Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Tian Ce Camp?! Qi Xiao opened his mouth, genuinely taken aback. This case was not only difficult and troublesome, but also life-threatening!

"This is a serious matter. Don't act recklessly. Learn from Pei Qing when encountering problems." His Majesty did not give Qi Xiao any chance to shirk responsibility. With just a few words, he assigned Qi Xiao to Pei Hao.

Qi Xiao had no choice but to agree: "Yes, your son will obey your order."

Only after leaving Chengming Hall did Qi Xiao realize he was sweating. The Fifth and Seventh Brothers had returned from Baiyan Mountain together and had been present just now. How could such a disaster have befallen him out of nowhere? The Emperor's mind was unpredictable. Was his father, the Emperor, trying to kill him?

"Your Majesty Ninth Prince."

"Master Pei."

Pei Hao looked at Qi Xiao, his face filled with bitterness and resentment. He hadn't expected His Majesty to mobilize the Tiance Camp, much less hand it over to Qi Xiao. Rumors circulated that His Majesty the Prince of Chu was unruly and undisciplined. He was young and had never been to court. How could he help him?

Pei Hao sighed, "Your Highness, since this is your first time back in Yuanjing, I'm afraid there are many things you may not understand. I ask Your Highness to accompany me back to the Dali Temple so I can explain everything to you."

"That's very good, Master Pei, please."

Qi Xiao put the jade token in his hand into his waist, sighed silently, and followed Pei Hao's footsteps.

***

In the wing room of the Dali Temple, Pei Hao was drinking tea slowly, while Qi Xiao was reading the files carefully, his brows furrowed deeper the more he read.

The first case file had been closed and filed. It was the military pay case that happened not long ago.

Two years ago, the Sixth Prince was sent to Liaoshan County to guard the border. In that barbaric land, he lived a life of poverty and poverty, and was gradually forgotten. This year, the two states of Chen and Zhou fought for several months at the Taihua River. The Ministry of Revenue, under the pretext of the tense situation in the Chen-Zhou war, withheld military pay from Liaoshan County. This delay lasted for more than half a year. The northern Hu tribes took advantage of this opportunity to harass and plunder Liaoshan County. Liaoshan County was left without reinforcements, not even food and fodder, and the number of soldiers killed in battle was even greater than those who died of starvation.

The Sixth Prince Qi Ji sent an impeachment memorial to the capital, and His Majesty was furious. He conducted a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue and the whereabouts of military pay. Some were killed and some were arrested, causing a bloody storm. Until now, one-third of the positions in the Ministry of Revenue are still vacant. Both the Qin and Gongsun families are trying every means to get their own people into the Ministry.

Qi Xiao thought the case was closed, but who would have thought that when he saw the complete case file in the Dali Temple today, he realized that the matter was far from over.

The Sixth Prince Qi Ji was a prince no matter what, and the Ministry of Revenue did not have the courage to swallow up all the military pay. Even if it wanted to, it would not have the guts to do so. So after the Sixth Prince sent several letters back to Beijing to urge for pay, the Ministry of Revenue paid out a sum of 30,000 taels of silver. However, when these 30,000 taels arrived in Liaoshan County, they turned into 100,000 dan of stale rice mixed with wheat bran and gravel, which not only disheartened the soldiers of Liaoshan County, but also cost them their lives.

Qi Xiao trembled with rage as he read the case file. How different was this from disregarding human life?! Had corruption in Da Chen become this rampant?! If it weren't for the Sixth Prince Qi Ji in Liaoshan County, and without the support of the Gongsun clan, how many more people would have to die for such a major case to come to light?

"Bang!" Qi Xiao threw the case file away, scaring Pei Hao.

Qi Xiao was so angry that he stood up and walked back and forth twice. He asked, "Master Pei, there's a problem with the military rations. Who is responsible for escorting the rations? This matter should not be difficult to investigate. Why can't they bring someone to trial?"

Pei Hao shook his head: "Your Highness, please take a look at this."

Pei Hao pushed another case file in front of Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao had no choice but to sit down and continue reading the case file.

The Ministry of Revenue sent military pay to Liaoshan County, but only 20,000 taels were left when it reached Jinzhou Prefecture, and 10,000 taels had disappeared. Jinzhou Prefecture used the 20,000 taels to raise food and fodder and sent them to Liaoshan County. The chief official in charge of escorting the food and fodder hanged himself after the incident, and the Dali Temple did not even have a chance to interrogate him. Li Changyan, the prefect of Jinzhou Prefecture, has been arrested and imprisoned, but he denied it. The Dali Temple sent people to Jinzhou Prefecture and found that Li Changyan's house was penniless and he had only an old servant to serve him. They could not dig out three taels of silver from the Li family even if they dug three feet deep, let alone 10,000 taels of military pay.

Either Li Changyan was very good at disguise and had another secret vault, or he was wrongly accused and the corruption had nothing to do with him, and he was just a scapegoat.

But no matter what, the case cannot be closed until the military pay and food allowance are found.

Qi Xiao couldn't help but sigh after reading the case file. He slowly put down the volume in his hand, looked up at Pei Hao, and asked directly, "I have another question for you, Lord Pei."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"Your Majesty, why did you order me to assist Lord Pei?"

The Xuanji and Tiance Battalions were outside the imperial system, answering only to the Emperor. For centuries, they had served external interests, not internal affairs. If His Majesty wanted to use the Tiance Battalion, he couldn't simply hand it over to Pei Hao; one of the princes had to temporarily handle the matter. The issue of military pay implicated the eldest prince, but the fifth and seventh princes had both grown up under His Majesty's watch. Wouldn't they understand the intricacies better than Qi Xiao? Why did he let Qi Xiao intervene?

Pei Hao glanced at Qi Xiao, then lowered his head to sip his tea, remaining silent for a long moment. Pei Hao had some suspicions, but the emperor's intentions were hard to predict. What if he was wrong? For over a decade, he had focused on his work, staying out of the political fray. Revealing those things to Qi Xiao now was highly inappropriate, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't get into trouble in the future.

After waiting for a long time for Pei Hao to answer, Qi Xiao nodded: "I understand."

Pei Hao looked at Qi Xiao with a little curiosity. Did he understand?

Pei Hao's silence confirmed Qi Xiao's guess. The military pay case might not only involve the eldest prince, but also the Qin and Gongsun families. That's why His Majesty was not confident in handing it over to the fifth or seventh son. It just so happened that Qi Xiao returned to Yuanjing. He had nothing to do with the two parties and was the person who could not be bribed or threatened. So he became the best candidate.

Thinking back on it this way, His Majesty has been very fond of him recently and has tried to test him many times. I'm afraid he had long intended to let him intervene in this case, but he didn't expect that Dali Temple Minister Luo Yu would be murdered.

"Where should we start investigating? Does Master Pei have any clues?"