bayedsolid Chapter 516 Taking on the Xue Family Again!
Chapter 516 Taking on the Xue Family Again!
When Mu Xin Nuan learned that Liu had given birth, she was overjoyed, but then she thought of herself and Duanmu Chu Ze.
Her hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen. They were both still on medication, so pregnancy was impossible. However, perhaps influenced by Liu, she now felt a sudden urge to have a child.
When Duanmu Chuze returned to Yijing Courtyard, he saw Mu Xinnuan standing alone by the window, lost in thought.
He tiptoed closer and gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "What are you thinking about?"
Mu Xin Nuan smiled faintly, then leaned back and completely surrendered herself to his embrace, saying with envy, "Sister Liu gave birth, it's a son. I'm so happy for her."
Duanmu Chuze was taken aback, then looked down at her. "Is something on your mind?"
Mu Xin Nuan shook her head, "It's nothing. I'm just happy for Sister Liu."
"Silly girl, don't you have any questions about this trip to Huayang County?"
Mu Xin Nuan raised an eyebrow, her gaze towards him becoming somewhat strange. "I thought you weren't planning to tell me these things."
"I told you, I have no secrets from you."
"Aze, actually I've guessed a bit of what's going on. You're working with your uncle in the capital, aren't you? You deliberately set such a big trap for those collateral relatives? But I'm curious, how will the main branch of the Wang family in the capital deal with them?"
“There are certainly some truly capable members in the collateral branches. But this branch that married a daughter of the Xue family is really nothing special. They've only just reached the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, yet they're already so arrogant; it's utterly foolish.”
"So?" Mu Xin Nuan looked at Duanmu Chu Ze with considerable anticipation, "The Duke of Lu has made a move?"
"Fortunately, the Duke of Lu only reported some relevant matters, and after receiving commendation from the Emperor, he directly dismissed that Lord Wang from his post and issued an edict that he would never be employed again. As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, how could he have extended his reach into the fiefdom of a prince? My father is not confused; how could he let him off so easily?"
"Aze, you've essentially helped the Wang family this time. To be honest, you've really shrewdly planned this."
Duanmu Chuze chuckled softly, then released his arm, took her small hand, and the two went to the corridor together, enjoying the breeze and looking down at the clear little fishpond.
Mu Xin Nuan had many lotus flowers planted in the pond before. When they left Yanzhou, the lotus flowers were in full bloom, but now there are only a few lonely blossoms left. Moreover, they are somewhat wilted, and the outermost petals are already showing signs of decay.
"Anuan, have you noticed that Xie Yilin and the Xue family a few days ago both have some connection with the capital?"
Mu Xin Nuan was taken aback, looking at him with some confusion. What did he mean by that? Did he mean that in Yan, on his own fiefdom, there were actually countless eyes watching him, spying on the prince's secrets?
“Aze, no matter what, I will be with you. The situation in the capital is unclear. Although I don’t understand these things, I know that you are my everything. So, whatever you do, I will support you.”
A touch of emotion welled up in Duanmu Chuze's heart, and he twitched his lips slightly. "Anuan, with a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"
A few days later, the Xue family was in trouble again.
In fact, the incident originally involved not the Xue family, but rather one of the corrupt officials who was caught and whose testimony implicated Xue Huai-ren. However, the Censorate also knew that Xue Huai-ren was a favorite subordinate of Prefect He, and that taking action against him without the Prince's approval would likely cause unnecessary trouble between the Prince and Prefect He.
Prefect He won't be staying here for long. Is it necessary to offend this prefect because of Xue Huai Ren?
Liu Yi eventually reported the matter to the prince.
After reading the confessions, Duanmu Chuze simply smiled and said, "It's just an ordinary case of embezzlement. Why bother reporting it to me? Mr. Liu, when did the Censorate become so timid?"
Liu Yiwei was a little embarrassed and lowered his head, saying, "Your Highness, this Xue Huai Ren is close to Prefect He. I am worried that if I touch him, it will affect your relationship with Prefect He. After all, Prefect He is required to report everything here to the court regularly."
To put it bluntly, this Prefect He was here to monitor the Prince. If he wrote something nonsense on the memorial and angered the Emperor, wouldn't he be the one who had been tricked?
"Don't worry. Just do what needs to be done. As for Magistrate He, at worst, we can just invite him to the trial as a jury. The truth of the matter isn't something we can simply say and accept. If it's true, Magistrate He himself witnessed it, so naturally he won't hold a grudge against anyone. If it's not true, then a case tried in his presence naturally doesn't involve favoritism."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Since someone implicated Xue Huai-ren, how could he possibly be innocent?
As Liu Yi predicted, Xue Huai Ren had barely heard the news when he rushed to the prefect's mansion to complain bitterly. He said that he had a deep grudge against that Lord Feng, and now that the man had entered the Censorate's office, backed by the Prince of Chang Le, he might very well fall into his hands.
After hearing his brief account of his entanglement with Feng Yuxi, Magistrate He only slightly furrowed his brow. "Since you are brothers, even if you are not born of the same mother, you are born of the same father. Why fight each other like this?"
These words were exactly what Xue Huai-ren was thinking. He nodded and said, "Your Excellency, that's what I was thinking too. But now, because of some villains, I've been implicated in some embezzlement cases and have fallen into their hands. I'm afraid this time, I won't have a way out."
Xue Huai-ren was intelligent and had a very accurate grasp of people's hearts.
After saying this, he even managed to squeeze out two tears, showing how worried he was and how helpless he felt about his younger brother's hatred for him.
Having worked with him for a long time, Magistrate He believed himself to be an excellent judge of character and trusted his integrity.
However, Prefect He was not about to give him a verbal agreement. Instead, he asked with some caution, "I ask you, have you done anything to offend the court?"
"Your Highness, even if you beat me to death, I would not dare."
Prefect He believed him to a great extent and nodded, “Don’t worry, if you really haven’t done anything too outrageous, no one can wrong you. And since Feng Yuxi is a member of the Censorate, he naturally cannot show favoritism.”