The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 149 - 150: Poles Apart

Li Cheng was so enraged by this shameless pair that his whole body ached.

He said through gritted teeth, "Lady Hua, who gave you the nerve to speak so presumptuously of me?"

Hua Manman covered her mouth with a small gasp. "Oh, so you could hear me?"

"...I’m not deaf."

Hua Manman quickly apologized. "Oh, I’m so sorry. I was just speaking casually. Your Highness wouldn’t hold a grudge against a humble woman like me, would you?"

Li Cheng suppressed his anger and said, "This is a public court. All irrelevant personnel will leave at once!"

But Li Ji said, "She is my lawfully wedded wife, not some irrelevant person."

Li Cheng shot back, "Even if she is your wife, she can’t spout nonsense in a public court!"

Li Ji smiled faintly. "Was that nonsense? I thought she made a rather good point."

Li Cheng finally lost his patience. His face darkened as he asked coldly.

"Are you planning to openly defy me?"

Li Ji met his gaze without flinching and retorted, "And so what if I am?"

Just as Li Ji was about to seize the opportunity to make a scene, Hua Manman suddenly stepped forward, feigning innocence as she tried to mediate.

"Oh dear, it’s all my fault. I was in the wrong. Please, you two mustn’t fight over me."

Li Cheng was thoroughly disgusted by her duplicitous, feigned innocence.

Yet he couldn’t very well stoop to arguing publicly with a mere woman.

He could only ignore her and address Prince Zhao directly.

"So you’re determined to meddle in this affair?"

Li Ji replied at a leisurely pace.

"How can you call this meddling? I’m simply trying to lighten the Crown Prince’s burdens. After all, the Crown Prince has so many important matters to attend to. How could you have time for such a minor case?"

Li Cheng sneered. "Fine. Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll give you two days. If you can’t find the embezzled funds within two days, you will pack your bags and return to Shangjing immediately!"

All the officials in the county government had accused Luo Yun of embezzling public funds, so Li Cheng believed there had to be some truth to the matter.

But Luo Yun was incredibly stubborn. Despite all his efforts, he hadn’t been able to pry the man’s mouth open.

’Since Prince Zhao is so eager to meddle, I can pass this hot potato to him. If he fails to uncover the truth within the time limit, he’ll have to scurry back to Shangjing in disgrace.’

’At that point, Prince Zhao’s reputation will be in tatters.’

’Let’s see how he’ll manage in Shangjing then!’

Li Ji heard the Crown Prince’s thoughts as clear as day. Far from being flustered, he almost wanted to laugh.

In fact, Li Ji did let out a laugh.

"Heh. Alright. If I can solve this case within two days, I ask that the Crown Prince grant me a small request."

Li Cheng immediately grew wary. "What request?"

Li Ji said with a smile.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. I just want a small, insignificant item from you. It won’t hinder you in any way."

The more nonchalantly Prince Zhao spoke, the more apprehensive Li Cheng felt.

But things had already gone this far, and he couldn’t back out now. In the end, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

"Then it’s settled."

Just like that, the case was handed over to Prince Zhao.

Li Ji didn’t continue the interrogation of Luo Yun. Instead, he had him sent back to his cell and dispatched a doctor to treat him.

To prevent Luo Yun from meeting with any "accidents" in prison, Li Ji also secretly assigned men to protect him.

The Crown Prince was currently staying in the largest room in the county government building. The slightly smaller room was assigned to Prince Zhao, and Hua Manman, naturally, was staying with him.

Hua Manman followed Li Ji into the room.

After dismissing the attendants, Hua Manman couldn’t wait to voice the question on her mind.

"Prince, why did you suddenly change your mind and decide to help Luo Yun?"

Instead of answering, Li Ji retorted, "Who said I was going to help him?"

Hua Manman was taken aback.

"If you weren’t going to help him, why did you take on the case?"

Li Ji said slowly, "Because I want something from the Crown Prince."

Hua Manman grew even more curious. "What treasure could be worth the Prince going to all this trouble?"

Li Ji deliberately kept her in suspense.

"You’ll find out in due time."

Hua Manman could only suppress her curiosity and brought up another matter.

"Just now, when the Crown Prince saw you return safely, his reaction was unusually strong. I feel it was rather unnatural."

If the Crown Prince were merely shocked, his voice wouldn’t have been trembling.

His expression at the time seemed to be a mixture of not just shock, but also nervousness, fear, and guilt.

Li Ji chuckled softly. "You’d have to ask him that yourself."

Just now, while speaking with the Crown Prince, he had heard his thoughts. He learned that his own fall into the river wasn’t a simple accident—it had been deliberately orchestrated by the Crown Prince.

Li Ji had a host of flaws, among them being petty, holding grudges, and seeking revenge for even the slightest offense.

He never let anyone who crossed him get off easy.

’Just you wait,’ he thought. ’The real show is only just beginning!’

News that County Magistrate Gao had been removed from his post for investigation quickly reached the Gao Family.

Mr. Gao was startled and hurried to County Magistrate Gao’s home in person, wanting to know what was going on.

However, no sooner had he arrived at the County Magistrate’s house than soldiers from the Tiger Roar Camp stormed through the doors.

County Magistrate Gao and Mr. Gao were forcibly taken away, and the entire Gao residence was turned upside down.

The search proved fruitful. In the end, they found several hundred chests of silver in a secret underground chamber in the Gao residence!

The bottom of all that silver bore the mark of Official Silver.

This was proof enough that all the silver was public funds!

A rough count revealed a sum of over two hundred thousand taels of silver.

When the soldiers of the Tiger Roar Camp carried the heavy chests before the Crown Prince, Li Cheng’s composure completely shattered.

He had been convinced that Luo Yun had embezzled the public funds. He never imagined the real culprit was actually County Magistrate Gao! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He, the dignified Crown Prince, had been led around by the nose by a mere county magistrate.

’If Prince Zhao hadn’t already taken over the case, I would have killed County Magistrate Gao on the spot to appease my rage!’

County Magistrate Gao and Mr. Gao were no less shocked than the Crown Prince.

They had long ago conspired in private, aligning their stories to ensure Luo Yun would take the blame for the embezzlement. And indeed, things had been proceeding according to their plan.

They had already begun to relax, thinking the matter was all but settled.

But they never expected Prince Zhao to appear out of nowhere.

Prince Zhao didn’t bother with interrogations or questioning. His first move was to arrest people and search the Gao Family’s residence, moving so fast it caught everyone completely off guard.

The Gao Family didn’t even know what was happening before Bian Ziming led his men to raid their home.

After raiding the Gao Family, the Deng and Cao families were next.

These two families were hardly any cleaner than the Gaos. Over one hundred thousand taels of Official Silver were found in each of their homes.

Faced with a mountain of irrefutable evidence, County Magistrate Gao knew it was hopeless and could only bow his head and confess.

The Crown Prince had given Prince Zhao two days to find the truth.

But Prince Zhao had exposed the whole affair in just one day.

Moreover, the truth he uncovered was the complete opposite of what the Crown Prince had previously concluded.

This was undoubtedly a hard slap in the Crown Prince’s face. His mood sank to rock bottom, and he became exceptionally gloomy.

However, an even more vexing matter was yet to come.

Because Li Ji had come to make him fulfill his promise.

...