So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

The military rations were robbed outside the capital before they left Fengtian Prefecture, causing an uproar in the capital.

Although Shu Rongxue and Song Pu had opposite positions, they were both equally shocked.

The grain-robbing bandits have been escorted to Fengtian Prefecture by the Beijing guards. Fengtian Prefecture will carefully investigate their origins and intentions, and dig deep to find out who is the mastermind behind them, and then submit the case to the Dali Temple for review.

Upon learning that many bandits had been arrested, Song Pu became somewhat anxious. He had never expected that those Wuge people would be so impatient that they would actually take action in the suburbs of Beijing.

He thought carefully and felt that no one should have any evidence against him, but he still felt a little uneasy.

After thinking about it, he decided to call his aide Mr. Tan Jing to discuss the matter together.

"Is there anything wrong with the external contacts of the mansion?" he asked while sitting at the desk.

Tan Jing stood aside respectfully, bowed his head and replied: "Sir, everything has been handled properly, there is nothing unusual. It's just... the people sent out to escort the grain and grass this time have close ties with the front line, so it's hard to frame them. This matter was not handled well, and now that this kind of thing has happened, it would be difficult to explain if we don't push someone out to apologize."

Song Pu knew it very well. He was secretly annoyed in his heart, wondering why the situation had become so passive. Even if he wanted to let it go, Shu Rongxue would never let it go.

"Do we need to ask Lord Sun to come to our house?" Tan Jing asked cautiously, looking at Song Pu's unclear expression.

The former prefect of Fengtian Prefecture, Liang Ji, was demoted, and now the person who has taken over the post of prefect is the co-prefect Sun Che.

Sun Che was also a Jinshi admitted when Song Pu was the chief examiner. All the Jinshi admitted in the same year called themselves Song Pu's students.

In addition, when Song Pu later became prime minister and was entrusted with the care of the emperor's son before his death, these students united even more closely around Song Pu.

Should we now learn from Sun Che what the thief has confessed?

Song Pu thought, "Don't worry." He made up his mind and waved his hand, "This matter is very strange. Before the purpose of the mastermind behind it is revealed, we must not act rashly."

He paused, then continued, "Besides, Sun Che is my student. Even if there is anything that is not in my favor, he will handle it properly. If I rashly go to him now, I am afraid it will be counterproductive and make me look guilty."

Tan Jing nodded and said, "Your Excellency is right. However, if we don't take action quickly, I'm afraid we will have a hard time explaining to the outside world."

"Of course I understand." Song Pu frowned, "The most urgent thing is to find out who ordered them to do this. These Wuge people actually don't obey our orders. Do they have any connection with other forces in Beijing?"

"Sir, I think the most important thing right now is to guide the investigation and prove that this matter has nothing to do with us." Tan Jing suggested, "If no one is held responsible for this, no matter how much we say, it will be hard to convince people."

Song Pu nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"If they dare to accuse you, why not turn the tables and point the finger at the Prince of Jin's mansion, saying that they were the ones who ordered the prime minister to be framed?" Tan Jing suggested.

Tan Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Fortunately, Chu Hao Ning still managed to keep half of the food and grass. Then we can say that Prince Jin had falsely reported the military supplies and deliberately sacrificed some to curry favor with the Prime Minister. This will kill two birds with one stone."

"Well, this is also a solution." Song Pu's eyes flashed with hope, "Send someone to follow the progress of the Fengtian Prefecture's investigation and see what they find out."

"Yes, I understand." Tan Jing took the order and left.

Song Pu leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brows. This sudden change made him feel exhausted, and he couldn't help but regret cooperating with the Wuge people.

Officialdom is like a battlefield. If you are not careful, you may lose everything. He vaguely felt that in addition to himself and the Prince of Jin's Mansion, there was a third party stirring up trouble in the dark. This feeling of being out of control made him very uneasy.

Now, he must be fully prepared to face the next challenges.

Shu Rongxue was also very shocked when she received the letter. Compared to her own son Zhou Qitai who was on the battlefield, she did not trust Chu Hao Ning that much. She even had doubts about Zhao Lingji who recommended Chu Hao Ning.

Is this old man setting a trap for her?

Shu Rongxue instructed Mu Jin, "Have someone keep an eye on the wife of the Earl of Pyeongchang to see who she is in contact with and whether there are any unusual movements in their mansion."

Hibiscus bowed and agreed.

"You call Xiao Yueshan over." She thought for a moment and added.

"Yes." The maid went out and arranged everything.

After receiving the summons, Xiao Yueshan naturally went to the appointment immediately. She had also heard the news and had already guessed that the Princess of Jin would question her.

Combined with the news previously passed on by Lu Jiayan, Xiao Yueshan was already certain that someone was colluding with Wu Ge and deliberately trying to undermine the stability of Zhao Dynasty from within.

Xiao Yueshan came to Shu Rongxue's side hall, bowed and stood quietly.

Shu Rongxue looked her over and said straight to the point, "Lord Chu is Lord Zhou's brother-in-law, and also your brother-in-law. Do you know why he failed in this expedition?"

Xiao Yueshan lowered her eyes and replied calmly, "I don't know. This matter is too strange. I'm afraid someone is behind it."

Shu Rongxue's eyes were sharp. "Oh? You trust him very much. Aren't you afraid that someone will bribe him to harm your husband?"

"I don't know about that, but I believe in my brother-in-law's character. He will definitely do his best." Xiao Yueshan replied calmly.

"No matter what his intentions are, he cannot escape the blame now that the military rations have been robbed. He can't even handle such an important matter, so he will definitely be punished when he returns." Shu Rongxue couldn't hide the anger in his tone.

Xiao Yueshan hurriedly said, "My lady, this is an accident. You can't blame Lord Chu entirely. It won't be too late to make a conclusion after finding out the truth."

Shu Rongxue raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Oh? Why are you so sure there is something else going on? But what do you know?"

Xiao Yueshan bowed and said, "I don't know, I just analyzed the situation. Now the war on the front line is stable, and several cities have been recovered one after another. The number of refugees fleeing south has greatly decreased.

In addition, the capital had been providing relief to the victims, and the refugee camps were relatively stable. Why were they suddenly fighting for military rations?

In addition, the people were all afraid of the government. How could anyone be so bold as to rush forward to grab the grain when they saw the soldiers escorting the grain? The refugees had been starving for a long time, so how could they have the strength to snatch half of the grain from the soldiers?

This matter is full of weirdness, I am afraid someone is behind it, and is determined to muddy the waters of the capital."

Shu Rongxue nodded slightly, agreeing with Xiao Yueshan's analysis, "You do have a point. But no matter what, the incident of the military rations being robbed has a huge impact, and we must investigate it thoroughly."

"Your Majesty is wise." Xiao Yueshan took the opportunity to speak up, "In my opinion, this matter not only concerns the innocence of Lord Chu, but also the stability of the court. If the mastermind behind this is not found out, there may be more accidents."

Shu Rongxue looked deep, "Then in your opinion, how should we investigate this?"

Xiao Yueshan thought for a moment and said, "I think we can start with the captured robbers and pry open their mouths. We will definitely be able to get some clues. At the same time, we also need to investigate the situation in the refugee camp. We are afraid that there are thieves who have sneaked in. Maybe we can find some clues from them."

She did not directly tell Shu Rongxue about the news from Lu Jiayan, so she could only guide Shu Rongxue to investigate in this direction.

Shu Rongxue nodded slightly, "You are right. Mu Jin, pass the message down and ask Fengtian Prefecture to step up the interrogation of the robbers."

Then, she looked at Xiao Yueshan, "Your sister has just married into the Chu family, you must remind her to be more careful. Don't let the kid from the Chu family bully her."

Xiao Yueshan heard the hidden meaning in her words and quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will definitely pass it on."

Shu Rongxue waved her hand and said, "Go ahead. If you have any news, let me know in time."

Xiao Yueshan responded and left the side hall.

After Xiao Yueshan left, Shu Rongxue thought about it again and again, and decided to send people to secretly monitor the Pingchang Earl's Mansion. She always felt that things were not that simple, so she decided to eliminate her suspicion of Chu Hao Ning's family.

On the other side, in Fengtian Prefecture, the robbers were being tortured, but they gritted their teeth and refused to reveal any truth.