The Command to Pamper the Husband - Chapter 113

Seeing the Minister of Justice about to leave, Song Jin quickly said, “Sir, please wait. I will accompany you to the palace. After all, I discovered this gold, and I can explain it better to the Emperor.”

The Minister of Justice glanced at the Crown Prince. Seeing that the Crown Prince had no intention of speaking, he nodded and, together with Song Jin, left.

The Crown Prince watched their departing figures, his thoughts swirling. According to the rhythm of the storybooks, the woman hiding under the Fourth Prince’s guise must be the heroine. And whenever a heroine appears, she inevitably gets involved with imperial power.

Currently, the biggest point of contention within the royal power, and the most likely climax in any story, was the sixteen-year-old child the Emperor was searching for. Could she be that child?

If she was…

The Crown Prince’s hand, which had been hanging at his side, lightly rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

The magistrate, unable to stand still, said with a tearful face, “Your Highness, I truly don’t know where this gold came from.”

The Crown Prince turned his gaze to the magistrate. “Do you know how to clear yourself of this connection to the gold?”

The magistrate was taken aback, then shook his head, “But I truly am innocent.”

The Crown Prince said no more.

In the corner outside, the magistrate’s wife observed everything, bit her lip, and then turned and left. She exited through the back gate and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue. In her hand was the divorce letter she had written in the magistrate’s handwriting.

The Crown Prince’s demeanor, whether the magistrate understood it or not, was clear to her: the magistrate was doomed. This was the result she had been waiting for. Since there was no hope for him, she would divorce him before the scandal erupted.

This way, she could clear her name and, in the future, avoid the consequences if their household was implicated. As for the magistrate’s other concubines, whether they lived or died, it had nothing to do with her. She had already locked them in their courtyards, so if their house was raided, they wouldn’t be able to escape.

Having made up her mind, the magistrate’s wife walked briskly.

Song Jin, having left the magistrate’s residence, did not actually follow the Minister of Justice to the palace. Clutching her stomach, she grimaced and said to the Minister, “Oh no, I have a stomachache. I must have eaten something bad. I can’t accompany you to the palace. You go on; I need to find a latrine.”

With that, she gave Lu Zhan a look and ran in the opposite direction. The Minister of Justice was left bewildered in the cold wind.

What?

Even after Song Jin disappeared from view, the Minister of Justice was still in shock. Has the Fourth Prince lost his mind? He seems odd.

He shook his head and, waving his sleeve as if swatting a fly, got into his sedan chair and headed to the palace.

At the Duke’s Estate, the Duked his wife were anxious after the Minister of Justice was suddenly called away. The officers from the Ministry of Justice were diligently weighing the gold. Given the vast amount, their task wouldn’t be finished quickly.

Watching the busy scene, the Duke asked his wife in a low voice, “Will there be any surprises?”

The Duchess sighed, “If there’s news from the palace, Consort Li will send word. Let’s wait and see.”

The Emperor hadn’t punished the Duke immediately and had said he wouldn’t pursue the matter further. But the Emperor hadn’t released Zhao Jide, who was under house arrest in the palace, nor had he allowed Zhao’s relatives to leave the guest house. This indicated that the Emperor was still preparing a backup plan, though she couldn’t guess what it was.

All they could do was hope for the best.

The only consolation was that the gold brought from Linglong Mountain hadn’t been touched. Even if it had been moved, they could deny it. After all, the actual amount was known only to them.

The Duchess sighed again and asked, “Do you have a record of the total amount of gold?”

The Duke nodded, “Yes.”

“How much?”

The Duke showed her the figure with his fingers.

The Duchess glanced at it. “Where is the record?”

“In the heir’s possession.”

The Duchess…

At that moment, the Duke’s heart sank. The heir had been missing for a long time. Previously, he had only been worried about the heir’s safety, but now…

Looking at the gold in front of him, the Duke felt a chill in his heart but tried to console himself, “It’s fine. I never moved the gold after it was transported here. Even if they find the record, it will match the amount.”

The Duchess looked at the Duke, feeling speechless. She had already lost one son for this foolish man, and now there was no news of the heir…

As they spoke, Song Jin and Lu Zhan reached a corner.

Lu Zhan, confused, asked, “Miss Song, what are we doing?”

“Do you know if the Duke has any other residences or secret places in the capital?”

“He has a house at Baizhifang Bridge where he keeps a mistress…”

Song Jin waved her hand, “It doesn’t matter who he keeps there. Take me there.”

They moved quickly. In the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Song Jin stood outside the house. Leaning against a jujube tree, she inserted the dagger into the soil, using the same method to control it with her mind.

In no time, the dagger reached the courtyard. Holding her breath and concentrating, her fists clenched, and her eyes closed. Because she had used this skill several times that day, and given the difficulty, sweat soon appeared on her forehead.

Lu Zhan stood tensely by, occasionally glancing around. Luckily, the house was in a secluded area with few passersby, and they were in a corner by the jujube tree, not easily noticeable.

Under Song Jin’s control, the dagger moved through the soil, heading towards the Duke’s gold stash. Once it reached the gold, the dagger began to return, bringing some of the gold with it.

If anyone dug up the ground now, they would be stunned by the sight. A dagger leading a string of gold, tunneling through the soil.

After nearly half an hour, the task was finally complete. The gold was left under the courtyard, and the dagger returned to the surface.

Song Jin picked up the dagger and put it away. “Let’s go find the Crown Prince.”

Lu Zhan, though he had managed to follow the logic of attracting the gold to the magistrate’s residence, was baffled now. Song Jin hadn’t sent the dagger to the Duke’s Estate beforehand. Could the dagger find its way on its own now?

Unable to understand, Lu Zhan asked, “Miss Song, how did you do that? It’s incredible.”

“The dagger remembered the scent of the gold after the first time,” Song Jin explained lightly.

Lu Zhan…

Could Miss Song smell gold in the earth and silver in the mountains, and could her dagger do the same?

Forget it. He couldn’t understand the world of a master.

As Lu Zhan forced himself to quell his curiosity, he heard Song Jin mutter, “I can’t fully master this skill yet. If I could, it wouldn’t have taken so long today. I need to practice more.”

Lu Zhan…