Song Yinghuai frowned tightly. "What?"
Han Fen said, "The villagers near the courtyard where Peilan lived smelled a strong stench. Sensing something was wrong, they went into the courtyard to check and found that Peilan, along with two maids and a servant in the courtyard, had been dead for a long time. The corpses had started to stink, so they immediately reported it to the authorities."
"Normally, this case should have been handled by the Jingzhao Prefecture first, but the Dali Temple intervened. They claimed that since it was a case related to the family of the Minister of War, it was not an ordinary homicide, so they took over the case."
Liu Wangfei, the magistrate of Shangjing, was originally on the Crown Prince's side, but he was always cowardly and had been in constant strife with Wen Zilong.
So it was easier for the Dali Temple to seize the case to achieve their goal.
The Dali Temple was on the same level as the Censorate. Even if Xiao Rencheng wanted to exert pressure, there was nothing he could do.
Moreover, Xiao Rencheng had directly served as a witness to exonerate Lan Jinqin, so this case could no longer be transferred to the Censorate.
Song Yinghuai pondered for a moment and paced back and forth in the study.
"Even if Xiao Rencheng admits to having an affair with another man's wife, it's still a family matter. He shouldn't be arrested by the Dali Temple."
Han Fen nodded. "Yes... But the constables from the Dali Temple found 200,000 taels of silver notes in Miss Lan's bedroom. Coincidentally, it was heard that Wen Zilong had just opened his private treasury and found that 200,000 taels of silver were missing. According to the treasury guard, it was also that night that Miss Lan, together with another man pretending to be Wen Zilong, had entered the private treasury!"
This man was none other than Xiao Rencheng!
Breaking the law while knowing it, colluding with a married woman to rob an official's private treasury.
Song Yinghuai knew that the 200,000 taels of silver were for Hainan.
Because Caiyu had also tried to deceive Shi'er for this 200,000 taels of silver for jade mining.
But this time, Xiao Rencheng had fallen into trouble.
Song Yinghuai walked back to the table and rubbed his throbbing temple.
After a while, he said, "Suppress this news. Don't let Caiyu know. Call Qingqing back these days and ask her to find a way to hold Caiyu back and prevent her from going out."
News spread quickly in Shangjing. A small thing could spread from one end of the street to the other in the blink of an eye.
This was not Yanjing. He couldn't just say a word and silence the mouths of the people in Shangjing.
The only way was to prevent Caiyu from going out and keep the news from reaching her ears.
Han Fen was completely confused.
What did Miss Lan and Xiao Rencheng's trouble have to do with Caiyu?
But since his master had given the order, he had to execute it. He immediately agreed and left.
As soon as Han Fen left, Ji Ming came in, looking hesitant.
Song Yinghuai was already in a bad mood. Seeing this, he became even more impatient. "What else has happened?"
Ji Ming had no choice but to say, "Just now, Guard Han mentioned the 200,000 taels of silver notes. So there's something I have to report... Yesterday evening, someone took the prince's private seal to the bank and withdrew 200,000 taels of silver notes."
Song Yinghuai's face darkened, and he roared, "What do you mean by someone took the private seal? You personally had that seal carved. Don't you know who I gave it to?"
Ji Ming straightened his face. "That's exactly why I'm saying this. Because the person who took the seal to exchange for silver was not Miss Caiyu, but Sheng Jiangli!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden loud noise on the desk in front of him!
The air around suddenly solidified. In the dull silence, Ji Ming could hear his own faint heartbeat.
Ji Ming felt as if the sky was about to collapse.
The prince's private seal was such an important thing. The prince had valued and trusted Miss Caiyu, so he had destroyed the original seal and specially made a new one for her.
But Miss Caiyu had only received it for one day, and then she had given the seal to Sheng Jiangli!
Sheng Jiangli!
He was on the Crown Prince's side!
He was also the prince's biggest love rival!
Miss Caiyu had really made a big mistake this time.
Behind the desk opposite, Song Yinghuai's gaze was as sharp as a sword, cutting through the calm in the air.
Silence spread in the air. Ji Ming felt the sweat on his back dry and then wet again, and wet again and then dry.
After a long time, Song Yinghuai finally managed to say, "Call Caiyu to see me."
Ji Ming's heart skipped a beat. "Your Highness!"
Please calm down before seeing Miss Caiyu...
He didn't even have a chance to finish his words when an inkstone flew past the corner of his eye, and a thunderous roar came from afar:
"Call her to see me! You don't need to go! Send someone else!"
That girl was too smart.
If Ji Ming gave her a few hints on the way, in such a short journey, she might be able to come up with an excuse.
When Caiyu was called into the study, she immediately felt the solemn atmosphere in the room.
Song Yinghuai was sitting at the table. His emotions were like an invisible storm spreading in the room. Even the tiniest items were affected by his aura, silently waiting for the coming storm.
Caiyu's heart skipped a beat.
It had been a long time since she had seen Song Yinghuai so furious.
It was both familiar and strange.
Caiyu silently lowered her eyes and saw Ji Ming secretly rubbing his thumb and index finger back and forth, as if counting money...
Counting money...
Caiyu's heart sank suddenly.
She thought it was bad.
Brother A Li hadn't returned the private seal yet, and now it had been discovered.
She might not be able to defend herself this time.
Ji Ming was driven out. As he brushed past Caiyu's shoulder, the corner of his eye twitched almost uncontrollably as if giving her a hint.
Caiyu looked pitifully at Song Yinghuai sitting at the upper seat.
She saw his shoulders trembling slightly, as if he was trying hard to control his emotions. However, his tense muscles and the twitching vein on his forehead betrayed his current raging anger.
Caiyu didn't hesitate and knelt down immediately. "Your Highness, please punish this slave."
Song Yinghuai didn't expect her to admit so readily.
He hadn't even said a word, and this girl had already confessed her guilt.
His fingers tightened on the edge of the table, and his breathing became heavier. "Do you know why I called you here?"
"Yes." Caiyu knew she couldn't defend herself, so she admitted. "It's because this slave gave Your Highness's private seal to General Sheng to withdraw 200,000 taels of silver."
"Your Highness, this slave was in urgent need of the money, so I asked General Sheng to withdraw it. Your Highness once said that this private seal was given to this slave, and I could use it to solve my difficulties when I encountered them..."
"Is this just about the money?" Song Yinghuai's voice suddenly rose a few notes, like a bolt of lightning cutting through the oppressive sky. "Lan Caiyu! This private seal represents that I have entrusted my power to you. You can't not know what it means!"
Caiyu's fingertips on her legs suddenly curled up, and her eyes turned slightly red.
She knew!
It represented Song Yinghuai's unconditional trust in her.
It represented Song Yinghuai opening his heart to her.
It even represented that, in a way, he had promised that she would be the mistress of the Yan Prince's Mansion...
But she had been in a hurry to get the money that day!
She wanted to help her eldest brother out of trouble as soon as possible, and she was worried that her eldest sister couldn't bear the burden of raising the money!
She couldn't tell Song Yinghuai these things.
Song Yongzhen had been pestering her, and in a moment of desperation, she hadn't thought much.
Because she believed that Sheng Jiangli would never do anything bad with Song Yinghuai's private seal.
"Speak!" Song Yinghuai's thunderous voice roared again.
Caiyu took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, and looked up into his furious eyes.
Her pupils suddenly shrank, and she said tremblingly, "This slave... knows, but this slave also believes that General Sheng will never harm this slave, so..."
Her throat tightened, and she didn't know how to go on.
Caiyu's words made Song Yinghuai feel as if his heart had fallen into an ice cellar.
His whole body was instantly frozen.
Sheng Jiangli, Sheng Jiangli...
As long as it was Sheng Jiangli, she would trust him unconditionally.
She could discard his feelings like a worn-out shoe and easily throw the item he cherished to another man.
After all, Sheng Jiangli was the one she trusted the most!
Song Yinghuai felt a bitter taste filling his mouth.
Xiao Rencheng's words that day started to echo in his mind again: "Sheng Jiangli was Caiyu's foster husband and fiancé..."
Song Yinghuai rubbed his faintly aching chest and felt as if something was gnawing at him.
His eyes were red as he sneered. "You know, you know... You know nothing..."
You know nothing.
Sheng Jiangli's 200,000 taels of silver had been placed in Lan Jinqin's room, pushing Lan Jinqin and Xiao Rencheng into an irredeemable situation.
Who knew if this was a coincidence or if he had deliberately set up a trap for the Crown Prince to frame Xiao Rencheng and cut off his right-hand man?