Consort Jia gripped Hengniang's hand tightly, her voice trembling with anxiety, "Hengniang, I've hidden it very well, why was she still able to find it?"
"What should I do? What should I do? If she tells anyone about this, I'm doomed!" She was already somewhat delirious. "Hengniang, should we get rid of her?"
“Your Highness…Your Highness, please don’t panic.” Hengniang quickly said, “We are one with the Duchess of Zhenguo. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate. Even Princess Heyue would never tell anyone about this for the sake of the Duchess of Zhenguo. Don’t scare yourself.”
"But she today..." Consort Jia still felt somewhat uneasy.
“From what I just heard, the princess was clearly trying to remind Your Highness,” Hengniang added.
"As long as we find that palace maid and the cook as soon as possible, I think the princess won't go out and say anything more."
Consort Jia sighed, hoping that things would turn out for the best.
...
Qi Guze was studying the letters from the Dark Moon Kingdom. The sheer number of them was outrageous, but he still had to force himself to read them one by one, for fear of missing even the slightest clue.
Persistence pays off, and he finally discovered several unusual letters.
The content is rather explicit; the gist of it is that the current emperor lived with Chu Chu from the Mingyue Kingdom.
The person who sent the letter seemed to be monitoring the two of them, listing out every detail, from when they got up to when they ate to when they went to bed.
After reading it, Qi Guze frowned deeply. He was eager to confirm with the Emperor, but he was still a criminal and could not freely enter or leave the palace.
After much deliberation, I realized that I had no choice but to ask the Duke of Zhenguo for help in order to see the Emperor.
Qi Guze acted immediately. He first found the woodcutter's clothes he had worn before. Looking at the clothes, he felt a little like laughing. He didn't know why he liked the clothes so much. He thought that if he had the chance in the future, he would really become a woodcutter. Maybe it would be quite interesting.
As he was lost in thought, Tie Xiong knocked on the door and respectfully asked, "Your Highness, did you want to see me?"
"Yes, you'll come with me to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and cover for me." Upon hearing this, Qi Guze composed himself, exchanged a few words with Tie Xiong, and the two set off.
...
The Duke of Zhenguo had already made arrangements with the gatekeeper, and upon seeing Tie Xiong, he led them inside. However, he omitted one instruction: if the Minister of Justice were present, he should absolutely not bring anyone in.
After Qi Guze and his companion entered, they immediately spotted the Minister of Justice. He quickly moved the firewood he was carrying to the front and held it in his arms. Fortunately, the Minister of Justice did not notice him, only glancing at him briefly before looking away.
"Nonsense! Can't you see I'm entertaining guests? Why did you bring the woodcutter here?" the Duke of Zhenguo scolded fiercely, standing up to chase the man to the backyard.
Tie Xiong hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sir, this is a distant relative of mine from the countryside. I'm here to support his business. I didn't know you were entertaining guests. Please wait in the backyard!"
After saying that, he slapped his forehead and then made a gesture to him.
Seeing this, Qi Guze nodded and walked towards the backyard with the firewood in his hands.
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Justice felt a stirring in his heart. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and the figure also looked familiar.
"Wait a moment."
He called out, expecting Qi Guze to stop immediately, but to his surprise, Qi Guze acted as if he hadn't heard him and continued walking towards the backyard. He disappeared from sight as he spoke.
The Minister of Justice felt somewhat embarrassed, so he picked up the teacup beside him and said, "General Tie, your distant relative really has a bad temper. I told him to wait a moment, but he ignored me."
"What makes you say that, Minister?" Tie Xiong said with a forced smile. "He's a man with a hard life. He injured his ears years ago and can't hear anything anymore. He had nowhere else to turn, so he came to me for help. He doesn't want money, just a meal. Do you think I could refuse?"
“Unfortunate people are all unfortunate in their own way,” the Minister of Justice nodded knowingly upon hearing this.
"Who can argue with that?"
Silence fell over the room, and Tie Xiong found a place to sit down.
After a while, the Minister cleared his throat and said, "Duke Zhenguo, what have you thought about the matter we just discussed?"
The Duke of Zhenguo was taken aback when he heard this. How could the Minister of Justice, who was usually so cautious, say such things so directly in front of Tie Xiong?
He slightly moved his throat and pointed at Tie Xiong.
Tie Xiong naturally understood what he meant, and stood up, saying, "If you two want to discuss confidential matters, I can excuse myself."
As he spoke, he turned around and prepared to walk out.
“It’s alright, it’s alright,” the Minister of Justice waved his hand and said, “General Tie is upright and honest, so it won’t matter if he hears it. Besides, he has a poor relative to take care of, so I don’t think he would go around talking about it, right?”
After he finished speaking, he looked at Tie Xiong with a smile, calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Of course, I'm very tight-lipped." Tie Xiong sensed the threat in his words and sat down again.
Seeing this, the Duke of Zhenguo no longer hesitated and said, "Minister, finding two people is naturally no problem, but I've heard that these two are quite extraordinary. One is Chef Zhao, and the other is Liu Zhu. Many people are looking for these two, and I don't want to get involved in this mess."
"Indeed, there are many rumors circulating outside, but they are all baseless and not true. Moreover, this matter was personally instructed to me by Consort Jia, so what do you think..." The Minister of Justice shook his head in reply, and finally brought up Consort Jia.
"In that case, I'll give it a try, but the chances aren't great, considering so many people haven't found it." Upon hearing that it was Consort Jia's order, the Duke of Zhenguo immediately agreed.
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Justice left with a delighted expression.
After everyone left, the Duke of Zhenguo immediately ordered someone to bring Qi Guze over.
He quickly cupped his hands in apology: "Your Highness, I'm sorry to have been wronged."
"It's alright." Qi Guze waved his hand. "May I ask what brings Lord Bai here?"
The Minister of Justice has always sought development in the margins and has never intended to take sides. Now that he has come to our door, I'm afraid there might be something fishy going on.
"It's nothing, just asking someone to help me find someone, the palace maid Liu Zhu and the cook Zhao. I heard they're related to Consort Jia's miscarriage." The Duke of Zhenguo didn't intend to hide anything.
Qi Guze raised an eyebrow: "They're in my hands."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com