The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Ning Yi first came to Zuixian Garden. As soon as he entered the private room and sat down, the owner asked him to prepare a table of fine wine and delicious food.

He personally poured wine for Ning Yi and said flatteringly, "Your Highness, please try it. This is the newly arrived Jiangdong fragrant wine, brewed with pure Jiangdong fragrant rice, and it tastes delicious."

Ning Yi picked up the wine glass and took a sip. It was indeed full of rice aroma.

He looked at the shopkeeper with a half-smile: "Are you sure you're from Jiangdong?"

"Of course." The shopkeeper assured: "This is sent by a genuine Jiangdong merchant. I dare not deceive Your Highness."

"Bold." Ning Yi's expression suddenly changed and he placed the wine glass heavily on the table.

This startled the smiling shopkeeper: "Your Highness, I am telling the truth..."

"You still dare to quibble." Ning Yi stared at him coldly. "Right now, Jiangdong is plagued by disasters. The people are starving, and corpses are everywhere. Where can we find food to make wine?"

The shopkeeper was terrified and quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, I absolutely did not lie. I would never dare to lie to Your Highness even if I had a hundred guts."

"It's the fragrant wine sent by Jiang Liwan, the merchant from Jiangdong. The whole store can testify to this. I didn't dare to adulterate it at all."

The shopkeeper thought that the Sixth Prince felt that he had been deceived.

It is said that the Sixth Prince is moody, so don't let this glass of wine kill him.

Ning Yi looked calm as he looked at the shopkeeper, who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, and asked, "Jiang Liwan? A mere merchant, with Jiangdong suffering from such a series of disasters, actually dared to make wine. How could he have such courage?"

In the Dawu Kingdom, among the four classes of people, scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, merchants are the lowest class and can be dealt with at any pretext. How could it be possible that only a merchant dared to do such a thing?

The shopkeeper explained anxiously, "Your Highness, this Jiang Liwan has a backer in the capital."

"It is said that it is Lord Si Chengyuan from the Grain Storage Department."

"Grain Storage Department?" Ning Yi frowned slightly: "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." The shopkeeper said, "I heard it with my own ears. With Lord Yuan backing him up, he can sell these fragrant wines at will."

“It’s just that the price is several times higher than in previous years.”

Ning Yi was silent, thinking in his mind that the grain storage bureau, Tan Donglin and the other two had asked for disaster relief food many times.

The Grain Storage Bureau doesn't give any grain, but now there are merchants who rely on Si Cheng's power to use the grain to make wine, and even sell it at such a high price.

Ning Yi would naturally not let go of this corrupt official of the imperial court.

Just as food was needed for disaster relief, he was targeted.

"Where is this Jiang Liwan now?"

The shopkeeper immediately assured: "I will send someone to find his whereabouts right away."

As expected of someone in control of intelligence, soon a servant came running to report.

The shopkeeper immediately reported: "Your Highness, Jiang Liwan is now in Yuan Mansion."

"Is that so?" Ning Yi sneered, "In that case, this prince will have to go and take a look and find someone to lead the way."

As a third-rank official in charge of a department, his mansion is naturally not small.

Ning Yi was not in a hurry to enter, but waited with Qin Haifeng on the second floor of a teahouse near the gate.

After half an hour, Qin Haifeng suddenly reminded: "Your Highness, come out."

Ning Yi took a quick look and saw a wealthy man dressed in silk coming out of the gate and happily getting into a carriage.

"Follow me." Ning Yi also went downstairs and got into the car.

Jiang Liwan returned to his room in the inn and took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve.

After counting them one by one, there was a total of 20,000 taels of silver.

"Hehe, I didn't expect to make so much money from just this one trip. Old Jiang, I'll take this opportunity to make a few more trips. I'll never have to worry about food and drink in the future. It's enough to make me a wealthy man."

Jiang Liwan's eyes were all gone from laughing, he was extremely excited and had a promising future.

Suddenly the door was kicked open.

A dark-skinned man and a noble-dressed young man came in.

"Who are you? Who allowed you to barge in?"

Jiang Liwan was angry and hurriedly hid the banknotes under the quilt.

Qin Haifeng stepped forward, grabbed his collar and lifted him up.

"What are you doing? Let me go. This is the capital..."

Ning Yi took out a stack of banknotes from under the quilt.

Jiang Liwan was even more anxious: "Put it down quickly, that's my money."

"Let me go now, or I'll report you to the authorities. I'm under the watchful eyes of high-ranking officials in the capital."

"Pa" Qin Haifeng slapped his fat face like a fan.

"You bastard, you dare to yell when you see the Sixth Prince."

Jiang Liwan was furious, his head was buzzing, he looked at the young man in front of him with extraordinary temperament in shock, the Sixth Prince?

How could I have offended such a royal member?

In the Dawu Kingdom, who dares to offend the royal family? That is a serious crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan.

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "I didn't know it was His Royal Highness the Prince who came. I didn't know. Your Royal Highness, please forgive me."

Ning Yi held the banknote in his hand and looked indifferently at the kneeling Jiang Liwan. This guy was fat and big-eared, and was almost lying on the ground like a flying pig.

"Don't you want to report it to the police? Go ahead."

"I dare not. Even if I had ten thousand guts, I would not dare to sue His Royal Highness the Prince."

Jiang Liwan was terrified. The other party was His Royal Highness the Prince, and no government office would dare to accept his appeal.

"I don't know how I have offended His Royal Highness. I will never dare to ask Your Highness to come to the inn in person again."

Jiang Liwan was still wondering how he had offended such a big Buddha.

He actually had the prince come to the inn to find him in person. He racked his brains but couldn't figure out why.

Ning Yi clapped the banknotes in his hand and said with a calm smile, "Jiang Liwan, you are in the Jiangdong fragrant wine business, right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm just dealing in some Jiangdong specialties. I haven't broken any laws."

Jiang Liwan quickly confessed all his business. He believed that since the prince had chased him to the inn, there was no way he could have hidden it.

Ning Yi smiled and said, "Really? Then where do you get the grain for brewing wine?"

"Ah?" Jiang Liwan was confused. He said subconsciously: "Yes, it's me, I'm a commoner..."

He couldn't say anything, and his mind quickly came to his senses. He couldn't say this, because if he did, he would really lose his mind.

Ning Yi continued to ask: "Was it given by the Grain Storage Bureau?"

Jiang Liwan didn't dare to say anything. He muttered, "Yes, it was collected by ordinary people."

"Jiangdong is in disaster, and the people are starving. How could I ask you to collect food?" Ning Yi suddenly said in a cold tone, "Do you think I'm easy to deceive?"

"Haifeng."

Qin Haifeng stepped forward and started beating up Jiang Liwan, the fat pig.

"Oh, ah, ah, don't hit me, don't hit me, Your Highness, I dare not lie to you..."

Jiang Liwan was beaten so hard that he rolled on the ground and begged for mercy, but Qin Haifeng didn't stop at all.

The fat man couldn't bear the rain of punches. He thought the prince would just stop beating him for a while, but he didn't know that the beating didn't stop at all. If he continued to be beaten, he would die.

Jiang Liwan screamed for mercy and finally shouted: "Your Highness, please stop hitting me. I confess, I confess."

Only then did Ning Yi ask Qin Haifeng to stop.

Looking at Jiang Liwan, whose head was covered in blood and whose clothes were torn, he said calmly, "This prince has all the evidence. Tell the truth, and I will give you a chance to live. Otherwise..."