The Tong family's young master had led his troops to surround Wei Xiaobao's Viscount Mansion. The magistrate of Shun Tian had already received the news of such a big event and was on his way here. Coincidentally, he ran into E Lundai's family general and quickly rushed over.
Before this, Song Qingshu and E Lundai had already reached a consensus subconsciously. The magistrate of Shun Tian quickly took Fang Yi away. Seeing Fang Yi constantly looking back, Song Qingshu had no choice but to use Secret Voice-sending to say, "Miss Fang, please believe me."
Hearing his voice, Fang Yi's whole body trembled. She gently nodded and obediently followed the magistrate.
E Lundai secretly cursed his bad luck. This time, not only did he not get either Shuang'er or Fang Yi, but he also offended Song Qingshu. However, he didn't show it on his face. When he left, he came to the two of them and said in an inaudible voice, "Daren Song, you should thank me. If it weren't for me, how could you enjoy endless luck with women so easily?" Finished speaking, he laughed and swaggered away, leaving behind Shuang'er with an ugly expression.
"Shuang'er, don't bother with this kind of villain." Song Qingshu looked at Shuang'er worriedly.
Unexpectedly, Shuang'er nodded without a care. "E Lundai thinks all men are as disgusting as him. How could he know there's a gentleman like Daren Song in the world?"
Song Qingshu smiled bitterly. "Shuang'er, I don't want to be a gentleman either … In fact, I'm a bit greedier than E Lundai."
Shuang'er was startled, but she was exceptionally intelligent and quickly understood Song Qingshu's unspoken words. She couldn't help but tremble and subconsciously fell into silence.
"Shuang'er, you two have a good rest first. It's too late today. Tomorrow morning, I'll find someone to help mediate. Now E Lundai shouldn't stir up trouble again. With Di Yun and the others guarding, you can also sleep in peace. "Song Qingshu broke the silence.
Taohong and Liulu helped Shuang'er back to the room and began to chatter.
"Madam, Daren Song is really a good person."
"Yes, yes. Tonight, I was ready to die in the Tong Mansion. I didn't expect Daren Song to save us first."
"Could it be that Daren Song has taken a fancy to you?"
"Bah, bah, bah. It's obviously because of Madam's face that he treats us differently because of her."
…
Shuang 'er's face blushed deep red from their conversation; she really could not bear to listen anymore. "What are you talking about?" she spat, "Song Dage and Xiaobao are sworn brothers, what's wrong with him taking care of us?"
"Young Madam, in this world, let alone sworn brothers, I'm afraid there are only a handful of people who would be willing to offend the powerful Tong Family for their brother. I don't believe that he really cares about his brotherhood with Wei Jue Ye. I'm afraid he has ulterior motives. " The two servant girls started to discuss again. They had long felt that Song Qingshu seemed to treat Shuang'er differently from the others. In the past, because of Shuang'er's identity, there was a knot in their hearts. Tonight, when she was on the verge of death and was saved by Song Qingshu, they immediately changed sides and spoke up for Song Qingshu.
"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll tear your mouths apart." Shuang'er laughed and scolded. She knew that the two servant girls were not afraid of her. Her eyes were wide open. Not long after lying on the bed, she could not help but think of the things she had done in the previous night. Some of her actions made her so shy that she covered her head with the quilt.
Early the next morning, Song Qingshu arrived at the imperial palace. Of course, he did not directly go to find Kangxi. After receiving Dolong's advice, he also understood that Kangxi's current attitude was to look on coldly from the sidelines. After wandering around the palace for a while, he quickly found the Young Master of the Nalan Family – Nalan Xingde.
"If life is only like the first time we met, why does the autumn wind grieve the painting fan … To be able to write such exquisite words, Brother Nalan is indeed dignified. At first glance, I can tell that you are the man that women dream of." As the son of the Nalan Family's Master, Nalan Xingde had recently been conferred the title of First Class Imperial Bodyguard. Seeing his handsome appearance, Song Qingshu sincerely sighed.
"Daren Song is too kind." Although he said so, Nalan Xingde still could not hide the pride on his face. At this time, he was young and in the prime of his life. Although he had the innate shrewdness of a son of an aristocratic family, he still could not be as indifferent as his father, Ming Zhu.
Looking at the man in front of him, who in his previous life had become popular all over the country because of An Yi's < If life is only like the first time we met >, and had become the dream of thousands of young girls, Song Qingshu could not help but be a little absent-minded. He pulled Nalan Xingde along and talked about everything under the sun. Very quickly, he gained Nalan Xingde's favor.
Chatting with Song Qingshu, Nalan Xingde felt that he had met a lifelong confidant. He was good at writing lyrics, and his colleagues often praised him. However, if it was not for his father's sake, they could not praise him properly. On the contrary, Song Qingshu's evaluation of him as "seeing things with the eyes of nature and expressing emotions with the tongue of nature" was really in line with his taste. However, how could he know that Song Qingshu had merely plagiarized Wang Guowei's words?
After seeing that the two were familiar enough with each other, Song Qingshu put forward his own idea. He wanted to use Nalan Xingde to introduce him to Nalan Mingzhu. Although Song Qingshu was now considered a popular person in front of Kangxi, he did not have a close relationship with the important ministers in the court like Wei Xiaobao in the past. Before this, he had no friendship with Nalan Mingzhu. He was worried that if he directly went to Nalan Mingzhu's door, he would be perfunctorily brushed off by Nalan Xingde.
"Daren Song is eager for justice, he really has the ancient style." Nalan Xingde sincerely praised. As the saying goes, when a person finds a person pleasing to the eye, his shortcomings are no longer shortcomings. Not to mention Nalan Xingde, a self-righteous scholar, who had long disliked Olundai's bullying of Wei Xiaobao's widow.
Under Nalan Xingde's arrangement, Song Qingshu met Nalan Mingzhu, the current head of the Nalan Family, in the Nalan Mansion that afternoon.
Having given birth to such a handsome son like Nalan Xingde, he naturally would not have the wretched image in the TV series. Although he was already middle-aged, he was still quite handsome. Unfortunately, his brandy nose ruined the overall impression.
Before Song Qingshu could speak, Nalan Mingzhu sighed, "Daren Song, we are both officials in the same court. Although we do not have any personal relationship, I have long been acquainted with your character. I already know what happened last night. Daren Song, considering his friendship with Wei Jue in the past, took the blame for his family. I admire Daren Song very much. However … "
Nalan Mingzhu's words suddenly changed, causing Song Qingshu's heart to immediately hang. "Allow this old man to flaunt my seniority and advise you, Daren Song, it's better not to get involved in this matter … If things go wrong, I'm afraid even your excellency will be involved."
Song Qingshu disapprovingly said, "Although the Tong family is powerful now, Song Mou is not yet afraid of them."
Nalan Mingzhu shook her head, her eyes gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in her memories. "With Daren Song's current power, you naturally won't be afraid of the Tong family. Although the Tong family's various actions can be considered Daren Wei's own fault that day, bullying a group of widows is truly contemptible. To be honest with Daren Song, this old man's relationship with Daren Wei has always been good. Do you know why I've always been watching coldly from the sidelines? "
In fact, in his heart, Song Qingshu more or less despised Songgotu, Mingzhu, and the others. After Wei Xiaobao's death, it was as if he had changed into another person, allowing Shuang 'er to be bullied by others. Listening to him now, Song Qingshu immediately understood that perhaps there was another reason. He promptly asked, "I hope Nalan Daren can give me some advice."
"I can't give you advice." Nalan Mingzhu forced a smile. "It's not that we don't want to help, it's that we can't."
"Can't help?" Song Qingshu was baffled. Although the Nalan family and the Suo family's current prestige was inferior to the Tong family, which had produced several Empresses in a row, if they joined forces, how could they be afraid of the Tong family?
"That's right, we can't help." Nalan Mingzhu nodded. "Song Daren, during the morning court session today, the Assistant Minister of Justice presented a memorial, accusing Wei Jue of embezzling a million taels of silver from Oboi's family property when he confiscated the Oboi mansion …"
"This!" Song Qingshu was frightened out of his wits; he thought that according to the original work, that one million taels was clearly divided equally between Wei Xiaobao and Songgotu; who would dare to risk universal condemnation and dare to mention this matter again?
As if she could guess what he was thinking, Nalan Mingzhu said, "Song Daren is not an outsider, I am not afraid to tell you the truth. I have also heard about the matter of Oboi's family property being confiscated that day. In the end, the embezzled one million taels was divided equally between Wei Daren and Songgotu. However, this kind of matter can be considered as a common occurrence among the high-ranking ministers of the imperial court, so they did not take it seriously. If Wei Daren was still alive, it would be all right, but now that he is dead, naturally Tong family has no more misgivings, hence they exposed this old matter. Other people might not know clearly which family's dog is the Assistant Minister of Justice, but how can I, Nalan Mingzhu, not know? "
"Humph," Nalan Mingzhu snorted coldly, and continued, "However, Tong family's cleverness lies in the fact that they framed Songgotu's embezzled five hundred thousand taels on Wei Jueye's head. In any case, Wei Jueye is already dead, he has no way to defend himself. In this way, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, naturally Songgotu did not dare to make any noise. We, his old friends of the past, also did not dare to speak out for justice. First, Wei Daren did indeed embezzled this sum of money. Second, hey, hey, if we are not careful, we might drag Songgotu into the water … This kind of strenuous but fruitless affair, moreover, it is easy to offend the Suo family, nobody in the imperial court will do it. Song Daren, do you understand? "
Song Qingshu could not stop his hands and feet from turning ice-cold; he thought that this group of politicians really ate people without spitting out the bones; they did not have eternal enemies, only eternal interests. After weighing the pros and cons, they decisively gave up on Wei Xiaobao; they were indeed ruthless enough.
"Song Daren, please set your heart at ease, Fang Er Furen will not encounter any trouble in Shun Tian Fu. I will send word to the people below to receive her well. However, I can only do this and nothing more. As for how this case will be judged, it will be up to His Majesty. "Nalan Mingzhu picked up the teacup and used the lid to smooth the water.
"Thank you very much, Nalan Daren." Song Qingshu understood that the other side had issued the order to expel him; he got up and walked toward the Imperial Palace. Along the way, his heart grew colder and colder. Originally he thought that this time Olundai was clearly in the wrong; who would have thought that under the Tong family's operation, one ring after another, the victim Wei Mansion unexpectedly fell into a desperate situation. Right now, let alone Fang Yi, even Shuang 'er might not necessarily be able to stay out of this matter.
Returning to the Imperial Palace, he asked the Imperial Bodyguard and found out that Kangxi was in the Imperial Study. Hastily he rushed over. As he entered the door, before he could open his mouth, he heard Kangxi said in a rage, "Qingshu, you came just in time. Zhen trusted Wei Xiaobao so much in vain; I did not expect him to be this audacious to the extreme. Zhen can guess one or two things about his embezzlement; previously I thought he only embezzled several tens of thousands of taels. Hey, hey, only today did I know that he actually dared to embezzle a million taels. "
Kangxi threw the teacup heavily on the floor, "What a good Wei Xiaobao, a million taels. The year before last, Shandong suffered a great drought, Zhen wanted to provide disaster relief. I tried every possible way, and only then did I manage to scrape together two hundred thousand taels from the national treasury. This dog slave unexpectedly embezzled a million taels in one go."
Finished speaking, he threw the memorial in his hand on the floor. Song Qingshu's countenance was gloomy; he picked up the memorial on the floor and read it. Only then did he realize that this was the result of the investigation Kangxi had sent people to investigate. On the day of the search and seizure of Oboi's mansion, the Imperial Bodyguards as well as the steward's confession. According to what was written, it was completely Wei Xiaobao who was extremely audacious to the extreme, he quietly embezzled such a large sum of money. Between the lines, there was not a single word mentioned about Songgotu …
Song Qingshu felt a cold air assaulting him; no wonder nobody dared to speak; whoever spoke at this time would not only offend the Tong family, he would also offend the Suo family. Thinking of Shuang 'er's delicate appearance, Song Qingshu was just about to speak out for justice, who would have thought that Kangxi directly opened his mouth and said, "Wei Xiaobao, this dog slave, not only is he corrupt and perverted the law, he is also greedy and lustful. Unexpectedly he dared to commit adultery with Princess Jianning, at the same time he caused tension between Wu Sangui, Hongli, and the imperial court. His crime is simply unforgivable. Issue an imperial decree for Zhen to deprive Wei Xiaobao of all his honors when he was alive, all his family members are to be sent to the Musical House as a warning to others. "
— — — —
Some time ago I had something to do, and now I am beginning to recover.
However, bearing in mind the previous lesson, now I won't say how much I can update every day, I'll just do my best.
After all, I don't know if there will be any unexpected situation.
If I can't fulfill my promise, you will suffer, and I will also suffer.
Just like the Great Vow in Buddhism,
Once I have completed proving my Way,
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