The facts are clear, no evidence, so what?
Only those who have many concerns—such as his father the emperor—would fret over the lack of evidence. As a prince, why couldn't he be arrogant? And he had the reason and evidence to be so.
If officials didn't act in the interest of the people, stating that County Magistrate Li would feed the fish, Huo Ling wouldn't let him go home to farm.
The considerate Imperial Guards reached out for the cup on the table and stuffed it into County Magistrate Li's mouth, blocking all his attempts to plead with Huo Ling. After receiving a nod from Ye Xiao, they directly took the trembling County Magistrate Li away with them, ready to find a river with a good view and fish to send him off.
Having dealt with County Magistrate Li easily, Huo Ling turned to the women who were lying on the ground. He pondered for a moment, "It is said that men who argue with women are not good men. So, I won't send you to reunite with County Magistrate Li." Feeling very thoughtful, Huo Ling clapped his hands and came up with a good idea, "Hand over what did not belong to you in the first place, then pay the price for what you have done, and then...we can stop here."
"Never let off any trash, and never wrong a good person."
Huo Ling tilted his head, "Am I not amazing?"
The trembling women: ...QAQ
"Am I?"
The women, who could barely stand, dared not say anything and held onto themselves, trembling.
Huo Ling thought he was being very considerate. Even his tone towards the women who had initially tried to seduce him was gentle, but for some reason...they seemed to tremble even more?
Suffering from a blow to his charm, Huo Ling fell into self-doubt and couldn't help but ask Ye Xiao beside him, "Am I fierce?"
Ye Xiao gently pursed his lips, and his handsome brows softened from this smile. He paid no attention to some people who subconsciously turned away from him, and he seriously shook his head at Huo Ling, "You are not fierce at all."
"Am I very fierce-looking?"
"You have always been very good-looking. It's just those people who don't have eyes."
Huo Ling blinked his eyes, feeling relieved—good, it's not his problem, it's their problem.
Waving his hand, he had the Imperial Guards take all these women away, sending the innocent ones off and managing the guilty ones accordingly—the Imperial Guards always had their principles. Being compassionate and understanding? Dream on.
During the tussle, some women who tried to attract attention with their charm succeeded. They were directly dragged out by the Imperial Guards by the collar. On the other hand, Li Gongming, who seemed somewhat reluctant, looked at the prince, who made people feel "cruel" without doing much, stroked his beard, and decided to continue to not be remembered by Huo Ling.
However, Li Gongming was destined to be disappointed. After solving the Salt Commissioner County Magistrate, Huo Ling, who rarely realized a problem, a problem with a lot of princely airs asked him with great princely demeanor, "County Magistrate Li, if the Salt Commissioner feeds the fish and the County Magistrate and the Deputy Commissioner are of no use, Salt Commissioner County doesn't have anyone in charge. What do you think should be done?"
Having been in contact with Huo Ling, Li Gongming had a bad feeling every time he was mentioned. This time was no exception. He shifted uncomfortably and looked at Huo Ling with a probing question, "Is Your Highness suggesting...?"
"Anyway, both of you have the surname 'Li,' why not, County Magistrate Li, in addition to managing the water, temporarily act as the Salt Commissioner County Magistrate?"
Huo Ling seemed to be discussing, with an air that suggested it was alright if Li Gongming didn't agree. However, as an old fox, Li Gongming always tended to think too much. He didn't feel that his refusal wouldn't offend Huo Ling, so he not only felt honored to take on this task but also promised Huo Ling solemnly, "Your servant will not let Your Highness down."
In fact, Huo Ling hadn't expected such a response from him with just a mere suggestion. "Oh, oh." He nodded absentmindedly. Regaining his composure, Huo Ling quickly displayed the qualities expected of a prince, "Then, I'll leave the Salt Commissioner County to you, County Magistrate Li. If there's anything you can't handle, you can ask the not necessarily useful Young Master Gongsun for help."
"You are all skilled in 'culture.' As the head of the 'Four Young Masters,'" turning to Gongsun Xun, who had been ignored for a long time, Huo Ling seemed somewhat uncertain, "shouldn't that work...right?"
Being assertively labeled as not necessarily useful, Gongsun Xun: "..."
Being deemed ineffective due to his old age and needing help, Li Gongming: "..."
Offending two people with one sentence, and those offended had to do things for him, only Huo Ling could do such a thing.
Huo Ling didn't believe that he had offended anyone. He was actually expressing reasonable concern. Having eloquence didn't mean one understood political matters. Moreover, Gongsun Xun only had the title of a Jinshi, and was on the same level as him(?), someone who had studied together with him.
Since we were basically in the same class, didn't he have the right to question him?
Regaining his righteous confidence, Huo Ling didn't feel the slightest guilt when facing Gongsun Xun's expressionless gaze, "Did I say something wrong?"
As their eyes met, Gongsun Xun couldn't help but smile, "Your Highness didn’t say anything wrong. How could Your Highness be wrong?"
"Then, good." Although the comment sounded somewhat strange, since the other party had conceded, he shouldn't dwell on it too much. Thinking this, Huo Ling unilaterally ended the conversation, "In short, I am leaving the Salt Commissioner County to you. Do well and don't disappoint me." As for what he should do? Of course, he should be responsible for overseeing the situation.
Therefore, when Ye Xiao and the others were preparing to go and check the situation at the embankment, Huo Ling was left behind to oversee things.
Facing Huo Ling, who wanted to go with them, Ye Xiao only replied with eight words, "The son of a wealthy family does not sit idle."
"I know I'm a wealthy man's son. That's me you're talking about, but..." Huo Ling tilted his head, unashamed to ask, "What does 'does not sit idle' mean?"
Ye Xiao: "..."
Yan Xiaoxiao didn't answer, Huo Ling looked at Gongsun Xun, who was at a similar level to him, and said, "What do you mean? Put it simply." At least let him understand, don't be too wordy.
Gongsun Xun, who once again appeared, smiled lightly, and lightly retaliated against Huo Ling, who had been criticizing him multiple times, "Commander Ye meant, Your Highness, just have some tea. To avoid causing trouble."
Gongsun Xun was looking forward to Huo Ling's reaction to his retaliation, but unfortunately, Huo Ling had always only listened to the surface meaning.
Huo Ling, suddenly enlightened, looked at Yan Xiaoxiao and couldn't help but feel a bit aggrieved, "Cousin, you should have said so earlier. You had to show off your literary talent in front of me, which tires me out too."
Even with multiple filters, facing such an out-of-tune Huo Ling, Yan Xiaoxiao still...held on.
He smoothed out the creases in Huo Ling's collar, and then soothingly patted his shoulder, "I'll pay attention next time."
Huo Ling, who was successfully comforted, lifted his chin and said, "Go on, I'll wait for you to come back."
After seeing them off, Huo Ling went back to his room and had the "Grand General" brought over by his Imperial Guards.
After having two or three cups of tea and playing around with the "Grand General," Huo Ling felt like a long time had passed. He looked at the hourglass and realized that Yan Xiaoxiao and the others had only been gone for less than half an hour, but he was already feeling tired.
Covering a yawn, Huo Ling patted the soft couch next to him, beckoning the other person to come over, and then leaned against the soft belly, pulling a blanket over himself, preparing to take a nap for a while.
Whether sleeping or not, he was still waiting, so he might as well sleep.
Huo Ling closed his eyes peacefully, but the sudden sound of singing in his half-asleep state directly took away his drowsiness.
Lifting the blanket, Huo Ling sat up against the "Grand General" and looked out the window, wanting to see who was so bold as to disturb his peaceful dream.
Pushing the window open, he saw a beauty singing and dancing under the moonlight.
Due to the fact that the maiden in white with anklets had not entered the range of the Imperial Guards, coupled with the fact that they did not know whether the Crown Prince would give them trouble if they couldn't meet with the maiden, the Imperial Guards remained silent, and the clear and pleasant voice of the maiden in white also woke up Huo Ling.
"The mundane world is so ridiculous, love is so boring, being aloof is also fine..."
The maiden in white, with ankle-length hair tied casually with a silver hairband embroidered with lotus flowers of the same color, swayed as she danced and made the bells hanging from her ankles jingle, creating the best accompaniment to her singing.
In the clear moonlight, the maiden dancing under the night sky was like a heavenly nymph, and her singing enhanced her beauty, enchanting all who listened.
In the midst of admiring the beauty, people often overlook a truth - behind beauty lies sweat and perseverance.
Dressed in white, Li Yueyue had to maintain her noble and elegant demeanor at all times, and she had to work hard to make sure the sound of the bells was just right so that she could attract attention from all angles while dancing under the moonlight, or else her "Enchanting Dance" skill, which she exchanged for 200 moonstones, would be wasted.
As she continued to dance, Li Yueyue, who had not received any response, began to sing unsteadily.
Li Yueyue crouched down and relied on her hand movements to maintain her dancing posture, taking the opportunity to rest, and then inwardly poked at the Jinjiang system that brought her to this world.
[System, can you really do anything? Didn't you say that singing this song would definitely attract the Crown Prince? Why is there no reaction?]
With three consecutive questions, Li Yueyue's impatience was evident.
"Host, according to the information you obtained for 20 Jinjiang coins, it seems that the song 'Smiling at the Red Dust' can definitely attract the male lead."
[Then why is it that I've sung it twice and no one has shown up?]
"The system doesn't know either (*^▽^*)."
Just as Li Yueyue was about to quarrel with the Jinjiang system, Huo Ling, who was sitting by the window, knocked on the windowsill and cleared his throat.
Automatically suspending the conversation with the Jinjiang system, the regally elegant Li Yueyue met Huo Ling's curious gaze with interest.
Sitting by the window, Huo Ling gave off the feeling of being overly flamboyant, even more so than the women who had flaunted their charms at the banquet, and he asked with a look of curiosity, "System, what is it?"
Li Yueyue, who was still figuring out how to start a conversation to maintain her "goddess" image, said, "...!!!"
The Jinjiang system, which was not supposed to attract any attention or stand out, was panicking: ...Oh my God!!!
The author has something to say:
1: "Ang Yan: "The minister has heard that the son of a wealthy family does not sit in the hall, the son of a commoner does not ride a carriage, and a wise ruler does not take risks. Now, Your Majesty, by speeding through the steep mountains with six horses, if the horses are frightened and the carriage crashes, how can Your Majesty take that lightly?" [This section of text will not be overexplained, the general idea is that General Yuan An tried to emotionally persuade Emperor Wen to appreciate his noble status and not take unnecessary risks.]" From "Shiji, the Biography of Yuan An and Chao Cuo"
2: In ancient Mary Sue novels, when the female lead needed to attract the male lead, second male lead, or cannon fodder, whether at the brothel, under the moon, at a banquet, or in a valley, she would sing the song "Smiling at the Red Dust" (Chen Shuhua) alongside "Shuidiao Ge Tou" ["Song of the Water-side Pavillion"] - a song that people who read a lot of novels would have memorized."