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

At this moment, Qi Xiao couldn't help but think of Tang Ling. With his meticulous attention, he should be able to figure it out quickly, right? It was a pity that Tang Ling couldn't even look at a corner of these case files, for fear that she would not only see clues, but also find something else.

Qi Xiao couldn't get rid of the image of Tang Ling reading under the lamp last night. He was so quiet, like in a painting or in his dream...

"Ahem." Pei Hao coughed, startling Qi Xiao awake. "Your Highness, I have some official documents to attend to, so I won't accompany you."

Qi Xiao bowed respectfully, thinking that he could finally send Pei Hao away. Unexpectedly, Pei Hao just moved from his side to the desk opposite, walked a total of ten steps, and then really started to read official documents.

Qi Xiao sighed silently, then calmed down and continued to look at the account book. Bai Xiqiao was sitting cross-legged beside him, already drowsy.

Qi Xiao flipped through the densely packed account books line by line and page by page. The abacus in his hand clattered and became more and more convenient to use. After an unknown amount of time, Qi Xiao suddenly stopped.

Pei Hao thought Qi Xiao was distracted again, so he said, "If your highness is tired, you might as well take a rest."

Qi Xiao frowned, looked at Pei Hao, and asked, "Master Pei, this isn't just about the military pay case, right? His Majesty was so angry that he imprisoned one-third of the Ministry of Revenue officials, and it wasn't entirely because of the military pay. How long has the Ministry of Revenue been embezzling the national treasury?!"

Pei Hao was stunned. He asked Qi Xiao to look at the accounts so that he could understand the daily operation of the Ministry of Revenue, and did not really expect Qi Xiao to see any insights. However, he did not expect that in just half a day, Qi Xiao discovered another case hidden in it.

***

Meanwhile, Zong Sheng and Chi Yue went to the Gyeonggi Protectorate early in the morning, not to listen in on Cao Weishan's interrogation of the Luo family, but to examine Luo Yu's body. A better coroner than the one from the Gyeonggi Protectorate was the assassin from the Tiance Camp.

After what happened last night, Cao Weishan didn't dare to neglect Qi Xiao and Qi Xiao's orders. He also wanted to see what this little prince was capable of.

Luo Yu's body was burned black and the stench was so strong that Zong Sheng couldn't help but frown.

Chi Yue threw a set of clothes to Zong Sheng, including gloves, sleeves, and an apron: "Put them on and help me turn him over."

Zong Sheng did as he was told, but he was the only one who had to turn over the body. As for helping, Chi Yue was only responsible for checking.

There were also traces of burns on Luo Yu's back, but it was not completely charred, but had clear marks. His back and buttocks were not burned too badly and were basically intact.

"He was sitting, and he smelled of pine oil. He was already dead when the fire started, otherwise he would have been struggling, his body, limbs would have been curled up, and his face would have been terrified and in pain," Chi Yue said. "There were no penetrating wounds on his body. Lie flat."

Zong Sheng put the body away, and Chi Yue finally took action himself. He carefully examined Luo Yu from head to toe and found multiple fractures and external injuries on Luo Yu's body, but no sharp wounds.

"I heard from the people at the government office that the fire destroyed half of the house, and they dragged Lord Luo out from the rubble. I'm afraid most of his injuries were caused by the falling beams. His shoulders, back, sides, legs, and even his chest. If it's fatal, the ribs are the most likely to be the cause."

"A palm strike to the chest?"

Chi Yue shook his head, walked to the other side, turned Luo Yu's head towards himself, and motioned Zong Sheng to touch it himself.

Zong Sheng hesitated for a moment, reached out and touched the broken bone on Luo Yu's left temple. He was stunned and looked at Chi Yue.

Chi Yue chuckled: "We can now report to His Highness."

"But it could also have been caused by the beams falling down."

"There's a record in the government office files that a servant in the Luo Mansion heard a noise coming from the study at night and rushed to it, only to discover a fire. Two servants tried to rush in to save Lord Luo, but upon entering, they found the room in disarray, as if a struggle had taken place. Lord Luo lay in a pool of blood, with a smashed vase beside him. A candlestick on the table had fallen over, igniting books and files, causing a fire that spread rapidly. The first time they tried to get in, they couldn't, so they ran out, doused themselves with water, and then went back in, but the beams collapsed."

Zong Sheng frowned. This explanation seemed perfectly sound, but Luo Yu's body was riddled with problems. If Luo Yu had fallen face-down, his entire back and even the backs of his legs would have been burned, and the damage from the beams would have been on his front. Furthermore, if the candlestick on the desk had fallen and caused the fire, the desk and bookshelves would have been the worst burned. But when they inspected them yesterday, they found that while the desk and bookshelves were severely damaged, they were not as thoroughly burned as Luo Yu's body.

"I know these confessions are unreliable, so I asked Lord Cao to question you again. You still haven't explained why the assassin left a fatal wound on your temple."

Chi Yue just stretched out his hand to do something, but suddenly stopped, raised his eyes and smiled cutely, and said to Zong Sheng: "Why don't you turn around first?"

Zongsheng ignored it.

Chi Yue smiled again and murmured, "Okay." He stretched out his hand and pressed on Luo Yu's temple. His fingers pressed into the broken bones and in an instant he pulled out a small, charred and bloody thing.

"Stone?!"

"I guess it's a slingshot. But if one has deep internal strength, he can do it with a snap of a finger. If there is such a master in Yuanjing City, I should know about it."

"Why... go to all this trouble?" Zong Sheng finally couldn't help but voice his long-held confusion. If he could kill Lord Luo quietly and escape without making a sound, why bother setting the fire? Even if he wanted to fake the murder of Lord Luo by mistake, why not use swords and daggers? What was the point of the slingshot and stones?

"Good question." Chi Yue took off his apron and gloves and said, "If I were a killer, I would want to fake an accident. Lord Luo was working at his desk late at night and accidentally fell asleep, knocking over the candlestick and burning down the beam. It was just an accident."

Zong Sheng followed Chi Yue out. "So there were no knife wounds. But something went wrong with the people cleaning up the mess at Luo Mansion. I'm afraid they were discovered while setting the fire, and in a panic, they made up a story about a burglar. So the first person to rush into the inner courtyard that night was most likely the traitor."

Chi Yue suddenly stopped and turned back: "Smart."

Zong Sheng almost bumped into Chi Yue for a moment, and quickly stopped and leaned back.

Seeing that Zong Sheng was afraid of him like a tiger, Chi Yue couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Are you still afraid of me? I won't beat you anymore."

Zong Sheng secretly gritted his teeth and decided not to argue with him.

When the Tian Ce Camp came to Wudu Prefecture to recruit people, he and Chi Yue were the two who finally passed the assessment. They should have supported each other, but Chi Yue turned around and suddenly attacked him, breaking his leg. He even stepped on the injured leg and said jokingly, "You still want to join the Tian Ce Camp? You are overestimating your own abilities."

Then, Zong Sheng never saw Chi Yue again until yesterday.

Zong Sheng hated Chi Yue so much back then that he really wanted to find him and beat him up, even breaking his legs! Zong Sheng was unable to join the Tian Ce Camp, and he was upset and depressed for many years. But as he spent more and more time with Qi Xiao, he gradually let it go. Although he was just a guard, Qi Xiao treated him as a partner and a brother. He was willing to protect Qi Xiao with his life and everything he had. Tian Ce Camp no longer mattered to him.

But when he saw Chi Yue again yesterday, Zong Sheng still felt anger and resentment. Although it was almost negligible compared to the past, Chi Yue owed him an explanation and an apology. He couldn't forgive Chi Yue easily. He had thought he and Chi Yue were friends! But Chi Yue always played tricks on him.

Zong Sheng remained silent, but Chi Yue seemed to have noticed nothing unusual. He suddenly asked, "Last night when I first arrived at Yangxizhai, His Highness went out alone. Where did he go?"

Zong Sheng seemed not to hear Chi Yue's question and did not answer at all.

Chi Yue continued, "You and Bai Xiqiao didn't follow him, which means His Highness didn't leave. He's in the same guild hall. Besides Su Qin of the Tiger Power Army, there's also Tang Ling, the Zhou Kingdom's hostage. It's so late at night, and if it wasn't for a beautiful woman, how could His Highness be worthy of seeing her in person? Right?"

Zong Sheng glanced at Chi Yue, still not answering. Chi Yue was from the Tiance Camp, obeying only the emperor's orders. He wasn't someone Qi Xiao and Zong Sheng could truly trust. Even if he had guessed, without solid evidence, Chi Yue wouldn't dare reveal it. But Qi Xiao and Tang Ling's affairs shouldn't have been known to him at all.

Chi Yue smiled triumphantly: "Yeah, I guessed right. Hahaha, your prince is really interesting. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Zong Sheng suddenly stopped and looked at Chi Yue coldly: "If you dare to do anything to offend me or say anything that harms me, I will kill you."

Chi Yue was stunned for a moment before reacting and smiling slightly. "Even though I bullied you like that in the past, you never said you wanted to kill me. Okay. I get it."