The Fierce Farm Girl Has A Secret Space Chapter 2385: In Detail (Part 1)

The Crown Prince had already come forward and bowed: "Father Emperor, this horse was not fed, thus it refuses to move."

"Why wasn't it fed?" Emperor Xuanjing's face was etched with bewilderment.

"Perhaps the guards were negligent or... careless." The Crown Prince's gaze casually drifted towards the assembled ministers.

Shen Wanxing's heart gave a sudden jolt.

"Nonsense," Emperor Xuanjing's brow furrowed. "Are all the people we hired dead?"

All heads immediately lowered.

"Father Emperor." The Crown Prince suddenly knelt on the ground. "Horses refuse to run if they are not fed grass, how can humans be any different?"

Shen Wanxing's unease began to spread, yet he found the situation difficult to believe. He had not intended to bring down Gu Qingheng this time, merely to cause him a minor predicament.

The soldiers' salaries were collected by the Ministry of Revenue and then disbursed punctually.

With their monthly pay received, the soldiers could muster the strength to fight.

However, on this occasion, although the payment was dispatched according to the established schedule, it had been delayed by roughly a month. If the soldiers grew discontented, how could Gu Qingheng sustain his campaign? Should someone impersonate Gu Qingheng and claim he deliberately withheld their wages, then...

But how had the Crown Prince received this information so swiftly? He maintained close surveillance, and yet messages from the south had not yet arrived.

"What exactly is occurring?" Emperor Xuanjing's expression turned grave. "Cease this game of riddles and explain yourselves thoroughly!"

"King Yun led his troops into a brutal battle in the south, and now his fate is uncertain. General Gu was urgently commanded to confront Nanzhao, yet someone deliberately delayed the soldiers' pay, withholding it for an extended period." The Crown Prince sighed. "Father Emperor, it is the end of the year. While soldiers being unable to reunite with their families at the frontier is one matter, to not receive even their basic monthly wages, is this not excessively disheartening?"

"Shen Wanxing, is this declaration true?" Emperor Xuanjing called out his name directly.

Shen Wanxing trembled and scurried forward, kneeling. "Reporting to Your Majesty, your humble servant dispatched the pay according to regulations. Perhaps it was delayed en route? All records are in order."

Emperor Xuanjing's expression softened slightly; considering the vast distance from the capital to the southern frontier, a delay of a few days was indeed within the realm of normalcy.

"Lord Shen, was it this Tian Zhi who escorted the payment this time?" Qi Jingyi emerged from the side, a private soldier carrying a bound man – it was Tian Zhi.

Upon sighting Shen Wanxing, Tian Zhi couldn't help but cry out, "Master Shen, rescue me!"

Shen Wanxing's face contorted unpleasantly.

Qi Jingyi disregarded Shen Wanxing and knelt. "Greetings to Father Emperor."

"What is the nature of this matter?" Emperor Xuanjing looked at Qi Jingyi with a frown.

"Reporting to Father Emperor, this individual is Tian Zhi. Originally, he should not have been assigned the duty of escorting the payment, yet somehow the responsibility fell to him." Qi Jingyi sneered. "The soldiers' pay typically departs at the beginning of the month, so even if General Tian had not yet reached Dian City, he should not be far. Yet, your son discovered General Tian in a gambling den in Haijin City, having just lost ten thousand taels." He then presented an IOU. "Your son has also brought back the proprietor of the establishment, who is currently being held at the military office's detention center."