The next morning, Lu Baichuan left before dawn, while He Jiuniang was anxiously woken up by her maid.
"Madam, a murder has occurred in the city!"
He Jiuniang turned over and continued to sleep. Murder cases happen in this city every day. She is not a saint and cannot handle every case. What would be the point of having the Dali Temple?
The maidservant immediately reached out and pulled her up to clear her head, then continued, "The person who was killed was one of the scholars who paraded through the streets yesterday, the very Zhu Lian you asked me to investigate."
He Jiuniang muttered, "That kind of scum, he's dead, so be it."
"But the problem is, Mr. Kang has disappeared!"
The maid finally got to the point, and He Jiuniang instantly snapped out of it: "Why didn't you say so sooner!"
"Madam is still sleeping. I'm afraid that if I speak too hastily, she won't be able to catch her breath."
Well, I'm afraid that if I rush things, I won't be able to catch up, so I'll take it step by step and explain slowly.
He Jiuniang: ...Thank you.
This time, He Jiuniang didn't need her help; she got up on her own and said while dressing, "Hurry up and explain yourself."
The maid quickly recounted the events: "The man was found by a beggar in an alley not far from our mansion. There was a paper fan and a wooden stick at the scene. The paper fan was confirmed to belong to Mr. Kang, but Mr. Kang has not returned since leaving our mansion yesterday, and his servant is very worried."
He Jiuniang listened to her analysis and asked, "So, you're saying that people now believe Mr. Kang killed Zhu Lian and then ran away? Are you that stupid?"
Although she was reluctant to admit it, the maid nodded: "That's what's being said outside. They all say that Mr. Kang had a quarrel with Zhu Lian during yesterday's parade."
"So what? Does every argument necessarily lead to murder? How many people would die every day then?"
He Jiuniang was very angry. She believed that Kang Tanhua would not kill anyone, but the main issue now was that Kang Tanhua had disappeared.
He Jiuniang thought that she had most likely been captured.
Soon after the Crown Prince ascends the throne, all countries will send envoys to congratulate him. If the Eastern Court has not yet made peace with the Northern Yan by then, the Eastern Court will be embarrassed and lose face in front of the other two countries, thus losing its image.
They've been looking for an opportunity to catch Gou'er or the young master, but haven't had a chance to do so, so they've turned their attention to Kang Xiucai, who has a good relationship with the Lu family.
"What's the situation now?"
"The servants of the Zhu family are making a huge fuss. They have already sent a message back to their hometown. They even went so far as to implicate our General's Mansion, saying that Mr. Kang is so bold because he has our General's Mansion backing him up. What's more, because that alley is not far from our mansion, they say that this is a conspiracy by the General's Mansion, and that Mr. Kang has been hidden by our General's Mansion."
The maidservant spoke with a heavy tone, clearly extremely angry.
He Jiuniang remained calm and said, "Never mind all that nonsense. The most important thing now is to find Mr. Kang. By the way, does Third Master know?"
"We've already sent someone to the military camp to inform them; they should know by now."
He Jiuniang nodded, preparing to go out and check the situation in a little while.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside, but no one came in. Instead, someone reported from outside, "Madam, a severed finger and a note have suddenly appeared at the door!"
The speaker was Butler Huang, who was holding a severed finger wrapped in cloth in his hand, his anxiety written all over his face.
When He Jiuniang came out, it was obvious without asking that the severed finger most likely belonged to Kang Tanhua.
She took the note and read the short line: "A small gift, nothing special."
Then, she glanced at the bloody severed finger, her eyes lit up; it was still bright red and looked very fresh!
There's hope!
She took the severed finger and put it into her bosom, actually storing it in her spatial storage. The storage space had an unparalleled preservation ability; whatever it was put in, it would be exactly the same when she took it out.
Butler Huang was stunned. That was a bloody severed finger. Why was Madam hiding it in her bosom?
But now is not the time to talk about these things. He asked anxiously, "Madam, what should we do now?"
"Send someone to escort the two young masters to Madam Ming's place. Also, find someone to spread the word that the people of Dongting are shameless, refusing to negotiate and even kidnapping our newly appointed third-ranked scholar. If they harm Mr. Kang even a little, we will retaliate in kind. We will go to the jail right now and feed the little finger of the third prince of Dongting to the dogs in the street."
He Jiuniang stated directly that she was never threatened, and besides, the Third Prince of Dongting was definitely more valuable.
Butler Huang hurriedly advised, "Madam, don't be impulsive! The Third Prince of Dongting is related to the peace between Beiyan and Dongting. If you cause trouble, you will be burdened with a terrible crime!"
Butler Huang didn't care about peace or discord; he just didn't want his wife to take the blame.
He Jiuniang sneered and said, "Peace my ass! The people of Dongting have been bullying us in Beiyan for so long. If Beiyan doesn't retaliate, then it's truly pathetic! Now they've even arrested Mr. Kang. They're trying to put our General's Mansion in the spotlight and make us bear the infamy. But I'm not one to be bullied."
He Jiuniang spoke as she walked out, moving very fast, her steps light and breezy. Butler Huang was filled with admiration, his eyes sparkling. How could a woman be so dashing!
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Lu Baichuan rushing back. He Jiuniang didn't have time to say anything else, she just said, "Go to the prison and chop off the fingers of the Third Prince of Dongting and feed them to the dogs in public. I'm going to the palace to ask the Emperor if this war is going to be fought or not. If it's not going to be fought, I'm packing my things and going back to the countryside!"
Every day is filled with trouble. The military strength is extremely weak, and there are very few capable generals. She has even personally gone to train the troops, but the father and son in the palace don't dare to utter a word. If this continues, what's the point of working hard for the court? They might as well go home and farm!
Lu Baichuan shared the same idea. He rushed back to ask the Crown Prince for his opinion, as this matter could not be delayed any longer, or it would truly cause chaos.
"Leave the finger-chopping to Feng Qian, I'll accompany you to the palace."
He was accompanied by several capable men, including Feng Qian. Upon hearing Lu Baichuan's words, Feng Qian responded without hesitation, turned his horse around, and headed towards the prison.
He Jiuniang nodded, mounted her horse, and just then saw someone bringing Gou'er and the others out. She instructed them, "Your parents have something to do. Go visit your Grandma Jiang for a few days, be good."
The dog nodded and waved to them, saying, "Daddy and Mommy, please be careful!"
"I know."
Lu Baichuan was worried, so he arranged for all the people he brought to escort the two children and ensure their safety.
The couple went to the palace all by themselves.
The common people had just been misled into thinking that Kang Tanhua had killed Zhu Lian because of a quarrel, but suddenly they heard that it was the people of Dongting who were causing trouble and that Kang Tanhua was also a victim. Suddenly, everyone was in danger and the streets were in chaos.
At this moment, the palace had just received news of Zhu Lian's death and Kang Tanhua's capture. The Crown Prince was so angry that he could hardly breathe. He was wrong, terribly wrong. His momentary soft-heartedness had brought so much trouble upon him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com