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At this moment, the atmosphere in the courtyard was oppressively somber, with small snowflakes still drifting from the sky. Li Rui and a group of officials stood motionless within the courtyard.

The officials didn’t dare to take deep breaths, feeling a chill on their backs as

cold sweat broke out all over their bodies.

Now, it all depended on what North Prince would do.

If North Prince had set his heart on striking down the corrupt officials, it was likely none of them would escape.

Lu Chen scanned the loyalty of Li Rui and these officials, seeing that Li Rui, the Prefecture Governor, had the highest loyalty at ninety-five, while the other officials had loyalty scores around seventy to eighty.

Loyal they might be, but each had their own ulterior motives.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Chen calmly said, “This prince has no intention of conducting a major purge. The reason 1 have summoned you all to the Prince’s Mansion to deliberate is merely because 1 intend to announce a reform plan. Some officials from North City panicked at the call to council and fled overnight with the silver they embezzled.”

“Times of need are when North City requires its officials the most, yet those officials embezzled so much silver and the moment trouble arose, they fled with the money. If such people are not arrested, then this prince would indeed be too lenient.”

Upon hearing this, the officials felt a jolt in their hearts.

The meaning of the North Prince seemed to be…

They had embezzled so much money without offering any to him, instead fleeing with it, leaving nothing behind, and that is why he had the Brocade Guard apprehend the fleeing officials?

It seemed they were not completely without options.

Once they returned, if they handed over the embezzled silver, then maybe North Prince wouldn’t trouble them, right?

At that time, Lu Chen continued, “You may all go back. If this prince wanted to arrest you, you would have been in Yan County’s prison by now.”

Upon hearing Lu Chen’s words, Li Rui seemed to understand the message; Lu Chen was making an example out of a few to warn other officials in North City.

He probably wouldn’t be affected, as he had immediately relinquished his authority when North Prince first came to North City. Although at that time, North Prince had only taken over military power, his initial attitude must have pleased North Prince.

The authority he now held was also granted by North Prince. If the prince wanted to move against him, he could easily crush him. Lu Chen posed no threat to him and was unlikely to deal with him for that reason.

With that thought, Li Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Li Rui politely said, “Your servants will take their leave.”

After Li Rui and the officials left the Prince’s Mansion, one of them immediately asked, “Lord Li, is the prince really not going to settle accounts with the officials from North City?”

Li Rui replied, “Didn’t the prince just say it? He ordered the Brocade Guard to arrest those people because they were taking the silver they had embezzled and attempting to flee North City; that’s why he caught them.”

“If you do not harbor such intentions, the prince is unlikely to bother you. If the prince wanted to settle accounts with the officials from North City, I m afraid everyone here, including myself, would have already been arrested.

With that, Li Rui glanced at the officials and continued, “The prince will be reforming North City next, so you should all be diligent from now on, not like before, doing as little as possible each day.”

“The prince has great ambitions, and if you hold him back, even if he has not settled accounts with you now, you will eventually end up in prison.”

At this moment, an official asked in a low voice, “Lord, what should we do about the silver we have received in the past?”

Since North Prince had said he would definitely arrest anyone trying to flee with the silver, it was quite likely that these officials who remained in Yan County wouldn’t be able to escape.

If even small county officials could be arrested by the North Prince’s Brocade Guard, how could they, right under the nose of the Brocade Guard, possibly escape?

Given that, the silver they had embezzled in the past seemed to burn in their hands, as no one knew when the embezzled silver might become evidence that would land them in jail.

Li Rui said, “That’s simple. When you all return, bring all the ‘gifts’ of silver you have received over the years to my residence, and I will deliver them collectively to North Prince Mansion.”

“Ah, and a word of advice: the prince’s Brocade Guard is formidable. They can easily find out how much money you have taken if they wish to investigate, so I urge you not to hold onto any hope of luck.”

Upon hearing this, some officials who had thoughts of secretly hiding their money quickly abandoned the idea.

They had had plenty of dealings with the Brocade Guard and knew its fearsomeness. Lord Li was right; if the Brocade Guard really decided to examine them, they could indeed be stripped bare.

In the dead of night,

Lu Chen was still busy in his study.

The study was brightly lit, and as Chu Qingli patrolled to the door of the study and noticed it was still lit, she found it incredible.

Not long ago, Lu Chen was misbehaving daily with the women of the Prince s Mansion. Why had he suddenly become so well-behaved these past few days? It seemed she hadn’t seen Lu Chen engaged in any misdeeds with that woman for several days now.

Could it be that he was having problems with his body, and he wasn’t able to perform anymore?

Given his nature, if he didn’t indulge in pleasures with women one day, he certainly wouldn’t feel good.

Hmm! It must be that his body can’t take it anymore!

What did it matter if he had a magical fate, after all, he was still human. Indulging in carnal pleasures day in and day out would take a toll on anyone. This guy must be hiding in the study every day, probably so that his women wouldn’t notice that he’s lost his ability, preserving his pride by hiding away in the study and not returning at night.

While Chu Qingli was contemplating the light in the study, a gentle voice appeared behind her, “Qing Li, what are you looking at?”

Chu Qingli quickly snapped back to reality, turned around, and saw Chu Yuqin, then promptly said, “Nothing much, I was just thinking about something.”

At that moment, Chu Yuqin’s gaze also turned toward Lu Chen’s study, and seeing the light there, she muttered to herself, “Chen’er has indeed grown up.” As she spoke, a blush involuntarily spread across Chu Yuqin’s face, her thoughts suddenly returning to an incident that had recently taken place in the study..