Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Qian Lai looked at him with a curious expression.

Xiao Ce asked with a smile, "Manager Qian, are you curious about what grand gift I have prepared?"

Qian Lai nodded, and seeing that no one was around, Xiao Ce also referred to himself as "this king".

He then changed his tune, saying, "Your Highness, I am indeed curious. However, if Your Highness wishes to tell me, you certainly will. If it is inconvenient, I will find out later."

Xiao Ce laughed heartily. Sure enough, it was the head of the Qian family who sent this old fellow over. He was very knowledgeable about human relationships.

"You're right. I didn't tell you mainly because I was afraid it would scare you."

Qian Laican chuckled twice: "Then, Your Highness, you'd better not tell me!"

Before long, the carriage arrived at the center of Lingxiao City.

Within this Lingxiao City, there is actually a city within a city.

It's practically a miniature palace.

Xiao Ce leaned against the carriage window and looked out.

This small palace is truly magnificent.

"This Bao An really knows how to enjoy life!"

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Ce.

Qian Lai said, "Your Highness, this palace was built for Bao An with funds jointly contributed by the four major aristocratic families. It is said that it cost more than three million taels of silver!"

Xiao Ce was somewhat prepared after hearing this, but he was still a little shocked.

"So everyone says these four northern prefectures are poor because they've been drained dry by these things!"

Qian Lai nodded and said, "Your Highness, hundreds of years ago, the four prefectures of Mobei were an extremely prosperous land... On the one hand, it was due to the oppression of the local powerful clans, and on the other hand, it was due to the repeated plundering by the Turks. The most fundamental reason was the persecution of a large number of native people."

Nie Bing had told Xiao Ce all of these things.

Xiao Ce continued with an unfriendly expression: "That's right, the four prefectures of the Northern Desert have been treated as fiefdoms by the four great clans. They're practically like princes here, treating the common people like slaves, like giant bloodsucking leeches. If it weren't for these bastards, the four prefectures of the Northern Desert wouldn't be in this state!"

Qian Lai looked at Xiao Ce with some surprise: "Your Highness, you even know these things? Their keeping of servants and guards is practically a secret!"

Xiao Ce smiled helplessly: "They have more than 200,000 household slaves. Although they don't register them, it's not difficult to find out!"

Qian Lai nodded and said, "Indeed. However, Your Highness, I must be so bold as to remind you of something."

Xiao Ce looked at Qian Lai's serious face and said with a smile, "Speak frankly. I'm not the kind of person who won't listen to advice!"

Qian Lai nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness, if you want to deal with Bao An, that's fine. But you mustn't rush to deal with those local powerful clans. They are deeply entrenched in the area, especially their servants, who have been raised and brainwashed by them since childhood..."

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "I know that too. Don't worry. I already have a plan."

Seeing Xiao Ce's confident demeanor, Qian Lai nodded and said, "Your Highness, everything is under control. I was just being presumptuous."

Xiao Ce smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "It's alright. If I didn't know, your reminder is of great use! I still want to thank you."

Qian Lai looked flattered and apprehensive.

"I can't accept that."

As they spoke, the carriage approached the entrance to the city within a city.

Qian Lai stepped down from the carriage.

He took the invitation and handed it to the guard at the door.

After the guard looked him over, he glanced at Xiao Ce inside the horse and then told him to get down.

Xiao Ce naturally cooperated.

However, the guards seemed to be inspecting the car carrying gifts behind them.

He hadn't expected them to check again. He glanced instinctively at Da Lei, who nodded slightly to Xiao Ce.

Signal him to rest assured.

At this moment, Qian Lai stepped forward and stuffed a bag of silver into the hand of the leading garrison soldier!

"Sir, our products here are Tianshan snow salt and snow sugar, which cannot be exposed to the elements for long periods of time... So please hurry, sir, to avoid affecting the taste of these snow salt and snow sugar."

Money makes the world go round; this applies in any era.

After receiving the money, the leading garrison still opened every box.

Qian Lai watched as the guards opened all the boxes, and his face turned pale with fright.

Fortunately, nothing was found.

After opening it, it indeed contained pure white snow salt and frosting sugar, so it was allowed to proceed.

After a short while, Xiao Ce noticed that a line of carriages was following behind him.

Moreover, judging from these carriages, the owners must be wealthy and powerful individuals.

We entered this city within a city.

Inside, the roads are all paved with bluestone slabs, and the buildings are comparable to those in the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

"This really is a good place. It would be perfect as my temporary palace. It would also save me a lot of trouble," Xiao Ce muttered to himself as he looked around.

Qian Lai wiped the sweat from his face and asked, "Your Highness, where did you hide the big gift you prepared for General Bao An?"

"I do not know either."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce looked at Da Lei, who was sitting silently to the side, as if asking a question.

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, it's hidden in that fine salt."

Xiao Ce couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "You're really creative, kid! But it's a waste of all that fine salt."

After saying that, he looked at Qian Lai with a curious expression.

Thinking of Qian Lai's nervous expression earlier, Xiao Ce decided to keep quiet for the time being, thinking it was for his own good.

The carriage soon arrived outside a palace.

At the palace entrance and exit, carriages were neatly parked outside.

Several servants dressed in the same red wedding attire stepped forward to help carry the gifts brought by each family.

As soon as their carriage stopped, several servants dressed in red wedding attire came forward to carry the gifts.

"My lords, according to the general's rules, unless the gifts here are particularly valuable, we will purchase them all. Afterwards, we will give you a gift list, which you can then give to the steward to enter the venue."

"If there are anything particularly valuable inside, we can help you carry it in, and you can present it to it in person later."

Xiao Ce asked curiously, "Then how much is considered valuable?"

The head servant, dressed in wedding attire, bowed and said, "My lord, our steward said that for any single gift exceeding 50,000 taels of silver, he can personally deliver the congratulatory gift."

Xiao Ce nodded, thinking to himself, "Isn't this exactly what I wanted?"

However, this Bao An is really greedy. Only gifts worth more than 100,000 taels of silver can be personally delivered; otherwise, they are all sent straight to his treasury.

Xiao Ce patted the two boxes behind him and said, "This is a box of Tianshan snow salt and a box of Tianshan snow sugar prepared by our Qian Family Trading Company. Each box weighs fifty catties, and at the market price of two thousand taels per catty, one box is worth one hundred thousand taels, for a total of two hundred thousand taels. Can I personally deliver it to General Bao An?"

The head servant, dressed in wedding attire, lit up with excitement upon hearing Xiao Ce's words.

They were no ordinary servants; they were servants from the General's mansion.

He is quite knowledgeable and well-informed.

"Of course, of course... Gentlemen, this way please!"

As he spoke, the head servant gave a look to the servant beside him and said, "Go and inform Steward Diao."

The servant beside him bowed and nodded, then hurriedly walked to one side.

The head servant in wedding attire led Xiao Ce and Qian Lai into the venue.

As Manager Qian had said, the venue was divided into the inner and outer sections.

These people were treated as insignificant, and their seats were arranged on the outermost side of the hall.

Even the servant who was leading the way felt a little embarrassed.

"Sir, your seats are arranged over here."

Xiao Ce glanced around; their position was almost at the entrance, with a large tree blocking his view.

The table here is a long table for two people. Since the Great Xiao Kingdom still practices individual dining, each person eats their own food.

Although the seats are too remote.

However, he didn't care.

Because he brought lavish gifts, it was only a matter of time before he was invited in.

Xiao Ce, with an indifferent expression, sat down and said to the people carrying the two boxes, "Put my gifts here."

The servant in the wedding robes nodded with a smile.

After Xiao Ce sat down, Manager Qian said somewhat awkwardly, "Young Master, we reported that we were sending the manager. That's why they put him in this position."

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. It doesn't matter where I sit... I was just worried that if I sat too close to Bao An, he would recognize me right away."

Manager Qian only came to his senses after hearing this, and asked nervously, "Young master, does General Bao know you?"

Xiao Ce nodded and said in a low voice, "Of course, I was the Crown Prince before. And Bao An used to work in the capital and has seen me many times, so he naturally knows me."

Shopkeeper Qian grew increasingly anxious: "If he finds out your identity... wouldn't that mean..."

Before Qian Lai could finish speaking, Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Manager Qian, do you really think I'm here for a feast? My purpose in coming here is to let the entire four prefectures of Mobei know that I, the King, have arrived!"

After Xiao Ce finished speaking, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.

Qian Lai shuddered as he looked at Xiao Ce.

...

A butler-like figure standing at the entrance, greeting VIPs, was listening to a servant dressed in wedding attire speaking in hushed tones.

His eyes involuntarily brightened slightly.

"You said the people from Qian's Trading Company sent fifty catties of frosting sugar and snow salt? Are you sure?"

The servant in the wedding attire nodded and said, "Reporting to Steward Diao, I've inquired, and there are indeed two boxes of white things, but they haven't seen them before, so they're not sure if it's exactly what they're looking for. However, even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to say anything at the General's wedding banquet."

Butler Diao nodded and said, "That's right. Have they been seated yet?"

The servant in the wedding attire nodded: "It's all arranged, it's over there."

The servants in wedding attire saw Xiao Ce sitting not far from the entrance.

"So young? Is he the new manager of Qian's Trading Company?" Butler Diao spotted Xiao Ce at a glance.

Xiao Ce sat there calmly, and one look at this man showed that he was no ordinary person.

The servant in the wedding attire shook his head and said, "No, I heard Manager Qian behind that young man say that he is the eldest son of the Qian family business."

Butler Diao nodded as he listened, and after pondering for a moment, he instructed the people beside him to attend to the guests.

He hurriedly ran towards the palace.