General Mu was taken aback. He looked down at the medicinal pillow, and something soft in his heart was touched. He said absent-mindedly, "So this medicinal pillow must have been made by her own hands, right?"
However, the military advisor had no time for sentimentality. He snatched the medicinal pillow and examined it carefully. He confirmed, "This is exactly the medicinal pillow that Sister-in-law gave me!"
"Back then when there was a disaster, His Highness, the Prince of Rui, asked all families to contribute money and efforts, and also asked us to donate some items. At that time, I was not at home. My wife thought this medicinal pillow was useless, so she donated it."
Shen Heqing caught the key point in the words. "If that's the case, why did the items donated back then end up in a pharmacy in the Xiangyun Kingdom and become the long - cherished collection of the pharmacy's owner?"
The military advisor didn't know either. He only knew that at that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne. After several grand ceremonies held by the national treasury, it was in a state of emptiness. Then the disaster occurred. Even though the emperor took the lead in donating money and items, it was still a bit of a struggle.
Finally, it was the Prince of Rui who came up with an idea. He asked the emperor and all the civil and military officials to donate items. Then these items were sorted according to the official ranks and compiled into a booklet. The wealthy merchants who donated the most grain were rewarded.
However, no one knew what went wrong in the middle. Out of more than a hundred items, only ten were left in the end. A big wealthy merchant donated a hundred catties of grain and took away the emperor's calligraphy. The other wealthy merchants only donated a dozen catties of grain, which had little effect on the disaster relief.
After a little thought, Shen Heqing saw the brilliance of this method.
There were a total of a hundred items for reward. The big wealthy merchants wanted the most valuable reward, which was the emperor's calligraphy. The small wealthy merchants could also get the items donated by the officials if they donated a little. If they donated ten catties, they could get the items donated by seventh - rank officials. If they donated five more catties, they could get the items donated by sixth - rank officials. Some wealthy merchants with extra grain would donate a few more catties. Just by saving a few days' worth of rations, they could get the items of officials with a slightly higher rank. Why not do it?
Once the wealthy merchants had this thought, they would keep donating grain.
This was for the small wealthy merchants. For the big wealthy merchants, they would compete for the emperor's calligraphy. In this process, they would unconsciously compete with each other on the amount of grain donated. The more they donated, the more face they would have. Even if they failed, they could still get the items of high - ranking officials. It was a sure - win deal.
Disappointment flashed in Shen Heqing's eyes. Such a good method had gone wrong. He said, "Except for the emperor's calligraphy which was not lost, did all the items donated by other officials disappear, leaving only a few items from minor officials?"
The military advisor nodded and was still a bit confused. "How did you know? Later, there was an assassination in the palace. When the emperor thoroughly investigated this matter, he found something was wrong. The grain for disaster relief back then remained untouched, but the silver and these items were all gone. When the investigation led to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Magistrate Zhang, the clues were cut off."
This was an old case from more than a decade ago. The military advisor rarely returned to the capital. He could remember it so clearly not only because the disaster was serious but also because every time he returned to the capital, he heard that the emperor was still investigating but could never find any clues.
While Shen Heqing was discussing with the military advisor, General Mu, who was holding the medicinal pillow, suddenly spoke up. "Since the medicinal pillow you donated appeared in the Xiangyun Kingdom, it's possible that the spear ended up there in the same way."
"I remember that the Wu family was living a tough life and couldn't afford to donate anything good. The Prince of Rui was very eloquent. Maybe he managed to persuade Old Man Wu to donate his spear on a whim."
At first, the military advisor thought it was absurd, but after careful consideration, he thought it was highly possible.
The origin of the spear was figured out, but a bigger problem lay in front of the three of them. Why did the items donated by all the officials more than a decade ago end up in the Xiangyun Kingdom? Besides the spear and the medicinal pillow, were there other items in the Xiangyun Kingdom?
The military advisor pondered for a moment. "Most of the items donated back then had one thing in common. They weren't very valuable but were quite meaningful."
"I heard that His Highness, the Prince of Rui, went door - to - door to persuade people. When he saw someone donating a valuable item, he would keep it and convert it into silver for disaster relief. Then he would ask that person to donate another item until the donated item was worthless and couldn't be sold for money."
"Some people wanted to just take a random item to fool him, but His Highness, the Prince of Rui, was very shrewd. He brought two servants who were good at writing with him and recorded the origin and meaning of the items in a notebook."
"Take this medicinal pillow for example. My wife made up a story about how I had nightmares every night and how the general went out to find herbs to make this medicinal pillow for me."
General Mu couldn't believe it. "You had nightmares every night, and I went to find herbs to make the medicinal pillow?"
The military advisor avoided General Mu's gaze and said to Shen Heqing, "Starting tomorrow, you should be more observant. The general and I will also look around. Maybe we'll come across other donated items."
Shen Heqing nodded in agreement.
...
At the Princess Mansion.
There were four items placed in front of Yan Mingli.
A jade horse, an old and shabby - looking ancient book, an ordinary wooden hairpin, and a copper mirror that reflected very clearly.
Shen Haiyan had high hopes for Yan Mingli. "Take a good look at each of them. See if they're valuable. These were obtained by Minghua from that old hag."
Commander Wu was very fast, even faster than the imperial guards. He caught Shen Qingshan off guard and didn't give him time to transfer the items.
The jade horse and a bunch of ornaments fell to the ground and were picked up by Shen Baozhu.
The ancient book was placed on the bookshelf. Shen Haiyan scanned around and found it.
The wooden hairpin and the copper mirror were much harder to find. Old Lady Shen was in the back courtyard. She got the news before the imperial guards arrived and hid the items in advance.
Shen Haiyan searched three times but couldn't find them. It was only when Shen Minghua pretended to bribe the jailer to visit Old Lady Shen and got the location of the wooden hairpin and the copper mirror that they were finally found.
Shen Minghua stood beside them, tugging at the corner of his clothes as he watched Yan Mingli study the four items.
"Brother Minghua, what do you think of this color of clothes?" Shen Baozhu ran in, holding a dusty piece of cloth for Shen Minghua to see. She was a bit confused. "Qiuqiu and I both think this color is not nice, but Concubine Yun said that Second Aunt would like it. But this color is really not nice at all."
Shen Minghua's mind was still on the four items. He replied absent - mindedly, "It's nice, it's nice."
Qiuqiu pulled in the Fourth Prince just in time to hear this. She was very shocked. She walked around Shen Minghua a few times and announced to Shen Baozhu, "Baozhu, the Fourth Prince won. There really is someone who likes this color."
The Fourth Prince puffed out his chest and raised his head. "Not afraid of being tacky, not afraid of being dull. Nice. I won."
Looking at the dusty cloth, Shen Baozhu sighed helplessly and clasped her hands together. "The Fourth Prince is the smartest among the three of us."
Qiuqiu followed behind Shen Baozhu and also clasped her hands together. "The Fourth Prince is the smartest among the three of us."
The Dragon King: [The little cutie was only concerned about looks and forgot that Second Aunt is in jail. When sending clothes to her, we definitely can't choose bright - colored ones!]
The Dragon King: [I just went to pick out some mussels. Otherwise, I could have reminded the little cutie.]
Lin Yu: [Are the pearls for Baozhu?]
The Dragon King: [Yes. The pearls of these mussel spirits weren't ready a few days ago. They just reached a hundred years today, so they can be taken out and given to the little cutie.]
Shen Minghua finally came to his senses. He couldn't believe his guess and asked in a low voice, "Baozhu, why are you asking this? Are you going to send clothes to my mother?"