~ YUE WANG TESTS MU YUNYAO ~
Steward Qin thought of the contents of the investigation and felt puzzled. “My Lord, do you think we should continue the investigation?”
Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind, all of the clues faintly pointing towards the Su family in the Capital. Yue Wang carefully thought back to the matter of the Su family, and his eyes suddenly trembled, “I remember that the Su family lost a child many years ago?”
“Yes, there is indeed such a thing. At that time, the Su family was not as prominent and illustrious as it is now, but to find this lost child, the Su family exhausted almost all of their financial resources. Even Grand Princess Yi De was alarmed. The Emperor also gave a lot of things to comfort the old lady of the Su family.”
“Uncle Qin, do you think Madam Su may be the child that the Su family lost back then?”
“Your Highness, do you mean to say that Madam Su is the biological daughter of the old lady and Su Wenyuan’s younger sister?” Steward Qin was surprised, but after some careful thought, he shook his head slightly, “That doesn’t make any sense. The couple that adopted Madam Su is obviously related to the Su family. Over the years, the Su Family’s power has grown day by day. If they really want to find out about it, it was easy. How come they were unable to find Madam Su after so many years?”
“This is indeed a suspicious point...” Yue Wang thought about it carefully, and his mind quickly turned, “Uncle Qin, do you think Madam Su knows about her background?”
“According to age, Madam Su was still a baby when she was lost, so she shouldn’t have known about her past.” If what they guessed was true, then Madam Su’s identity could be considered precious. If she really knew of her background, how could he be willing to marry Mucheng and suffer from such a long time of hardship and suppression from his mother-in-law?
Yue Wang lowered his eyes slightly, a small crease appearing on his forehead: “But I keep having the feeling that Mu Yunyao seems to know about her relationship with the Su family … …”
When Steward Qin heard this, he recalled carefully. His eyes were filled with bewilderment, “Although it looked not obvious, there are many things that are out of the ordinary when we relate everything that has happened in this time.
In particular, the old screen not only did make the Emperor displeased with the Su family, but it even took care of Spring Embroidery Workshop (Chun Xiu Fang) in one go. The Su family had secretly been in close contact with the Spring Embroidery Workshop. In these past few years, they had sent quite a few silver taels to Su Wenyuan, and once the Spring Embroidery Workshop fell, the Su Family would no longer have so much money on them.” As Steward Qin spoke, he was secretly worried in his heart, “Wang Ye, if Madam Su is really the lost daughter of the Su family, then Miss Mu would be Miss Biao (cousin) of the Su family. Moreover, Miss Mu’s father is already dead, and there are no other relatives in the family. The Su family is very likely to take them back...”
This way, Miss Mu’s identity would become complicated. If Wang Ye wanted to marry her later, he would have to face the Su family. In this way, there might be other unforeseen events.
“Uncle Qin, carefully investigate the cause of death of Mu Yunyao’s father. Also, keep a close eye on the Su family’s movements in the future. If the husband and wife that adopted Su Qing are truly related to the Su family, likely, when Madam Su and Mu Yunyao leave Xiayan Village, the Su family would definitely send people to trace their whereabouts.”
“Yes.” Steward Qin looked at Yue Wang’s pale face and couldn’t help but feel distressed, “Wang Ye, you should rest first. If there’s anything you need, you can wait until after you’ve recovered.”
“Right.” After Steward Qin had left, Yue Wang was still frowning and deep in thought. Even though he had wounds on his back, he sat at his original position with his back straight like a pine tree growing on a cliff. Nothing could make him bend his back: Maybe Madam Su didn’t know her background, but mu Yunyao must know something...,
In the following few days, Mu Yunyao would punctually come to Jin Xiu Garden every day to change and bandage the wound of Yue Wang.
Yue Wang couldn’t help but look at her wrist and neck. The two bruises had already disappeared a lot, but the marks on them were still enough to make anyone’s heartache.
The pressure in Yue Wang’s gaze was too oppressive, particularly when his gaze swept across her neck. Mu Yunyao felt a trace of coldness linger around the side of her neck, causing her ears to feel a dense sensation involuntarily. Following that, the skin on the side of her neck and the roots’ her ears turned red involuntarily.
She quickly bandaged the wound and then got up hurriedly to avoid Yue Wang’s gaze. “Fourth Master, the wound has been changed. It’s especially crucial for the next few days. Don’t move around so much, so the wound doesn’t open up again.”
“Alright.” The eyes of Yue Wang became so deep. He coincidentally caught the red flush that rose from Mu Yunyao’s neck and ear just now. In that instant, it was as if fine white jade stained with pink light, causing him to be unable to resist the urge to reach out and touch it. This thought made his heartbeats a chaotic rhythm, and anxiety involuntarily rose to his heart.
Yue Wang hurriedly retracted his gaze and used his right hand to drink a cup of herbal tea. Only then did he feel slightly better: “The news that just arrived, there is someone in the Capital who brought along evidence regarding Yangzhou city’s salt tax and passed it to the Ministry of Justice. After the Ministry of Justice organized the evidence, they felt that it was a serious matter. They directly reported it to the Emperor. Hearing the Emperor’s anger, they ordered Li Yuanyi immediately to be dismissed from his post and investigated. Then, he will be sent to the Capital.
“There’s actually news already?” Mu Yunyao was a little surprised. She initially thought she would have to wait a few more days. “There were already many people paying attention to the matter of the salt tax inspection, so Li Yuanyi and those salt merchants could be considered to have bumped into a knife’s edge.”
Yue Wang looked at Mu Yunyao as his heart filled with admiration, “Speaking of which, how did you know that the salt merchants would be so straightforward and directly sue Li Yuanyi after the incident is exposed?”
“This time, the problem of salt tax was notably serious. Not only was there a huge deficit, but there was also the collusion between the salt merchant and the officials to deceive the Imperial Court. Later, they forged evidence and falsely reported their achievements. Besides, when the salt ship sank, everything was taken out separately, which was enough to shock the government and the public. However, when so many things gathered together, people did not know how to intervene for a while.
Mu Yunyao said with a smile on her face: “if I said I was merely guessing at random, and I’m not sure that the salt merchants must have left evidence against Li Yuanyi. Is Fourth Master believe it?”
“Of course, I don’t believe it.” Yue Wang shook his head.
Mu Yunyao sighed slightly and said, “Then I will tell the truth. I originally sent the evidence to the salt merchants on purpose. The post with the seal of Liangjiang Governor’s office, the handwritten letter of Li Yuanyi, and Qi Ming’s identity that Fourth Master helped to forge, one by one, things had pointed at the First Prince and the Li family. The salt merchants are now unable to protect themselves. Naturally, they hoped that the First Prince and the Li family could be dragged into the water to reduce their guilt towards the Emperor. After all, there is no significant difference between the main culprit and an accomplice under Dali dynasty law.”
Yue Wang’s eyes shone with a faint light as he looked at Mu Yunyao with extreme concentration. Mu Yunyao felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. “Why is Wang Ye looking at me like that?”
Oh boy... these two. 😅😅😅
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