The court officials were badly shaken by the sudden revelation.
As they remembered it, even when the ruler of the Gaoyang Kingdom was lost amid a delegation hundreds strong, he remained the most conspicuous of them all.
It was not because of any outstanding looks or bearing. The air of shabby poverty radiating from his very bones was enough to make him the brightest star in the crowd.
But now, the Little Princess's inner voice was telling them that all of that had been an act?
The Gaoyang Kingdom was actually filthy rich?!
It felt as though ten thousand ants were crawling through their hearts. They itched desperately to hear the Little Princess say more about Gaoyang, but-
Wow, this Pan Chengbi might not usually bully men and tyrannize women, but when he makes a move, he goes big!
Three years ago, a local official's mismanagement let a plague run rampant through his jurisdiction. That official brought money to Pan Chengbi, and he had the entire village slaughtered, then personally helped bury the evidence!
Jiang Yingcheng sucked in a breath. Over a hundred people! Just because he was afraid they would come to the capital to lodge a complaint, he killed even the ones who weren't infected!!
The officials' hearts seemed to stop for a moment.
An entire village... slaughtered?
Even the people who had not caught the plague??
What kind of obscure nightmare were these words describing?!!
One official murmured to the colleague beside him, "Why don't you just back Pan Chengbi up and let him resign? Let's get through today's court session first."
An icy pressure poured down from the Golden Terrace. He was a little afraid that if Emperor Mingze kept listening, he would no longer be able to contain his anger-
He was not worried that