Hua Shunming acted as if he couldn't see the underlying implications. "Such arrangements will be excellent in the future. It happens to allow the honorable ministers to relieve the pain of missing their daughters."
The ministers were speechless. It was true they missed their daughters, but they certainly didn't want to meet them in this manner.
Empress Zhou said, "...The Holy Emperor is merciful."
Jin Qianqian hadn't expected County Magistrate Wu's letter to arrive so quickly.
It was exactly as she had guessed; the previous staged theft had indeed been orchestrated by Tian Zhuang.
Their goal was simply to ruin her reputation. If their setup had succeeded, rumors would likely have already spread all over Shangjing that Prefect Gu's wife had a peculiar fetish for stealing. It was easy to imagine what her fate would have been—and they might have even managed to drag Gu Wenheng down in the process.
