The waste prince is so fierce

He Chong looked at Zhao Wang's puzzled expression and said in a low voice, "Sir, I think there is only one possibility..."

When Zhao Wang heard this, he quickly asked, "What's the possibility?"

He Chong analyzed: "I guess Xiao Changsheng may have realized that there was a traitor in this operation, and he may even suspect you and me. So Meng Shan went directly to Prince Qi's mansion after breaking out. This should be Xiao Changsheng's arrangement, and he didn't want to alarm us."

When Zhao Wang heard this, his face changed: "What should we do now? If Li Quan finds out something, both of our lives will be in danger!"

Li Quan is the King of Qi and has a noble status. If any evidence really falls into his hands, even Zhao Wang’s mentor, Prime Minister Zhou Qingshan, will not be able to save them!

Seeing Zhao Wang so panicked, He Chong quickly comforted him: "Sir, don't worry!"

"In fact, this was done by Wang Li alone. It has nothing to do with us. Even if Li Quan investigates, he won't find anything."

"Besides, even if we really find out, the culprit is Wang Li. He coveted Xiao Changsheng's position as the county lieutenant, so he colluded with the horse bandits to harm Xiao Changsheng. It has nothing to do with us!"

Zhao Wang felt that what He Chong said made sense, and he felt a little relieved: "Yes, this is all Wang Li's fault!"

"But since Li Quan already knows that Xiao Changsheng is in trouble, he will definitely come to me..."

Before he could finish his words, the butler outside the door shouted, "Master, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi wants to see you!"

When Zhao Wang heard this, he said coldly, "It came really quickly!"

He turned to He Chong and said, "Remember, when you meet Li Quan later, you must pretend that you know nothing. I will take care of the rest."

He Chong nodded and agreed: "Okay, then let's go meet Li Quan and see what he can do!"

……

After a while, Zhao Wang and He Chong went out together to greet Li Quan.

Zhao Wang said politely, "Your Highness, the Prince of Qi, is honored to have you visit my humble home. I am late, and I beg Your Highness to forgive me."

Although he looked down on the demoted prince in his heart, he still had to pretend to be nice to him on the surface.

Li Quan looked at Zhao Wang's hypocritical look and turned his gaze to He Chong: "I heard that He Changshi is the right-hand man of Zhao Junshou. After meeting him today, I found that his reputation is well-deserved. He Changshi came to Lord Zhao's house so early. It must be hard work."

When He Chong heard the hidden meaning in Li Quan's words, he just chuckled and said nothing.

"Your Highness, you are too kind." He Chong responded modestly, "Lord Zhao and I both serve the people of Dakang, so it is not hard work."

Zhao Wang saw Li Quan coming to see him, and he knew clearly that it must be about Xiao Changsheng. So, he warmly invited Li Quan to enter the County Governor's Mansion, "Your Highness, please come in and have a seat."

Although the prefectural governor's mansion was Zhao Wang's territory, Li Quan was of noble status, so he naturally sat in the main seat as soon as he entered the hall. Seeing this, Zhao Wang had no choice but to sit on Li Quan's right hand side.

"Your Highness, why are you visiting me so early?" Zhao Wang asked tentatively.

Li Quan said straight to the point: "This time, I came here because of the matter of Xiao Junwei."

Zhao Wang pretended to be ignorant. "Marquis Xiao? Didn't he lead his troops out of the city to suppress the bandits? Your Highness, what do you want to see Marquis Xiao for?"

Li Quan looked at Zhao Wang's hypocritical appearance and sneered in his heart, but remained calm on the surface, "Captain Xiao failed in suppressing the bandits."

He Chong on the side also cooperated with Zhao Wang and pretended to be surprised and said: "What? Xiao Junwei led a thousand elite soldiers out of the city, and the Black Wind Village only had more than 300 people. How could they fail?"

Li Quan knew very well that Zhao Wang and He Chong were acting, but he had no evidence, so he could only go along with their story. "I don't know the specific reason why Xiao Junwei failed, but I know that he is a fourth-rank official appointed by the Ministry of Personnel. If he really got into trouble, Lord Zhao and He Changshi would also be to blame."

After hearing what Li Quan said, Zhao Wang felt a little nervous, but on the surface he pretended to be indifferent.

"Your Highness, what you said is wrong. Lord Xiao followed my order to go out of the city to suppress the bandits. He brought so many elite soldiers with him. If something goes wrong, it is because of his poor command. It has nothing to do with me."

Li Quan looked at Zhao Wang coldly. "It is true that the Dakang law does not have a provision for subordinates to implicate their superiors when they make mistakes. However, as an official in charge of a county, can Lord Zhao escape the responsibility for poor management when a bandit kills a fourth-rank official in the court?"

Zhao Wang felt nervous at Li Quan's words, but he still pretended to be calm.

At this time, He Chong saw that the atmosphere was a little tense, so he spoke to break the deadlock, "Your Highness, when you came, you said that something went wrong with Lord Xiao's suppression of bandits, and we don't know the details yet. Could you please tell me in detail what happened?"

Li Quan looked at He Chong, nodded, and began to recount what Meng Shan had said, but he did not mention that Xiao Changsheng suspected that there was a traitor in the team. After listening to Li Quan's narration, He Chong showed a puzzled expression.

"Your Highness, since General Meng Qian is going back to the city to seek help, why doesn't he go to the camp in the north of the city?" Zhao Wang asked with some confusion.

Li Quan smiled and explained, “I happened to meet Mr. Meng Qian when I entered the city today.

I went to the North City Camp when I was recruiting soldiers for the Prince of Qi's palace, and I met him at that time."

In fact, Li Quan concealed the truth and what he said was completely fabricated.

After listening to this, He Chong nodded to show his understanding.

After Zhao Wang and He Chong understood the situation, Li Quan asked, "Lord Zhao, now that you know the situation, how do you plan to rescue Commandant Xiao?"

Zhao Wang was not in a hurry at all, and said slowly: "Your Highness, although General Meng Qian has returned, we have not received any definite news about the accident of Commandant Xiao."

"How about this? I'll send Deputy County Lieutenant Wang Li to Black Wind Mountain to investigate the situation. If County Lieutenant Xiao is in trouble, we'll send someone to rescue him. What do you think?"

When Li Quan heard that Zhao Wang wanted to investigate further, he knew that he was just making excuses to delay.

Li Quan said calmly, "Lord Zhao and Lord Xiao have governed Wuwei County together for so many years, so they must have a deep relationship. I will not interfere with the specific arrangements. But if something really happens to Lord Xiao, Lord Zhao will not be able to escape the responsibility for his poor governance of the county."

"I have something else to do, so I won't stay any longer." After saying that, Li Quan left the county magistrate's mansion with an expressionless face.

After Li Quan left, Zhao Wang and He Chong looked at each other.

"What does this mean, Your Highness?" Zhao Wang asked He Chong.

He Chong thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness is trying to save Xiao Changsheng's life. His words just now have made it very clear that if something really happens to Xiao Junwei, he will definitely report you to His Majesty."

"So, I think we should let Wang Li inform Smiling Tiger not to touch Xiao Changsheng for the time being."

When Zhao Wang heard this, he immediately shook his head: "Not moving Xiao Changsheng? Then aren't we working in vain this time?"