When the military advisor led Shen Baozhu back, General Mu had already regained consciousness and was competing in strength with the Treasure - Hunting Rat.
The little phoenix perched on the table. "It's a waste of effort. The Treasure - Hunting Rat is a magical tool carefully forged by immortals. How could a mere mortal like you be able to move it?"
Sure enough, General Mu was badly defeated. But he wasn't annoyed. Instead, he nodded with a smile. "You're right. It's still the divine beast who sees things clearly. I was being rash."
Like the Dragon King, the little phoenix was more receptive to flattery than coercion. General Mu's agreeable words made it feel a bit embarrassed.
Flapping its wings, the little phoenix said awkwardly, "Actually, you're not bad. You're quite strong for a human."
General Mu clasped his fists in gratitude. "Thank you for your praise, divine beast. I hope you'll give me more guidance in the future."
"Just so - so. Since you're so sensible, I'll protect you. But you mustn't offend the master. If you do and make the Dragon King unhappy, I won't be able to save you." The soft - hearted little phoenix softened its tone. Thinking of the Dragon King, it kindly reminded General Mu.
These words happened to be heard by the military advisor and Shen Baozhu.
Lin Yu: [Is the Dragon King not around?]
Qingyun Zhenren: [No. He didn't show up when Baozhu asked the military advisor to arrest Shen Yunfeng just now.]
Lin Yu: [Oh, right. The Dragon King didn't come out to mock Shen Yunfeng.]
Lin Yu: [The little phoenix is really lucky that the Dragon King didn't hear it.]
When the little phoenix saw Shen Baozhu, it felt a bit panicked. It flew in front of Shen Baozhu and landed on the clay figurine in her hand, rubbing its head against her hand. "Master?"
"Shh, the Dragon King didn't hear it," Shen Baozhu whispered.
After learning that the Dragon King didn't hear, the little phoenix became arrogant again. It flew back to the table with its head held high.
The military advisor placed the booklet in his hand on the table. "Take a look and see if the handwriting in this booklet belongs to Shen Yunfeng."
Shen Yunfeng wasn't stupid enough to use his real name. The name he signed in the booklet was Feng Yun.
Feng Yun, Yun Feng, Shen Yunfeng. This fake name was easy to understand, but the military advisor couldn't recognize the handwriting and couldn't make a hasty conclusion.
It was a matter involving corruption and treason. A casual decision could mean the lives of all the members of the Shen family.
The military advisor didn't want to let the corrupt official go, but he was also afraid of wrongly harming innocent people.
General Mu flipped through the booklet. He didn't recognize Shen Yunfeng's handwriting either, but he knew what Shen Yunfeng had done. He was also aware that after Shen Yunfeng had gained power through Xiang Yunrou, he would surely try every means to get Shen Heqing back, and Xiang Yunrou was still eyeing Shen Danqing.
After flipping through a few pages casually, General Mu said firmly, "It's Shen Yunfeng's."
The military advisor also suspected it was Shen Yunfeng. He analyzed, "Shen Yunfeng was still young back then. It should have been Shen Qingshan's idea. That old man has always been vicious and treacherous. I just didn't expect him to be so cruel as to entrust this matter to Shen Yunfeng."
"It's normal. There are risks in entrusting such dirty work to anyone. Only one's own son is reliable," General Mu said as he led Shen Baozhu to wash up. He gently wiped Shen Baozhu's face.
The military advisor followed behind him and said in surprise, "You don't understand what I mean. I'm saying that Shen Yunfeng has little experience. Isn't Shen Qingshan afraid of something going wrong? What if they encounter bandits or robbers on the way?"
General Mu glanced at the military advisor and reminded him, "Shen Yunfeng has two elder brothers. His eldest brother had a good reputation when he was just over ten years old. Could such a reputation come out of nowhere? It must have been Shen Qingshan's plan for his eldest son."
"Although the second son is a bit less capable, he was also sent to the Ministry of Personnel. His first wife was his childhood sweetheart. It shows that Shen Qingshan dotes on his children. But look at Shen Yunfeng. What does he have?"
The military advisor hesitated for a moment. "Does being your son - in - law count?"
General Mu snorted and got a bit angry. "Count what? Look at how lovey - dovey Shen Yunfeng and Xiang Yunrou are. And look at the dates in the booklet. Could he have really loved Lan Yue? He must have followed Shen Qingshan's words and reluctantly married Lan Yue. Then, feeling aggrieved, he started causing trouble."
"The late emperor was also a brute. I can even guess that when the late emperor was choosing a son - in - law for Lan Yue, Shen Qingshan was coveting..."
"General, if we really talk about the time in the booklet, it really doesn't match," the military advisor suddenly said. He asked General Mu rhetorically, "We suspect that Shen Qingshan embezzled the disaster - relief supplies, right?"
Seeing General Mu nod, the military advisor turned to the table to get the booklet and flipped to the front. "I remember that the late emperor bestowed the marriage between Lan Yue and Shen Yunfeng first. Not long after His Majesty ascended the throne, there was a natural disaster. First, the capital donated silver, then Prince Rui persuaded people to donate supplies. A few days later, there was an assassination attempt. His Majesty investigated and found out that the supplies had been embezzled... But look at the date in this booklet. It's clearly before the marriage was bestowed. Shen Yunfeng was already selling things in Xiangyun Country before the marriage was bestowed!"
Looking at the booklet, General Mu was momentarily speechless. He didn't recognize Shen Yunfeng's handwriting and had just been talking nonsense. He didn't expect the military advisor to notice the time discrepancy.
The military advisor also stared at the booklet, thinking about the strange things in between.
Lin Yu: [So Shen Qingshan embezzled more than once. He also embezzled before the disaster - relief supplies?]
Lin Yu: [What are these two people staring at the booklet for?]
Qingyun Zhenren: [They assumed that the Shen family only embezzled the disaster - relief supplies. Now that the time in the booklet is earlier than the disaster - relief period, they're confused about the time not matching.]
Lin Yu: [Okay.]
General Mu couldn't figure it out, so he decided to help Shen Baozhu wash up first. The grandfather and granddaughter sat on the throne of the king of Xiangyun Country chatting, while the military advisor sat on the steps below, continuing to flip through the booklet.
"How have you been lately, Baozhu?"
"Oh, you and Qiuqiu went to the palace and picked up the Fourth Prince and took him home to raise?"
"Then you have to take good care of him... Who? Baozhu, say it again. Who did you pick up? Who did you take home to raise?"
General Mu suddenly stood up and shouted. His loud voice startled the military advisor, who almost tore the booklet by accident.
The military advisor looked at the booklet with distress and complained, "What are you shouting for? In front of the child, you should act like an elder."
"Baozhu went to the palace and picked up the Fourth Prince and took him home to raise," General Mu repeated Shen Baozhu's words. He stared at the military advisor with a meaningful look. He didn't believe that the military advisor could remain calm after hearing this.
Sure enough, the military advisor also stood up and shouted like him, "Who? Who did you take home to raise?"
General Mu clicked his tongue slightly and complained, "What are you shouting for? In front of the child, you should act like an elder."
The military advisor ignored General Mu and just focused on looking at Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu held General Mu's hand and said seriously under the military advisor's gaze, "Baozhu picked up the Fourth Prince and took him home to raise."
Seeing the military advisor's surprised face, General Mu became calm instead. He said proudly, "His Majesty must know about the little phoenix and the Treasure - Hunting Rat and asked the Fourth Prince to develop a relationship with Baozhu. Well, there's nothing we can do. Who asked our Baozhu to be protected by the gods?"
"What are you being so proud of? The Crown Prince is the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince is a fool," the military advisor said to General Mu with a complicated expression.
General Mu wasn't panicked at all. "You're just not as smart as me. Baozhu is protected by the gods. The gods are so powerful that they can turn a fool into a genius."
"With the gods around, what do we have to be afraid of?"
The Dragon King, who had just returned and heard this conversation: [Good judgment!]
The Dragon King: [That's right! Correct!]
The Dragon King: [Sure enough, he's the grandfather of the cute one. Smart!]