Shen Yun did not name names, and Su Xiaoqi knew he was asking about Jin Wuyan.
Su Xiaoqi, without the slightest hesitation, recounted everything that happened on the third day of the third month and its subsequent developments.
This included Zhao Xiaohua's ability to foresee events, and how she used this skill to orchestrate many subtle moves later on.
Then, Huang Yuanxiang arrived in the capital and had already colluded with Liu Yuanming.
Jin Wuyan was the tool they sought to use to scheme against him, but she had managed to get him thrown into prison through her clever tactics.
Of course, during this time, she had also artfully omitted her eavesdropping, as it was not a glorious act.
However, Shen Yun's intelligence was beyond her expectations.
Even if she hadn't mentioned eavesdropping, Shen Yun could have guessed it. After all, when people planned something so secretive, they would only involve those they trusted the most.
Shen Yun's eyes held a knowing glint, and he asked with a smile, "How did my wife get him thrown into prison?"
"Zhang Lei discovered that he had once stolen a family heirloom, a jade gourd, from Lord Wang's household. Lord Wang treasured that jade gourd so much that he never gave up searching for it."
Therefore, people in the underworld were aware of it, and Jin Wuyan had no way to get his hands on it, so it ended up with him. By chance, Zhang Feng, who was tailing him during a nighttime reconnaissance of his residence, saw that jade gourd. Putting two and two together, nothing was unclear anymore. After Zhang Lei returned and asked for Su Xiaoqi's opinion, he immediately reported Jin Wuyan to Lord Wang.
"Fortunately, that Lord Wang had an old connection with Elder Gu, and was reportedly his former classmate. When they served in court together, their relationship was very close. Zhang Lei leveraged Elder Gu's name to establish contact with Lord Wang."
"Lord Wang, is it the Minister of Personnel, Wang Chengyi..." Shen Yun quickly processed the existing information and identified the Lord Wang.
Su Xiaoqi nodded repeatedly, praising Shen Yun's intelligence for figuring out the person based on her mere words. After all, Wang was a common surname, and there were dozens of officials in the imperial court, let alone in the capital.
Shen Yun lightly tapped her nose: "There are naturally many officials with the surname Wang, but not many who have an old connection with my teacher, were classmates, and possess a family heirloom." He had already become thoroughly familiar with the names, official positions, and relationships of the current officials in the capital before even coming to the capital. If he didn't understand these things, how could he navigate the bureaucracy later?
Su Xiaoqi nodded, thinking his reasoning made perfect sense.
"But you cannot take such risks next time. They are desperate people. If they discover you, there's no guarantee they won't do something irreparable." The mere thought of his Xiaoqi dealing with such unscrupulous individuals while he was absent made Shen Yun's heart falter. Regardless of whether he wished to admit it, Xiaoqi's actions worried him. He pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly.
"By the way, what should we do about Jin Wuyan? Let him fend for himself or forgive him?" Su Xiaoqi suddenly remembered her initial intentions and gently pushed Shen Yun away, wanting to discuss serious matters.
"Didn't my wife say she visited his place? Since he is such a selfless person, why not grant his wish?" Shen Yun said seriously.
Su Xiaoqi pondered and agreed, "That's fine. If he were a heinous villain, I wouldn't have any psychological burden in dealing with him. But he isn't that kind of person, and he still harbors good intentions, saving so many people." Therefore, Su Xiaoqi's attitude towards Jin Wuyan, the thief, had always been complex. Human nature was not simply black and white; there were shades of gray in between. It could even be half black, half white, or perhaps mixed with other colors.
"If my wife cannot decide, perhaps it's best to let him go."
"Truly let him go? But if we just let him go like this, won't that be too easy for him?" Su Xiaoqi hesitated.
Knowing she was wavering, Shen Yun decided to add fuel to the fire: "He can be spared the death penalty, but not the consequences. Why doesn't my wife entrust his disposal to me?"
Su Xiaoqi immediately felt relieved: "Okay, I'll leave it to you. Originally, I targeted him purely to vent your anger, and the subsequent events were all unexpected bonuses." With that said, Shen Yun, along with Zhang Lei, went out.
Su Xiaoqi knew they were likely going to deal with Jin Wuyan. She figured that even though they were discussing letting him off the hook here, his theft of Lord Wang's heirloom was a fact, and it involved several powerful individuals. Therefore, their agreement to forgive him was not enough. Other wronged parties might not send people to investigate his past good deeds as they had. Even if they knew, they might still think that doing good deeds did not justify his wrongdoing. Thus, there was still much work to be done. However, since Shen Yun had taken it upon himself, Su Xiaoqi didn't want to worry about it anymore. After all, she believed that this matter would not be difficult for Shen Yun.
In the afternoon, Su Xiaoqi received a post from the Grand Princess's mansion. It was an invitation to attend their Bathing the Buddha ceremony at Gan Quan Temple on the Bathing Buddha Festival.
"The eighth day of the fourth month, the Bathing Buddha Festival," Su Xiaoqi lightly tapped the table, retrieving information about the festival from her memory. She recalled participating in such festivals at Buddhist temples with her elders in her modern life. These were Buddhist activities conducted by temples to pray for the blessings of Buddha. Buddhism was prevalent in the Daliang Dynasty, so it was understandable that the Grand Princess would go.
Su Xiaoqi initially felt a slight hesitation. Given that the Grand Princess would attend such a large-scale event, many dignitaries would surely be present. If she went, she would inevitably have to interact with them again. In fact, she was still not accustomed to dealing with them. At least the previous flower-viewing banquet had made her extremely uncomfortable, and she still felt oppressed just thinking about it.
However, this hesitation had just arisen and had not yet motivated her to write any refusal in her reply. Su Xiaoqi then saw an image at the back of the post. At first, Su Xiaoqi thought it was a background flower behind the post, but after a closer look, she realized it wasn't. The brushstrokes were naive, it was a painting by Bao Ge'er for her. The content of the painting was very simple: a child, a house, a tree, looking up at a door. The door was open, but it was empty, and the child was shedding tears. The painting technique was not great, but the mood was profound, and the meaning was clear. Su Xiaoqi knew she couldn't avoid it any longer; she had to go.
After making up her mind, Su Xiaoqi's first reaction was to send someone to the Duke's mansion to ask Du Yiyi if she was going. Upon receiving an affirmative reply, she became happy. No matter what, as long as Yiyi was there, she wouldn't be bored, nor would she be troubled by those people.