The jade pendant connects the past and present; the exiled crown prince's wife takes her entire

"If not, we hope that Officer Zheng will punish those who gossiped behind our backs in front of everyone, and then kowtow and apologize to us!"

Jiang Jinning's stature was unlike that of people from Luojing; she was extremely petite. However, her small face was solemn, and the smile she usually wore had completely disappeared. Her eyes were more determined than usual, her timid arms were straightened, and her tone was calm and composed.

The world-destroying thought that had just risen in Song Qingyan's heart quietly subsided. The fire in his eyes gradually faded and returned to clarity. Looking at the little girl protecting her mother and sister, he suddenly felt a sense of pride.

He returned to normal, his expression calm, yet the words he uttered were powerful and resonant.

"What my wife said is exactly what I meant. If Officer Zheng thinks we hid something we shouldn't have by stepping over thousands of soldiers, he's free to search. But I'd like to ask, if this bracelet really exists, what do you intend to do with it?"

His gaze fell on the money pouch hanging at Zheng Jiecha's waist. Although his face was expressionless, others suddenly felt that his tone was sarcastic.

"Of course it was handed over. Our fair and just Lord Zheng would not be like that tiger before, who pocketed the money from selling flesh. After all, you are a great man who can speak up for thousands of soldiers on the frontier."

Jiang Jinning was much more straightforward, but she had an innocent expression and a naive tone, as if she wasn't doing it on purpose.

The two men's back-and-forth banter made Zheng Jiechai feel a little guilty. In the end, he knew perfectly well why he had come all this way.

The two of them kept talking back and forth, making Zheng Jiechai extremely embarrassed and annoyed.

"Yuan Er saw the bracelet with his own eyes, how could he possibly wrong you!"

"I'm not the kind of person who would slander others so easily! That bracelet was in her hand, I saw it with my own eyes. Since they're so stubborn, boss, you can take them all down."

Seeing that Zheng Jiecha's anger was growing, Yuan Jiecha added fuel to the fire.

Song Wanzhen rolled her eyes and pulled her sleeve up a little to reveal her wrist.

"Where did you get this bracelet? If I had a bracelet, I wouldn't need to change my food or medicine. Would my brother still need to travel by handcart?"

That makes sense. Song Qingyan was seriously injured, and they were protecting him so much, so there was no reason not to take out something to change his medicine.

But human nature is unpredictable, so it's hard to say.

Seeing Zheng's conflicted expression, Officer Chen immediately spoke up, feigning concern for Officer Zheng: "They speak with such certainty, they probably really don't have any evidence. Boss, how can we convict someone without proof? If they do, fine, but if they don't, and others find out, they'll think you're mistreating them. In this benevolent country, we despise those who use such dirty tricks."

At this point, Zheng Jiecha's expression changed slightly.

He had worked so hard to get to this position, and he was about to be promoted after this extradition was over. He couldn't let a little bit of personal gain cloud his judgment.

Yuan Er cursed Chen Hui's silver tongue in his heart and immediately said, "I saw it with my own eyes, I am a witness! It must be hidden on them. Boss, in my opinion, these people should be thoroughly investigated from head to toe. They are traitors, what are they capable of! If they are really hiding it, what if someone discovers it and reports it to the higher-ups one day..."

He added, "Chen Hui, you're speaking up for them like this; you're probably hiding some benefits you've received!"

Upon hearing that Chen Hui had taken bribes, Zheng Jiecha's face instantly turned ugly, and he glared at Chen Hui with a stern expression.

"If you say another word, don't blame me for disregarding our past relationship."

"Boss, this..."

"Alright, go ahead and investigate, but Officer Zheng, don't forget what I just said: if you can't find it, you'll have to kneel down and apologize."

Jiang Jinning glanced around with a reassuring look, signaling them to calm down. Although everyone appeared calm on the surface, their hearts were pounding. Only Song Qingyan, remembering the magical box that Jiang Jinning had mentioned, guessed that Jiang Jinning had taken the bracelet earlier and probably hidden it in the box, and his expression relaxed.

"Fine, I'll let you die knowing why!" Zheng Jiechai laughed in anger when he heard Jiang Jinning actually demand that he kneel. "Yuan Er, find a member of the Song family and search them thoroughly for me."

The Song family members all see them as a thorn in their side and will never take their side. They will even resort to dirty tricks during the body search to make them suffer!

Yuan Jiechai pulled out an old woman from the Song family and gestured for her to thoroughly search Jiang Jinning and the others, while he himself carefully searched Song Qingyan. But he didn't just search; he also pressed on the wound on Song's back from time to time, his purpose was self-evident.

Song Qingyan's back wound had already been slowly healing thanks to the highly effective muscle-regenerating powder, so this underhanded method would naturally not cause any problems. However, he still cooperated by turning pale and saying that his wound was in a lot of pain.

He carefully scanned the expressions of the escorts. Apart from the angry Zheng, the other escorts seemed to behave normally.

They had been targeted the whole way, and he had long suspected that someone had been bribed to deliberately make things difficult for them. At first, he thought it was Yuan Er, but he was too stupid to be the one.

His gaze fell on Zheng Jiechai again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

After searching Song Qingyan, the officer found no bracelet on him. The bundle only contained two sets of tattered cotton clothes, not even a valuable silver hairpin. He was somewhat disappointed.

However, he firmly believed that the bracelet was on Song Wanzhen, and continued to make sarcastic remarks.

Just as Zheng Jiechai had expected, the old woman was extremely vile. Although she claimed to be searching their bodies, she would occasionally pinch the flesh of the three women. Song Wanzhen and Zhao Shi gasped for breath as she pinched them, but Zheng Jiechai didn't say anything, as if he tacitly approved of her actions.

Jiang Jinning kicked the person away with her foot.

"Jiang Jinning!" Zheng Jiecha was furious and drew his whip.

Jiang Jinning immediately put on a fearful and trembling expression, stammering as she explained, "Sir, I didn't mean to. I have a problem; if someone pinches me, I instinctively kick them."

As she spoke, Jiang Jinning kindly demonstrated, twisting herself in the old woman's manner while uncontrollably kicking the old woman who had just stood up, sending her flying several times until she almost vomited up the cornbread she had eaten that morning.

The old woman scrambled and begged for mercy.

Zheng Jiechai's brow twitched as he watched, and he was just about to lash out with his whip.

"Ouch, I can't control myself, sir! The moment this whip touches my body, my feet seem to have a mind of their own!"

She looked like she would kick someone immediately if she were whipped.

"You bitch, you used to..."

Yuan Jiecha jumped out and pointed fiercely at Jiang Jinning.

Jiang Jinning was completely innocent.

"Please spare me, sir! Perhaps... it was because you smoked too much that I got sick."

This is utterly sophistry!

Yuan Er rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward.

Officer Zheng stopped him: "Enough! Find someone else!"

The old woman was taken away, and a younger woman took over. She dared not cause any more trouble and quickly searched her.

But there was nothing there.

"M-sir, no, no..."

Yuan Jiechai's relaxed and leisurely expression vanished instantly as he grabbed her by the collar.

"No? Maybe you didn't search carefully enough. Search again!"

The young woman, her face contorted in distress, searched again, enduring the murderous glares, and replied tremblingly, "There's definitely nothing there..."

"How could that be? I saw it with my own eyes, how could it not be there!"

"Hey, that's enough! You've searched it several times already, and it's not there, so what more do you want!" Song Wanzhen said coldly, hands on her hips. "What, does this bracelet have the ability to disappear into the sky or the ground? I think someone is just making something out of nothing, stirring up trouble!"

"You bitch, you must be hiding somewhere! I don't believe it! I'm going to investigate myself. I'll see it with my own eyes, it's definitely there!"

Yuan Jiecha acted as if he were going mad, and as he spoke, he tried to do it himself.

Officer Chen immediately jumped out and stopped him.

"Yuan Er, she checked it twice in front of everyone. There's no way to fake it under everyone's watchful eyes. If it's not there, it's not there."

"Boss, trust me, they've definitely hidden themselves, or maybe they're hiding on someone else. Investigate all these exiles one by one..."

"Yuan Er, I think you've gone hysterical, boss. He's going crazy and using you as a shield, it's really too much! It seems you've been too lenient with him, which is why he's acting so recklessly."

Jiang Jinning pretended not to understand and turned to ask Song Qingyan, "Hey, young general, you said that Lord Zheng is a high-ranking escort officer, how come he was completely outmaneuvered by a subordinate?"

"Perhaps it's because he's kind-hearted, but I won't let my subordinates get ahead of me."

"Commander Zheng even agreed to Commander Yuan's kowtow apology! He truly loves Commander Yuan. He would agree to anything for his baseless claims. I'm so moved by this kind of affection!" Song Wanzhen said, wiping away her tears.

As Zheng Jiecha listened to their back-and-forth, his face turned extremely pale, as if his face was being rubbed into the ground.

He clenched his fists tightly and glared coldly at Yuan Er.

"Yuan Er, since it's your fault, kneel down and apologize to them. If they don't forgive you, just stay kneeling there!"

Having said that, he swiftly drew his whip and struck Yuan Jiecha down, causing him to kneel on the ground and kowtow, his head hitting the ground in pain and making him dizzy.