Qiao Zihua, who had been waiting outside, quickly came forward to greet him.

“Second Uncle.”

Lord Qiao looked at him several times, his brows furrowing deeply. “What happened to you? Why are you so dirty? And is that blood?”

“It’s nothing, I just took a tumble earlier.” Qiao Zihua smiled, his smile extremely awkward, as he hid the bloodstained sleeve behind him.

Being beaten—how embarrassing to speak of it!

Lord Qiao had no mind to care about such things. With a wave of his sleeve, “Alright, let’s go back.”

And he left.

Qiao Zihua followed closely behind.

In the main hall, Jingrong put away his meaningful smile, his face pensive.

Lang Bo walked in and cupped his hands.

Jingrong asked, “Did you hear everything?”

“Yes!”

“What do you think?”

Lang Bo said solemnly, “According to what Lord Qiao just said, Lord Peng deliberately submitted the memorial to avenge the First Prince, directing the blame toward Prince Yi. As for that Lord Qu, he shares the same concerns as Lord Qiao—worried that Prince Yi’s ambitions are too great and that sooner or later the plot will be exposed. Therefore, he reconciled with Lord Peng and joined forces to deal with Prince Yi. It seems reasonable, and this explanation makes sense, but…”

“Speak.”

“Those who serve as officials in court are different from this subordinate who came from a military background. They know how to read the wind and shift accordingly, to calculate carefully. Behind it all, if there’s no one scheming or giving them a push, they wouldn’t possibly openly oppose Prince Yi.” Lang Bo voiced his thoughts.

Jingrong remained silent for a long while, one finger gently tapping on his thigh, murmuring softly, “Peng Yuanhai? Qu Jiang? Mingshan Academy? Master Yu?”

What connection existed between these?

That force gradually forming in the background—whose hand did it come from?

Lost in thought, he ordered Lang Bo, “Notify Lu Jiang to investigate the backgrounds of Lords Peng and Qu thoroughly. Also… which official positions do the students from Mingshan Academy hold in court? It must be investigated meticulously.”

“Yes!”

Lang Bo received the order and was about to withdraw when a clerk from the courier station arrived.

The man presented the organized materials.

“Your Highness, these are all organized by Attendant Lin—what goods came in and out on the day the disaster relief silver was transported to the courier station. All records are here.”

The efficiency was quite high.

He took them and flipped through them, nodding. “Go back and tell your Attendant Lin that if there are any more matters concerning the disaster relief silver, we’ll send for him again.”

“Yes.”

He withdrew respectfully.

The organized materials consisted of several copies. After all, the courier station had goods coming in and out daily, never ceasing.

He flipped to one page that recorded the time and date when the first disaster relief silver was transported over several years ago. Below it were many densely packed records.

Tribute rice for households—ten loads, transported from a certain place to a certain place, transported to whom, how long the transport took, how many courier stations it passed through before reaching the Imperial Manor courier station, how long it was stored.

All were recorded in detail.

There were also porcelain from Xuancheng, umbrellas from Northern Liang, jade from the Shen family of Luzhou…

Jingrong closed it. His head ached a bit. He rubbed his temples, his elbow propped on the desk beside him, head lowered and eyes closed.

Lang Bo stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, why don’t this subordinate look through them for you? If there are any suspicious points, I’ll organize them and bring them to you for your review.”

“No need. This prince will rest for a bit. You may withdraw first. Go notify Lu Jiang of the matter I assigned you.”

“Yes!”

Lang Bo left.

At the hour of Mao!

The stuffy sky suddenly flashed with lightning and thunder. A mass of dark clouds pressed down overhead. A strong wind rose, and the leaves rustled, swaying left and right in the light rain. It intensified more and more, and the rain grew heavier.

Because this rain came so suddenly, Ji Yunshu was somewhat caught off guard. She quickly ordered people to move the skeletal remains displayed in the courtyard into the house, but the bones still got wet.

The white cloth was sopping wet, water dripping down along the edge of the table onto the floor.

A large area of the clean floor became wet.

Auntie Xie used her own clothing to wipe the skeletal remains over and over, tears streaming down her face.

Ji Yunshu looked outside and noticed that the rag doll that had been placed on the white cloth earlier was now rolled beside a flower pot, being pelted by the rain.

Without a word, she rushed out of the room.

“Master Ji?”

Zhuang’er quickly grabbed an umbrella and chased after her, holding it over her head.

She picked up the rag doll from the ground. The coarse cloth, already somewhat dirty, became even more filthy. Cold rainwater also seeped out from the cotton cloth that gradually became heavier.

Her palm tightened as she tried to wring it dry.

But—

As soon as her palm applied force, before she could squeeze the rag doll into a ball, something inside the cotton pushed back. Her hand loosened.

“Master, what’s wrong?”

“There seems to be something inside.”

Zhuang’er was surprised. “What could be inside this doll?”

Ji Yunshu frowned, squeezing it several times with her hand. Inside that ball of cotton, something was indeed hidden. The thing was very small but very hard. Feeling the shape, it was somewhat oval, but the round end seemed to have a triangle, like… a fish!

That’s right, it was the shape of a fish.

She suddenly recalled what Qiao Zihua had said earlier—that Ye’er had dealings with a man who wore a fish-shaped jade pendant. The fish-shaped object inside the rag doll—could it be that man’s jade pendant?

She wanted to squeeze it again!

But Auntie Xie, who had somehow rushed out, snatched the rag doll away and looked at her with a panicked expression.

“Master Ji, this doll… there’s nothing to see.” Her tone trembled slightly.

Ji Yunshu said nothing, only pushing the umbrella over her head toward Auntie Xie’s head. “Come, let’s go inside and talk.”

After going inside, Ji Yunshu was in no hurry to make things clear. She had Qiao’er prepare two bowls of ginger soup.

“Auntie Xie, have a bowl of ginger soup.”

She nodded, but her hands never loosened their grip on the rag doll.

After she finished drinking, Ji Yunshu said, “That doll is soaked through. Why not give it to Qiao’er and have her dry it by the stove?”

Hearing this, Qiao’er quickly stepped forward, but Auntie Xie suddenly shifted her body to the side, hiding the rag doll behind her back, lowering her eyes.

“No need, don’t trouble the young lady.”

“It’s fine, no trouble at all. Just placing the doll over there—a few steps away. Give it to me.” Qiao’er stepped forward to take it.

Who would have known—

“I said no need.” Auntie Xie’s tone became somewhat heavier.

This made Qiao’er freeze. Her hands remained suspended in mid-air—reaching out wasn’t right, pulling back wasn’t right either. In short, she was stuck there, then turned her gaze toward Ji Yunshu, wanting to ask for her opinion.

Ji Yunshu waved her hand. “You two may withdraw.”

Qiao’er and Zhuang’er exchanged glances, then carried out the bowls that had held the ginger soup.

After they left.

Only then did Ji Yunshu’s gaze fall on the rag doll in Auntie Xie’s arms. From her mouth, she slowly uttered a question.

“The thing inside that doll… whose is it?”