My wife has a secret

Chapter 236 Goodbye Princess
"Does Qin Shuying... often visit the Nie Mansion?"

Xiaohuan answered softly and told him everything she had seen and heard in recent days.

"Yes, I heard from Yang Liu in the Fourth Courtyard that the Third Young Madam loves the children in the school very much. Even when the Fourth Young Madam went to her to buy rouge and powder, go shopping and attend temple fairs, she would only wander around the Nie Mansion and would not go too far."

"is it?"

It is a well-known fact that Lu Wanhe loves children.

It seems that during the time when he was not in the capital, the private school of the Nie family was getting better and better.

Xiaohuan looked at her young master's expression, not knowing what he was thinking. She thought that the young master was feeling resentful because the concubines did not come out to kneel and greet Xu Qing.

The young master finally came back from outside. According to the rules of the famous family, the concubines in each room should welcome him respectfully at the door, but the new servants did not recognize the young master, which led to no movement in the Guangping Marquis' Mansion.

"Xiao Huan will go and inform the housekeepers and ask them to go to the Nie Mansion to inform the two young ladies."

After hearing Xiaohuan say this, Xu Qing finally understood what this girl was thinking.

He smiled helplessly, stretched out his hand and flicked Xiaohuan's forehead, and said, "What notification? Isn't it good that the two of them are having fun?"

For Xu Qing, it was a good thing that the two of them could find their own lives.

"Go boil some water for me, young master."

Xiaohuan was a bit dull, so she naturally didn't understand Xu Qing's experience of traveling through time and experiencing life and death. She just responded in a daze and went about her work with peace of mind.

……

The next morning, Xu Qing woke up from his bed.

After a simple wash and change of clothes, he opened the gate and saw many servants lined up at the door. Most of them were kneeling respectfully, not daring to breathe.

"My Lord, we are blind and don't know you are back..."

After Xu Qing showed up in the palace yesterday, his war with the Liao Kingdom became a hot topic among every household in the capital.

After deliberate propaganda by the military and the court, most of the people in Qi believed that the Battle of Jieting and the victory at Changpo Bridge were his work, and that it was the Zhennan Zhongwu Army that held up the defeated Yang Family Army, turned the tide, and won a great victory.

So everyone was running around on the streets telling each other how majestic the returning Xu Qing was.

The servant of the Xu Mansion was listening with great interest in the teahouse, but halfway through the storyteller's speech, he suddenly remembered that the mansion where he worked was the Mansion of Marquis Guangping.

As luck would have it, a man came in through the main gate yesterday and stayed overnight in the empty yard that Xiaohuan took care of.

After hurriedly returning to Xu's Mansion, the servants gathered together to compare information and found out that Xiaohuan's real identity was actually the personal maid of Marquis Guangping, and the courtyard she took care of was not an idle place, but the house where the Marquis lived.

The servants realized that something was wrong and stayed awake all night. They waited at the gate of the courtyard before dawn, waiting for the marquis to come out and lecture them.

When Xu Qing saw this scene, he realized the extent of status in ancient times.

"The whole Marquis' Mansion has always been managed by Qin Shi, right?"

Xiao Huan whispered behind Xu Qing: "Yes, the purchase of servants, the purchase of new items... basically all were done by the Third Young Mistress herself."

"In that case, don't take me too seriously. Just follow the rules and habits she sets."

Xu Qing wanted to carry out this story to the end, and used it to calm everyone's emotions. He asked Xiaohuan to tell everyone not to mind it, and then he got on the carriage outside the mansion and rushed to the princess's mansion.

Of the two things that my aunt had ordered, Shen Shuangxu had not sent anyone to contact me yet. Instead, the Ministry of Justice, which had sealed off the princess's mansion and placed Princess Danyang under house arrest, was the first to take action and sent a carriage to pick up Xu Qing to handle the matter.

Liao Yue, the Minister of Justice, was an old acquaintance of Xu Qing. When he saw him get on the car, he put on a smile and flattered him.

It's just that this guy was really fat, and the carriage pulled by four horses seemed a bit crowded after carrying two of them.

"Lord Xu, long time no see... I missed you so much after we parted!"

Xu Qing didn't respond to the other person's words. Instead, he looked around from the seat beside him and said, "Did you get into trouble, Fatty? Why is the car you're sitting in so plain? There's no sign of grandeur at all."

"Ha... Marquis Guangping is joking. It's just that the war is approaching, and those who can afford horse-drawn carriages in the capital have basically reduced the size of their trips by half and donated the empty horses."

While the fighting was raging on the front lines, fundraising was also underway in the capital.

This fundraising campaign was proposed by Shen Shuangxu and implemented by the Ministry of Revenue, which made officials and nobles at all levels pay a heavy price.

Liao Yue was not an honest official. As a first-rank official, he was a key target of special attention and was naturally troubled by this incident.

Faced with Liao Yue's weak complaints, Xu Qing looked a little embarrassed and coughed lightly twice.

In fact, the idea of ​​fundraising came from Marquis Guangping.

This was mainly because of the shortage of resources on the front line. Seeing that the Yang family army was hungry and had no food to eat, Xu Qing wanted to get some food from somewhere to ensure the most basic food, clothing, shelter and transportation.

After all, if the army is not well fed and clothed, how can it have any combat effectiveness?

But after looking around, he found no place or way to make a fortune, so he finally set his sights on the capital, and proposed that after Shen Shuangxu returned to Beijing, he would use the excuse of defending the country and sharing the same hatred of the enemy to extort a large sum of money from the officials.

He was just imitating and copying the behavior of Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian in previous history.

However, the difference is that Xu Qing learned from the failure and asked Shen Shuangxu to work harder on the source of foreign invasion, constantly emphasizing the identity of the Khitans, the royal aristocrats of the Liao Dynasty.

After all, in the eyes of many ministers, officials, and aristocratic families, the change of dynasties is a common occurrence, and only their own lives are the most important.

Where there is life, there is hope.

When the new king ascends the throne, he will certainly continue the rules and regulations of the old dynasty, allowing these aristocratic families to control resources and secure their positions.

But if foreigners are involved, things will become distorted.

Non-my family, its heart must be different.

The things that the aristocratic families were so confident of became a joke in the eyes of the other side. It was a well-known fact that the Khitans had their own royal relatives and nobles, and treated the Han people like pigs and dogs.

Moreover, anyone who dares to collude with foreign races and do nothing will be branded as a traitor and will be infamous for eternity.

Due to various reasons, after Shen Shuangxu reported the method to the empress, the nobles in the capital felt threatened and donated all the money they had accumulated over the years.

Even if they have hidden some private money, they dare not act arrogantly and domineeringly in public or make a big show of traveling.

"I really envy you, Lord Marquis. As a relative, how dare the censors investigate you?"

Xu Qing spread his hands and quickly changed the subject.

"Let's talk business... The war at the border is approaching, and the Minister's Ministry of Justice should have a lot of things to do, right? Why are you so impatient to deal with Princess Danyang and resolve this matter first?" From the time he woke up to the time he got in the car, it was probably dawn, shortly after the morning hour.

You know, Empress Dowager Xu had just kept him in the hall yesterday to instruct him on these two matters, and Liao Yue had been waiting in the carriage at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion early in the morning. His efficiency was incredibly fast.

Logically speaking, with a large army invading, the Ministry of Justice should be extremely busy.

After all, there will be people everywhere who stir up a sense of crisis, and there will also be many scammers and thugs who take the opportunity to cause trouble, extort money, and stir up trouble.

So in Xu Qing's expectation, the matter of Princess Danyang was not urgent to deal with, and the traitor in Chengxuanfang should be found out first.

"My Lord, are you joking with me, Liao?"

Liao Yue said helplessly: "The Princess Danyang in the Princess's Mansion is a difficult person to serve. You should know that the Paradise Banquet was held for several years before, and all the officials' handles were in the Princess' hands. It would not be a big deal if she died or maintained her high position, but now she is being guarded by the Ministry of Justice in the mansion, and people from all walks of life come to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the situation every day."

What Princess Danyang has in her hands is not just simple black material.

In ancient times, in a society that revered Confucianism, a vague reputation alone could drive people to commit suicide.

People who are in high positions and hold power are naturally more afraid of this kind of thing happening.

Many people hope that Princess Danyang can die quickly so that all this can be over with her death.

But Liao Yue was just an official. If anything went wrong while Princess Danyang was in the custody of the Ministry of Justice, the emperor would be held accountable.

If you make a saint unhappy, it is common to lose your head.

Therefore, Liao Yue was extremely troubled by this troublesome hot potato.

"For the safety of this princess, Liao sent all his trusted aides from the Ministry of Justice to monitor every move around... In less than half a month, five pairs of assassins were caught."

"Oh?"

Xu Qing became interested when he heard this.

Originally he thought that Princess Danyang must be killed, but now it seems that this guy could be used as a secret weapon to deal with the aristocratic families in the capital.

"Can you find out who sent the assassin?"

"How can we find out?"

Liao Yue said with a displeased look on his face: "These people are well-trained assassins. If there is a risk of being caught, they will take poison and commit suicide... However, the only place that can afford assassins is the mansion of aristocratic families."

While the two were chatting, the carriage arrived at the princess's palace after a long absence.

When I came back again, the stone lions in front of the princess's mansion were still standing, and the gate was inlaid with exquisite cloud and dragon patterns, shining with gold, solemn and luxurious.

Everything was almost the same as when Xu Qing came last time, except that all the maids and servants in the mansion were replaced by constables.

Seeing the carriage stopped, Liao Yue got off. The two people at the door rushed over and supported Liao Yue's huge body.

With the help of others, Liao Yue's movements of getting out of the car no longer seemed strenuous or funny.

He wiped the sweat off his face with the silk towel in his sleeve, winked at his trusted subordinates, and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft: "Hurry up, Marquis Guangping, get off the car."

Regarding the detectives who swarmed over after hearing the news, Xu Qing waved his hand, indicating that he would do it himself.

Of course, Liao Yue did this to remind his men who the people in the car were.

……

Xu Qing and Liao Yue chatted for a while in the front hall, and the backyard of the princess's mansion was almost tidied up.

The detectives from the Ministry of Justice cleared out the servants in the backyard and sent a message to Princess Danyang, informing her that she would be tried soon and asking her to wait for the judge in her room.

When everything was ready, Xu Qing and Liao Yue set off, passing through the corridors with blooming flowers and winding corridors, and entered the house in the mansion.

Inside the two heavy doors, a lovely girl in a light pink dress was sitting quietly on the threshold, waiting for his arrival.

Her pretty face was gentle and tender, shy and cute, with a swan-like, snow-white neck and a cherry mouth that seemed to be smiling.

The first time she saw Xu Qing, Princess Danyang raised her slender jade-like fingers and called out with a smile, "Brother Qing!"

Upon hearing this, Liao Yue stopped before entering the courtyard and looked at Xu Qing with a somewhat strange look.

As an old fox in the officialdom, he was naturally a man who had experienced many ups and downs. He also knew that Princess Danyang had some connection with Marquis Guangping and had treated the other party well at the last Paradise Banquet.

If the two were lovers, he shouldn't be here and listen to things he shouldn't hear.

Thinking of this, Princess Danyang's matter is not so urgent.
"My Lord... Ahem, Liao suddenly remembered that there are still some things outside that have not been dealt with. Otherwise...would you please stay in this yard for a while?"

Xu Qing understood what Liao Yue meant and sighed.

Although he had no personal relationship with Princess Danyang, he was involved in too many matters related to the White Lotus Sect, and some things were indeed not suitable for others to hear.

"Then I'll chat with her for a while, and you can come over in the afternoon."

"Understood, my lord."

Liao Yue quickly fled from this place of trouble. Before leaving, he winked at the constable next to him to close the door tightly to prevent the news from leaking out.

Princess Danyang blinked her big watery eyes and watched all this with a smile. When there were no other figures or sounds around, she continued to call out, "Brother Qing, send the others away. Do you want to play a game with Jin'er?"

Her eyes were burning as she lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing two snow-white legs wearing white cotton stockings.

"Brother Qing, Jin'er wants to play the doctor game, because I don't know why... Every night when I think of my brother, I always feel itchy here and there."

Because of the perspective, Xu Qing realized that Princess Danyang's pink dress was worn very casually.

She seemed to be intentionally exposing a large area of ​​her skin. Just a few steps into the yard, one could see that the shoulder strap on her inner side had slipped down her forearm, leaving only a slightly undulating part of the peak.

No wonder Liao Yue turned around and fled without looking back as soon as he stepped into the yard.

Princess Danyang was a White Lotus criminal chosen by the emperor. Not to mention having a close personal relationship with her, just having private contact with her would make her be labeled an accomplice and convicted together with her.

Given Liao Yue's personality, he naturally doesn't want to have anything to do with such a person.

However, Xu Qing knew Princess Danyang's style of doing things and her usual dress. Judging from her bold and unbridled behavior today, she seemed to be very clear that the person who came to interrogate her was herself.

"Stop pretending and put away your hypocritical face of being harmless."

(End of this chapter)