When Jiang Xuening left Shuxiang Inn, she finally felt somewhat more at ease.
From beginning to end, she had never revealed her identity. She only asked Ren Weizhi many questions, also chatting with him about the scenery and customs of Shu, gaining some understanding of the salt works situation. Occasionally she also mentioned You Fangying while secretly observing Ren Weizhi’s expressions.
It must be said that with that girl Fangying—foolish though she was—her intuition truly wasn’t bad.
Although he had repeatedly failed in the imperial examinations before inheriting the family business, Ren Weizhi could still be considered a scholar. He spoke in a refined manner with good upbringing, without the cunning and philistine ways of a merchant.
Never mind just a fake marriage—even as a real husband, he would be qualified.
When she boarded the carriage again, she looked back at the still-lit lamp upstairs in the inn and finally showed a genuinely relaxed smile.
However, having first gone to the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison to see You Fangying, then made her way to Shuxiang Inn to converse with Ren Weizhi, quite a bit of time had been delayed on the road. By the time she returned to the Jiang Manor, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Jiang Boyou and Meng Shi had been waiting rather anxiously in the room.
Servants from the manor carried lanterns all the way to escort Jiang Xuening to the front of the room. She walked in and first bowed to apologize, saying, “Your daughter handled some matters on the road and returned very late, causing Father and Mother to worry.”
Meng Shi opened her mouth wanting to say something.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Boyou got ahead of her, saying, “The matter with the Marquis of Yongyi’s Manor just broke out, and the authorities have arrested another batch of rebellious Heavenly Doctrine members. Right now in the capital, no one dares to go out, yet you were still wandering outside so late at night—what kind of behavior is this!”
Jiang Xuening lowered her eyes without speaking.
Meng Shi sighed. Her attitude toward Jiang Xuening now was rarely so amiable. She actually turned around to persuade Jiang Boyou instead, “Such major incidents occurred both inside and outside the palace. You’ve been frightened enough yourself, so don’t scare the child now. Didn’t you say you wanted to ask about the situation in the palace?”
Only then did Jiang Boyou let it go.
He had also been anxious and irritated after waiting so long for Jiang Xuening to return, but he truly had no intention of rebuking her. So he quickly calmed down and turned to ask her about the actual situation in the palace.
First, the study companions had been dismissed.
Second, Jiang Xuehui alone had been kept behind.
Both Jiang Boyou and Meng Shi knew that a great joyous event had occurred in the palace—Wen Jieyu of Pixiang Hall was pregnant and had been promoted to Wen Zhaoyi. They had also heard that Jiang Xuehui had performed meritorious service and received rewards, but they weren’t clear on the specific details and circumstances.
So Jiang Xuening recounted the scene in the plum garden at that time.
She also told them about how Yao Xi later suffered misfortune while Jiang Xuehui received rewards and gained Wen Zhaoyi’s favor.
Jiang Boyou said, “This may not necessarily be a good thing.”
Meng Shi also sighed. “A tall tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. This is somewhat too conspicuous.”
Jiang Xuening thought to herself that you’re greatly underestimating Jiang Xuehui’s capabilities.
However, though she thought this in her heart, she didn’t say it aloud.
Jiang Boyou shook his head and said, “I would rather she be safe and sound, returning home like Ning’er. In these troubled times, with all the scheming and infighting in the palace, if they can harm someone once, they can harm them twice. Last time it was Miss Yao who suffered—who knows if next time it won’t be Hui’er’s turn?”
Meng Shi furrowed her brows tightly.
However, she thought more optimistically, saying, “Hui’er has been cautious since childhood. We can only hope that His Majesty particularly values this pregnancy of Lady Zhaoyi, so everyone in the entire palace will not dare be negligent. His Majesty even dismissed the study companions because of this. Those petty villains may not have opportunities to exploit. If Lady Zhaoyi truly gives birth to a dragon son in the future, and Hui’er can gain Her Ladyship’s favor, it can be considered seeking wealth and honor amid danger. Where in this world are there free falling pies?”
Jiang Xuening thought to herself, exactly so.
However, perhaps because she hadn’t spoken for a while and appeared somewhat silent, people mistakenly thought she felt jealous in her heart and was in low spirits.
Meng Shi actually turned around to comfort her instead, saying, “But Ning’er, you shouldn’t be discouraged either. The Marquis of Yongyi’s Manor has just had an incident. After all, our two manors secretly discussed a marriage arrangement. It’s better for you to keep a low profile, Ning’er. A family shares honor and disgrace together. With Hui’er holding up the front, you’ll be able to benefit from it in the future.”
Although Meng Shi somewhat disliked Ning’er’s past behavior, Hui’er could enter the palace thanks to Ning’er. She ultimately still remembered that she was Jiang Xuening’s birth mother and wouldn’t be too partial.
What’s more, in such difficult times?
For a family, glory was shared and disaster was shared. They absolutely couldn’t become divided at such a time.
However, Jiang Xuening looked up at her somewhat strangely.
Meng Shi ultimately put the family’s honor and disgrace first.
Being so amiable toward her—if this were the previous life, perhaps her heart would have softened and her eyes would have reddened. But having ultimately experienced life and death once, having walked before the gates of hell once, Jiang Xuening found she didn’t have any particularly deep feelings. It seemed that whether Meng Shi treated her well or badly, it was difficult to cause any deeper emotional fluctuations in her.
What’s more, this was merely such bland comfort?
She responded flatly, “Yes.”
However, Jiang Boyou scrutinized her expression and perceived her indifference. He sighed inwardly but didn’t feel it was appropriate to say anything. Instead, he remembered something and turned to Meng Shi, saying, “I have something to privately instruct Ning girl about. You go back to your room and rest first.”
Meng Shi was immediately stunned.
What could not be said in front of her?
Suddenly, she felt a bit dissatisfied again. But since the words came from Jiang Boyou, she could only forcibly suppress that slight displeasure in her heart and leave first, returning to her room.
After she left, Jiang Xuening raised her head to look at Jiang Boyou.
Without Jiang Boyou needing to say anything, she already knew what matter it was.
At this moment, her heartbeat quickened somewhat involuntarily. She only asked, “Has the matter I previously entrusted to Father already been handled?”
“Those several boxes of items you gave me last time—precious though they were, having to pawn them too urgently inevitably led to others taking advantage to drive down the price. Your father also didn’t want to sell them cheaply and waste the marquis manor’s fine old items, so I only processed half of them. The other half I had the accounting office carry into our manor’s treasury. After calculating the household accounts, I took out eighteen thousand taels from the manor, considering it as the manor buying them at their value.”
Jiang Boyou brought over a box and placed it before Jiang Xuening.
“Altogether I’ve gathered thirty thousand taels. Take a look—it’s all here.”
Thirty thousand taels.
One must know that even if the entire Earl of Qingyuan’s Manor were emptied out, they probably couldn’t immediately produce thirty thousand taels.
How much Yan Lin had given her over these years could be seen at a glance.
Jiang Xuening opened the box and counted briefly. Inside were all banknotes of a uniform one thousand taels each, a thick stack of thirty notes.
She said softly, “Father has taken great pains.”
Jiang Boyou said, “The Marquis of Yongyi’s Manor also has old ties with us. If we can help somewhat, we should help somewhat. However, the marquis manor’s case will soon be transferred to the Three Judicial Offices for joint trial. If you’re preparing to provide support later, that’s fine, but if you want to smooth over connections, I’m afraid…”
Jiang Xuening said, “Your daughter knows what she’s doing and won’t act rashly.”
Though she said this, Jiang Boyou truly felt she had become somewhat more decisive these recent days. Even using official circles’ language, she had…
Become more scheming.
Take this incident with Wen Zhaoyi in the plum garden at the palace—when he listened to Ning girl’s words just now, he vaguely felt she had seen through this scheme early on, but simply hadn’t gotten involved and hadn’t sought this limelight.
However, he still couldn’t help worrying about court matters.
At present, he inevitably gave Jiang Xuening several more instructions, fearing that she alone with such a large sum of money would cause some incident.
Jiang Xuening responded to each point. This time it wasn’t that she didn’t take Jiang Boyou’s words to heart. On the contrary, she knew that Jiang Boyou’s warnings were all correct.
The Marquis of Yongyi Manor’s case would be jointly tried by the Three Judicial Offices, personally supervised by His Majesty. Where would it be so easy to smooth over connections?
One small mistake could cost heads.
However, the court had never been a monolithic block. Crevices always existed—it just depended on how carefully one looked and whether one could find them.
In terms of information, probably no one could be more well-informed than Zheng Bao was now. However, she was outside the palace, and contact with the inside was inconvenient. Even with such a person, she couldn’t use him at this moment.
Outside the palace, there was only Zhou Yinzhi.
After Jiang Xuening obtained the money from Jiang Boyou, she added in three thousand taels from that qin herself, making a total of thirty-three thousand taels in silver. The next day, she sought out Zhou Yinzhi to inquire about the current situation of the Marquis of Yongyi Manor’s case.
Although Zhou Yinzhi was already a Chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, at this time he could only smile bitterly and say, “The case has already been transferred to the Three Judicial Offices. The Embroidered Uniform Guard only received authority to question prisoners together with the Ministry of Justice. To interfere in matters above that is impossible. Moreover, the Chiliarch position is too low. At most I can enter the prison and look after Second Miss’s interests somewhat, but I cannot provide comprehensive protection. Furthermore, Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Justice has left his post, and former Henan Circuit Censor Gu Chunfang just took office these past two days. The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s power struggle with the Ministry of Justice has been suppressed too harshly by this person. I’m afraid there won’t be many opportunities to intervene in this case.”
The “Three Offices” in the Three Judicial Offices joint trial referred to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard had no part in this.
Whenever the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s people wanted to reach in, they would incur unanimous attacks from the Three Judicial Offices. It could be said they couldn’t move an inch.
However, Jiang Xuening said, “The Marquis of Yongyi’s Manor was a great and prosperous household. Countless items were confiscated. Right now all the evidence should still be being sorted and inventoried. Although you cannot interfere, the people from the Three Judicial Offices frequently enter and exit the Heavenly Prison. Pay attention to whether there are any strange people.”
If she remembered correctly, this case of the Marquis of Yongyi Manor was very strange.
At first, letters of correspondence between the marquis manor and the rebel Prince Pingnan’s faction were discovered. The matter actually concerned the heir Dingfei who might already be lying in the Righteous Children’s Tomb from twenty years ago. But after more than half a month of joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, an additional letter appeared. This letter was written by Yan Mu to Heavenly Doctrine rebels, and in the letter he actually mentioned wanting to secretly support Heavenly Doctrine forces and was willing to incorporate Heavenly Doctrine followers into the military.
Once this letter emerged, it could immediately be called ironclad evidence.
Half the manor was executed, the rest exiled a thousand li to that land of miasma in Baiyue. Among all the civil and military officials of the court, very few dared speak up for them.
Why did this letter only appear after half a month?
Why would a letter Yan Mu wrote to Heavenly Doctrine rebels be confiscated from the home?
Moreover, confiscation wasn’t particularly fast, but it absolutely wasn’t slow either.
If this letter had been confiscated early on, by rights it should have been sent to the Emperor’s hands.
Jiang Xuening didn’t know what exactly had happened in between, but if there existed some opportunity in the middle and she missed it because she thought there was no opportunity, she would certainly feel regret and frustration.
That’s why she gave Zhou Yinzhi these instructions.
Although Zhou Yinzhi didn’t understand why she would say such things, a thought flashed through his mind. He remembered that day when she sat in the hall and with one statement exposed the thoughts he had concealed. That vague sense of unfathomable depth thus surfaced in his heart once again.
This Second Miss seemed increasingly extraordinary.
Zhou Yinzhi didn’t know who was behind her, but the more times like this came, the more he dared not show even the slightest negligence.
After returning to the Embroidered Uniform Guard office, he practically lived inside and outside the Heavenly Prison, going to make rounds from time to time.
He often encountered people from the Ministry of Justice.
For example, that Gu Chunfang, and also Zhang Zhe, a Ministry of Justice Bureau of Personnel Principal Official whom Gu Chunfang rather trusted.
The people from the Three Judicial Offices naturally couldn’t stand the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but they also had no reason to drive him away. They just assumed the Embroidered Uniform Guard refused to give up and still wanted to interfere in the matter. Those who weren’t polite had quite a bit of mockery in their words.
Zhou Yinzhi didn’t care.
Thus, before long, he truly discovered such a strange person: seemingly a minor clerk subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, who often came to wander around the Heavenly Prison. His gaze always looked toward the people imprisoned in the cells, as if scheming something.
Zhou Yinzhi observed continuously for two days and finally felt this person truly was suspicious.
On the third day, he found an opportunity to directly block this person in a small alley, pressing his blade against the other’s neck.
Under intimidation, he truly extracted a matter of great importance!
Without another word, he secretly took the person into custody and confined him in his own manor. Zhou Yinzhi then visited Jiang Xuening overnight, saying, “I captured someone—a mole the Heavenly Doctrine planted in the government. He received orders from some ‘Mr. Gongyi’ to find an opportunity to present a letter to the Ministry of Justice, saying this letter could cause the marquis manor’s utter destruction. But these past days, that ‘Mr. Gongyi’ suddenly lost contact. He tried to reach him multiple times without response, making him panic. He himself is very afraid this Mr. Gongyi has met with an accident, but doesn’t dare make it known. Having this letter, he became greedy and wanted to use it to extort the marquis manor for a sum of money, then leave once the matter was accomplished. He didn’t expect that in his nervousness he would reveal traces and I caught him red-handed.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuening’s scalp practically exploded!
There was actually also the shadow of the Heavenly Doctrine in the Marquis of Yongyi Manor’s case, and even the famous “Mr. Gongyi” was implicated!
However…
Such an important person lost contact midway—what was that about?
Her pupils contracted slightly. Thinking it over, she truly couldn’t worry about so much. Taking a deep breath, she directly asked, “Did you obtain the letter?”
If they could obtain this letter, it would absolutely be a massive turning point!