After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 149, Princess 8: Trial Marriage First

“There is an iron mine in Jiangnan. All the mineral resources in the entire Daye, especially iron mines, must be reported to the imperial court, but that one did not.”

"And that iron ore mine had actually been mined, so my son had someone investigate it, and guess what happened?"

The old emperor shook his head: "I won't guess."

Crown Prince: ...

"Dad, you have no sense of romance at all. I don't know what Mom saw in you in the first place."

The old emperor's eyes widened.

"You brat, if I'm going to be romantic, it's with your mother, not you."

"Could that entire batch of iron ore have been secretly transported to the southwest?"

The prince nodded firmly: "Father, you're right. I was also very shocked at the time."

"Hmph, so why didn't you report this when you got back?"

The Crown Prince said aggrievedly, "It was only transported to the southwest, but there is no evidence to prove that it was done by the Prince of Huainan. I am still investigating in secret."

"But I assure you, Father, there will definitely be a result today."

Looking at the proud and imposing Crown Prince, the old emperor knew that the prince was going to find Shen Zhiyi.

"Bring me the son of the King of Huainan first."

"Here."

The old emperor began to investigate the true legitimate son of the Prince of Huainan, while the crown prince went to the Hundred Flowers Banquet with his son.

There's no money to hold a wedding banquet for his son right now, so it's better to let him see more women. Maybe if he gets conflicted, his desire to get married won't be so strong.

When the Crown Prince arrived, he saw his eighth sister frantically looking at men, but the process didn't seem to be very pleasant.

[This guy looks decent enough, but he's terrible at sex; he finishes in a second.]

The Eighth Princess quickly waved her hand.

She already indulged in sensual pleasures; if she were to find someone unsuitable, it would be tantamount to losing the sexual happiness of the rest of her life.

This is... hard to judge.

Eighth Princess: How is it difficult to evaluate?

"Your Highness, if you were to marry into my family, I would certainly treat you as an honored guest."

The Eighth Princess was very satisfied; this man was shrewd.

[Ha, an honored guest? More like a divorced wife.]

Everyone looked at that person with gossipy eyes.

[This guy said the same thing to his deceased wife, but when she married into the family, he made her do everything, even cook.]

"I certainly won't let Her Highness cook; I will cook."

The other person should do the laundry.

“The princess’s clothes are also washed here.”

[He was essentially using his wife's labor for free, treating her like a free maid, and ultimately dying from overwork.]

"From now on, all my money belongs to the princess."

The Eighth Princess stared at the other person for a long time, and finally laughed.

"Is the Marquis of Liu'an so poor that they can't afford servants and maids?"

They can afford it, but this family feels that the daughter-in-law isn't there to enjoy life, but to carry on the family line and do chores. Therefore, they see no need for her to do all that.

The eldest son of the Marquis of Liu'an, who was currently being considered by the Eighth Princess, nodded hurriedly.

"Your Highness is too kind. Of course, we can afford to hire servants and maids. You can hire as many as you want."

"Really."

The Eighth Princess raised the corners of her lips, pointed at the other person, and said, "It's you."

"what?"

Shen Zhiyi shook her head, her expression unreadable.

Why did one or two women believe such a clumsy lie?

[Did the Eighth Princess marry into the Marquis of Liu'an's family?]

Shen Zhiyi thought about the scene and couldn't help but shudder when she imagined the arrogant and domineering Eighth Princess turning into a resentful woman in her boudoir.

"Laoba."

When the Eighth Princess heard someone calling her, she looked up and saw that it was actually His Highness the Crown Prince. Everyone present immediately knelt down and paid their respects.

"Eighth Prince, are you really going to choose this thing as your eighth son-in-law?"

The crown prince was shocked.

Do not understand.

not support.

Although he didn't usually pay much attention to his younger siblings, they were still his Zhou family's children, and he couldn't let them be bullied.

"No, no, I don't agree, and neither will my father."

The eldest son of the Marquis of Liu'an was unhappy and protested his innocence.

"Your Highness, I wasn't that bad, was I?"

The crown prince gave the other person a disdainful look and said with a reason, "He has been married before. If you marry him, you will be a second wife. No way."

That's strange, why would the Crown Prince care about this?

Crown Prince: Of course he doesn't care, but this isn't a good family, how can we let his sister marry into it?

The Eighth Princess waved her hand dismissively.

"It's alright, let's not get married yet, let's..."

What? You want to try living together first?

The Eighth Princess excitedly said, "Trial marriage, yes, yes, let's try it first. If I can go to the Marquis of Liu'an's house, I will have someone to rely on for the rest of my life. If I can't go, I won't lose anything."

The eldest son of the Marquis of Liu'an was overjoyed.

"Eighth Princess, I will definitely satisfy you."

Something feels off.

Shen Zhiyi scratched the back of her head, looking very troubled.

[This won't do! If the old emperor knew I'd found such a family for the Eighth Princess, wouldn't he chop off my head?]

As she spoke, Shen Zhiyi touched her neck, feeling a chill in it.

Looking up, she realized that the Crown Prince had arrived at some point.

"Wei minister pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Stop praying, stop praying. We're like family, we're practically family."

The Crown Prince pulled Shen Zhiyi to sit down and began to talk at length about his experiences in Jiangnan.

“Shen Lang, you must go to Jiangnan sometime in the future. The food there is different from that in the capital.”

Of course they're different. Sigh, I miss it. I wonder if the food in the South here is the same as in my world. I miss Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. Life wouldn't be complete without those two cuisines.

[Does the ancient state of Daye still have chili peppers now?]

Shen Zhiyi reviewed the surveillance footage for a while, but eventually looked rather dejected.

[As expected, there are no chili peppers. I wonder how the shipbuilding at the Ministry of Works is going. Let's hurry and set sail to bring back my beloved chili peppers.]

The prince, who originally came to extract some information from Shen Zhiyi, ended up getting hungry because of her.

Finally, he had a table full of dishes served, and after satisfying his cravings, he continued.

"You have no idea, after I went there, I solved a major case."

"His Highness the Crown Prince is truly amazing!"

[What the heck? How did someone who went to farm end up solving a case?]

Shen Zhiyi opened the surveillance footage and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise after watching it.

[Yeah, I knew it, I knew it wasn't that simple.]

The prince's heart leaped into his throat instantly.

Shen Zhiyi, tell me quickly, where is the evidence that the Prince of Huainan is plotting a rebellion!

[Hahaha, what do you call this? This is what you call reaping the bitter fruit of your own evil deeds sooner or later.]

[His Highness the Crown Prince must have found the evidence.]

Crown Prince: Thank you for the invitation, not yet.