The protagonist chased the villain, and Tiandao screamed in anger

The two of them got on the sedan chair and left the East Palace in the afternoon.

The news that the Third Prince was named Prince Rui was spreading throughout the palace. The court officials in the government offices were also discussing it privately, trying to figure out the emperor's intentions from the emperor's words and actions.

If it were normal times, there would be nothing wrong in conferring the title of king to a prince of appropriate age. However, this matter happened too closely, and the feud between the Jiang and Xu families has not yet been resolved. Now that the third prince has been conferred the title of King Rui, is this some kind of hint released by the Emperor?

The ministers discussed in low voices until You Mu entered the office with Lou Jian, and then everyone fell silent.

The tax inspection and reconciliation task assigned by the Emperor was not difficult, but it was not simple either. Just checking and calculating the numbers was time-consuming and laborious. The accounts collected from various places were numerous and piled up in the account office. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were piled up like a mountain. That was why You Mu had been working so hard for several days.

This is a thankless job. If a loophole is found, people will be offended. If there is no problem in the current verification, and the emperor discovers the flaw later, it will be another disaster and there is no guarantee that he will not be implicated.

Just as Master Lou once said, the court's accounts are now a mess, with many bad debts, all of which are drawbacks. If they are not cut off in time, they will only get worse.

Over the years, the national treasury has been depleted by most of its resources, with little gain. The emperor realized the signs of his fortune only later and began to pay attention to the inventory of accounts.

However, when it came to matters concerning the accounts, the ministers in the Ministry of Finance had long since mastered the art of being slick and they passed the buck to each other and covered up for each other, making it difficult to punish them.

Therefore, Emperor Chen threw this hot potato to You Mu to deal with.

After all, everyone knows that the current prince has a cruel temper and values ​​his own life, so no one wants to offend the prince.

Although the accounts are troublesome, You Mu's vicious reputation has made his officials as alert as mice seeing a cat.

The verification work was almost finished, and the documents for the list were half written. The sun was setting in the west, and You Mu's wine jug was empty.

Lou Jian followed behind the prince, knowing that there was something wrong with the liquor in the pot, but there were officials working everywhere, and as a small servant, it would be a big taboo for him to make any noise beyond the rules.

You Mu naturally had no idea of ​​the worries in Lou Jian's heart. Strong liquor warms the body, and liquor mixed with cold food powder has always been a good thing for him to ward off the cold.

Although this thing warms the body, it also has many disadvantages. It always causes some unexplained mania. If you vent it, you can still control your emotions. If you keep it in for a long time, the accumulated medicinal power will counterattack and always make people crazy for no reason.

The palms of my hands rubbed against each other, and a bone-chilling itch seeped out of my skin.

Because he was busy checking the accounts, You Mu did not go to the private prison for several days.

Just when he was wondering whether to leave early and return to the palace, the Minister of State Affairs happened to pass by the door in a hurry. You Mu rolled his eyes and called out to him through the open window.

"Master Yan, why are you in such a hurry?"

Lord Yan, who had originally looked solemn, froze for a moment. He did not know what the prince meant by calling him. He bowed to the prince who was sitting inside through the window and could only tell the truth:

"Your Highness is fine. A death row prisoner has been sent to Jingzhou. However, this man has never revealed the names of his accomplices who are harboring the bandits. However, Your Majesty is anxious to get the names of the names, so I am in a hurry."

"I thought it was a big deal. Since I have nothing to do now, I will go and take a look for Lord Yan." Throwing away the pen and wiping his hands, You Mu stood up from the desk. Without waiting for Lord Yan's reaction, he lifted his robe and walked out the door towards the prison.

“Your Highness, this…” Lord Yan did not dare to refute and could only follow the prince.

When they arrived at the prison, You Mu only asked about where the death row prisoners were being held. He ignored Lord Yan's hesitation to speak, took off his outermost coat and threw it to Lou Jian, telling him to wait outside the door.

The heavy iron door closed, isolating Lou Jian from outside.

It is easy to imagine how tragic the situation inside is, but this time the prison walls are much thicker, and most of the sounds cannot be heard through the iron doors.

Lou Jian was standing outside holding the clothes, and she looked at Lord Yan who was feeling uneasy.

"How are you these days, Lord Yan? I heard that my brother is here, why don't I see him?"

Hearing Prince Yu's voice, Lord Yan secretly sighed inwardly that he was unlucky. The capital's office was indeed in bad luck today. The Crown Prince hadn't come out yet, and now Prince Yu had arrived.

"Your Highness Prince Yu, you came at a great time. Your Highness Prince Ling is here." Even though he was extremely reluctant, Lord Yan still had to put on a smiling face for the sake of his reputation.

"What's going on? Could it be that my father has assigned my younger brother to take care of the criminal justice?"

You Heng was crowned king, and soon after that his mother was demoted. Prince Yu had heard about the affairs of the harem, but Concubine Yu was now in the limelight, and his mother had already fallen. As a prince who had set up his own residence outside the palace, it was not convenient for him to openly interfere in the affairs of his father's harem.

After pleading for his mother in the Purple Palace, Prince Yu wanted to test You Mu indirectly when he heard that You Mu was in the government office.

He still suspected that the incident with Jiang and Xiang was the work of the prince, but when he arrived at the place, he heard the ministers claim that the prince had followed Lord Yan to the prison.

This move alarmed Prince Yu. He had not yet been able to calm Lord Jiang down, and was afraid that the prince would go crazy and chop Jiang Xiangzhi, who was imprisoned, to death.

Not to mention what would happen to the crown prince later, just considering Jiang Xie's love for his son, if he also went crazy, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause.

"Not really. His Highness Prince Ling is kind-hearted and wants to help me interrogate the prisoners." Lord Yan himself did not believe what he said. However, the Crown Prince and Prince Yu were at odds with each other, and as an official who was not affiliated with any faction, he had to be careful with his words and not make any mistakes, lest he bring trouble upon himself and get into danger.

Seeing that You Mu's target was not Jiang Xiangzhi, Prince Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the masked servant in the corner, narrowed his eyes, looked kind, and stepped forward.

"You are the slave of my brother? When the king of Japan saw this, my brother was so angry that he almost beat you to death."

Lou Jian knew that the Lou family's misfortune was closely related to Prince Yu and the Xiao family. Although he hated them very much, he remembered what the prince had said, so he suppressed his emotions, looked calm, and bowed to salute.

"Your Highness Prince Yu is safe and sound."

Seeing that the ugly slave did not respond, Prince Yu did not feel that his words had fallen through, and continued: "I heard that your swordsmanship is good. People in the martial arts world are always happy and free. I am afraid it will be uncomfortable to confine you within the palace walls."

"My brother is really like that. He always does what he wants and ignores the wishes of others. This prince values ​​talents. If you are interested, you can come to the palace and be a guest official."

Faced with the olive branch extended by Prince Yu, Lou Jianyi was unable to respond.

His current identity is Lin Zhu, Ah Chou, a man of the underworld who resents the royal family, and he has been humiliated in the Prince's Mansion. Logically speaking, he should not have rejected Prince Yu's "assistance" out of hand.

------It's unethical to open the window in winter-------

You Mu opened the door and window on one side of the desk and ordered Lou Jian to wait by the fire and make tea. It was hard for the ministers in the room who were working. They were in their forties and had to work diligently and endure the biting cold wind.

The ministers said: The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace bullies others by taking advantage of his power. They are shivering with cold and dare not be angry or say anything.

Youmu: The cool breeze is blowing, the temperature is just right, just like spring, very good.