"Last time I was released from the Dali Temple prison, Xu Hengyan and Yi Yanting came to pick me up. This time, it's just you," Xie Jiang said, getting off the bed and putting on her shoes as soon as she heard she could leave.
"Now that you've returned to the capital, please don't keep thinking about Young Master Xu. If my master hears it, won't she get upset again?" Wen Feng whispered, avoiding the eyes of the two people at the door.
Wen Feng tidied up the storybooks and followed Xie Jiang out. "The morning court hasn't dismissed yet, and my master is still in the palace and can't get away. It wouldn't be good to keep you waiting in prison for too long."
"I received the news halfway and rushed back to pick you up. If you miss my master, why not stay at our residence for a few days?" Wen Feng obsequiously sought benefits for his master.
"I'll go tonight," Xie Jiang said, stretching her limbs.
Magistrate Wang and Judge Huo watched Xie Jiang's figure disappear at the end of the street and breathed a collective sigh of relief, both feeling a sense of liberation as if they had finally sent away a plague god.
Upon returning to the南海侯府 (South Sea Marquis Manor), they saw Tian Kangtai and Dahammer at the entrance. The two were about to mount their horses, and upon seeing Xie Jiang return, they immediately ran over with joy.
"We just finished harnessing the carriage and were preparing to go to Shuntian Prefecture to pick up Young Master. We didn't expect Young Master to return first. Thank you, Brother Wen Feng."
"It's my duty, it's my duty. Steward Tian, you don't need to be so formal. Young Master Xie's matters are our matters." Wen Feng offered a few polite words and left.
"Jiang Jiang, Jiang Jiang, you're back! Was the prison fun? They never take me with them when they visit you..." Dahammer followed behind Xie Jiang, complaining all the way.
"It's right not to take you. What if you tear down Shuntian Prefecture? Official Fang will cry again..."
The first thing Xie Jiang did upon returning to the manor was to bathe and groom herself. As a young lady, she couldn't bathe in prison; at most, she could wash her face and feet and change her clothes daily. Aunt He, along with Yan'er and Yueyue, had washed her hair once. Seeing how miserably she lived in prison, Aunt He couldn't stop shedding tears...
Upon hearing that the aunt serving Xie Jiang had cried her eyes out in prison, Fang Yuchun thought something had happened and rushed over in a panic, not even knowing where one of his boots had flown off to.
The prison guards outside listened and began to doubt themselves. They looked several times at the treatment of the inmates in other cells, especially in contrast with the main culprit, Hao Wei. Only then did they dismiss their doubts and swallow them back upon seeing Xie Jiang's cell, which was almost as if it had been newly renovated.
Fang Yuchun and his subordinates now all knew that everyone around Xie Jiang, regardless of gender or age, had some sort of mental issues.
Now, while serving Xie Jiang her bath, Aunt He couldn't help but shed tears again. She also cursed the ancestors of the incompetent officials of Shuntian Prefecture for eighteen generations for imprisoning her young master! It was a meritorious deed for her young master to kindly teach the entire Hao family how to behave! Shuntian Prefecture was simply indiscriminate! Yueyue and Yan'er, the two young girls, kept chiming in.
When Lan Yong's trio returned to the South Sea Marquis Manor from the palace, Xie Jiang had just been called up by Aunt He and was preparing to eat lunch. After the meal, He Zhifei reported the details of the audience to Xie Jiang. The Emperor's attitude was quite clear, and the attitudes of the civil and military officials of Dayu were also within their expectations.
Overall, it was relatively smooth. The Emperor and most of the court officials were pleased with the Xie clan's allegiance, with only a few raising objections. These voices were not loud and were quickly drowned out. With the Emperor's attitude so clearly displayed, how many officials dared to openly express their opposition, even if they had doubts?
The backbone of the Dayu court had been killed in two batches, causing the Left Prime Minister, Gong Yiming, to weep blood at the palace gates and become disheartened, closing his doors. It had also almost broken the spine of the Dayu court. Where were there any dissenting voices in the court now?
Finally, Su Yang asked Xie Jiang, "The palace is hosting a banquet tonight. Would you like to go and have some fun?" Su Yang had a beautiful plan: if his young master went, he would go; if his young master didn't go, he would absolutely not go. It would be enough for Xie Taihong and He Zhifei to represent the Lan Yong envoy at the palace banquet. He could then stay behind to confess his feelings to his young master alone.
Xie Jiang was initially uninterested, but then she suddenly thought of something and asked, "Who will be attending the palace banquet? Civil and military officials, imperial relatives?"
Su Yang replied, "The palace rarely hosts a banquet. It is said that some influential figures in the capital will be present tonight."
Xie Jiang had a plan in mind. Thinking of the events of the morning, she asked with some curiosity, "Will His Majesty attend the palace banquet?" Not long after she returned to the manor that morning, Yin Baixuan and Han Zhao had arrived and told her a joke. The current Emperor had not attended court for many years since he began cultivating the Dao. Young officials had never even seen what the Emperor looked like, and many older, low-ranking officials had long since blurred memories. However, today, because of the summons of the Lan Yong envoy, the Emperor was actually going to attend court for the first time in ages! The road into the imperial city this morning was filled with weeping. Many officials who met each other halfway were shedding tears. Yin Baixuan had even audaciously said in a low voice that if unsuspecting commoners saw this grand occasion, they might mistake it for the death of someone in Yuanyou Palace. This showed how reclusive the Emperor was.
Su Yang said, "The Emperor said he would personally host our welcoming feast. He will likely make an appearance at tonight's palace banquet."
Xie Jiang thought for a moment, "Then I will go tonight too." Su Yang immediately felt the disappointment of his wishes being dashed. "Young Master, you don't have to give him so much face, do you?"
Xie Jiang decided to attend the banquet. As the young master of the Xie clan and now the Marquis of South Sea in Dayu, she was naturally among the invited. She wasn't going to the banquet to see the Emperor, but rather because she thought that since the dignitaries of the capital would all be present tonight, Song Ze and Song Xun might also attend? Even though the Duke of Dingguo's manor had declined, it was still the Duke of Dingguo's manor. The court had never issued an official decree to punish the Duke of Dingguo's manor, nor had it stripped the Duke of Dingguo's manor of its noble title. Song Ze was still the heir apparent to the Duke of Dingguo. At that time, the court had not stepped forward to do anything, but had merely watched from the sidelines throughout the entire process. At that time, the court had no need to do anything. Because of Xu Hengdan's words, "a celestial demon star that brings disaster and harms the people," the Duke of Dingguo's manor was already doomed. The spine of the Duke of Dingguo's manor had collapsed, and it would never stand up again. There was no need to exterminate it completely, otherwise, wouldn't all the meritorious officials in the court be in danger? The only crime of the Duke of Dingguo's manor was producing a demon star, and that demon star had also perished in that disaster. The court had no other excuse to exterminate the Duke of Dingguo's manor. The Duke of Dingguo's manor had once been the foremost of the ten great ducal manors, and it had never been isolated in the court. Regardless of whether the court feared it and had long intended to eliminate it, it could not rashly attack the Duke of Dingguo's manor.
Xie Jiang suddenly stood up and walked to the window, clenching her fists and hitting the window frame repeatedly. Xu Hengdan was truly remarkable. Just as the court was racking its brains on how to deal with the Duke of Dingguo's manor, he conveniently handed them a blade that sealed their fate with a single cut. He used her life to exchange for his divine reputation, and the downfall of the Duke of Dingguo's manor to exchange for the present glory of their Duke of Wei manor! Xu Hengdan, he was truly excellent! Xie Jiang's movements of pounding the window became faster and faster, hitting more and more frequently, as if she were not hitting the window frame, but Xu Hengdan's big dog head. Su Yang quickly stepped forward worriedly, "Young Master, what are you doing? Have you suddenly thought of something troublesome? Your subordinate is willing to share your worries."