How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

In Chenghuan Palace.

The atmosphere on the scene was subtle and weird.

Sitting between the protagonist and the villain, Xie Chengze, the biggest villain, folded his hands to support his chin, and his legs shook slightly.

"Well, this is..." Xie Chengze looked at Sheng Shihuai and introduced him to Shen Yuan, "Lord Sheng, the Director of the Salt and Iron Bureau, who took good care of me during your imprisonment."

After the introduction, Xie Chengze felt that this scene was just like saying to his current boyfriend who he had been in a long-distance relationship with for many years, "Hi, this is my male best friend. My male best friend is the one who takes care of me when you are not around."

I feel a little guilty for no reason~

Shen Yuan smiled faintly and said, "I have heard that Lord Sheng has taken the position of Director of the Salt and Iron Department at a young age, and he is also quite prestigious in the court. I didn't expect that today, with the help of the Second Prince, I can make friends with a person like Lord Sheng."

"No, no, Lord Shen is so favored by the emperor, and he is also a minister that the Second Prince uses. I am a little envious." Sheng Shihuai also smiled calmly, "Lord Shen's future achievements will surely not be lower than mine. I hope Lord Shen will take care of me in the future."

The two men smiled with narrowed eyes at the same time, one was like an old fox with deep scheming, and the other was like a cunning and sinister poisonous snake. Their sharp claws and poisonous fangs were ready to move, and there was no telling when they would entangle with each other and fight to the death.

Xie Chengze, the pure white little rabbit, huddled between the two and poured tea for the two original book masters. "Come on, come on, we are all family from now on. I will have to rely on you two for the big things I want to plan."

Shen Yuan was the first to retract his gaze, took the teacup and took a sip.

Sheng Shihuai also took the teacup, tapping the outer wall of the teacup with his fingertips intentionally or unintentionally, "Speaking of which, the Crown Prince has been poisoned twice in a row. Lord Shen was ordered to investigate the truth this time. Do you have any guesses about who the real culprit is?"

"There is no evidence yet, so it's hard to guess." Shen Yuan said lightly.

"Oh? I thought that Lord Shen did not go to Wude Hall to search for evidence after he was released from prison, but came to Chenghuan Hall instead. It was because he suspected that the poison was done by the Second Prince and wanted to test the Second Prince." Sheng Shihuai raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of amusement and provocation.

After hearing this, Xie Chengze quickly kicked Sheng Shihuai quietly and gave him a wink.

"Really? Mr. Sheng came to Cheng Huan Palace right after Mr. Shen arrived. I have to wonder if the real murderer thought he had planned everything out and came to provoke Mr. Shen on purpose." Shen Yuan said calmly, "Of course, Mr. Shen definitely did not mean to say that Mr. Sheng was the real murderer."

Sheng Shihuai's smile faded a little, "Of course, you and I both work for His Highness. If the Second Prince really poisoned him, why wouldn't he tell you and me?"

After saying that, he turned and smiled at Xie Chengze, "Right, Second Prince?"

"Ahem." Xie Chengze coughed twice, "Shen Yuan, I suddenly remembered that I left a memorial in the bedroom. Please go and get it for me."

Shen Yuan glanced at him, obviously disagreeing with his behavior of sending him away, but under Xie Chengze's determined gaze, he finally stood up helplessly and left the main hall.

Seeing Xie Chengze deliberately sending Shen Yuan away, Sheng Shihuai pretended to be surprised and asked, "Your Highness... do you want to have a private conversation with me?"

"It was indeed me who poisoned the prince the second time." After Shen Yuan walked away, Xie Chengze came to Sheng Shihuai and explained in a low voice, "I believe you won't tell anyone, but Shen Yuan is always upright and doesn't want to use crooked methods. You must not tell him that I did it!"

"So..." Sheng Shihuai exclaimed, "Then has Your Highness dealt with all the people?"

"What are you dealing with?" Xie Chengze said innocently, "I poisoned the food myself, without any outsiders involved. Unlike the last person who poisoned the food, he needed the help of an outsider."

Sheng Shihuai: ...

"Your Highness, have you dealt with the source of the poison and the person who handled it?" Sheng Shihuai decided to give a reminder regardless of past grudges. After all, if Xie Chengze fell, he would have to look for another candidate.

"Don't worry, there is no one involved!" Xie Chengze's expression became more innocent and harmless. He said proudly, "That was the corpse poison that I personally extracted from a corpse that had been dead for many days! Only you and I know about this, Shen Yuan will never be able to find out!"

Sheng Shihuai: ???

What poison?

Sheng Shihuai was so shocked that he was speechless and couldn't recover for a long time.

This second prince seemed even more...brutal than he had imagined?

However, it seems that Xie Chengze is still hiding something from Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan is an upright person, so he can only accept the good side of the Second Prince, but the Second Prince is willing to show his dark side in front of him...

It seems that he will be more respected and trusted than Shen Yuan?

In the future, he can also use this to easily sow discord between Xie Chengze and Shen Yuan.

"Your Highness is right to clarify this matter with Lord Shen. Otherwise, given Lord Shen's personality, he might break with Your Highness and turn his allegiance to someone else." Sheng Shihuai planted a seed of doubt in Xie Chengze's heart, and then praised, "Your Highness is really brave and resourceful, but Your Highness, aren't you afraid that Lord Shen will not be able to find the real culprit and will be punished by the emperor?"

After all, Shen Yuan is his only remaining right-hand man. Is he really willing to let Shen Yuan be punished?

"Well, you are right. The main reason is that I did not expect that my father would let Shen Yuan investigate this matter." Xie Chengze sighed, "If it were in the past, I could still find a scapegoat, but now my forces have been cleared out by the prince, and there is no one around me to use..."

Xie Chengze suddenly thought of something and looked at Sheng Shihuai with bright eyes, "Hey? Lord Sheng must have someone under his command, right? Why don't you... find a scapegoat for me?"

He said with a smile, and there was an obvious calculation on his beautiful face.

One can tell at a glance what he is thinking.

It is not so easy to work under the Second Prince. Treason is a capital crime. If you want to gain the trust of the Second Prince, you must show your loyalty.

Helping him deal with the poisoning incident is the test that Xie Chengze gives to Sheng Shihuai.

Sheng Shihuai stood up and bowed slightly, "I am willing to help Your Highness relieve your worries."

When Shen Yuan came back, Sheng Shihuai had already left.

"What did you talk about with him?" Shen Yuan sat down and placed the empty folder in his hand on the tea table.

"Nothing, just setting up a vicious and cruel persona for myself~" Xie Chengze drank his tea slowly, "By the way, let him prepare a scapegoat to boost your sales."

"So, the prince's poisoning is fake?" Shen Yuan raised his eyebrows.

"It's true, I guess." Xie Chengze supported his cheek with one hand and looked at him with a smile, "Shen Lang, if the person who poisoned the prince was really me, and the prince died of poisoning, what would you do~"

Shen Yuan raised his hand and gently touched his forehead, "Support the Fourth Prince to ascend to the throne."

Xie Chengze touched his forehead and asked in confusion, "Why is it the Fourth Prince?"

"Because his mother's family is rich, it can just fill the national treasury?" Shen Yuan calculated seriously, "Although the eldest prince has military power, it actually makes no difference to Jian'an whether he is the emperor or not. It is better to make full use of it, support the fourth prince's army, and take the opportunity to make a huge sum of money from the Jiang family."

Xie Chengze: ...

Shen Yuan, you have really changed! You would never have said such money-smelling words before!

Is it true that bad company corrupts good people? Did he lead Shen Yuan astray?

It's impossible, it's impossible...

Xie Chengze quickly denied it in his heart, and then asked, "Then why don't you just let me **, I think I'm not bad either?"

Shen Yuan glanced at him lazily, "The emperor has to review memorials. If the memorials are left to the Fourth Prince, and the Second Prince provides the methods of governing the country at critical moments, wouldn't it be a more effective way to utilize the human resources of the royal family?"

Shen Yuan learned the word "human resources" from him.

Xie Chengze was amazed and clapped his hands in shock, "It's a pity that you don't become a leader."

"Thank you." Shen Yuan took a sip of tea, "I learned all this from Your Highness."

After all, when Xie Chengze was in Yizhou and Liaozhou, he was very good at "exploiting" the labor of the people, especially the labor of the bandits in Liaozhou, which really benefited Shen Yuan a lot.

Xie Chengze couldn't help but touch his nose and muttered, "He didn't learn the good things, but learned the bad things."