Seeing that Su Mingyu was so easy to talk to, Tang Ziming stood up from the stool, dusted off the ashes on his robe, and said coldly, "Tomorrow... I always feel that it won't be peaceful. There's a sense of calm before the storm, and I'm a bit uneasy."
Su Mingyu felt around but detected nothing. She could only agree, "Otherwise, shall we not go?"
"Everything has been arranged. How can we not go?" Tang Ziming rolled his eyes at Su Mingyu before turning around and leaving.
Surprised to be looked down upon, Su Mingyu pouted but didn't argue. She asked where Gu Ruobai was and tiptoed over.
Before she arrived, Gu Ruobai's voice rang out, "Awake? Are you hungry?"
Su Mingyu nodded, "Yes, I'm hungry."
"Good timing. I've got a bowl of congee here. Have it." Gu Ruobai passed the congee on the table to Su Mingyu and then noticed the slight smile on her lips.
"What's making you so happy?" Gu Ruobai asked suspiciously as he pulled Su Mingyu onto his lap.
Su Mingyu grinned and held out the medicine bottle in her hand to Gu Ruobai, "This! The antidote."
Gu Ruobai understood almost instantly. He looked at Su Mingyu in surprise, "Where did you get it?"
"Tang Ziming gave it to me." Su Mingyu told Gu Ruobai about her conversation with Tang Ziming just now. Gu Ruobai frowned, "I told you Tang Yan had designs on you! You just didn't believe me."
Su Mingyu gave an embarrassed smile, "Now that we have the antidote, you mustn't be angry about tomorrow's appointment."
"But I still have to send someone to protect you." Gu Ruobai insisted stubbornly.
Su Mingyu had no choice but to nod, "Fine, whatever you say. Or you can go with me yourself?"
"No... Zhang Wencai will be handed over tomorrow. I'm worried something might go wrong, so I have to stay in the capital." When Gu Ruobai mentioned this, his face darkened. It was obvious he wasn't happy about it.
Su Mingyu found it funny. She stepped forward and pinched Gu Ruobai's slightly stiff cheeks, "Alright, you stay here and guard the place. I'll go and settle things with Tang Yan."
Gu Ruobai nodded, pulled her hand to his lips, and placed a kiss on it, "Hurry up and have the congee."
Due to her pregnancy, Su Mingyu was extremely sleepy. Although she had slept for an afternoon yesterday, she still didn't wake up until almost noon the next day.
Although Tang Yan was a bit impatient waiting, seeing Su Mingyu's lazy look, he didn't say anything. He just told her to eat something first and then set off.
Watching the carriage getting farther and farther away from the capital, Su Mingyu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where on earth are we going? Why are we leaving the capital?"
"The place we're going to is familiar to you, but also unfamiliar," Tang Ziming raised his eyebrows and said, "You'll know when we get there."
Surprised that they were being so mysterious, Su Mingyu could only pout helplessly, "Fine, I'll know when we get there."
Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
When she woke up, she felt a gentle breeze caressing her face, carrying the smell of the lake and the scent of wild grass. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't unpleasant either.
She lifted the curtain of the carriage and, lo and behold, it was the lake where she often went fishing!
Su Mingyu got out of the carriage and looked at the lake in surprise, "What are we doing here?"
"Do you know who owns this lake?" Tang Ziming suddenly asked an irrelevant question.
Su Mingyu thought for a while and shook her head, "It would be strange if I did."
"This land originally belonged to a farmer. Later, someone paid a fortune to buy it because they liked this lake and wanted to fish here." As soon as Tang Ziming finished speaking, Su Mingyu immediately looked at Tang Yan, "Was it you?"
Tang Yan's face darkened, "I already have my floating mansion. What would I want this place for?"
Stared at by Tang Yan, Su Mingyu scratched her nose, "A pregnant woman's mind is muddled. You have to forgive me for not being able to keep up with your thoughts now. Tang Ziming, did you find something out by saying this?"
"The owner of this land is Xiang'er," Tang Ziming said. Watching the two bicker, his face immediately darkened.
Su Mingyu instinctively distanced herself from Tang Yan. Then she stared at him in disbelief, "Xiang'er? Isn't she just an ordinary woman? How could she afford to buy such a large piece of land?"
Tang Yan continued where Tang Ziming left off, "I've asked the people around this land. They said the people who bought the land drained the water from the lake. Then they fenced it off and didn't allow anyone to enter. No one knows what they were doing."
"They kept working on it intermittently for over a month before refilling the lake with water. Later, they even paid the locals to keep quiet about it. We had to pay a higher price to get this information."
Su Mingyu frowned, "They repaired it and then refilled the water. They must be hiding something, and that something is underwater."
"Yes, that's what we came here to investigate," Tang Yan nodded, "Xiang'er is Xu Wencang's younger sister. As soon as something happened to her, Xu Wencang was so nervous. It's not just sibling love. It's just that Xu Wencang doesn't want the secret at the bottom of this lake to be exposed. I suspect this is where they're hiding their silver."
Su Mingyu couldn't help but gasp. They had gone to so much trouble just to embezzle military funds. It seemed these people had been planning this for a long time.
"But what would an ordinary family do with so much silver? Take Xu Wencang for example. As a minister, it would be easy for him to get some silver through his position. Why would he still embezzle military funds? This much silver could support an entire army. He's just a minister of the Ministry of War. There are so many people in his family to feed, right?"
As she was speaking, Su Mingyu suddenly stopped. Then she looked at Tang Ziming in surprise, "An army!"
"Do you think Xu Wencang might be planning a rebellion? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense for him to hide so much silver underwater."
Tang Yan and Tang Ziming exchanged a look. They both understood the gravity of the situation, "Let's go down and take a look."
Su Mingyu nodded, "We really should take a good look. The secret underwater might lead us to the mastermind behind this whole thing."
The water was still a bit cold in late autumn. Su Mingyu watched as dozens of people searched everywhere in the lake. Her expression grew more and more solemn.
If they searched so publicly for so long and found nothing, they would surely alarm the enemy.
Just as she was thinking, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind, "Mingyu, what are you doing here?"