"Everyone, stand down! Did you hear me? This county princess was personally ennobled by the late Emperor. The Fu Manor will not tolerate your insolence!" Madam Chen stamped her foot and commanded again when she saw the surrounding people remained silent and showed no intention of retreating.
Several officials from the Dali Temple and the Judicial Inspection Office exchanged glances.
One of the bolder ones stepped forward and said, "Madam Fu, I am acting under imperial orders to thoroughly investigate the Fu Manor. I implore you not to make things difficult for us."
"Imperial orders?" Madam Chen sneered. "The late Emperor fought in battles, and my father was his loyal follower. When his life was threatened, it was my father who saved him with his own life. Now that the late Emperor has passed away, is Emperor Jing treating the children of my Chen family like this? Do they wish to exterminate us?"
"Madam also mentioned that she is of the Chen family."
As soon as Madam Chen finished speaking, a voice rang out from the back.
Everyone turned around to see who it was.
Lu Wuxie stood straight, his hands clasped behind his back.
Madam Chen narrowed her eyes and recognized the newcomer. She snorted and said, "I wondered who it was. So it's the heir apparent of the Prince Xian's manor. But what difference can it make even if you are here? I am the late Emperor..."
"His Majesty is aware of the County Princess's noble status, personally conferred by the late Emperor," Lu Wuxie interrupted Madam Chen, slowly taking something out from his sleeve.
Upon seeing it, everyone present knelt down.
Madam Chen, whose eyesight was not good, took a few steps forward. After she clearly saw what it was, she knitted her brows and reluctantly knelt on the ground.
"By imperial decree, the Chen family has rendered distinguished service and made great contributions to the entire Nan Yue kingdom. I, therefore, permit Fu Chong and Princess Min to divorce. So decreed."
Madam Chen was stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"How... how can this be..."
"County Princess, please accept the decree." Lu Wuxie's expression was serious as he slowly stepped forward and presented the decree he held.
"No..." Madam Chen shook her head.
"Does the County Princess intend to defy the imperial edict?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Madam Chen closed her eyes and raised her hands over her head to receive the decree from Lu Wuxie.
The moment she stood up, all the officials and constables in the courtyard surged into her backyard. She could only watch helplessly.
"Master!" Mo Lan, her maidservant, who stood by her side, quickly supported Madam Chen, who was about to faint. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Madam Chen's forehead.
Madam Chen shook her head, her gaze fixed on the two figures walking at the end of the crowd. "I ask myself, I have never offended them. The Fu family was raided as soon as they returned. My husband always told me to stay out of courtly affairs. Now it seems others will not let us be!"
"Master, what do we do now?" Mo Lan asked anxiously, looking at the many items being carried out. Having served Madam Chen for many years, she understood the principle of shared prosperity and downfall. If this continued, what would happen to her later life?
Madam Chen clenched her fists tightly and after a moment, she stood up abruptly and said through gritted teeth, "Since that is the case, then do not blame this County Princess for being ruthless. Mo Lan, let us go to the palace to see the Empress."
Mo Lan's face lit up with joy. She agreed and hurried out to call for a carriage.
Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie walked along the corridor of the Fu Manor.
When Princess Min married Fu Chong, her dowry was personally arranged by the Emperor. Before the internal strife, the imperial court's power was not to be underestimated. It was rumored that she had several carts of jewelry alone, a feat that had not been surpassed to this day.
Now that the Fu family was being investigated, these old items were being brought out. They had been moved for an hour, and the constables of the Dali Temple were still busy.
"My lord!" A Judicial Inspection Office official wearing a sixth-rank official robe hurried forward as soon as he saw Lu Wuxie and presented him with a ledger.
Lu Wuxie took it and looked at it with Zhong Li.
The official clasped his hands and said from the side, "This is a secret ledger found in a hidden compartment in Fu Chong's study. It matches the accounts brought back by Minister Zhong and the heir apparent from Jinzhou, but..."
"But what?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"The amounts on it are enormous. For one expenditure, we found a dead account at the Wu Family Bank, which matches. As for the other part... the flow of funds is not clearly written. We have searched the entire Fu Manor, and so far, it remains unknown," the official replied.
Lu Wuxie finished reading the ledger and closed it. His gaze swept across the entire manor. "Are you sure the search is complete?"
"Yes, people from the Ministry of Revenue have also arrived. The silver taken out from the manor does not match this secret ledger."
Zhong Li frowned upon hearing this. "This makes things difficult. The laws of Nan Yue kingdom place great emphasis on material evidence. With only the accounts and no silver found, Fu Chong will at most suffer some physical hardship, and the charges cannot be established."
Lu Wuxie nodded, his expression not looking good. He handed the ledger back to the official and waved him away. He walked slowly along the corridor, lost in thought.
As it was winter, the pond in the Fu Manor was frozen over with a thin layer of frost, likely caused by the light snow the previous night.
"The garden is quite large and opulent. Could the money have been spent on renovating the garden?" Zhong Li found a clean spot and sat down, looking at the rockery not far away and the withered grass by the rockery, muttering to herself.
Lu Wuxie seemed to be thinking of something and did not reply.
After a moment, he suddenly leaped over the railing and onto the frozen pond.
"Mo Cang." Zhong Li stood up, looking at his action with confusion.
"Li'er, lend me the scalpel!"
Zhong Li asked no further questions. She casually took a scalpel from her怀 and threw it over.
Lu Wuxie caught it and began to strike at the ice, finding the thinnest spot and using the scalpel to chisel at it.
Jincheng was not particularly cold compared to Linzhou, so the ice surface was not thick and naturally not strong.
After just a few strikes, the ice made a crisp sound.
Before Zhong Li could warn him, the ice cracked open, and Lu Wuxie, losing his footing, fell into the water.
"Mo Cang!" she cried out, guessing what Lu Wuxie was trying to do. She found several constables from the Dali Temple and jumped into the water to pull him out.
Fortunately, Lu Wuxie had a strong constitution and had prepared himself before falling into the water, so his muscles did not stiffen. He was rescued in just the time it took to brew a cup of tea.
"Quick!" Lu Wuxie took the clean outer garment Zhong Li handed him, quickly changing into it while instructing the Dali Temple personnel, "The silver is down there. Drain the pond!"
Since the place where the silver was buried had been found, everyone from the Fu Manor was gathered near the pond, some draining the water, others digging the mud.
Zhong Li was called away by Lan Heng when the work was halfway done.
Everyone worked from noon until sunset. Finally, when everything was finished, the entire pond was filled with buried gold and silver treasures.
Minister Jiang, who worked at the Ministry of Revenue, had never seen such a scene when a minister's home was confiscated. His eyes were wide with astonishment, and his hands, counting the silver, were almost frozen stiff.
Lu Wuxie sat by the pond, wrapped in a blanket, a slight smile on his lips. The heavy burden that had been weighing on his mind was finally lifted.