Chapter 162: Chapter 162 Severe Punishment

Su Jin had just returned to Agarwood Pavilion.

Immediately after, Manager Li sent someone over with a silver note worth five thousand taels.

Looking at the silver note in her hand, Xingxing joyfully said, “A single purse is worth five thousand taels. Luckily, I threw it away and Miss picked it back up, otherwise, we would have lost a lot.”

“What’s valuable isn’t the purse, but the reputation of Duke Zhen’s Mansion,” Su Jin said while sipping tea.

“Those people were sent by Princess Nanzhang to plot against you, Miss. Why didn’t you expose her?” Xingxing was puzzled.

In her eyes, anyone who dared to harm her Miss should not be spared, no matter who they are.

Su Jin put down the teacup and said, “What good would it do if I revealed it? It would only result in the death of a scapegoat maid, and it wouldn’t harm her in the slightest.”

The maid hid behind Mrs. Zhao.

Mrs. Zhao’s face was deathly pale.

It was obvious the purse was embroidered by the maid and given to Mrs. Zhao.

It was Mrs. Zhao who had someone rob her.

If the purse were exposed, the innocent maid would surely die, though she might not be entirely blameless, at least she had nothing to do with this matter.

Sparing an innocent maid and demanding five thousand taels in hush money would definitely infuriate Princess Nanzhang.

Su Jin was in a good mood, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Her eyes shone like stars darting across the sky.

Xie Jingchen was stunned upon seeing this.

He had learned everything on the way back.

What shocked him the most was how Su Jin handled the situation.

She didn’t mention the purse at all and simply demanded five thousand taels from the public funds.

To settle the matter without spending a penny of her own.

Princess Nanzhang would surely agree to it without hesitation.

But since it was unrelated to the public funds, there was no reason for the public funds to clean up Princess Nanzhang’s mess.

The Second Madam and the Third Madam would definitely band together to force Princess Nanzhang to replenish the public accounts.

She achieved her goal while secretly aligning the Second Madam and Third Madam with her to suppress Princess Nanzhang.

Such intelligence was truly astonishing.

Su Jin picked up a pastry to eat, and as her gaze swept lightly, it met Xie Jingchen’s eyes.

Their eyes locked.

Su Jin blinked.

Xie Jingchen silently averted his gaze.

Outside the room, a maid ran in, panting, “Young Master, something’s wrong, Old Master had an accident at the border.”

Xie Jingchen’s face changed, and he suddenly stood up, “What happened?!”

The little maid shook her head, “I only know this much; a little eunuch from the Palace has come and went directly to Qihao Hall.”

Xie Jingchen lifted his foot to leave.

Su Jin stuffed the pastry into her mouth, casually wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and stood up as well.

Xie Jingchen walked with large strides, and Su Jin, wearing a dress, found it hard to keep up and was left behind.

In the main hall, the atmosphere was heavy.

The Old Madam sat on the Arhat Couch, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

Princess Nanzhang’s eyes were red, crying uncontrollably.

Xie Jingchen looked worried.

Su Jin looked at him and asked, “What happened?”

Xie Jingchen didn’t speak.

Su Jin looked over at the little maid beside her.

The little maid stepped forward and whispered, “Old Master was shot by an enemy arrow while saving the Duke, poisoned and comatose. When the message was sent from the barracks, he had already been unconscious for three days.”

“I see,” Su Jin said.

The little maid stepped back.

Su Jin looked at Xingxing.

Xingxing was also looking at her, and raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, fearing there might be pastry crumbs.

Su Jin, “….”

This maid.

How could she drop the ball at such a critical time, just when they had the opportunity to strike?

Xingxing realized and said, “Miss, the Great Buddha Temple’s fortune-telling is really accurate. The Old Madam had just drawn an ominous lot, and something happened at the Duke Mansion.”

Before Su Jin could respond, Xie Jinyu angrily said, “Everyone is upset, and you are gloating!”

Su Jin looked at her and said, “The maid was just reminding me that the Great Buddha Temple’s fortune is accurate.”

“So what if it’s accurate?!” Xie Jinyu’s eyes blazed with fire.

“Isn’t it natural to respond that the fortune is accurate, and so is the interpretation of the fortune,” Su Jin said.

As for how to interpret it, shouldn’t she need to repeat?

Princess Nanzhang clenched her molars so hard her back teeth were loosened.

Everyone remembered that the Interpreting Monk at the Great Buddha Temple said if someone in the Duke’s Mansion encountered trouble, the person next to their pillow should go to the Buddhist Hall to pray for seven days, and then copy the Buddhist Scripture forty-nine times a day until everything is safe and sound.

The Old Madam urged Princess Nanzhang, “You should go to the Buddhist Hall to chant sutras and pray for Old Master.”

What could Princess Nanzhang do?

She dug the pit herself and now had to fill it.

Princess Nanzhang was furious, stood up from her chair, and then fell back down.

Others didn’t know the reason for her anger and just thought she was too worried. The Second Madam consoled, “Elder Sister-in-law, don’t worry too much. Eldest Brother is blessed, and the heavens will surely protect him. The Great Buddha Temple’s fortunes are so accurate, as long as we follow them, Eldest Brother is bound to turn misfortune into fortune.”

These words sounded comforting to others.

But to Princess Nanzhang, it was like rubbing salt in the wound, mocking her for getting herself into trouble.

Mrs. Zhao came over to support Princess Nanzhang, but Princess Nanzhang pushed her away.

Mrs. Zhao had the urge to bang her head against a wall.

A foolproof plan, yet every time it involved the Eldest Young Madam, something would go wrong.

If it were someone else, they would have already died several times over in the hands of the Commandery Princess.

Xie Jinyu supported Princess Nanzhang and left.

Xingxing was overjoyed in her heart.

The son-in-law was right, a bad sign doesn’t necessarily target the Old Madam.

Now she finally knew who it was targeting.

It was Princess Nanzhang.

The Great Buddha Temple was truly wonderful.

“Everyone, go back,” the Old Madam said tiredly.

Everyone dispersed.

After coming out of Qihao Hall, Xie Jingchen had not spoken.

Su Jin couldn’t help but pat his chest and said, “Don’t worry, Princess Nanzhang couldn’t wait to urge the Old Madam to go to the Great Buddha Temple to pray, which means she already knew about this news. If she still has the leisure to plot against people, it means your father is not in serious trouble.”

“If she doesn’t want to stay in the Buddhist Hall for seven days, the news that your father is fine will soon return to the mansion,” Su Jin said.

Duke Chong’s Mansion, study room.

Duke Chong was drinking medicine, the bitterness made his gaze cold.

The door creaked as it was pushed open.

A man came in and said, “Duke, another war report has been delivered to the Capital from the border.”

“Present it,” Duke Chong said.

The man handed the sealed war report to Duke Chong.

Duke Chong opened the war report, glanced over it, and his face turned grim.

He slammed his fist on the desk.

“It’s Marquis Dongxiang again!” he gritted his teeth.

“Duke, this war report….”

“This war report doesn’t need to be presented to the Emperor, have the messenger handle it well, don’t say what shouldn’t be said,” Duke Chong said coldly.

“Don’t worry, Duke, the one delivering the report is one of our own, it was directly sent to the Duke Mansion,” the man said.

The man took the letter, glanced at it a few times, and then said, “What about Princess Nanzhang?”

“We’ll talk about it in a few days.”

The man put down the letter and got up to leave.

The guard delivering the war report was in the outer courtyard, drinking tea and eating pastries.

After an urgent journey of 800 miles, he was exhausted to half-death, both tired and hungry, wolfing down the food.

The man walked in, waved his hand, letting the servant dismiss.

He stepped forward and asked, “Is Old Master Xie from the Duke Zhen Country Mansion better?”

The guard delivering the war report looked at the man and asked cautiously, “Not better yet?”

The man laughed, patting the guard’s shoulder, “You have good sense, being a messenger is really beneath your talents.”

The guard quickly stood up and said, “I hope you, sir, can guide me more.”

After the guard had his fill, he left Duke Chong’s Mansion.

He mounted his horse and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.

Imperial Study.

Ever since learning about Old Master Xie’s incident, the Emperor had been frowning.

On one hand, worried about Old Master Xie, and on the other, concerned about the border warfare.

Even Old Master Xie had been poisoned into a coma, the Emperor could hardly imagine how dangerous the border situation must be.

Eunuch Fu brought tea to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, Duke Zhen is stationed at the border, please don’t worry too much.”

“How can I not worry?” the Emperor sighed.

At that moment—

A little eunuch ran in and said, “Your Majesty, another war report has come from the border.”

“Quick, bring it!” the Emperor said urgently.

Soon, the guard entered the Imperial Study.

He presented the letter.

Eunuch Fu frowned and asked, “Why isn’t it sealed in a letter tube, who has seen this letter?”

“This letter was made in duplicate, the one sealed in the letter tube was sent to Duke Chong for review before being brought to the palace,” the guard reported truthfully.

“….”

Eunuch Fu was a bit stunned.

Although it was known that Duke Chong held great power, and that these reports might first be reviewed by him before reaching the palace, it was the first time someone spoke of it so openly.

Eunuch Fu reproached, “How dare you! Are you disregarding the Emperor?”

“Read the letter first,” the guard said.

“….”

Eunuch Fu was annoyed but handed the letter to the Emperor for review.

After the Emperor read it, he was greatly pleased.

Eunuch Fu took a glance and then glared at the guard, “If this guard hadn’t first taken the letter to Duke Chong’s Mansion, His Majesty wouldn’t have been worried so long!”

“Your Majesty, he must be severely punished!” Eunuch Fu said.

“I am Marquis Dongxiang’s man,” the guard said to Eunuch Fu.

The Emperor, “….”

Eunuch Fu, “….”

The Emperor folded the letter, gave Eunuch Fu a sidelong glance, and asked, “How do you propose to deal with him?”

Eunuch Fu, “….”

The Emperor.

Who dares to provoke someone from Dongxiang Marquis Mansion.

“Perhaps, reward him with a hundred taels?” Eunuch Fu suggested cautiously.

“….”

“I grant you to reward him a hundred taels,” the Emperor said.

“….”

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