Fortunately, her guess was correct.
The problem lies with the doctor's mother.
His mother was not only from the Li family, but also the younger sister of the Princess Consort of Jia. Although she was a half-sister, the investigation showed that the Princess Consort of Jia had taken good care of her.
She married into the capital and found a stable family for her younger sister, but unfortunately, the family fortunes declined and their reputation gradually faded.
The capital was in turmoil at the time, but there was absolutely no reason to implicate married women, so she lived a low-key life.
Later, her son entered the court as an official. Over the years, he neither made any great achievements nor any major mistakes, and barely managed to reach the position of Vice Minister of War. If it weren't for this incident, probably no one would ever have discovered the connection behind it.
Officials themselves might attract attention when they enter or leave the capital, but their relatives would not. The news was first discovered when the doctor's mother went out to worship Buddha.
The doctor's surname was Luo. Although he was not very tactful and inflexible, he was reliable and hardworking, and his superiors found him easy to use. According to the Minister of War, he had originally planned to ask for some rewards for him during the New Year, but now it seems that there is no chance.
Wen Heming held the intercepted message in his hand, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Her subordinate asked her, "Sir, shall we go and arrest this traitor now?"
With the evidence in hand, and Wen Hemian now in charge again, there's no need to go through the Ministry of Justice again.
“No rush.” Wen Hemian pondered for a moment and made a decision. “Keep spreading the false information, saying that the national treasury is empty and I am currently looking for people to fill the hole. Let them wait it out.”
A stretched-out battle line is not a good thing. It is meant to make the enemy think that they have insufficient support, thereby making them arrogant, so that they can launch a surprise attack.
The message is spread first; whether people believe it or not is another matter. It's good to confuse the public.
"Also, have someone keep a close eye on their whole family, and don't let the servants get away with it either. It would be best to send someone in to investigate and see if there are any secret passages or anything like that in their house."
After hearing this, the subordinate acknowledged the order: "Yes."
That wasn't enough, so Wen Hemian summoned the Minister of War for a private talk.
Upon hearing that a traitor had emerged from among his own men, and learning who the traitor was, Wu Zongding was heartbroken: "I was even thinking of asking for a reward for him, but I never imagined he would be a traitor. I ask myself, have I treated him well..."
"No one could have predicted this."
Wen Hemian skimmed the foam from her teacup, took a small sip, and pursed her lips: "However, Lord Wu, you'd better keep a close eye on what you're carrying from now on."
“Ultimately, it is my fault for not governing properly. Once this matter is settled and Your Majesty returns to court, I will personally apologize to Your Majesty.”
Wu Zongding is a man of great principle.
Wen Hemian had called him here with no real intention of pursuing the matter. Seeing his resolute expression, she opened her mouth, then sighed, "Let's talk about it later."
The relationships within the imperial court are all interconnected and intertwined. Wu Zongding had his own considerations in doing this; otherwise, subordinates would take advantage of their superiors' protection to act arrogantly and corrupt the atmosphere.
The two did not talk for long, as they both had their own things to take care of.
Although one person was apprehended, Wen Hemian remained vigilant, fearing that this was merely a facade and that there were others behind the scenes.
There are no clues yet.
A few days later, just as Wen Hemian was about to rest after a busy day, he finally received a battle report.
Two pieces of paper were tucked inside the envelope. As Wen Hemian carefully took them out, a dried flower slipped out with her movement. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and caught it.
Wen Heming recognized this flower; it was a specialty of the north, growing only in late autumn and early winter, blooming despite the frost, and possessing a delicate fragrance, even when dried.
I wonder what Xie Lang was up to by smuggling his own agenda into this.
She carefully put the well-preserved dried flower down for the time being and went to look at the two pieces of paper.
The words on both sheets of paper were written by His Majesty the Emperor himself.
The first report was a concise battle report, stating that he had led his troops to drive out the barbarians who had entered the fiefdom of Prince Jia, that the border defenses were solid, and that everything was fine with her parents. The outcome was good, but the details were not provided.
And another letter...
It is quite obvious that this was written specifically for Wen Hemian.
Wen Hemian was constantly busy in the capital, and Xie Lang, on the battlefield, was doing the same. Therefore, this letter contained only a few lines.
During the march, I passed by a cliff and happened to see this flower. I heard from the people that this flower symbolizes longing and yearning, so I specially tucked it into this letter for you to see.
The scenery in the north is beautiful, but it cannot compare to that of the capital. There is a beautiful woman in my heart, whom I think of day and night, longing for her.
The flowers were indeed very fragrant. I touched them just now, and it felt as if my fingertips were also tainted by that delicate fragrance, which lingered for a long time.
Wen Hemian read the letter carefully several times, and couldn't resist picking up the dried flowers again and smelling them.
It's unclear how long Xie Lang had kept the flower on his person. Besides the delicate fragrance of the dried flower, there seemed to be a familiar, faint scent that belonged to Xie Lang himself.
Before this, she hadn't really realized that being enveloped by Xie Lang's aura made her feel grounded and at ease.
Separation does allow one to see things more clearly, and it's good that I've realized it now, it's not too late.
She could feel the deep longing in the letter, and her eyes softened.
After a long while, she gently held the flower to her heart and silently prayed, "Please be safe and sound..."
A cold wind blew past the window, carrying tiny snowflakes as they drifted down. At the same time, Xie Lang stopped his horse, feeling the cool touch of the snowflakes landing on his nose.
He touched it and felt a few drops of damp moisture.
One of the soldiers shouted, "It's snowing!"
Zhou Ting rode up to the emperor's side and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, shall we continue our journey?"
Xie Lang glanced around, raised his hand, and calmly ordered, "Set up camp here and rest for a while."
Prince Jia deliberately let the barbarians into his fiefdom, while he hid in his mansion and refused to come out. In just a few days, the people were ravaged. Fortunately, the generals under Prince Huailing led men to stop them, preventing the situation from escalating to an even more uncontrollable level.
They are now not far from the Prince Jia's residence. They will rest here for the night and should arrive before noon tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
"Since Prince Jia harbors malicious intentions, could he have already laid an ambush?"
"After all, there's no open rebellion yet. His Majesty going there personally, surely he wouldn't want to tear off the mask of civility right now?"
"We're not afraid of a complete breakdown in relations. We can catch the ringleader first. Once we arrest him, we won't have to worry about the others not obeying us."
"Perfect timing! I haven't had a chance to test the power of the muskets yet! I'll blast them to smithereens!"
Most of Xie Lang's trusted confidants came from the Flying Goose Camp.
They had traveled extensively throughout the country, but this was their first time on the battlefield, so excitement was inevitable. Their eyes gleamed with anticipation, clearly eager to meet Prince Jia.
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