Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 145: Thoroughly Search the Prime Minister’s Residence

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Thoroughly Search the Prime Minister’s Residence

Qi Wei was shocked by the amount and did not doubt the truthfulness of her words. His voice trembled a little as he asked, "Is there really a hundred thousand taels of gold?"

At his side, Mrs. Wang and Qi Anran also trembled, a gleam of greed flashing in their eyes.

Qi Yu gently persuaded, "Of course there is. The Prince Residence couldn’t accommodate it all, so I thought of offering it as a tribute to father."

Qi Wei’s expression immediately brightened. His face broke into a smile as he looked at Qi Yu, feeling truly blessed to have such a good daughter.

Qi Yu immediately had the carriage brought in, and upon dismounting, she took a box of gold from the spatial storage.

The three members of the Qi Family lifted the lid and were dazzled by the brilliance inside.

Overwhelmed with joy, none of them bothered about Qi Yu, and they only hurried to instruct the servants to move the box to the storeroom.

The box was considerably heavy. Although they didn’t know the exact amount, it definitely contained thousands of taels of gold.

Qi Yu waited until they all went to the storeroom to count the gold, then immediately waved to Chunlan and Shen Nanxing, and the three of them quietly left the Prime Minister Residence.

In the storeroom, Qi Wei clutched at the gold, grinning from ear to ear, "Indeed, it is genuine gold!"

Mrs. Wang and Qi Anran were also very happy. With money, they no longer had to live frugally.

The three joyfully held onto the gold in the storeroom for an hour. By the time they realized Qi Yu was nowhere to be seen, they didn’t much care.

Mrs. Wang, feeling envious, said, "Getting married well really makes a difference, to simply have tens of thousands of taels of gold."

At these words, Qi Anran looked startled. She set down the pieces of gold, her eyes filled with resentment.

If it weren’t for Prince An’s mishap, she would have been the Princess by now.

Qi Yu would not have had the chance to flaunt her power in front of her.

Qi Wei was so fond of the gold that he personally watched as the servant counted each piece, only allowing the box to be closed once the count was verified.

Seizing the moment, Mrs. Wang said, "My lord, recently our household’s expenses have all been covered by my family’s money. Now that we have this silver, shouldn’t it be returned?"

Qi Wei glared at her discontentedly, "Return what? Your family already troubles me enough as it is!"

With that, he took the keys, flicked his sleeves, and left.

Mrs. Wang watched his heartless departure, anger making her grind her teeth.

At Prince Qiu Residence, Qi Yu, satisfied after having duped her family, was enjoying her tea in the back courtyard.

Upon hearing her story, Song Ling expressed disbelief: "The Qi family took the fortune without even questioning it?"

Such an enormous windfall—any normal person would at least ask where it came from.

Yet, the Qi family accepted it just like that.

Recalling the scene, Qi Yu laughed for a while and scoffed, "Once those three saw the gold, they didn’t care about anything else. They would have lived inside the box if they could."

Song Ling silently shook his head, then said, "The Prince must have already prepared everything. By tomorrow, Qi Wei will be in the Imperial Prison."

Qi Yu sipped her tea, casual dismissed with a wave of her hand, "There’s no need for tomorrow; by now, Qiu Lian must already be searching the Prime Minister Residence."

Qiu Lian had been suffering these days—he couldn’t use torture on Li Ming’an but had him confined in the prince’s residence, yet nothing substantial turned up in the searches.

Heifeng’s confession had already been submitted, clearly detailing Li Ming’an’s deeds.

Some matters even shocked Qiu Lian, but after reading, Li Tianze said nothing and just told him to investigate further.

Qiu Lian struggled, wondering what more could be uncovered.

Counting the days anxiously, he felt his official cap was about to be lost.

At the morning court today, faced with Li Tianze’s questioning, he still had nothing to say.

He could only stand there, head bowed in distress, barely making it through the end of court.

After the court, Qiu Lian discussed the matter with several officials from the Ministry of Justice.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to discern His Majesty’s intentions. This matter was neither trivial nor grave; too light a handling would fail to justify it to the people, yet too severe a measure would be problematic, as the subject was a Prince, and he would be unable to explain it to His Majesty.

These days, everyone at the Ministry of Justice had a gloomy expression, eager for the case to be resolved soon.

Shortly after noon, someone reported that Prince Qiu had arrived.

Qiu Lian hurriedly rose to greet him, giving a respectful salute and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you to this humble official today?"

Mingjue nodded slightly and gave Qiu Lian a meaningful glance.

Immediately, Qiu Lian dismissed everyone around and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, is there something you need today?"

Mingjue did not answer. After taking his seat, he did not rush but drank some tea and made small talk, leaving Qiu Lian puzzled.

Could it be that His Highness really came just for tea?

Qiu Lian pondered this but before he could think it through, he heard Mingjue say, "I indeed have a matter to discuss today."

Qiu Lian focused his mind and eagerly asked, "Your Highness, please speak freely."

Mingjue asked, "Regarding this case, I have discovered a clue."

A hint of joy appeared on Qiu Lian’s face, but then he heard Mingjue hesitantly say, "It’s just that..."

"Just what?" Qiu Lian was already anxious, seizing any clue was crucial.

Mingjue tantalizingly delayed, then slowly revealed, "This clue involves the Prime Minister."

"The Prime Minister? Qi Wei?" Qiu Lian’s pupil shook.

Then, reconsidering, he realized it wasn’t surprising, since Qi Wei was affiliated with Prince An.

But he had also secretly dispatched people to watch Qi Wei and had not discovered anything unusual.

Now, hearing Mingjue say this, his heart tightened, "Did Qi Wei commit some wrongdoing?"

Mingjue took out a forged letter, which the Princess had incidentally seen during a visit to the Prime Minister Residence some days ago.

Qiu Lian took it, and observed the handwriting was exactly the same as those found in Prince An Residence, clearly the Prince’s own writing.

After reading the contents, he was so angry that his moustache trembled, and cursed, "Qi Wei, that old fox, has actually conspired with Prince An to hide Official Silver!"

Having cursed, he remembered the presence of another Prince, quickly coughed, and firmly said, "I will go and report to His Majesty and ensure a thorough search of the Prime Minister Residence!"

After sending Mingjue away, Qiu Lian rushed into the palace.

He shed the listlessness of the previous days, his whole person radiating vitality.

Although a doubt flickered through his mind about how everything seemed too convenient,

how Qi Yu could have found this letter when Qi Wei hid it so deeply?

But the thought was fleeting, as Qiu Lian was already overwhelmed by the joy of nearing a resolution.

With such conclusive evidence, he wanted to see what Qi Wei would have to say now!

Li Tianze had just finished dining in the Empress’s palace and had not had a moment’s peace when he heard from Zhou Fu that Elder Qiu had an urgent matter to report.

The Empress frowned, but as it was official business, she said nothing.

She watched Li Tianze leave the palace, frustrated to the point of smashing a bowl.

In the Imperial Study Room, Li Tianze looked at Qiu Lian wearily: "What urgent matter does Qiu bring?"

Qiu Lian quickly handed over the letter, not mentioning Mingjue at all, only stating it was found in Prince An Residence.

Upon reading it, Li Tianze was indeed furious, and commanded loudly, "Take men and search the Prime Minister Residence thoroughly!"