The Estate Manager was terrified.
"Your Highness, it is all due to my poor management! I have specifically brought them here to be dealt with as you see fit!"
Advisor Jia and his few subordinates trembled in fear.
"Have mercy, Your Highness! We were blind! We apologize to Your Highness! Please forgive us!"
Advisor Jia and his subordinates kowtowed incessantly, their heads thumping heavily against the ground.
The Prince of Pingyang cast a glance at Ling Feng, who then stepped forward.
"Where is the silver from earlier? Take it out!"
The Estate Manager immediately pulled ten taels of silver from his robes and respectfully held it above his head.
Ling Feng glared fiercely.
"I gave you twenty taels, and you actually dared to pocket half of it?"
The Estate Manager shuddered in terror.
"I... I only received this much..."
Suddenly realizing what had happened, the Estate Manager slapped Advisor Jia across the face.
"You treacherous dog! You actually dared to embezzle it?"
Advisor Jia was knocked to the ground by the blow. He hurriedly scrambled back onto his knees and pulled another ten taels of silver from his robes.
"I was momentarily blinded by greed. I beg Your Highness for forgiveness!"
Ling Feng snatched the silver away and presented the full twenty taels to the Prince of Pingyang.
The Prince of Pingyang looked toward the old man who was kneeling nearby with his family.
"Old gentleman, please rise."
"This is the payment for our meal today. Please accept it, and do not think it too little."
Ling Feng took the silver, walked over to the old man, and placed it into his palm.
The old man felt as though the silver in his palm was burning hot.
He hurriedly kowtowed to the Prince of Pingyang.
"Noble sir... oh, Your Highness, this is too much."
"How could a single meal cost so much silver? Please take it back, Your Highness."
"Consider the rest as my reward to you. The food was very delicious," the Prince of Pingyang said in a gentle tone.
The old man still dared not accept it.
Twenty taels! Their family's expenses for an entire year would not even amount to twenty taels!
Moreover, this silver had just been taken from the hands of the Estate Manager.
Once the Prince left, it would be a miracle if the Estate Manager didn't come looking for trouble.
Wealth stirs men's hearts.
He only wished for his family's safety; everything else was secondary.
Otherwise, even if he had the luck to receive it, he might not live long enough to enjoy it.
"Please take it back, Your Highness. The food was all from our own home, it's not even worth a few copper coins."
The Prince of Pingyang noticed the old man's evasive, fearful glances toward the Estate Manager.
"Rest assured. I have said it is a reward for you."
"If anyone dares to try and steal it, just go report it to the authorities! I will back you up!"
"If anyone dares to harm a single hair on the heads of your family members, I will make them pay a terrible price!"
By the end of his speech, the Prince of Pingyang's voice had turned exceptionally sharp and intimidating.
The Estate Manager, Advisor Jia, and the others kneeling on the ground could not help but shudder.
With these words from the Prince of Pingyang, who would dare scheme against the old man?
The Estate Manager looked at the Prince of Pingyang with a fawning expression.
"Your Highness, it is dirty and messy here. Why don't you follow me to my humble home?"
The Prince of Pingyang lifted his chin toward Advisor Jia.
"How do you plan to deal with someone who bites the hand that feeds him and betrays his master?"
A chill ran down the Estate Manager's spine. For some reason, he felt that there was a hidden meaning in the Prince of Pingyang's words.
"Men! Tie them up and send them to the magistrate's office!"
The Prince of Pingyang gently raised his index finger.
Ling Feng immediately signaled the guards by the carriage. "Two of you, go along with the Estate Manager's men."
Two guards immediately ran over.
An uncomfortable expression appeared on the Estate Manager's face.
He had originally planned to just send Advisor Jia through the motions to appease the Prince of Pingyang.
After all, the county magistrate at the government office was an old acquaintance.
Advisor Jia would just stay there for half a day, and he could have someone release him by tomorrow.
But now, the Prince of Pingyang's men were going along.
Advisor Jia and his cohorts were not going to have an easy time now.
The Estate Manager glanced at the twenty taels of silver in the old man's hand, and his heart turned cold.
He believed he had treated Advisor Jia quite well.
Yet, Advisor Jia had clearly received twenty taels but told him it was only ten.
That meant Advisor Jia must have been hiding many other things from him on a regular basis.
The Prince was right; if he didn't eliminate such a treacherous subordinate, it would become a grave threat in the future!
Having figured this out, the Estate Manager completely ignored the pleading looks Advisor Jia shot his way.
Advisor Jia and the others were taken away.
When the Estate Manager extended his invitation once more, the Prince of Pingyang gladly accepted.
The Prince of Pingyang, the Princess of Pingyang, and Duoduo boarded the carriage.
"Your Highness, this Estate Manager is untrustworthy. Why did you agree to go to his estate?"
"Even a mighty dragon struggles against a local snake. If the Estate Manager harbors malicious intentions, wouldn't we be walking right into a trap?"
The Princess of Pingyang was very worried.
It was obvious at a glance that Advisor Jia's tyrannical behavior had been authorized by the Estate Manager.
Yet, the moment something went wrong, the Estate Manager immediately threw his subordinate under the bus to take the blame.
Such a person was not worthy of trust.
The Prince of Pingyang did not answer her directly, but instead looked at Duoduo.
"Do you know why Father is doing this?"
Duoduo tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Father once told me a story: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."
"Father, you also said that what you hear is false, but what you see is true."
A look of approval appeared on the Prince of Pingyang's face.
"Not bad at all. By being able to apply what you have learned, you have already surpassed the vast majority of people."
Duoduo's little face lit up.
Her father had actually praised her!
She was so happy!
The Princess of Pingyang also understood now. "Your Highness, you want to enter the game yourself?"
The Prince of Pingyang slowly nodded.
"Since we are already here, of course we must go and see the Estate Manager's home."
"Wasn't it said that he is akin to a wealthy landlord, with granaries full of endless grain and a home filled with countless silver?"
"Oh, right, and countless beautiful concubines, living in a residence even larger than the Prince's mansion."
"Naturally, I must go and see this for myself."
The Princess of Pingyang furrowed her brows.
"Then why didn't Your Highness just send him straight to the magistrate's office along with the others earlier?"
"Why do you need to pretend to be cordial with someone so treacherous?"
The Prince of Pingyang shook his head.
"You are mistaken, my Princess!"
"To catch a thief, you must find the loot! Otherwise, how can we convince the people below us?"
"Furthermore, have you forgotten what the old man said earlier?"
The Princess of Pingyang frowned.
What the old man said earlier?
Which sentence?
The Prince of Pingyang knew that what his wife lacked was experience.
The household of the Prince of Pingyang's mansion was simple, and with him protecting her so closely, his wife had retained a rather innocent nature.
However, she was the legitimate daughter of a prominent and noble family; she had surely been exposed to the schemes and politics of human nature since childhood.
"The old man just said that the tenant farmers here have all been following the Estate Manager for over a decade."
"I can deal with the Estate Manager easily; it would only take lifting a finger."
"But if hundreds of tenant farmers start a riot, how am I supposed to handle it?"
After saying this, the Prince of Pingyang looked deeply at his wife.
The Princess of Pingyang looked thoroughly confused.
"The Estate Manager oppresses them so much, would they actually speak up for him?"
"They do it to survive!"
With the Prince of Pingyang's explanation, the Princess of Pingyang suddenly saw the light.
"The Estate Manager makes them think it is the Prince's mansion oppressing them, not him."
"If we were to punish the Estate Manager, they would think the Prince's mansion is just bullying the weak with our power."
"If the Estate Manager then ordered someone to stir up a little trouble, the tenant farmers would definitely believe that the Prince's mansion wants them dead!"
As she said this, the Princess of Pingyang's hands clenched into fists.
"What a vicious and calculating scheme!"
