The carefree sixth prince, my father respectfully invites me to ascend the throne.

Shen Fu and his men quickly cleared out the village and seized a large amount of money and grain.

Shen Yi glanced at the spoils and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

……

Upon returning to the Prince's residence, Shen Yi couldn't wait to report everything that had just happened to Yang Ling.

Yang Ling sat in a chair with his brows furrowed. The fire that had occurred that day made him realize that things were not stable in Liangzhou.

Or perhaps a new force has already intervened in Liangzhou. This group dared to set fire to the granary today; who knows what they might do next?

Do you think the people you arrested are the real culprits?

Yang Ling took a sip of tea and spoke calmly. Shen Yi, who was initially quite pleased, was taken aback by her words.

"Does Your Highness mean there's something else fishy about this matter?"

Shen Yi cupped his hands in greeting, looking at Yang Ling with a blank expression. The county magistrate of Longxi County was involved, and now he was being told that these people were just scapegoats. Shen Yi was somewhat skeptical.

But since the Ninth Prince had already said so, he couldn't really refute it.

"This matter is far more complicated than you and I can imagine. The people you caught today are just the tip of the iceberg. The real danger has yet to surface."

Yang Ling smiled calmly. What they could see now was just a little bit of filth hidden in the depths of darkness.

Shen Yi didn't say anything more, cupped his hands in greeting, and retreated.

"Third brother, third brother, it's best if what happened today has nothing to do with you, otherwise what am I supposed to do as your younger brother!"

Looking at the hazy moonlight outside the window, Yang Ling sighed heavily after speaking.

"Your Highness, Princess Shangyang has arrived!"

Just as Yang Ling, looking troubled, was about to recite a poem, the voice of a guard suddenly rang out from outside the door.

Upon hearing that it was Princess Shangyang who had come, Yang Ling was naturally very unhappy. Every time this woman came to see him, it was never for anything good.

There was arson ahead, and she came to find me at this time; she definitely wasn't up to anything.

"Bring it in!"

Yang Ling sighed; what's meant to happen will happen eventually.

Before long, Princess Shangyang walked in from outside the door.

The moment Yang Ling pushed open the door, a fragrance wafted towards her. She was a little puzzled, as there was no perfume in ancient times, and women mainly wore some kind of fragrance.

I wonder what kind of spices Princess Shangyang used, that smells so wonderful?

Just as he was lost in thought, Princess Shangyang walked up to him.

She wore a light purple dress, the hem of which swayed gently.

Yang Ling looked up and their eyes met.

Seeing the slight upturn of Princess Shangyang's lips, which seemed to carry a hint of provocation, Yang Ling felt a slight tremor in her heart.

That condescending gaze made him feel as if he were being scrutinized, as if he were the one who set the fire tonight!

"Your Highness, why are you staring at me like this? Are you perhaps captivated by my beauty?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Yang Ling snapped back to reality.

He cleared his throat in a mock-serious manner, then put on a nonchalant expression.

"I never expected that Princess Shangyang, who is always as cold as ice, would say something so witty. I am truly flattered!"

Yang Ling smiled slightly, his eyes scanning Princess Shangyang.

If we're talking about Princess Shangyang's looks, she would definitely be a top-tier celebrity in her time.

Her looks are absolutely stunning!

However, Yang Ling had absolutely no interest in her.

Princess Shangyang looked at the lewd smile on his face, but showed no anger. She simply sat down on the chair next to him.

"Your Highness is too kind. Compared to Miss Yun'er, my looks are really not that outstanding!"

Yang Ling didn't know why, but when this woman said those words, the atmosphere in the whole room seemed to change.

I don't know if it was just his imagination...

"What brings you here so late?"

Yang Ling didn't want to continue this topic, since it wouldn't benefit him at all.

His relationship with Yun'er was not one for others to gossip about. Although Princess Shangyang came from a prestigious family, she was ultimately too complicated in her thoughts, and he truly had no feelings for such a woman.

Upon hearing this, Lord Shangyang smiled slightly and turned to look at Yang Ling with a serious expression.

"There was a great fire in the city tonight, and many of the granaries were burned. I wonder what Your Highness's opinion is on this matter?"

What do you think?

Yang Ling snorted coldly in his heart. What else could he do but look at things with his own eyes?

The grain we painstakingly stockpiled has been almost entirely burned. We must not let him know who did it. If he finds out who the culprit is, he'll have to suffer the consequences.

"It's always the same few things going on and on. What else can I do but suffer in silence?"

Yang Ling had a helpless expression. After all, the matter had already happened, and the only thing left to do was to buy some more grain from the Central Plains. They couldn't just stop stockpiling grain because of this incident and then wait to go hungry.

Seeing Yang Ling's expression, Princess Shangyang's face changed repeatedly.

"If Your Highness wishes to purchase a large quantity of grain, I can assist you!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling abruptly turned her head and stared into the other person's eyes.

"You didn't start this fire tonight, did you? You had my granaries burned down, and now you're here trying to sell me grain, don't you?"

When Yang Ling uttered those words, Princess Shangyang was completely dumbfounded. She never expected that Yang Ling's thought process would be so peculiar.

For a moment, she was speechless.

Seeing Princess Shangyang sitting there blankly, looking completely lost, Yang Ling smiled faintly.

He naturally knew that this was not the work of Princess Shangyang, after all, he and this woman were not that bad off at the moment.

Even if they had bad intentions, they wouldn't dare to take action in this matter.

"Alright, I was just joking with you. I believe you're not that kind of person."

Yang Ling waved her hand and said.

"Then do you believe me?"

Princess Shangyang blinked her beautiful eyes and looked at Yang Ling.

"Of course I believe you! I have always had a discerning eye, how could I be wrong about you!"

Yang Ling chuckled, revealing a smug expression. Although Princess Shangyang was arrogant and domineering, she was far from capable of doing such a heinous thing.

"Since Your Highness trusts me so much, I'm sure our cooperation this time will be very pleasant!"

Princess Shangyang knew in her heart that such a thing could mean that the grain could not be transported smoothly into Liangzhou.