Chapter 214: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
A big piece of news recently broke out in the capital. The dignified Crown Princess had vanished without a trace in broad daylight, and from the heavily guarded Crown Prince's Residence, no less. The Crown Prince was furious. He turned the entire capital upside down, conducting detailed investigations. The homes of all high-ranking officials and nobles were searched. The Crown Princess wasn't found, but a great deal of gold, silver, and jewels was. Quite a few corrupt officials were unintentionally caught. For a time, every noble in the capital's circles was living on edge, trembling...
"Your Highness, today we've uncovered three more third-rank officials who were hiding large amounts of gold and silver of unknown origin in their homes. The total is at least a million taels of silver. We have both the loot and the culprits, and they are being held on the spot awaiting your decision. Should we... handle them as usual?"
When the subordinate came to report, The Crown Prince was lazily leaning against his desk, handling documents. Upon hearing "a million taels of silver," he let out a dissatisfied "Mn."
"These parasites... they are truly greedy!" The Crown Prince gritted his teeth.
"Your Highness is brilliant. This sudden search caught many officials off guard. They had no time to move the gold and silver in their residences. We found something with every search, and few fish escaped the net."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It is all part of this subordinate's duty. If Your Highness has no other orders, this subordinate will send those who should be jailed to jail, and send the gold and silver that should be confiscated to the national treasury?"
"Wait."
"Your Highness?" The subordinate stopped.
"The corrupt officials must be arrested, but also compile a list of the officials with modest and clean family finances and present it to me."
"Yes!"
The subordinate admired The Crown Prince from the bottom of his heart. This move by The Crown Prince was killing three birds with one stone. Everyone in the capital knew how much The Crown Prince doted on his wife. He searched the entire city under the pretext of finding the Crown Princess, and all the officials could do was rage silently. They were powerless even after having their homes turned upside down. The Crown Prince had just blatantly used "searching for his wife" as a cover to investigate corruption. After catching the corrupt officials, he conveniently filled the national treasury with their ill-gotten gains. The common people all clapped their hands and cheered. He had gained tangible benefits and also won a good reputation.
Brilliant, truly brilliant!
The Crown Prince was far-sighted, and his strikes were precise. His subordinates naturally worked with extra vigor. Within two days, the great prison was filled with detained corrupt officials, and the national treasury was piled high with confiscated gold, silver, and jewels.
The crackdown on corrupt officials in the capital was in full swing. It was only after several days of watching the excitement that people remembered one crucial thing-the Crown Princess still hadn't been found.
The high-ranking officials and nobles watched as The Crown Prince's temper in the morning court grew fiercer by the day. They all became more and more baffled. Where on earth had the Crown Princess gone? Could it be that The Crown Prince had made too many enemies, and someone who couldn't stand him had secretly assassinated his woman to vent their anger?
No one would have guessed that the Crown Princess had been tricked by a guard, disguised, and taken all the way to Jiangnan to live in seclusion in some remote mountain valley.
Sun Jiaojiao truly believed there had been a major upheaval in the court, and Xiao Liu had taken her to sneak away to Jiangnan to hide under The Crown Prince's orders.
The scenery along the way was lovely, and Xiao Liu was very considerate. Sun Jiaojiao was actually having a great time.
The two of them, relying on their disguises and not being pursued for days, grew bolder and bolder. They did everything that only a married couple would do. One day, Sun Jiaojiao was even struck by a playful mood and pestered Xiao Liu to disguise her as a dashing, wanton young master, and they visited a brothel together...
It wasn't until they reached Xiao Liu's hometown and were truly squatting in a mountain valley that Sun Jiaojiao became a little unhappy-was he fucking kidding her? Living in this godforsaken place with so many mosquitoes and snakes? She wasn't going to live here!
That night, she threw a 'young miss' tantrum at Xiao Liu. She got on a horse and was about to leave, shouting that she would rather go back to the city and stay in an inn. Xiao Liu anxiously mounted his horse to block her, but was suddenly hit by a pebble from an unknown assailant, his acupoints sealed from a distance.
Sun Jiaojiao had only learned to ride a horse from Xiao Liu a day or two ago, so she wasn't riding fast. She wondered why Xiao Liu hadn't caught up after so long, even though she was riding so slowly. When she turned her head to look, her vision suddenly went black, and she fainted.
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