The butler was scolded and felt wronged. He had clearly been telling the truth.
However, since some things had to be seen to be believed, he finally didn't say a single word of refutation. It wasn't until they reached the front hall and he saw the fan left on the ground.
Mrs. Li stared with wide - open eyes and walked over. Her eyes were full of surprise. This fan was one that her husband never left without. Although he was a minister of the Ministry of War, he loved the kind of elegant things that literati favored.
She gently picked up the fan from the ground. Her voice trembled as she tried to make excuses hopefully.
"Surely, surely my husband accidentally dropped the fan here. It must be so. By the way, where did you say my husband was just now?"
The butler couldn't bear to watch this scene, but he still told the truth.
"Just now, your husband disappeared right here. We were still talking one moment, and the next moment he was gone."
Hearing this, Mrs. Li's face turned even paler. "It's impossible. My husband would never go anywhere without telling the family."
The butler knew that his mistress surely couldn't accept such a fact for the time being.
He sighed helplessly. "Madam, your husband has disappeared. We should report it to the government quickly. Maybe we can find some clues."
It took a while for Mrs. Li to believe what the butler said. She closed her eyes and resigned herself. "Quietly pass this news to the government and ask them to send people here quickly."
"Yes."
Soon, the prefect of the capital received the news and rushed over. Coincidentally, the minister of the Supreme Court also came along.
"Mrs. Li, what happened?"
...
The prefect of the capital listened on the side and occasionally chimed in. "Yes, that's roughly what happened. It's so strange that Minister Li disappeared. And most of the other officials just disappeared while walking outside."
The young emperor listened and fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps it's time to bring in those people at the palace gate."
As soon as he finished speaking, they heard the voice of the guard outside.
"Your Majesty, the people have been brought here. Do you want them to be brought in now?"
"Of course. I'd like to see what kind of people dare to cause trouble right under my nose."
Following his words, the noble ladies who had been causing a ruckus at the palace gate just now stumbled in one by one.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Your Majesty, I had no other choice. My husband has been missing for so long. I just hope Your Majesty can take this matter seriously."
As soon as the noble lady finished speaking, Fu Lu immediately scolded her. "How dare you! Are you questioning His Majesty? Or do you think His Majesty would ignore his officials?"
Hearing this, the noble lady shivered in fright. "No, no, no. How dare I? I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The young emperor slightly curled his lips. "You must be the wife of the prime minister, right?"
The noble lady was overjoyed that he knew her identity.
"Yes, it's me, Your Majesty. Does that mean there's news about my husband?"
"No. I actually have some questions for you."
Hearing this, the noble lady suddenly became nervous and didn't even dare to meet Ji Heng's eyes.
"Your Majesty, what questions? I'll surely tell you everything I know."
Her reaction made everyone present even more suspicious that there was something fishy going on.
"Don't be nervous. I just want to know why Lady Luo didn't think of this until a few days after the prime minister disappeared?"
Lady Luo was stunned. She hadn't thought of how to answer this question.
But it was just this moment of hesitation that the young emperor immediately saw through her.
"It seems that someone suddenly came to you and said something. In that case, Lady Luo, you'd better tell the truth. Don't wait until I use special measures. It won't look good for anyone then."
The noble lady kneeling below slowly broke out in a cold sweat on her forehead. But even though the one above was threatening her, she still refused to say a word.
"Your Majesty may have misunderstood. I just came to my senses, so I thought of this idea."
"Very well. Since you don't want to talk, don't blame me. Guards! It's been a long time since I last saw the methods of the Imperial Clan Court."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards and eunuchs immediately headed in the direction of the Imperial Clan Court.
Now, no matter how tight - lipped Lady Luo was, she didn't dare to hide anything. Everyone knew the methods of the Imperial Clan Court. Just the sight of the torture instruments from the Imperial Clan Court would be enough to scare them, these delicate official wives who couldn't do any heavy work.
Moreover, few people could come out of the Imperial Clan Court unscathed. If she really had to go through those torture instruments, she'd probably be half - dead today.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Please give me a chance, Your Majesty. I'm willing to tell you everything I know."
Seeing this, the young emperor didn't hesitate at all.
"Then hurry up and talk."
Lady Luo gritted her teeth and began to tell what she had seen and heard that night.
"At that time, a woman in black suddenly came to me in the middle of the night."
She recalled carefully, afraid of missing a single detail. She didn't want to lose her life here.
When the woman in black appeared, Lady Luo was organizing her husband's clothes.
"Who are you?"
"Don't worry. I'm here to help you today. Don't you want to see your husband come back? But then, you'll fall into hell."
These words completely silenced Lady Luo. All the past events slowly flashed before her eyes. There was a hint of struggle in her eyes.
"What do you know? What are you here for?"
"You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that I'm here to help you, if you don't want your husband to come back."
"What a joke. He's my husband. Why wouldn't I want him to come back? Stop trying to sow discord."
The woman gently curled her lips, and a look of disdain appeared on her face.
"If you wanted him to come back, why did you burn all his things? Isn't it obvious that you have other intentions?"
Only then did Lady Luo react. She quickly tried to use her body to block the brazier not far from her. But it was already too late as everything had been seen.
Hearing the woman's sneer, she became angry.
"What's so funny? You must have other motives for showing up here. For money? Just tell me how much you want."
The woman rolled her eyes. "I really don't care about the money in the prime minister's mansion. If Lady Luo doesn't want to cooperate with me, then I can't help it. After your husband comes back, I'm sure your hard days will start again, right?"