Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 57 - What Have You Done in Heifeng Village
57: Chapter 57 What Have You Done in Heifeng Village?
57 -57 What Have You Done in Heifeng Village?
The next day, Cailin finally led people down from the mountain.
Last night, between annihilating bandits and seizing items from Heifeng Village, he had been so busy that he hadn’t slept all night.
“Prince, both the people and the stolen goods have been brought back!” Cailin stood outside the tent, waiting for Li Mingjue to appear, before he yawned and reported.
Li Mingjue looked at the dark circles under his eyes, took the document from his hands, skimmed through it, and furrowed his brow slightly, “So many items were hidden in a small place like Heifeng Village?”
He had led troops to annihilate bandits before, finding only gold and silver jewelry stolen from rich merchants, with the remaining iron scraps barely worth anything.
But the list of items on this document spanned several pages, each item unique, which was truly shocking and troubling upon consideration.
Cailin, who had been quietly following behind him, yawned silently again before saying, “The Prince is right.
Who could have imagined that Heifeng Village would hide thousands of taels of gold?”
All the confiscated items were gathered on an empty plot of land.
Cailin had people open the chest containing gold and said, “Prince, please have a look.”
The dazzling gold opened and dazzled many; even Cailin, a Military Officer who normally viewed wealth as immaterial, couldn’t help but click his tongue, “That’s really a lot!”
Li Mingjue’s eyelid twitched slightly, sensing the dishonest origin of this wealth was unusual.
How could an average household have so much gold to be looted?
“Since it’s not from an average household, it can only come from one place!” Behind him, Shen Xihe came walking over, fan in hand with a careless air.
Following him was a somewhat timid Song Ling.
Cailin found this man somewhat familiar, but as he often led troops to fight, not recognizing some people was normal.
Moreover, his gaze was entirely captured by Shen Xihe, who was dressed in a flowing white robe and looked very dashing.
Cailin couldn’t help but grumble, “This subordinate has spent the night in that bandit’s nest, while Minister Shen has indeed enjoyed himself.”
Shen Xihe snapped his fan shut and lightly tapped his palm with it, smiling gently, “If it weren’t for Officer Cailin fighting the enemy on the front lines, how could Shen be so carefree?
After returning to the Capital, Shen must properly thank Officer Cailin.”
Cailin’s eyes brightened, and he pushed his luck, “There must be that thirty-year-old Daughter Red wine!”
Shen Xihe smiled effortlessly, “Naturally.”
Li Mingjue interrupted their irreverent chatter, his gaze moving past Shen Xihe to look at Song Ling behind him, “This gold, do you recognize it?”
Song Ling trembled all over, but still managed to move forward and took a piece of gold from the box to look over carefully.
A cold wind swept through, causing him to shiver violently, and his teeth chattered as he replied shakily, “Your Highness, this gold is indeed the one lost five years ago.”
All three changed their expressions simultaneously.
Even Cailin, a General who had been on campaigns, clearly remembered what happened five years ago.
For a moment, no one spoke, and only the howling wind could be heard in the silence.
Qi Yu, still dressed as a man, nearly lost his sight to the lure of the gold upon arriving.
“Heifeng Village is indeed wealthy.”
Cailin’s mouth twitched, “The Princess always has a…
unique focus.”
Her fairly mild joke dispersed the previous tension, and Li Mingjue stretched his hand toward her.
Qi Yu walked over and asked in a low voice, “Did I say something wrong again?”
Li Mingjue chuckled lightly, and tucked back a stray hair from her forehead, simply saying, “Normally, upon seeing such a large sum of gold, one would ask where it came from.”
Qi Yu slowly “oh-ed” in response.
This was indeed insinuating that she was both inexperienced and greedy, and she caught on.
Shen Xiheng suddenly spoke, “This matter is not trivial.”
Li Mingjue nodded, his gaze briefly but meaningfully rested on Song Ling for a second, “There is only one person who can handle this.”
Cailin, oblivious to their riddle-like conversation, scratched his head, “Who is the Prince referring to?”
Shen Xiheng smiled slightly, abruptly pulled Song Ling, who was hiding behind, and pushed him in front of Cailin, “Come, greet General Cailin!”
Caught off guard like a duck being pushed onto a perch, Song Ling could only grit his teeth and say, “General Cailin.”
Cailin was still confused.
Who was this person that suddenly appeared?
Song Ling moved his lips, too ashamed to continue.
Li Mingjue timely intervened, ending his predicament, “This is the Minister of Revenue from five years ago who thoroughly investigated the case of the stolen Official Silver, Mr.
Song Ling.”
Cailin’s pupils shook, “You’re Song Ling?”
Song Ling nodded slightly.
Yet his gaze did not dodge like the day before, and in a light but firm tone, he said, “The guilty Song Ling, at your service, General.”
Struck by a moment of blankness, Cailin, after a long pause, managed to squeeze out a few words between his teeth, “You aren’t dead yet?”
Qi Yu turned her head away, hardly able to watch anymore.
This General Cailin was no conversational genius.
Who asks questions like that?
Yet Song Ling evidently had a stronger mental fortitude, as he replied calmly without changing his expression, “Thanks to the General’s concern, the guilty one… is still alive.”
Qi Yu covered her forehead with her hand.
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This pair was truly like dragon and phoenix hatchlings, both beyond reproach.
Shen Xiheng knew that Qi Yu was not privy to the details and that Cailin was likely still confused, not being in the Capital at the time.
He stepped forward a few steps and spoke indifferently, “Five years ago, millions in Official Silver were stolen, and Mr.
Song Ling, then the Minister of Revenue, was ordered by His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the matter.
However, due to some mishap, a portion of that Official Silver ended up in Mr.
Song Ling’s home.
His Majesty was furious and ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate thoroughly.
Eventually, Mr.
Song Ling was imprisoned for embezzlement.
It was the Prince who intervened at the time, saving Mr.
Song Ling’s life.
But afterward, Mr.
Song Ling mysteriously disappeared in prison, vanishing without a trace.”
Qi Yu stroked her chin and continued his narrative, “Five years later, I, the Princess, brought him back from Heifeng Village.”
Shen Xiheng nodded and smiled, “Exactly.”
At the time of the incident, Cailin was not in the Capital but had heard something of the matter.
Hundreds of officials involved were beheaded by an enraged Li Tianze.
Only Song Ling was spared, thanks to Li Mingjue’s decisive intervention.
Yet, within two months, Song Ling suddenly disappeared, and Prince Ming’an became the target of all accusations.
Later, there was a significant reshuffling at court, all replaced by Li Ming’an’s men who were in a more favorable position at the time.
Reflecting on the past, Song Ling felt a mixture of emotions.
Five years ago, the Prince had saved his life, yet he had fled.
Five years later, the Princess had saved him once again.
This time…
Perhaps it was fate, Song Ling, masking the heaviness in his eyes, knelt down, his voice forceful and deliberate, “Rest assured, Prince, I will thoroughly investigate this matter!”
Li Mingjue watched his rigidly straight back, his eyes finally showing a hint of emotion.
He helped him up, speaking softly, “Then tell us, what have you been doing in Heifeng Village these past five years?”
