Accidentally dressed as an empress

At noon, the garrison's orderly footsteps sounded outside the door.

When it was daybreak, the garrison arrived at her residence.

Cui Ti lay in bed with her clothes on and did not sleep a wink all night.

Last night, Lin Hong pushed her away without any regrets. What a pity, she still wanted to be close to him one last time. After all, the two of them were going in opposite directions.

Cui Ti was lost in thought, and Wu Han reminded her, "Master Cui, please."

Cui Ti slowly got off the bed and said, "Thank you, Commander Wu. Please show some mercy."

Wu Han remained unmoved and said coldly, "Master Cui, this is the order of His Majesty."

Under the escort of the garrison, Cui Ti walked to the torture chamber. When she saw that the executioner was Lin Nan, she couldn't help but sneer.

The person sent by His Majesty is Lin Nan, so, is he planning to let her live or die?

Lin Nan would certainly give her every blow, as she had caused Lin Hong to lose his position as the Emperor's husband and be exiled to Nanling. His Majesty probably wanted her dead.

If Lin Hongruo had greeted Lin Nan, then she still had a glimmer of hope of survival.

Cui Ti obediently lay on the torture bench, listening to the clatter of handcuffs as she moved. She closed her eyes and thought back to last night. How much of her words had Lin Hong taken in? Would he actually switch sides?

The board hit the back, the buttocks, and the legs hard, again and again.

Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on Cui Ti's forehead. Unable to bear the pain, she bit her lower lip so hard that it bled.

....................................

Early in the morning, Fang Ru took the seal and went to the Shaofu.

The clerk guarding the storehouse opened the door of the Shaofu. After the dust settled, Fang Ru opened the boxes one by one, and found that most of them were empty!

Fang Ru's heart trembled, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Fang Ru took her maid to check the contents and found only three boxes of gold and silver and fifty-six pieces of brocade. She looked around and saw that all the boxes were empty.

The clerk stared at the dusty boxes, stunned. He couldn't believe his eyes and knelt down hurriedly, saying, "No, how could they be empty? We just paid out the money to dismiss the palace servants half a month ago. At that time, the Shaofu was still piled high with gold, silver and treasures."

But now, the room was desolate and everything in front of her made her feel despair.

When the Shaofu was robbed, she, a minor official guarding the house, was the first to be held accountable.

She thought about how she had been guarding the Shaofu for many years without any mistakes, but now something like this had happened. How could she explain this to His Majesty? She took off her hat and cut herself off to apologize.

The theft of the Shaofu is a serious matter. Once it gets out, it will definitely cause a shock in the court and the country.

Fang Ru calmed himself down and said, "Close the door of the storehouse first, and I will report this matter to His Majesty."

The clerk knelt down and said, "Aunt Fang, I really don't know anything."

Fang Ru said to the clerk, "Don't worry too much. The innocent will be cleared."

Fang Ru hurriedly took the maid and returned to the study in Yunji Palace.

Fang Ru hurried up to His Majesty and whispered, "Your Majesty, there are only three boxes of gold and sixteen pieces of brocade in the Shaofu."

"What?" Yun Se stood up suddenly, feeling a mouthful of sweet and fishy blood rising up his throat, his temples throbbing. "What on earth is going on?"

Fang Ru was silent.

Yun Se shouted, "Tell Lin Hong to come see me!"

Yun Se's hand trembled as she gripped the teacup. Lin Hong, temporarily in charge of the Imperial Treasury, was to blame. With the Imperial Treasury now so destitute, what was the state of the treasury?

And she has been kept in the dark all this time, she wants to investigate everything thoroughly!

"Your Majesty, calm down. I want to see the accounts of the Ministry of Finance."

Yun Se pointed at a guard and said, "Go... bring the account books over here."

The guards brought the Shaofu's account books over, Fang Ru opened the bamboo slips and began to check them one by one.

Yun Se paced back and forth in front of the table, becoming more and more angry the more he thought about it.

Lin Hong had just walked into the study in Yunji Palace when a teacup was thrown at his feet. Yun Se's face flushed red and he was furious. "Lin Hong! Is this how you manage the Shaofu?! Where's my money?!"

Lin Hong quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty! What happened?"

Yun Se squeezed out a word from between his teeth, "Where did the Shaofu's money go? Huh? You don't know at all?"

"I really have no idea! Cui Ti has been in charge of the Shaofu for more than ten years, and I have only taken over for half a month. I really don't know where the Shaofu's money went." Lin Hong finally understood Cui Ti's next move. She is really a poisonous snake. If she doesn't take action, it's fine, but once she does, it's fatal.

"You've only been in charge for half a month, and you've already gotten into such a big mess!"

Lin Hong said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. The palace is under the protection of the garrison troops. The treasury silver of the Shaofu will not disappear out of thin air."

"Call Wu Han!"

Wu Han walked into the hall, and Yun Se asked, "Has anyone suspicious entered or left the Shaofu recently?"

"This is a very important area of ​​the Shaofu Palace. We have patrols day and night, and no suspicious individuals have ever been spotted."

Hearing this, Fang Ru became even more confused, and Yun Se's face became even gloomier.

If there wasn't a traitor, who could have such a method? To empty the Shao Mansion so quietly?

Yunse quickly thought of someone, "Cui Ti!"

Wu Han said, "Cui Ti is being caned."

Yun Se clenched his fists and said to Wu Han, "Stop it now! Spare her life and bring her here. I still have something to ask her!"

After a while, Cui Ti was brought in by the guards along with a stool. She looked like she had been fished out of the water. Her lips had turned black and it looked like she was only breathing her last.

Fang Ru said, "Quick, the imperial physician, please take a look."

Seeing this, Doctor Lin, who was standing by, hurriedly stuffed a piece of ginseng into Cui Ti's mouth, then cut open the clothes on Cui Ti's back and tore open the sticky wound.

Cui Ti was startled and woke up by the pain. She raised her heavy eyelids and saw the back of Lin Hong in white clothes at a glance. She stretched out her hand towards him tremblingly, but then let it drop weakly.

Doctor Lin said, "Aunt Cui's internal injuries aren't too serious. She should be able to wake up in a day or two. Her external injuries have been treated with medicine, so she's fine for now."

Yun Se didn't look at Cui Ti, but at Lin Hong. "Wu Han, throw Lin Hong into the Imperial Prison. Ask Aunt Fang to thoroughly investigate the accounts of the Ministry of Finance and the National Treasury."