The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

After leaving the palace, Chen Nan did not go to the residence of the Minister of Revenue.

Instead, they went directly to the prison of the Prefect of Weidu.

When the prison guards saw Chen Nan arrive, their faces lit up with fanaticism.

They only hoped that Chen Nan could teach them all his skills.

Chen Nan ignored the group and went straight to the cell where Minister Qian was being held.

At this moment, Mo Bai was sitting outside the cell, looking drowsy.

In contrast, Minister Qian was dressed in a dirty and disheveled official robe, squatting in the corner with his hair in disarray, looking completely dejected.

"Minister Qian, let's have a chat!" Chen Nan said seriously.

He hadn't forgotten what the registrar had said: before the land was forcibly seized, an old man surnamed Wang had come to see him once.

When Chen Nan went to Qian Shangshu's house this time, he did not see any old man.

The sudden sound not only woke Mo Bai up, but also made Minister Qian in the prison cell look up.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Chen Nan, Minister Qian gave a wry smile: "Your Highness, I have already confessed my crimes. Is there anything else we can discuss?"

Chen Nan coughed, and Mo Bai quickly got up to offer him a chair.

After he sat down, he spoke: "Lord Qian, I have heard that people from the Weidu Prefectural Government were also involved in this matter."

"Minister Qian is only the Minister of Revenue; he doesn't have the power to influence the Prefect, does he?"

"I want to know how the Prefect of Weidu got involved in this matter."

A glint flashed in Minister Qian's eyes, then vanished in an instant: "Your Highness, this matter was orchestrated by me alone."

"The Prefect of Weidu was also bribed by me; it has nothing to do with anyone else."

"Besides, I have already confessed, so why continue the investigation?"

Chen Nan jumped to his feet and shouted angrily, "Qian Pi, do you think you can handle this all by yourself?"

"Let me tell you, this matter will not end here."

"Anyone who dares to shake the foundation of the Northern Wei will not be let off by me."

After he finished speaking, Qianpi did not answer, but lowered his head and fell silent.

Seeing this, Chen Nan knew that Qian Pi wouldn't tell him the truth.

So he took Mo Bai back to the palace.

Not long after, Wu Xu also returned.

According to him, the Northern Wei court had already sent people to take over Qianpi's residence, and the area was now surrounded by palace guards.

The next morning, Chen Nan got up very early.

He led Wu Xu and Mo Bai straight to the Wei capital government office.

Inside the Weidu Prefecture government office, Chen Nan sat in the main seat.

She asked softly, "Mo Bai, do you remember what the steward looked like when we went to the Yinwu Marquis's residence?"

Mo Bai was also present when Chen Nan asked Qian Pi yesterday evening.

He knew that this was because Chen Nan suspected that the steward of the Yinwu Marquis's mansion was also involved.

After thinking it over carefully, he said, "Your Highness, that steward seems quite honest."

"I didn't think there was anything wrong with him."

Chen Nan shook his head: "It's not that being honest means you won't make mistakes. What you see is always just the surface."

"Alright, go to the Yinwu Marquis's residence and summon that steward. We'll question him in detail."

Mo Bai, accompanied by two constables, headed to the residence of Marquis Yinwu.

When he arrived at the mansion, he found that the gate was tightly closed and there was no intention of opening it.

Helpless, Mo Bai glanced at the yamen runner beside him.

The bailiff jogged a few steps and went up to knock on the door.

Shortly afterward, the door was opened from the inside.

The one leading the group was the old butler from before.

Mo Bai was secretly delighted; he had prayed on his way here that he wouldn't run into Hongming and Hongze.

Fortunately, the person who opened the door was the one he was looking for.

Mo Bai stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Steward Wang, is that right? My master has something to ask you. Please come with me, Steward Wang."

Upon hearing this, Butler Wang remained calm: "Sir, could you please wait until I've finished my business?"

Mo Bai was taken aback; he didn't have time to wait for anyone.

If he were to accidentally run into Hongming while waiting for someone, he would have no reason to tell him.

He said frankly, "My lord said he has to go now. You can wait until you come back from the government office before you go."

Having said that, he waved his hand, and two constables behind him were about to step forward to arrest Steward Wang.

"What...what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a melodious hooves rang out from the side.

Mo Bai's face turned even uglier; what he feared most had come to pass.

He was afraid of running into Hongming from the start, and he actually did run into him.

He had no choice but to step forward and explain, "General Hong, I have been ordered to take Steward Wang to be questioned."

"On orders? By whose orders? Chen Nan's?" Hongming pressed again.

Mo Bai hesitated to answer this question.

Although his own prince was not one to easily express his emotions, he was not oblivious to the relationship between him and Hongming.

The person in front of me could very well become a future queen.

He was merely a servant under Chen Nan, and he could clearly distinguish which was more important.

"I'm asking you a question. Did Chen Nan send you?"

Seeing that Mo Bai did not answer for a long time, Hongming pressed him again.

Mo Bai said with a wry smile, "General Hong, I really can't make a decision on this matter."

Suddenly, he thought of a compromise: "Why don't you come with me, General?"

In this way, he neither betrayed Chen Nan nor failed to complete his mission perfectly.

Hongming wasn't stupid; he naturally knew that this was a countermeasure devised by Mo Bai.

After pondering for a moment, he frowned and said, "Alright, then I'll go with you to see who dares to send people to my Yinwu Marquis's residence to arrest someone."

Seeing that Hongming seemed angry, Mo Bai silently prayed for Chen Nan.

The group then headed towards the government office.

Along the way, Hongming kept asking Mo Bai a lot of questions.

But Mo Bai always gave vague answers, claiming he would answer any question, but he never got the answers right.

Seeing this, Hongming simply shut his mouth.

After everyone arrived at the government office, Hongming was the first to enter.

When Chen Nan saw that the person who came was actually Hong Ming, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

She also rolled her eyes at Mo Bai.

Mo Bai seemed to know he would be questioned, and immediately lowered his head the moment he entered the room.

Chen Nan knew that now was not the time to assign blame, so he quickly went to Hong Ming and said, "Why did you come along too?"

Hongming snorted coldly: "Why can't I come?"

"Someone has already tracked me down to my Yinwu Marquis's residence to arrest people. As a member of the Marquis's residence, am I not allowed to come and see for myself?"

Hongming had seen Chen Nan use torture on people before.

Based on her intuition, she knew that it would be just Butler Wang who came today.

I'm afraid Chen Nan will even find out what's going on with his underwear.

Chen Nan rolled his eyes at Mo Bai before replying, "I just have a few questions for Steward Wang. It's just an inquiry, not an arrest."

"It's all Mo Bai's fault for being so ignorant and not explaining his purpose clearly, which led to the misunderstanding."

Upon hearing this, Mo Bai's face fell. It was Chen Nan who had ordered him to arrest people, and now look what happened.

When Hongming caught him red-handed, he became the scapegoat.

However, no one paid any attention to his silence, and then Chen Nan spoke again.

"Why don't you go back first, and I'll tell you the results after I find out?"

"Fine, since you're already here, I'd like to see what kind of problem you have that could involve the Marquis's family."

Hongming spoke in a very soft voice, clearly lacking confidence.