Chapter 41: The Prince's Wrath (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Since winning the top honors in the imperial examinations, Xu He's path had been smooth sailing, surrounded by nothing but flattery and praise.

When the Marquis of Guangling's manor came knocking to curry favor, he had even once felt that their social standing was a bit too low; at the very least, the Shen, Mu, and Chu families would have been more appropriate.

Of course, it would have been even better if the Prince of Jingyang, whom he had always hoped would cast a glance or two his way, had shown interest!

He never expected that today, he would first be pierced by the woman who came knocking, who exposed the Marquis of Guangling's true intention of befriending and recruiting him, making him feel like a complete fool.

Immediately following that, he thought he could turn the tables on the Marquis, only to be struck by a "soft knife" in return.

The Top Scholar felt a sudden doubt: after more than a decade of hard study under the cold window, was all that literary knowledge actually of any use in the officialdom and the imperial court?

Feeling dejected all the way, he grew increasingly alarmed as he recalled the words spoken by that woman.

The Du family's reaction had been calculated by her at every single step! She was clearly no simple character.

In that case, it would be a waste to let that thousand taels he had spent go to nothing.

Upon returning to his manor, he went straight to seek out Yue Tang.

Having long anticipated his defeated return, Yue Tang was waiting for him in the courtyard. Wanting to know the Du family's countermeasure, she asked, "What did the Marquis of Guangling say?"

Xu He recounted the whole sequence of events, unable to hide his indignation: "Not only did the Du family try to force me to become their adopted son, but they also demand that I attend their banquet the day after tomorrow in that capacity. Is this how they conduct business? Isn't this bullying? I am a dignified Top Scholar; if I go to be the Du family's adopted son, what will others think of me?"

Yue Tang's attention, however, was on the Marquis of Guangling's rapid reaction. Although this man surnamed Du was merely a henchman, he seemed to possess a certain ruthlessness, using even such a near-confrontational method to achieve his goals.

From this, it was clear he was truly terrified of failing to deliver results!

She looked at Xu He: "Do not fear. When we attend the banquet the day after tomorrow, I will help you scout the Du family's situation and teach you how to respond when we return."

Xu He frowned: "You are going too?"

"Of course I am," Yue Tang raised an eyebrow. "I am your long-lost wife. If you don't take me to make an appearance at such an occasion, aren't you afraid the world will suspect that you didn't remarry because your first wife was lost, but rather became a 'Chen Shimei'—a man who abandons his wife to climb the social ladder?"

Xu He was stung by the reference to "Chen Shimei," but since it was the truth, he could not argue with her.

Moreover, she had a point; if a long-lost wife suddenly appeared, people would surely gossip.

If he publicly brought her to the banquet, wouldn't that prove he had not abandoned his wife, and perhaps even cherished her?

It would also silence the wagging tongues of the public.

He said, "Then make sure you don't cause any trouble for me."

"I still have five hundred taels of silver in your hands; how would I dare to act recklessly?"

Only then did Xu He nod in satisfaction.

...

On the same day the order was given to Du Minghuan, the Du family sent a stack of case files to the Prince of Jingyang's manor.

There was almost no one left in the He family.

After the madwoman, Madam He, drowned herself, the "tree falls and the monkeys scatter." The eldest grandson, who had originally been sent back to the Zhang family, was taken back by the collateral branches of the He family because the Zhang Shaode family had also perished. They moved in under the guise of raising him, and while they hadn't dared to outright seize the entire estate, it was only a matter of time.

Because the Zhang family had so few members, they had been wiped out even more thoroughly.

The corpses had been examined.

Those who died of poisoning showed no unusual patterns.

However, the wounds on He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode, who had been killed by swords, were both brutal and deep, clearly indicating that the perpetrator was decisive and experienced.

Yan Bei had personally gone to inspect everything that could be seen.

After seeing it, he could no longer sit still.

The Wang Huan he knew, while not a delicate and weak woman, was also not a shrew capable of lifting her brother-in-law with one hand like his sisters.

If He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode truly were killed by her, just how much was she hiding?

A woman so deeply concealed could only be someone like Yongjia, who was favored by the Emperor, Empress, and Prince Duan, and had been taught by famous masters since childhood...

Yan Bei had heard Yue Tang's name since he was a child.

After all, the rumor that she shared the same "calamity of heaven" as the Emperor was widely circulated.

Additionally, his father had returned to the capital every three years to report on his duties during his lifetime, and while in the capital, he had maintained good relations with the late Emperor and Prince Duan. He would inevitably bring back news regarding her.

But Yan Bei had never met this daughter of a family friend.

So, it was her three years ago!

It was she who had hidden her identity and, like a bandit, knocked him out in the bridal chamber!

And it was from that day, when Zhang Wei helped him out of a predicament at the guild hall and brought him back to the village, that her conspiracy began!

And finally, on A-Li's hundredth-day celebration, when she left the divorce papers and took the child away, that was the conclusion of the conspiracy!

But he, Yan Bei, the dignified Prince of Jingyang, the newly appointed young commander of ten thousand troops who commanded the Mobei region, the dream lover of thousands of young girls in the Northern Border, was actually only seen by this brat as a body to be used for bearing children?!

Did she not think that using such a rare youth as a proper imperial son-in-law would be quite good?

Did Her Highness the Princess simply decide to abandon him whenever she felt like it?

After piecing it all together, Yan Bei couldn't even eat well that day.

However, what made him even angrier was the Du family.

Because if his deduction was correct, it meant the Du family had indeed plotted the conspiracy that led to Yongjia's encirclement and attempted assassination three years ago.

Even if the Du family at that time was not qualified to interfere in Prince Duan's death, the fact that they targeted Yongjia and did so so meticulously meant that if Yan Bei hadn't happened to know "Wang Huan," even he would not have imagined that the "accident" three years ago was actually a premeditated plot!

Prince Duan was dead, the Heir was dead, and only the widowed Consort of the Heir remained in the Prince's manor.

Yongjia had died a tragic death surrounded by killers; no one would ever seek justice for her!

And no one would ever discover the truth to avenge her!

—She was the wife Yan Bei had formally wed!

She was the mother of his son!

The reason A-Li had been wandering by the roadside back then was because her mother had been hounded by Du Minghuan's people!

She couldn't look after him!

Otherwise, since she had gone through so much trouble to bear the child, why would she let go so easily?

There were once rumors in the court that her face was unrecognizable when she died; if she had not luckily escaped, then she had been the one enduring all of that!

"What did the Shuntian Prefecture say?"

In the late morning, Yan Bei, while having breakfast with the late-rising A-Li, asked Gao An, who had delivered the files.

"Shuntian Prefecture has long been in collusion with the Du family, and there are also Du family members in the Court of Judicial Review. Neither side can be trusted. However, the guards have discovered that the Du family's wealth has accumulated extremely rapidly over the past few years."

As Gao An spoke, he presented the ledgers he had brought into Yan Bei's hands.

"These are the accounts of the Du family's real estate, land deeds, and major expenditures from four years ago compared to now. Four years ago, the Marquis's manor had a total of only forty-three servants, inside and out. They had three shops and six hundred acres of land.

"Before Princess Yongjia's incident, they began spreading rumors that they had invested in a silk farm in the south. Shortly after, they began successively buying land and purchasing shops.

"Of course, this was all done covertly.

"After the incident at Prince Duan's manor, the Marquis of Guangling took over the Imperial City Guard. Subsequently, his acquisition of land, opening of shops, hiring of servants, and increase in guards became overt."

Yan Bei frowned as he flipped through a few pages, then slapped them down on the table: "In other words, it is now beyond doubt that the Du family killed Yongjia."