The couple were cautious and did not tell their son where the money had gone. Eventually, a minor official in the Ministry of Justice discovered some clues. The wife's wet nurse had been released long ago, though there was still some pity for her. It was the wet nurse's grandson who had been handling the matter, but he was a cautious man and never aroused any suspicion.
Their ancestors were tomb raiders. They sent the tomb keeper away and buried the body themselves, along with their wife. They even pretended to be ghosts to scare the tomb keeper, so no one would investigate. After all, it looked perfectly fine during the day.
However, these close relatives didn't fare well even in prison, because the Ministry of Justice sent people to check and found the tomb empty, suspecting that they had transferred assets.
They were subjected to another round of severe torture, and several of them couldn't endure it and died.
However, their deaths weren't unjust; they all benefited from the situation and reaped the rewards. Although they didn't come to the capital, they were all powerful and influential back in their hometowns. Several of them even had murder cases against them, which have now been unearthed, and none of them fared well.
Having said all that, we still haven't mentioned Consort Shumulu and Consort Wang. Before Consort Gao's affair came to light, Hezhuo had already told Yinzhi the whole story, showing him all the evidence.
Everyone says that cutting off the fuel supply is the best policy, and besides the Emperor's favor and affection, what Shumulu Shi cared about most was her son. He Zhuo hadn't caused a major scene, but he had left her feeling weak all over, and the cause of her illness couldn't be found. How could she possibly take care of the three- or four-year-old Ninth Prince in this condition? Naturally, she had to take him to the front courtyard to raise him—it was perfectly legitimate!
This Shumulu clan member wants to cause trouble, but if you want to infect the Ninth Prince, who do you think you are? How can you compare to the imperial grandson?
He Zhuo certainly didn't say it so bluntly, but since he never saw her, she didn't have the strength to make a second fuss. She was so sick that she couldn't even get out of bed and thought she had a serious illness.
Neither the palace physician nor Physician Liu could diagnose anything. He Zhuo thought to herself, "This old lady has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine for over a hundred years, not counting those in this timeline. It's unbelievable that you could figure it out."
Finally, she wrote to her family, and Lady Shumulu brought the imperial physician and medicine to treat the concubine, and Hezhuo did not stop her.
Because He Zhuo did not stop her, Lady Shumulu's initial suspicions subsided, since He Zhuo appeared very calm and showed no sign of guilt.
Later, she felt embarrassed, since it's not like her family members only come for ten days or so a month.
Based on these points, Madam Shumulu felt it wasn't the First Princess Consort and shared her thoughts with her daughter. However, Madam Shumulu trusted her intuition; even without any evidence, she simply believed it was the First Princess Consort who did it.
He Zhuo rolled her eyes: Who cares? So what if it's me? Show me the evidence if you dare.
And so, the two-year-old Ninth Prince began living in the front yard, and was never taken back.
The front courtyard is not a place that a mere concubine can go to whenever she wants. Even He Zhuo, the primary consort, cannot simply appear in the front courtyard whenever she wishes.
Moreover, Khoja had taken drastic measures, causing Shumulu to fall ill for three months. In fact, there was nothing wrong with the medicine; it did not harm the body. However, the fact that the cause of the illness could not be determined was torturous enough.
She lost a lot of weight and exhausted her servants, who no longer had the mind to think about finding the Ninth Prince.
However, He Zhuo did not want to let her off so easily. Half a month after she recovered from her illness, he made her copy scriptures. The reason was very good: they were for the Empress Dowager. At that time, it was almost the Empress Dowager's birthday. How could she dare not copy them?
She wasn't released until the Lunar New Year, but having children was impossible then. What if your illness flares up again?
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