The waste prince is so fierce

He turned around and half-knelt before Li Quan, "Your humble servant Xiao Changsheng failed in his duty and failed to protect His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

The court fell silent instantly.

"Qi...His Royal Highness King Qi?"

After a while, people came to their senses.

Upon learning that the extraordinary young man in front of them was the Prince of Dakang and the King of Qi appointed by Emperor Kang himself, everyone knelt down and kowtowed.

"The common people have met His Highness King Qi!"

...In an instant, the only people left in the court were the stunned Dong Ping, Xu Biao and Liu Hong.

Amid the people's kowtows, Dong Ping woke up as if from a dream. He collapsed on his chair, hurriedly rolled to Li Quan's feet, and knelt down to beg for mercy: "This humble official deserves death! This humble official greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi!"

Li Quan had a blank expression on his face, staring at Dong Ping who was kneeling at his feet: "Just now you asked me to kneel down and salute you, and now you're begging me to spare you?"

Dong Ping did not know Li Quan's identity, and there was nothing illegal in asking him to kneel down. However, considering the arrogant attitude of Xu Biao and Liu Hong, Li Quan understood that Dong Ping was of the same ilk as them.

As the chief judicial officer, Dong Ping was not focused on the trial of the case, but was obsessed with the fact that others did not greet him, which made Li Quan feel extremely absurd.

Faced with Li Quan's questioning, Dong Ping panicked.

"Just now...just now I didn't understand your Highness's identity and was blind. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Dong Ping tried to exonerate himself by saying that he was innocent because he was ignorant. Li Quan sneered and said, "Let's not investigate your fault first. Let's try his case first."

Li Quan turned his gaze to Liu Hong, who was already frightened.

Dong Ping stood up trembling and sat back in his seat.

"Liu Hong, quickly confess your crime!"

After the blow of the gavel, Liu Hong's legs went limp and he fell to the ground.

Although the Liu family was wealthy, merchants had a low status among the scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. Even Dong Ping needed to curry favor with them, let alone the noble King of Qi.

Seeing that Liu Hong was frightened out of his wits, Li Quan signaled Xiao Laosan to narrate what happened.

Xiao Laosan recounted the entire incident in detail, and Dong Ping looked at Liu Hong as if he were a death row prisoner.

Li Quan was already merciful in his willingness to pay fifty taels, but Liu Hong was so bold as to demand five thousand taels, for which he could not escape the death penalty.

Li Quan turned to Dong Ping and asked, "Mr. Dong, how do you think this case should be judged?"

Dong Ping replied: "Liu Hong is guilty of extortion, the amount is huge, and he has violated the laws of Dakang. He should be exiled to the army.

Xu Biao, as a Dakang official, broke the law knowingly, and was exiled along with Liu Hong.

Dong Ping carefully asked Li Quan for his opinion.

"It is your job to judge and sentence. I will not interfere. You don't need to ask me."

Li Quan responded indifferently.

Dong Ping understood immediately and slammed the gavel heavily: "Catch the criminals Liu Hong and Xu Biao!"

The bailiffs quickly captured the two men.

After resolving the matter of Xiao Laosan, Li Quan and Xing'er left the court.

Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, Xiao Laosan and Xiao Ting caught up with him.

"Your Highness, please stay!"

"Thank you for saving my life, Your Highness. I will never forget it!"

Xiao Laosan bowed deeply.

"Mr. Xiao, there's no need to be so polite. If you want to thank someone, thank Xing'er. She was the one who came to the aid of the injustice."

"I thank Miss Xing'er!"

Looking at the miserable appearance of Xiao's father and daughter, a gleam of light flashed in Xing'er's eyes.

"Your Highness, can we take in Old Man Xiao and Tingting?"

Xing'er suggested.

"Take in Old Man Xiao?"

Li Quan repeated it, thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"That's appropriate. We are short of manpower in soap making. Mr. Xiao should be able to help."

After reaching a cooperation with He’s Shop, Li Quan needed to prepare for the production of soap.

Although he could recruit people with generous salaries, Li Quan had limited connections as a newcomer. In comparison, Xiao Laosan was obviously more reliable.

“I’ll leave Uncle Xiao’s affairs to you, and ask him to find some reliable helpers.

At least twenty workers will be needed to produce five thousand bars of soap within ten days. You can handle it as appropriate."

Li Quan trusts Xing'er very much.

"Okay, I know."

So, at Xing'er's suggestion, Li Quan settled Xiao Laosan and Xiao Ting in a house in the east block of Zhuque Street.

At the same time, in the county magistrate's mansion, Zhao Wang was listening to music leisurely when the chief secretary He Chong rushed in hurriedly.

Zhao Wang waved his hand to signal the singing girl to leave, and asked He Chong: "What's so urgent?"

Zhao Wang was slightly displeased at having his fun disturbed.

"It's the King of Qi... His Royal Highness the King of Qi."

When He Chong mentioned Li Quan, Zhao Wang narrowed his eyes.

"What happened to him?"

He Chong recounted what happened in the yamen in detail. Zhao Wang became furious when he learned that Dong Ping had forced Li Quan to kneel down before him and even wanted to torture him.

"This stupid guy, why did I promote him at that time!"

Fortunately, Xiao Changsheng stopped it in time, otherwise if Dong Ping really tortured Li Quan, not only would he himself be doomed to death, but Zhao Wang would also be implicated.

As the highest official in Wuwei County, Zhao Wang could not escape responsibility if something happened to the King of Qi in his jurisdiction.

"After the incident was settled, Li Quan didn't pursue the matter?"

Zhao Wang asked He Chong in a cold voice.

"no no."

"After the King of Qi took Xu Biao and the Young Master of the Liu Family to prison, he left."

"From now on, keep a close eye on the whereabouts of the King of Qi. No matter where he goes, be sure to report immediately."

"As ordered."

He Chong bowed and saluted.

"Did Li Quan make a fuss about the palace soldiers?"

Zhao Wang recalled that he had deliberately left a group of child soldiers for Li Quan, and doubts arose in his heart.

"No, the King of Qi only recruited those child soldiers."

"One hundred child soldiers cannot make a big wave."

He Chong replied.

"Don't take it lightly. I always feel that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is hiding some tricks."

After several encounters with Li Quan, Zhao Wang knew very well that he was not the playboy as rumored. Li Quan's scheming was so deep that even Zhao Wang, an old fox in the officialdom, felt terrified.

If it weren't for the order from the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Zhou Qingshan, Zhao Wang would never want to provoke a figure like Li Quan.

Zhao Wang was just telling He Chong to pay attention to Li Quan when the butler's voice rang out at the door: "Master, Liu Zhixiong from the Liu family wants to see you."

He Chong speculated: "The Liu family only has one son, Liu Hong, so he must have come to save his son."

After Liu Hong was arrested, the Liu family quickly learned the news, and the head of the family, Liu Zhixiong, brought generous gifts and eagerly asked to see Zhao Wang.

"Get lost! His son has been doing evil things in the county all the time, and he deserves the punishment today."

Zhao Wang said angrily.

In fact, it was not that Zhao Wang thought Liu Hong deserved the punishment, but the case had already been decided and Li Quan was involved, so he was powerless to intervene.

Therefore, Zhao Wang had no intention of meeting the anxious Liu Zhixiong.

The housekeeper was about to go out and politely refuse, but He Chong opened the door first: "Steady Liu Zhixiong first, I will go see him right away."

Afterwards, He Chong returned to the house.

"Although the Liu family often donates money, this matter concerns the King of Qi, and it may be difficult to resolve if it gets out of hand."

Zhao Wang glanced at He Chong. Although he was greedy for money, he knew the importance of spending money while alive.

"Don't worry, sir. I understand that there is no room for maneuver in this case, but the Liu family can be used."

He Chong smiled sinisterly.

"Oh?"

Zhao Wang looked at He Chong in confusion.

"That's right, my Lord."

"Liu Zhixiong wants to save Liu Hong, and we have no objection, but the King of Qi insists on sentencing Liu Hong to death, so..."

Why don't we go with the flow and do Liu Zhixiong a favor, and then reveal to him that all this was the intention of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and that it was the price his son had to pay, so as to create a rift between Liu Zhixiong and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi.