Villain Lady

Wei Liuying nodded. "Wei Yijun is a much better person compared to him."

"He's not even an adult yet…"

Wei Yijun was 19 years old if Prince Ji Shao Yang was not wrong, so they would need to wait for another year before they could use him in the court. Even then, it was impossible for him to directly claim the position of prime minister because it was too high for such a young man. Besides, it meant that they would need to find another person to fill in the position first.

"I never said that he'll be the next prime minister. I thought that you're planning to use my uncle, Your Highness," Wei Liuying continued and looked at Prince Ji Shao Yang. "Did I get it wrong?"

Prince Ji Shao Yang shook his head. it was completely correct, which was why he felt that the young girl in front of him was even scarier. She knew so much even though he didn't give much clue. 

"How do you know I want to use him?"

"His Highness the Third Prince told me that you actually have people who intend to let him out from the prison that day. Even if I didn't do something, you'll never let him die," Wei Liuying replied.

There were many times when she felt that her action was too rash. Still, if she had to repeat that time again, she would surely make the same decision. She would never want to leave her uncle just in order to make her escape plan better.

Prince Ji Shao Yang glared at his third brother, but the latter ignored him. Prince Ji Sheng was used to tell his subordinates many things. Yang Xian and Wei Liuying were clearly among those who would know very first regarding any plan that Prince Ji Sheng might have.

"You are really smart," that was all Prince Ji Shao Yang could say.

Wei Liuying smiled. She cupped her hands towards Prince Ji Shao Yang. "I would like to thank you for taking care of my uncle, Your Highness."

She didn't know how her uncle fare in the south after they had separated. But not long ago, Yang Xian gave her the news that she had longed to hear. Prince Ji Shao Yang naturally took care of her uncle very well.

And with him as her uncle's backing, she knew that it wouldn't take long before her uncle's name would be restored. Not only that, Wei Lu would be the new Prime Minister because all along, he had been siding with Prince Ji Shao Yang.

Prince Ji Shao Yang waved his hand. "As you had said, I'm only taking care of my subordinate."

Wei Liuying bowed down before she turned around. Yang Xian and Prince Ji Sheng looked at her for a moment but they didn't say anything. When it came to Wei Lu, they had no contact with him either because there was no relation. All they knew of him was from the messages of their subordinates.

However, they also knew that Wei Liuying had close relationship with her uncle to the point that she treated him as if he was her real father.

"We're in the main hall."

The main hall was a complete mess. There were countless officials who were lying on the ground, already turned into corpse. The rest of them were standing at the side, watching everything unfolded while bowing their heads in fear that they would be implicated.

Sweeping her gaze across the hall, Wei Liuying's gaze landed on her father, Wei Hong. He was crouching in the middle of the hall with unkempt clothes and messy appearance. His eyes were filled with fear as there were two soldiers who kept him alive but their swords were rested on his neck. If he made unnecessary movements, they would not hesitate to kill him.

"He's the only one?" Prince Ji Sheng asked.

"There are two officials, but the other one is kept in the dungeon because I can't trust him yet," Prince Ji Shao Yang replied. "Wei Hong is far weaker and has less resistance, so I choose to keep him here."

"Oh." 

Yang Xian noticed that Prince Ji Sheng glanced in his direction, so Yang Xian sighed and stepped forward. He looked at Prime Minister Wei while trying to keep his expression proper. If he could choose, he didn't want to let this man alive even for a second longer. From the very first, Prime Minister Wei was the one who continued to support Prince Ji Shu loyally.

"Prime Minister Wei, I believe you understand your faults."

"I…." Wei Hong didn't know what to answer. From the moment he heard that Ji Shu had died, he felt that the sky was falling apart. The only person that he chose to support from the beginning had been Ji Shu.

But now, Ji Shu had died. Wei Xiao Hua was killed. 

Would they believe him if he concocted a believable story and tried to shift the blame to Ji Shu and his first daughter?

This….

He had to try.

"I didn't do this out of my willingness, Strategist Yang. All I want is my daughter's happiness, so I have to do the work and make sure that she'll be able to live happily after her marriage. And, and…."

Yang Xian felt sick when he listened Wei Hong saying that he loved his daughter so much like that. He wondered just how thick this man's skin was to be able to spout lies to the point that his mouth was foaming. Everyone knew that the men rarely took care of their children much less daughters since their wives would be in charge of their education completely.

"That is to say, you love your daughter so much that you're willing to sacrifice everything for her?" Yang Xian asked.

"Yes, yes, that's true! I…"

"In that case, why don't you show the same care to your sons and other daughters?"

Wei Hong's face paled. If he only cared for his first daughter, his words would sound very untrustworthy.

A soldier stepped forward and handed a bamboo scroll to Yang Xian. Opening the scroll, Yang Xian began to read. "Wei Yijun, despite faring well in his education, he's living in the academy and refused to return back to the residence because of the 'chaos' in the household. Wei Hong Zheng, it's said that he's the son of an affair of your concubines, yet the investigation is lacking and there's no proof. Wei Zilin, she's married away to be a concubine and recently died because of malnourishment and mistreatment of her husband."

The more he heard it, the more Wei Hong's face paled. He thought that his sons and daughter would be able to back up his words.

"That's…"

"I can't see you as a loving father, Prime Minister Wei. In addition, there's still your third daughter, Wei Liuying."

Wei Hong's face immediately paled considerably. He raised his head in fear that he would hear another uncalled story, but the cold gaze that Yang Xian showed to him stopped him from saying anything. He felt fear from the bottom of his heart from the treatment that Yang Xian showed to him.

"Neglected in the household, she's forced to be your son's substitute many times without your knowing. In the end, she fled from the household to save your brother when he's faced with the false accusation."