Tianliangyuan

Chapter 14 Revenge from a Father

The shopkeeper was terrified!

What is this thing called?

I was summoned here to identify something for no reason, but I ended up witnessing this scandalous affair in the inner quarters. The Sun family is truly despicable!

After the shopkeeper was taken away by the steward, he was subjected to further coercion and enticement, so naturally the matter could not be made public.

Xu Zhaozhao was already sobbing uncontrollably, and the old lady felt that Xu Lin had gone too far!

Sun Huaizhi was terrified. He hadn't expected Xu Zhaozhao to be so fierce, wanting to kill herself in just a few words.

Xu Lin and Sun Qian never expected that their carefully planned event would turn into a farce.

Sun Huaizhi naturally couldn't produce any strong evidence to prove that he had bribed the servants of Ziyuan to steal some of Xu Zhaozhao's letters or her usual calligraphy and paintings, and then copied them to pretend they were her love letters.

But to his surprise, before he could even make a move, Xu Zhaozhao chased him out.

Moreover, given how things have turned out, even if he could produce Xu Zhaozhao's love letter, it probably wouldn't be accepted.

All the scheming and plotting ultimately came to nothing!

Xu Lin's family was naturally kicked out by Wang Ruolan without any politeness. If it weren't for the presence of the old lady, Wang Ruolan would have thought to directly hit them!

It's really too much to have driven her daughter to this point!

Afterwards, the old lady and Wang Ruolan came to Ziyuan Garden to see Xu Zhaozhao again, fearing that the child might do something drastic again.

However, the old lady was still overthinking things.

"Zhaozhao, since that thing was given by Madam Xie, why didn't you make it clear from the beginning?"

Wang Ruolan had the same question. If it had been made clear from the beginning, none of these troubles would have happened.

Xu Zhaozhao smiled bitterly and said, "Grandmother, ever since my cousin found those earrings, she insisted that they were a gift from my cousin. And that Miss Liu was there too, and she said the same thing. To be honest, I was dumbfounded. These were clearly given to me by Madam Xie herself. How could they have been a gift from Sun Huaizhi?"

Later, when my aunt and mother arrived, they didn't give me a chance to speak. I originally thought there must be some misunderstanding, such as my cousin had indeed prepared a similar gift for me, and whether it was pocketed by the servants. That's why I wanted to get to the bottom of things.

But unexpectedly, it nearly cost me my life!

After some analysis, Wang Ruolan recalled the previous events and also felt that something was amiss.

"That's right. From beginning to end, it was Sun Qian and that Miss Liu who were talking, and later it was Xu Lin who kept speaking with conviction. Not to mention Zhao Zhao, even I couldn't get a word in edgewise."

This made the old lady look somewhat embarrassed.

Is this an accusation that Xu Lin is too domineering and arbitrary?

Or is it that the mother and daughter are actually accusing Xu Lin of orchestrating the whole thing?

Regardless of the reason, the old lady felt ashamed.

"That's enough. This matter is now settled, and there's no need to mention it again. Zhaozhao, your cousin may have some different feelings for you. This was also an oversight on our part as elders. I will issue an order that Huaizhi is not allowed to come to the Marquis's residence again before you get married."

Xu Zhaozhao raised her eyebrows, probably because she was worried that things would escalate and affect Sun Huaizhi's future.

"Thank you, Grandmother, for standing up for me. But through this experience, I've come to understand many things. If my cousin comes again in the future, there's no need for you to inform me."

The old lady's expression froze. Did she really hate Sun Qian from the bottom of her heart?

Wang Ruolan sneered: "Indeed, there's no need to inform her. In the future, when Sun Qian comes over, she can just pay her respects to the old lady. That way, we can avoid causing any more trouble."

Xu Zhaozhao didn't take this matter too seriously, after all, she had already figured out how to retaliate against the Sun family.

She simply forgot that she had a father who would protect her son.

Xu Han returned late that night, and when Wang Ruolan was helping him change his clothes, she told him everything that had happened that day.

Xu Han was furious when he heard this. Zhao Zhao was his precious daughter, and he would never say a harsh word to her normally. How could she have been tricked by the Sun family today?

He absolutely had to get revenge!

Although Xu Han was a military general, he had extensive connections in the court. Moreover, the current emperor, Emperor Yong'an, was wise and did not deliberately create boundaries between civil and military officials. Besides, who can't have a few close friends?

As a result, Sun Qingyang was impeached during the court assembly the next day.

The Sun family is now on the decline. Even if Sun Qingyang himself is clean, his relatives may not be so, so it's easy to find them if you want to cause them trouble.

As a result, Sun Qingyang was scolded by Emperor Yong'an in front of all the civil and military officials.

A minor official of the fifth rank was originally supposed to sit outside; if it weren't for the grand court assembly, he wouldn't have been qualified to be here.

In the end, I was even scolded in public. It would have been better if I hadn't come at all.

Sun Qingyang was not only scolded, but also punished.

Fortunately, he was not demoted further, but he was still ordered to stay home and reflect for three days, which was already a warning that he was being put in a difficult position.

Sun Qingyang was basically never allowed to show his face in front of the emperor. The fact that such a minor official was specially punished by the emperor, while Marquis Anxin remained silent, has raised many questions.

After the court session ended, Xu Han was summoned to the imperial study by Emperor Yong'an for a talk.

"Xu Han, why didn't you speak up for your good brother-in-law today?"

Xu Han felt guilty. He was the one who found the ginseng in the first place, so how could he possibly speak up for him?

"Your Majesty, since he has done something wrong, it is only right that he be punished. Moreover, Your Majesty is wise, and I believe this is the proper course of action."

Emperor Yong'an seemed quite pleased with this flattery.

"Alright, I know you too well. You've never really studied properly! And now you're pretending to be a scholar in front of me."

Upon hearing this, Xu Han was no longer nervous. He raised his head slightly, and his expression was noticeably more relaxed.

"Your Majesty, you understand me best. I am just a roughneck, I don't know anything, and as for the things the censor mentioned, I only know that officials should not commit them, but I can't explain the specific principles."

Emperor Yong'an laughed heartily upon hearing this; he liked Xu Han just the way he was!

If you know something, you know it; if you don't know something, you admit you don't know. In any case, you won't deceive the emperor.

"I summoned you here today because I want to hear your opinion on something."

Upon hearing that there was something serious to discuss, Xu Han immediately changed his demeanor.

When Xu Zhaozhao learned that Sun Qingyang had been punished, the Sun family was already in an uproar.

Sun Qingyang was unaware that his misfortune was due to offending the Marquis of Anxin's family. He simply thought that he had been too negligent in disciplining his family, which had brought trouble upon himself.

Sun Qingyang was bound to vent his anger, which made everyone in the Sun family tense up, not daring to make the slightest mistake.

Even Xu Lin wouldn't dare to act childish at this time.

Sun Huaizhi had already gone to the academy, thus escaping a disaster, while Sun Qian was so frightened that she dared not leave her own courtyard, for fear of being scolded by her father again.

The entire Sun family was on tenterhooks.