Reborn Young Lady's Peerless Grace

The old lady was already worried about Zhao Yurou, and seeing that Duke Zhao was still being aggressive, she patted Zhao Yurou's shoulder and said softly, "It's good that Rou'er is back. The Third Prince is not a good man at all."

As she spoke, she looked towards Duke Zhao, a hint of pleading in her eyes, her voice still gentle: "This courtyard originally belonged to Rou'er. I wanted to keep it for Rou'er at the beginning, but Rou'er misunderstood me. Now that you're back, it's just right. This courtyard is still yours."

Zhao Yurou also raised her head happily, her eyes full of pride. After she came back, the old lady's favor towards her did not decrease at all. As long as the old lady was there, her position in the Duke's Mansion would be unshakable.

"Okay, stop talking. Now that you're back, you can still live in your yard from now on." Duke Zhao was a little annoyed. He left after giving the order, wanting to investigate Fan Yunfei's affairs.

Linglong found out about all the changes in the Duke's Mansion and told Shen Wanqing.

Her expression was a little strange, and she was hesitant in her words.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" Shen Wanqing looked at her like this and knew that she had something to say.

Linglong sighed, but still said directly: "Miss, Zhao Yurou is back..."

After hearing what Linglong said, Shen Wanben was silent at first, and then she felt that it was nothing. After all, the third prince was dead, and she couldn't go to marry alone.

Ten days passed like this, and the Dali Temple officials who were investigating the death of the third prince Fan Yunfei also returned.

The murderer is someone else and has nothing to do with the Duke's Mansion.

After hearing Dali's report, the Second Prince couldn't help but frown. "You're saying that Third Prince Fan Yunfei was killed by bandits? How is that possible? Weren't the bandits there hanged by my father's order a few years ago?"

The Dali Temple official's expression was somewhat solemn. "Your Highness, Second Prince, according to my humble investigation, not only were those bandits not executed, but they have grown even stronger and more numerous in recent years. They have been accomplices to the evil forces in Wu County, oppressing the people. The people are filled with resentment, but due to the disparity in power, they dare not speak out, and their actions have become even more rampant. This time, I'm afraid they saw that the Third Prince was either wealthy or noble, so they decided to kill and rob him."

"If that's the case, why don't the local people report it to the authorities?" The more the second prince listened, the angrier he became.

"This...this humble official is not very clear. Whenever I ask the local people about these robbers, they keep silent. So, this humble official is not very clear about this..."

Another Dali Temple official also said, "Your Highness, we rushed back as soon as we learned this information. We would like to ask Your Highness what to do next. If we only rely on the few guards we brought with us to deal with those bandits, it will be like an egg against a rock."

The Second Prince's face turned ashen. He slammed the memorial in his hand down on the desk and shouted, "Yuwen Ze deserves to die!"

The officials were shocked by Yuwen Yi's anger and lowered their heads without saying anything.

The task of suppressing the bandits was entrusted to Crown Prince Yuwen Ze by his father. Not only did he arrange for ministers to lead troops to suppress the bandits, but subsequent officials in Wu County were also succeeded by Crown Prince Yuwen Ze.

The fact that the bandits in Wu County are so rampant now shows that there was something fishy about the prince's suppression of the bandits at that time.

The most crucial point at the moment is that the local people would not fail to report the bandits to the authorities if they were oppressing the people. The only possibility is that the local officials suppressed the people's voices, which means that the officials protected each other and colluded with each other. This collusion between officials and bandits cut off the people's livelihood.

When the news of the death of the third prince Fan Yunfei in Wu County spread, the second prince Yuwen Yi noticed why the accident happened in Wu County.

He had carefully read the documents just handed over by the Dali Temple, which detailed the results of the Dali Temple's investigation over the past few days.

The only significant evidence proving Fan Yunfei's death at the hands of bandits was that none of his belongings were on him, even his brocade clothes had been taken away. However, his jade pendant had turned up in a local pawnshop.

Because Fan Yunfei was the prince of Zi Luo Kingdom, the jade pendant he used was also of high quality, so the pawnshop owner was very impressed. According to his testimony, the officials of Dali Temple tracked him all the way to a mountain outside the county town, and based on the report from the guards who were waiting there, they discovered that this man was one of the bandits.

What the people from the Dali Temple found out was specially arranged by Du Zhijie.

Finally, according to the investigation of the Dali Temple officials, this group of bandits had set up camp on the mountain outside Wu County, and their camp had become quite large.

That night, the second prince ordered Du Zhijie to take people to investigate Wu County to see if there was any collusion between officials and bandits.

Linglong brought the news about the bandits she had heard back to Hou Mansion. When she was about to tell Shen Wanqing, she saw that Shen Wanqing looked very serious.

"Miss, what's wrong?" Linglong asked in a low voice.

"Fighting broke out at the border." Shen Wanqing looked at the letter in her hand, feeling very uneasy.

The Zi Luo Kingdom had suddenly launched a war, catching them off guard. Coincidentally, Du Zhijie had also disappeared at this time. She tried to calm herself down and first sent a message to Xuanyuan Mansion to reassure Xuanyuan Qiao'er.

However, the situation of this battle was not optimistic. Not long after, a report came from the border: "Emergency report from the border, Lord Xuanyuan was injured and the battle was lost."

The court and the people were also worried. Someone even reported: "Your Highness, why did the Purple Luo Kingdom defeat our army so quickly? Did they know about our deployment in advance? I suspect there is a traitor in our army."

"It's ridiculous. My lord, you are not a general and have never been to the battlefield. How do you know there is a traitor in our army? The Zi Luo Kingdom went back on its word. We were just unprepared. A temporary failure doesn't mean anything!" Another minister also retorted.

"Although this was a surprise attack, how could the apparently weak Zi Luo Nation find such a precise opportunity to strike at our army's food and supplies, as well as at the weak points within the barracks? They even injured Lord Xuanyuan. Humph! Is all this just a coincidence?"

The minister immediately fought back.

"Yes, now that Lord Xuanyuan is injured, we have no food and grass left, and the army's morale is unstable. How can we fight this battle?"

"The treasury is empty now, and we have to make full preparations for drought."

"There are only a few available generals in the court right now. Why haven't we seen General Du in the past few days? It's really strange."

"That's right, how could it be such a coincidence? Could there really be a traitor within our army?"

The ministers were discussing the matter in the court. The Second Prince watched with a cold eye and said, "Stop arguing. The best plan now is to collect food and fodder for the front. Minister of Revenue, I leave this matter to you."

The Minister of Revenue looked bitter, but before he could say anything, the Second Prince snorted coldly and withdrew from the court.