Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

The commotion was loud enough to wake the entire palace and alert the emperor. The Minister of Justice, still asleep, was dragged from his bed and summoned to the palace that very night.

Before he could even fully wake from his dream, he was already kneeling before the emperor.

"I ordered you to investigate the thieves, and this is how you investigate them, huh? My palace is practically a thief's backyard. They come and go as they please, emptying one palace at a time. Do you want the thieves to stop when they have nothing left to take after emptying the entire palace?"

What have I been doing raising you all? You're all useless, a bunch of good-for-nothings!

The Emperor slammed a teacup down in front of everyone, his anger burning fiercely.

The five or six people kneeling below were all insecure and fearful. Was it because they weren't dedicated enough?

They were truly powerless, unable to find a breakthrough.

The still somewhat dazed Minister of Justice was now brought back to his senses by the Emperor's anger, but he was also quite helpless. He had investigated cases for half his life and had never encountered anything so bizarre.

Or perhaps we should just have him resign and retire to his hometown!

In the end, he could only think about it in his heart. If he dared to speak now, he had no doubt that the next moment the emperor wouldn't ask him to retire to his hometown, but would instead take his head.

Faced with this situation, silence is the best option for self-preservation, but it also depends on whether the emperor, high above them, will grant them this opportunity.

"They've all become mute."

Speak? What should be said? That they are incompetent and useless? At this moment, it would be better to remain mute.

Seeing that they remained silent, the Emperor suppressed his anger and directly called out, "Wang Chengwu, you speak. Tonight you led the Imperial Guards to ransack the entire palace, yet not a trace of the thieves was found. What is your punishment?"

Commander Wang, whose name was called, was heartbroken. He had led the Imperial Guards to search the palace precisely to catch the thief, but the thief was elusive and could not be easily caught. Furthermore, the thief could not have silently emptied several palaces.

Furthermore, he didn't see the thief, but the palace eunuchs did, saying it was a ghost that flashed by and disappeared.

He initially didn't believe it, but after searching the entire palace, he couldn't find a trace of anyone. Instead, the Chengqian Palace, located two palaces away from the Imperial Kitchen, was burglarized.

He also felt that these scenes were the work of ghosts and gods. If it were done by humans, how could they have left no clues and the stolen property had disappeared without a trace?

His time as commander is probably over; truly, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.

Commander Wang steeled himself and truthfully recounted what had happened that night.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Kitchen was burglarized tonight, and it was witnessed by the palace eunuch on night duty. According to the eunuch, when he opened the door, he saw something flash before his eyes and disappear, including the stove placed on the ground. He suspects it was a ghost or spirit."

At this point, Commander Wang added a twist, "Your Majesty, I know this is nonsense, but due to the commotion caused by the Imperial Kitchen, the surrounding guards and imperial troops were all mobilized in a short time to conduct a search, but no trace was found."

At the same time, Consort Xiao's Chengqian Palace was also burglarized. No matter how skilled the thieves were, they could not escape such a thorough search without making a sound. They ran from the Imperial Kitchen to Chengqian Palace to commit the theft.

In just a few days, a series of thefts have occurred. Your humble servant and Lord Zheng have mobilized all available personnel, but have failed to find any trace of the thieves, nor have the stolen goods been recovered.

Even if a person possessed extraordinary abilities, it would be difficult to commit such a large-scale theft without leaving any trace.

Having laid the groundwork, Commander Wang concluded with a summary, cleverly incorporating the eunuch's words.

"Therefore, I cannot help but doubt the truth of what the eunuch said. There may be some hidden reason behind this, rather than it being done by someone else."

After finishing his summary, Commander Wang knelt sincerely before the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty summon the Imperial Advisor to conduct a divination regarding this case."

This case is too bizarre; if it weren't for human intervention, it would be beyond their capabilities to handle. Only the Imperial Advisor might be willing to try invoking supernatural forces.

What audacity! Commander Wang's words are indeed audacious. For a commander of the Imperial Guards to make such a conjecture, and to do so with such reasoning and evidence, is truly outrageous.

His words filled the others kneeling in silence with fear, yet they also felt admiration for him; to be able to speak such words in front of the Emperor was truly remarkable.

He even cleverly took the blame on the eunuch to bear the emperor's wrath, truly worthy of being someone the emperor valued.

With things brought to this point, the others broke their silence. They had found a way out: if they attributed this to supernatural forces, perhaps their heads wouldn't have to be moved.

Therefore, people who were not usually on the same side were able to form a temporary alliance on this matter.

"Your Majesty, Commander Wang's words are not without merit. This case is indeed strange and peculiar. We have tried all methods but have made no progress. Upon careful consideration, this possibility is extremely high. If that is the case, perhaps the Imperial Advisor truly has a solution."

"Your Majesty, even with Commander Wang and Lord Zheng working together, they have failed to solve this case. Why not ask the Imperial Advisor to give it a try? The Imperial Advisor is knowledgeable and experienced; if there is indeed something amiss, he can devise a solution."

"emperor......"

The unsuspecting imperial advisor: "???"

Very well, you incompetent people have banded together to make him take the blame, is that it? He's just a national advisor, he can't do the job of catching ghosts;

After his outburst of anger, the Emperor, being the ruler of a nation, could not remain indifferent to mere rage. His anger gradually subsided, and he realized that nothing else mattered; finding the thieves and recovering the stolen goods was the most important task.

Moreover, Commander Wang was a capable person whom he had personally promoted, and he was aware of his abilities. After calming down, he also considered their suggestion carefully.

It was indeed strange, really. He had secretly arranged for his men to investigate the matter over the past few days, and Commander Wang and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review hadn't lied; they truly hadn't found any trace of it.

Could it really not be man-made?

However, as the ruler of a country, he possesses the aura of a dragon. If it is truly proven that this was the work of ghosts and gods, wouldn't that threaten his imperial authority? How could a dignified emperor allow ghosts and gods to get close and steal his home?

The emperor was torn between his options.

"Let me think about this matter."

The Emperor rose, waved his right hand behind his back, walked around the dragon-patterned table, and stood before the group.

"Wang Chengwu, Zheng Qing, this cannot be used as an excuse for your incompetence. I order you to increase patrols and continue the investigation."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

Alright, alright, at least this head can stay on my head for a few more days. Being an official is really not easy; you have to live in constant fear.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After a day's journey, the exile caravan arrived at the Cuilin Town area, which Qian Laosi had mentioned earlier, as scheduled at 4:45 PM. The escorting officers then halted the caravan's advance.

It was rare for the exiled prisoners to be able to stop and rest at only 3:45 PM. After walking all day under the scorching sun, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. These past few days, they had to wait until sunset to stop and rest.

"Let's rest here and spend the night."

The escort gave the order, and the exiled prisoners, dragging their tired bodies, found a place to stay by their respective families. The area was open and there were no good spots, so Gu Nanzhi, Jun Yanchen and the others pulled the cart to the wasteland by the roadside and made camp there.