Chapter Twelve: The Salt Route (Six)

In the mansion of the Prince of Gaoyou in Yangzhou City, the crisp sound of teacups and wine sets shattering could be heard from time to time.
Li Yi, furious, drove away all the servants who tried to advise him, not even his longtime steward Li Quan was spared.
“Get out! All of you, get out! Wastes! You’re all useless. Whenever the prince needs you, you all run away faster than anyone else, never willing to share his burdens!”
Exhausted from his outburst, Li Yi collapsed to the ground with his legs apart, gasping for breath. He had been knocked unconscious by that bitch Huafu Yun at Zimo Pavilion and brought back by his servants; he had even slept until afternoon. A dull blow to the back of his head left him feeling dizzy. If it weren’t for the lack of evidence in his hands, he would have sent people to razed Zimo Pavilion to the ground right away.
“Damn it, that bitch!”
Li Yi cursed violently, still feeling frustrated. Was she just some common whore who pretended to be refined? He had shown her respect by wanting to be with her, yet she kept making excuses and dodging the issue. What was most infuriating was that she dared to scheme against him. He was a member of the royal family, a noble of high birth—what was she, compared to him?
“Everything’s upside down! Everything’s fucked up!”
Li Yi waved his arms frantically, venting his anger. Unnoticed, he realized his outer clothes had been taken off by the servants. Startled, he immediately shouted, “Someone! Come here! Bring them in for me!”
A servant in charge of Li Yi’s daily affairs stumbled into the room, knelt down, and bowed repeatedly. “What orders does your grace have?”
He inwardly groaned, thinking, “You were the one who told me to get out just now, and now you’re telling me to come in. What’s the deal?”
But he dared not say such things to Li Yi. Who didn’t know the prince’s temper? If he dared to speak back to him now, he would surely be dragged outside and beaten to death.
“Tell me, did you change my clothes?”
Li Yi glared at him coldly.
Frightened by the prince’s fierce gaze, the servant stammered, “Your grace, it’s true that I helped you change clothes and rest.”
“That’s right.”
Li Yi snorted. “Have you seen the letter in the inner pocket of my clothes?”
“Uh…”
The servant seemed to realize something; cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead. “I… I haven’t seen it.”
He lowered his head as low as possible, trying to avoid the prince’s scolding, but the storm of punishment came without warning.

“Damn it, how could it be missing? You must have lost it—you definitely lost it!”
In a fit of rage, Li Yi lost his temper and rushed over to kick the servant in the chest.
The servant didn’t dare to dodge and only protected his head and chest with his arms, crying out, “My lord, I really don’t know! That letter has been missing since you returned. I swear by heaven!”
He had always served Li Yi personally—how could he not know about the secret hidden in his lord’s clothes? Apart from the lord himself, he was likely the only one who knew about this secret letter. He had also been suspicious when changing the lord’s clothes last night and not finding the letter, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
Now it seemed certain that the letter was lost; otherwise, the lord wouldn’t have been so enraged.
“My lord, please calm down. Please, out of respect for all these years of service, listen to me.”
The servant kowtowed on the ground, repeatedly begging for mercy, looking extremely pitiful.
Hearing this, Li Yi actually stopped and said coldly, “I’ll give you a chance. If you can’t explain this properly, I’ll have your legs broken!”
“Ah, ah!”
The servant bowed deeply in gratitude, wiping away his tears, and said, “My lord, I found it strange when you were carried back from Zi Mo Pavilion. You went there to listen to music with Miss Huangfu Yun—how could you suddenly fall asleep? But that maid insisted that you just dozed off. I had no evidence at the time, so I had no choice but to carry you back…”
“Get to the point!”
Li Yi kicked the servant irritably as a warning.
“Ah, ah. I was thinking, why would they ask me to take you away if nothing was wrong? It must be because they’re guilty and trying to cover up their theft!”
To clear himself, the servant insisted that it was Miss Huangfu Yun and her servants who were up to no good. It made sense—since the secret letter was still there the day before yesterday but disappeared last night, if it wasn’t stolen by Miss Huangfu Yun and her servants, it must have been him.
So, whether Miss Huangfu Yun was involved or not, the blame had to fall on her.
“You’re saying those two witches did it!”
Li Yi raised his eyebrows and pressed further.
“That’s right, exactly!”
Delighted that he had led his lord’s thoughts in that direction, the servant kept saying, “It must be that they were hired to steal your treasure, my lord.”
“Then who could it be?”
Li Yi kicked the servant again, demanding an answer.
The servant was in extreme distress, thinking, I’ve already explained it this clearly—why are you still kicking me?

“My lord, my lord, how could a humble servant like me interfere in such matters? But I think the person who could make Huangfu Yun fall in love and take an interest in that letter must be someone of great status!”
“Hmph! I’ll lead my men back to Zimo Pavilion and burn that bitch’s den to the ground!”
Fueled by rage, Li Yi spat out vile words, just like a street thug—where was any trace of the dignity of a prince of the Tang Dynasty?
“Ah, my lord, please don’t act impulsively.”
Seeing that trouble was about to arise, the servant hurriedly advised, “Although those two witches committed this crime, we have no evidence. If you burn Zimo Pavilion now, it will only invite gossip, and it will be difficult to explain to Seventh Prince.”
“Hmph, that old bastard!”
Li Yi angrily shook off the servant’s arm and let out a long sigh. In this Jianghuai region, there was nothing he, Li Yi, wouldn’t dare to do. Not to mention burning an brothel—even if he ordered everyone in Zimo Pavilion, over a hundred people, to be killed, the officials of Yangzhou wouldn’t dare say a word.
But that old bastard was indeed troublesome. He had to address him as Seventh Uncle, so he couldn’t be too forceful.
“My lord, why not change your approach and follow the clues to find the mastermind?”
Only after his lord finally calmed down did the servant breathe a sigh of relief.
“Explain it to me.”
“Ah, just do this, and then that—surely he’ll fall for it!”
“Hmm.”
Hearing this, Li Yi felt a bit more at ease. “Leave this task to you. If you fail, watch out for your life!”