflected in the candlelight.

Perhaps it was because of his long-term use of facial masks, or maybe it was because Chu Ning hadn't seen Ling Feiyan for a long time, but when they met again, he was actually attracted by Ling Feiyan's appearance.

Noticing Chu Ning's burning gaze, Ling Feiyan placed the teacup in her hand heavily on the table.

Chu Ning came back to his senses and coughed dryly. He closed the door of the hall with his backhand and stepped forward to greet her: "Hello, sister-in-law."

Ling Feiyan glanced at Chu Ning and said indifferently: "I think Princess Chu has already told you the purpose of my visit."

Chu Ning pretended to be embarrassed and said, "This refined salt matter is indeed difficult for me. The production is really not enough. The East Palace needs to wait a while."

But Ling Feiyan was not so easy to fool, she sneered and said: "Everyone else can buy refined salt, but Donggong can't, and you still say that the production can't be increased?

Don’t you just want refugees? I have already persuaded the prince to allow 10,000 refugees in the fiefdom to go to Bingzhou.”

Ten thousand refugees at the first sight!

Chu Ning's eyes lit up with joy.

With so many people, Bingzhou will develop faster in the future.

With people here, everything will be easier in the future.

However, these ten thousand people are far from enough for the prince!

Chu Ning laughed awkwardly: "Sister-in-law, when you say this, it seems like I am making things difficult for the East Palace."

This guy complains that there are not enough people!

Ling Feiyan glared at Chu Ning fiercely: "Add another two thousand people!"

But Chu Ning still looked distressed: "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that Bingzhou is too far away from here, and it takes time to transport the refined salt."

"Another three thousand!"

Ling Feiyan said coldly: "This is my greatest authority. I can't make decisions if there are more."

Fifteen thousand!

That's enough, some things should be stopped.

Besides, this matter is not just to trap the refugees in the prince's fiefdom.

Chu Ning's eyes rolled, and a righteous look appeared on his face: "Since my sister-in-law has come to my house in person for this matter, I must give her some face no matter what!"

Ling Feiyan breathed a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Chu Ning would take the opportunity to make excessive demands.

"In that case, please ask King Chu to bring the refined salt now, and I will take it back to the East Palace myself." Ling Feiyan didn't want to stay in the King Chu's Mansion for a moment.

If he stays too long, the prince will become suspicious again.

But Chu Ning was surprised when he heard this: "Sister-in-law, I promised to sell you refined salt, but I didn't say I would give it to you now."

Ling Feiyan's face changed drastically.

This bastard is playing tricks on me!