Marquis Xuanwu caused a great commotion at the Xie Family before leaving.

Xie Jingyu was beaten black and blue, lying on the ground unable to get up for a long time.

Although his body hurt, he discovered that the stifled breath blocked in his heart had finally dissipated.

He would no longer think of those eyes of Yun Chu’s that wouldn’t close in death, would no longer be anxious and fearful, would no longer fear vengeful ghosts coming to claim his life…

On the day of Yun Chu’s funeral procession, Duling, a woman of the Du Family and wife of the Ji Family, came to see her off. She cried herself into a tearful mess: “Chu Chu, the Yun Family’s crimes have been decided. I have no way to help. I truly have no way… Rest assured, I will help you collect the bodies of all the Yun Family members. I will definitely let the Yun Family depart with dignity…”

Yun Chu’s remains were arranged by the Xie Family to be sent back to Jizhou and buried in the Xie Family ancestral graves.

Xie Shiyun knelt before Xie Jingyu, choking out: “Father, let me escort Mother back to Jizhou. I want to see Mother off on her final journey.”

Xie Jingyu frowned: “The provincial examination is soon. Going back and forth will take too much time. If you miss the provincial examination, you’ll have to wait another three years…”

“But if I don’t see Mother off, I’ll have no heart for the examination.” Xie Shiyun pleaded. “I’ll study seriously along the way. I definitely won’t disappoint Father’s expectations.”

Yuan Shi wiped away tears: “Let Yun’er go. At least one child should see Chu’er off. His filial heart is precious.”

Xie Jingyu pondered for a moment and nodded: “Then go and return quickly.”

All the Xie Family children were registered under Yun Chu’s name. If she returned to her hometown for burial without a son to see her off, it would inevitably attract gossip.

The matter was thus decided.

When Tingyu at the Xie Family heard that Xie Shiyun was escorting Yun Chu back to Jizhou, she was so angry she fell ill.

There were less than ten days until the provincial examination. A round trip to Jizhou would take five or six days—where would there be time to prepare…

Her Yun’er, ever since passing the xiucai examination, had devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying. He was good material. This provincial examination, he would definitely become a juren. If he was delayed by funeral matters, she would never forgive Yun Chu for her entire life…

However, in the blink of an eye it was the night before the provincial examination, and Xie Shiyun still hadn’t returned to the capital.

Tingyu went frantic with anxiety and hurried to find Xie Jingyu: “My lord, where is Yun’er? No matter how delayed, he should have returned to the capital today. The examination is tomorrow morning…”

Xie Jingyu’s face was grim: “The steward who accompanied him said that after Yun Chu was buried in the Xie Family ancestral graves, Xie Shiyun disappeared. These past days, I’ve continuously arranged for people to search, but there’s been no news yet.”

“What do you mean disappeared? How could he disappear!” Tingyu’s eyes went round. “Are those servants all useless? They lost track of such a grown Third Young Master?”

“He left on his own. The servants didn’t lose him.” Xie Jingyu said in a deep voice. “Your anxiety is useless. Wait for news first.”

Just as they were speaking, the steward from outside hurried in carrying a letter: “My lord, this is a letter just delivered by Third Young Master’s classmate.”

Xie Jingyu was startled. He opened the letter and looked at it, immediately flying into a rage: “How dare he become a monk! Has he gone mad? He doesn’t want his bright future and actually went to be a monk! If outsiders learn that the Xie Family produced a monk, the Xie Family will definitely become the capital’s biggest laughingstock! Rebellious son! How did I father such a rebellious son!”

Tingyu snatched the letter and immediately broke down crying: “Yun’er, my Yun’er, why can’t you think straight… Yun Chu’s death doesn’t blame you, doesn’t blame you. It was your father and eldest brother who forced you to do it. What does it have to do with you? Why do you blame yourself? Why did you become a monk…”

She cried, her knees went soft and she knelt on the ground, looking up at the empty sky and wailing: “Madam, you always doted on Yun’er. I beg you to spare Yun’er. Don’t let him ruin his entire life over this matter… The teacher said Yun’er is excellent at studying. He will definitely become a top scholar like his father and elder brother. He has a bright future. It can’t be ruined like this! As long as the madam spares Yun’er, I’ll have Yun’er establish a longevity tablet for the madam and light eternal lamps…”

She kept kowtowing.

Xie Jingyu felt his scalp tingle. He raised his foot and kicked Tingyu’s shoulder: “Shut up! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Tingyu cried until she fainted. When she woke up later, she wanted to find Xie Shiyun, but she fell ill again, confined to her sickbed. Her body collapsed all at once.

Meanwhile, He Shi’s face revealed a smile. She said to Xie Shiwei: “Although the Xie Family has already established itself in the capital and become new nobility at court, the Xie Family is ultimately from a humble background with too shallow foundations. With Xie Shiyun gone, there’s one less person to divide the family property. You and your elder brother can also get more.”

“It’s just silver, not worth mentioning.” Xie Shiwei shook his head. “In this world, the power held in one’s hands is far more important than silver.”

He Shi sighed: “As long as we overturn the He Family’s case and I restore my status, I can become the Xie Family matriarch. Your identities will also become more respectable. Ultimately, I’ve dragged you all down.”

Although the several children were registered under the legitimate mother’s name and were nominal legitimate sons, everyone in the capital knew these children were all sons of a mistress.

Sons of a mistress were even worse than concubine-born sons… Fortunately the children were outstanding. Sister Ping entered the palace and became a favored consort. Brother An became a first-rank Grand Chancellor. Brother Wei is now a third-rank general. Everything is getting better and better.

“Indeed, we should prepare to start overturning the He Family’s case.” Xie Shiwei said slowly. “The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is impervious to both threats and bribes. We can only work through the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He specifically manages major case files. Having him rewrite things shouldn’t be difficult.”

He Shi’s eyes revealed joy, then she sighed: “How much silver will it take to facilitate this connection?”

The family spent over ten thousand taels of silver on Yun Chu’s funeral. Looking at all those burial objects made her heart ache…

“This time we won’t need silver.” Xie Shiwei’s face revealed a smile. “I’ll go discuss it with elder brother.”

When he went to find Xie Shi’an, Xie Shi’an was sitting before his desk frowning, clearly distracted.

“Elder brother, what troubles you?”

Xie Shi’an came back to his senses: “Nothing. What did you come to find me about?”

He was thinking about Song Yin. Since Mother’s burial, Song Yin had not initiated a single word of conversation with him and had even begun living separately, using poor health as an excuse.

He was pondering where exactly things had gone wrong.

Why had Song Yin changed?

“Elder brother, that Vice Minister at the Court of Judicial Review is lustful. We’ll work from that angle.” Xie Shiwei said in a low voice. “The sooner we overturn the He Family’s case, the smoother elder brother’s official career will be.”

Xie Shi’an nodded: “Then spend some silver and buy a good family’s daughter to send over.”

“Elder brother, isn’t that rather narrow-minded?” Xie Shiwei looked disapproving. “How much does a good family’s daughter cost? Can’t the Vice Minister afford one himself? We must show our sincerity. Only with sincerity will he be willing to rewrite the files.”

Xie Shi’an’s thoughts were still on Song Yin. For a moment he didn’t react: “Speak plainly.”

“Xie Xian.” Xie Shiwei said slowly. “She’s too disobedient, too unruly. She’s been locked up so many days and still making trouble. Since that’s the case, let’s find her a good place to go. We can both kick her out of the Xie Family and demonstrate our sincerity to the Vice Minister. Killing two birds with one stone—why not?”