The next morning, news came from Jici Temple that disaster relief funds had been stolen, and Prince Jing's Mansion was searching the entire city for the thief.
The news quickly reached the palace. Upon learning of this, the emperor and his court officials decided to thoroughly investigate the matter, plunging the Prince Jing's residence into an unprecedented predicament.
The entire Prince Jing's mansion, inside and out, was completely surrounded by soldiers sent by the imperial court. Furthermore, the Ministers of the three provinces and the Imperial Clan Court led their men to search for stolen goods. In the blink of an eye, these men had turned the entire mansion upside down.
At this moment, the one who was most troubled by this was Mu Beichen. He could only watch helplessly as those people acted recklessly in front of him, and he could not help Feng Jin. If this matter could not be investigated and resolved as soon as possible, once she was accused of embezzlement, would she have any way to survive?
Looking at Mu Beichen's furrowed brows, Feng Jin was at a loss. After all, she hadn't been involved in any affairs of the Jici Academy recently, and she couldn't find out anything in a short time.
She forced a long sigh of relief, trying her best not to show her anxiety. She slowly turned her head toward Mu Beichen and said in a deep voice, "Achen, call Hua Mancheng over. I want to talk to him personally to find out about the situation at Jici Hospital."
"Okay, wait for me." Mu Beichen nodded immediately, turned around and quickly left her sight.
Not long after Mu Beichen left, Hua Mancheng rushed to the Prince's Mansion. When he arrived at Fuxi Courtyard, he saw Feng Jin's worried face and felt an indescribable sense of self-reproach.
Reaching Feng Jin, Hua Mancheng knelt on one knee, head bowed, and said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry. It's all my fault for neglecting my duties, which led to the theft of the disaster relief funds from Jici Temple. If the court intends to punish me, I am willing to bear all the blame..."
"Get up quickly, now is not the time to blame yourself." Feng Jin hurriedly went over and helped Hua Mancheng up, then said, "Have you noticed if any of the craftsmen working at Jici Temple recently have behaved strangely?"
Feng Jin's sudden mention of this matter left him momentarily at a loss for words. After a slight hesitation, he straightened his chest, focused his mind, and replied resolutely, "This subordinate will certainly do his utmost to investigate this matter. If there is any disturbance at Jici Academy, this subordinate will inform the Princess Consort immediately."
After giving his instructions, Hua Mancheng returned directly to Jici Academy and summoned all the craftsmen together for questioning. In the end, he still couldn't find any clues. Out of desperation, he was even prepared to take all the blame.
When he went to the treasury to investigate the scene by chance, he unexpectedly found a fallen coral hairpin with vine flowers on the ground. With just one glance, he immediately connected the hairpin to its owner.
Along the way, following a few messy footprints of varying sizes, we searched until we reached a lush thicket a hundred miles away. At a fork in the road, the trail suddenly disappeared without a trace.
He hid in the shadows and kept watch quietly. Sure enough, after a short while, he vaguely heard light footsteps coming from ahead. As the sound became clearer, he peeked out and saw that the figure dressed in black was walking towards him. It was none other than Mu Wange!
As Mu Wange drew closer, Hua Man darted quietly through a thicket of bushes and collided with Mu Wange face to face in a few strides.
Hua Mancheng's eyes flickered, and his handsome face flashed with anger: "Mu Wange, it really was you who was behind this!"
Upon hearing Hua Mancheng mention this, Mu Wange's heart inexplicably raced. She pursed her lips, her breathing quickened, and she gave a guilty smile: "Hua Mancheng... what... what nonsense are you talking about?"
Mu Wange stared intently at Hua Mancheng's fierce gaze and quickly retreated, but he pressed forward step by step until he forced her against a tree with nowhere to retreat. Hua Mancheng then blocked her with his arms on either side of the tree, firmly imprisoning her in front of him.
"If I'm not mistaken, you stole the disaster relief funds from Jici Hospital, didn't you?" Meeting Mu Wange's flickering gaze, Hua Mancheng's face instantly darkened. With just one question and one look, he had already confirmed everything.
"Hua Mancheng, what right do you have to pin such a serious crime on me? Even if you suspect me, do you have any evidence?" Mu Wange became anxious and struggled against the restraints around her with both hands and feet, but she couldn't budge Hua Mancheng's strong arms at all.
"Does this count as evidence?" Hua Mancheng freed one hand, took out a coral hairpin from his bosom, and smiled coldly without changing his expression: "Mu Wange, Princess Yunqi, now that the witnesses and evidence are all here, what else do you have to say?"
Upon seeing the familiar hairpin, Mu Wange's eyes widened, and it took her quite a while to recover.
At this moment, in Hua Mancheng's eyes, Mu Wange's pretty face gradually revealed a smile, a smile with an eerie quality, and her cunning and ever-changing eyes intensified in his pupils, her demeanor resembling that of a sly fox.
"So what if I did it? If you're so capable, go ahead and accuse me before the Emperor right now!" Mu Wange glanced at the cold-faced man in front of her and laughed with a clear, bell-like sound: "Hehe... I'd like to see whether the Emperor is willing to believe an outsider like you or choose to believe me."
At this moment, Hua Mancheng was completely enraged by her. His emotions were so violent that he could hardly control himself. Even the dark corners of his eyes turned crimson, and his whole being exuded a dangerous aura like a demon from hell.
"Mu Wange, you're absolutely inhuman!" He grabbed Mu Wange's throat hard with his hand and roared in a cold, vicious voice, "I thought you were just a spoiled brat, but... I never imagined you could do something so heinous!"
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