The Crown Prince's Craftsmanship?

On the way, Liu Jin explained in detail what the Crown Prince had been doing for the past two days.

Fang Zheng listened with his ears, but cold sweat unknowingly trickled down his back.

According to Liu Jin's description, Li Yuanzhao hadn't engaged in any intense activities these two days, but he was behaving very strangely.

Sometimes calm, sometimes grinding his teeth in anger, most importantly, he often held a list in his hand, marking it with a vermilion brush.

This clearly showed he had murderous intentions and wanted to take action against the members of the Sanitation Team!

It seemed his lecture hadn't quelled the Crown Prince's anger. The betrayal by his subordinates had truly affected him deeply.

What if he turned to the dark side one day? Wouldn't that be troublesome?

Some things, once done, are simple and can easily become addictive.

Like killing...

Have a problem? Just eliminate the person causing it!

Indeed very convenient, but clearly not a way to solve problems.

Under their rapid horseback riding, they quickly arrived at the Eastern Palace. Li Yuanzhao was still in his bedroom.

Just as Liu Jin was about to announce their arrival loudly, Fang Zheng covered his mouth.

The door wasn't locked. Fang Zheng gently pushed it open, revealing a small crack...

He looked left and right but couldn't spot Li Yuanzhao, so he pushed the door open a bit more.

This expanded his view considerably, and upon further observation, he discovered a lump on the bed that was moving slightly.

Fang Zheng's eyes widened, and anger instantly rose in his heart!

I was fucking worried about you, and here you are in broad daylight masturbating behind an unlocked door!?

Got married but still keeping up with your handiwork? This anime-obsessed weirdo is beyond salvation!

Wait, no! Even married men don't abandon their handiwork... that's normal!

Fang Zheng was about to push the door open, but then thought that if he made a loud noise, he might frighten the person limp.

That would be a great sin.

He nudged Liu Jin beside him, who understood immediately and called out loudly: "Your Highness! Minister Fang requests an audience!"

Then came the sound of rustling from inside, and a moment later, Li Yuanzhao opened the door wearing white undergarments.

He looked listless and said: "Oh, Old Fang is here, come in."

Fang Zheng held his breath, wary of inhaling any mysterious odors.

Then he slowly sat down on a chair and asked: "What's wrong with Your Highness? You don't look well."

Li Yuanzhao coughed twice: "Cough... cough... I haven't slept well these past two days and caught a chill at night. I believe I've caught a cold... stay away so you don't catch it from me."

"My head was throbbing badly this morning, and I was just writing something in bed."

Fang Zheng looked toward the bed and saw several newspapers scattered near the pillow, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief... his breathing became much easier!

So he was writing, not masturbating....

"What was Your Highness writing? May I see it?"

Li Yuanzhao nodded, then walked to the bedside and retrieved the newspapers, which contained a list.

Fang Zheng took them and looked down to see many reports about the Sanitation Team circled with markings.

The list also had many familiar names marked with red crosses.

Among them was Captain Wang.

Fang Zheng's brow gradually furrowed as he asked: "What does Your Highness intend to do? Are you planning to kill those marked with crosses?"

Li Yuanzhao didn't answer, but instead took a deep breath and pointed at the newspaper: "Look, these are reports about the Sanitation Team, all good deeds."

"These fellows are doing good deeds on the surface but have been extorting merchants behind the scenes."

"I want to see exactly who's being a good person to my face but a devil behind my back!"

"As for those I've already identified... I would like to kill them. But as you said, this matter began with me, so I can hardly kill myself, can I?" As he spoke, Li Yuanzhao's face showed traces of helplessness.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng finally relaxed completely.

It seemed he had misunderstood. The Crown Prince hadn't completely lost his rationality.

"Then... has Your Highness decided how to deal with your subordinates these past two days?"

"And what about the affected commoners?"

Li Yuanzhao sighed: "I truly want to kill those bastards! They drank and ate with me but betrayed me behind my back, truly despicable! And they are commoners too, why would they do this to others?!"

Fang Zheng said: "Your Highness, some things become habitual. Servants who become masters can be crueler than the former masters."

"Your Sanitation Team, backed by your power, how could they not 'abuse' others below them? This is also human nature."

"I don't think killing is a good solution. Those people deceived you, extorted merchants under your name, so of course you could justifiably kill them!"

"But looking at it another way, many edicts were approved by you one by one. They were simply fulfilling their duties. What does Your Highness think?"

Li Yuanzhao's face showed discontent as he sneered: "They were fulfilling their duties? They were using me! Even if I kill them, what can they do? Start a rebellion? Old Fang, aren't you being too cautious? When you poisoned over fifty people, I didn't see you being so indecisive!"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng's teeth gritted audibly.

We're not getting past this, are we? We're really not getting past this, are we?