The Wife Is First

Chapter 43

Ch43 - The Truth

The three-day deadline was coming up soon. Mu Hanzhang didn’t seem worried at all. He just looked through the account books in the prince’s tent every day, and occasionally went to the barracks to take a look. 

“What did the military advisor ask you today?” The right protectorate general caught a soldier who was going back to eat and asked the question; he was truly curious to know how this Mr Jun would find the culprit in three days.

“The military advisor asked me when this uniform was issued and how often I’m able to  eat meat,” the soldier replied honestly.

“Military uniform? Eat meat? ” The right protectorate general heard this and was baffled. What did this have to do with poisonous grass? He let go of the soldier and caught another one to ask.

“The military advisor asked me how often I sent letters to my family and who wrote them for me,” the tall soldier said straightforwardly with a simple smile. “The military advisor also said that because I answered well, I could ask him to write them later.” That was the Wang Ye’s military advisor ah. His words would definitely be even better than those written by the village scholar. His old mother in the family could also take it and show off to the other village people. 

The right protectorate general was even more confused after hearing this. What did this have to do with anything?! Unresigned, he caught a few more soldiers, and all the questions they were asked were trivial, short-lived and totally irrelevant.

The left protectorate general came forward and patted the stunned right protectorate general. “Eat.”

“What on earth do you think the military advisor is investigating?” the right protectorate general asked with a bitter face.

The left protectorate general, with no expression on his face, turned around and left. “I’ll eat first.”

“Hey, hey, wait for me!” The right protectorate general hurriedly chased after him. Their meals were delivered together; it would be completely eaten up by that guy if he went late!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhao Meng came out of the military prison early in the morning and waited in the center tent to see the so-called “military advisor” make a fool of himself. Moreover, General Zhao, who was aware that he couldn’t beat a scholar in a battle of words, also pulled the left and right protectorate generals as well as a few other military officers over.

The center tent was where the high-ranking officers discussed tactics and issued military commands. It was about the same size as Jing Shao’s tent, but there was no bed in it. Jing Shao sat on the high platform and looked down at the group of ruthless men. He gave Zhao Meng a sympathetic look.

Mu Hanzhang sat next to Jing Shao. In his hand was a black goose feather fan that was typically held by all the military advisors in the history books. The right protectorate general had actually gifted this to him yesterday, which was why Mu Hanzhang knew this tidbit of information. 

“Military advisor, the three-day limit has come. Old Zhao has come to listen to the military advisor’s wise opinions.” Zhao Meng brought forth the suspects that he had been guarding in the prison cells and spoke in a rough voice as he stood in the middle of the tent.

When that indifferent yet slightly disdainful gaze swept over him, General Zhao, who never bothered much about small things, was also somewhat uneasy. He wiped his face with his hand and said, “Don’t be so wordy. We signed a military order. Hurry up and tell us: who’s the criminal?” 

Mu Hanzhang’s lips curled up gently and he slowly pointed the fan at the people kneeling below the platform. “They all are, and are not.”

“What kind of words are those?” Zhao Meng didn’t understand.