"What's going on? Is the Wang family doomed too?"

"Wasn't the second master of the Wang family supposed to be an honest and upright official with outstanding achievements, which is why he was transferred back to Xindu? How could he have committed a crime?"

"Buying and selling official positions is a serious crime! If it is verified, the Wang family will never be able to recover."

"I'm afraid there's no need to even investigate. The Emperor wouldn't have confiscated the Wang family's property without solid evidence..."

"Didn't you say you hadn't copied it yet?"

"What difference does it make? The Marquis of Xinting volunteered to investigate and confiscate the property; how could the Emperor possibly refuse?!"

"The Marquis of Xinting has always only been in charge of the Northern Expeditionary Army and has never participated in court affairs. Why is he being so proactive this time?"

"How could you be so stupid? The Wang family and the Li family have a grudge against each other. The Marquis hates the Wang family even more. Now that he has a chance, of course he will make sure the Wang family can't recover!"

The group chatted animatedly, and before they knew it, they had forgotten where they were and inadvertently dragged the Li family into the conversation.

Someone noticed the deviation and quickly coughed twice, advising, "Cough cough! Let's all say less. It's all baseless speculation."

But in the backyard, Jiayin doesn't have to worry about these things.

She wanted to talk to someone, but none of her family members were there, so she could only mutter to herself.

“Such a big matter must have been arranged by my godfather two months ago, otherwise the aggrieved party would not have been able to come to the capital at this time.”

Unexpectedly, Mu Xu sat by the door, flipping through a worn book, and casually replied, "Not two months, but two years!"

Two years?

Jiayin's eyes immediately lit up.

She took two tangerines from the fruit basket, leaned over and tossed one to Mu Xu, and then started gossiping.

"Brother Mu, do you know the inside story? Tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone else."

Mu Xu took the orange, tossed it in his hand a few times, and took the opportunity to make his demands.

"I was actually involved in this matter, and no one knows it better than me."

"But one orange isn't enough to fill me up!"

"Tell me what you want to eat!" Jiayin was straightforward and willing to place a big bet.

"Braised pork, white rice!" Mu Xu smiled mischievously, adding, "Made especially for me, you can't share it with anyone else."

Jiayin couldn't help but laugh.

Mu Xu is currently living with Zheng Yi and the others, so they must have some petty squabbles or bickering in private, otherwise Mu Xu wouldn't have added the last sentence.

But that wasn't difficult, and she immediately agreed, "Don't worry, I'll make it for you tonight, just tell me!"

Mu Xu ate the orange in two bites before saying, "Two years ago, the Marquis planned to eradicate the Wang family completely."

"But that old fox in the Wang family is too cunning and fiercely protective of his family, so we couldn't find the problem for a while."

"Therefore, the Marquis transferred Zheng Yi and Zheng San to the south to secretly investigate Wang Lao Er's background."

"Wang Lao Er was indeed more cunning, but since the emperor was far away, he became bolder, and eventually Zheng Yi and his team found out about his buying and selling of official positions."

"This spring, the Marquis temporarily borrowed Steward Ye Tong to oversee things, and I went along to help. The more we investigated, the more clues we gathered."

"It just so happens that Wang Lao Er's term is coming to an end. He's back in Xindu, busy scheming against the Wu family and against you. He won't be able to take care of his old base, which makes it easier for us to carry out our plans."

Finally, they found concrete evidence against him and exposed his accomplices in Xindu.

"The Marquis discussed it with the Emperor and decided that there's no need to wait until after the New Year; they should just execute the Wang family directly."

"That accomplice is essentially crippled, forced to step forward to avoid resorting to underhanded tactics from behind, which would be impossible to guard against."

Mu Xu spoke simply and casually, but the amount of information he conveyed was immense.

Jiayin took a long time to come to her senses, but she asked, "Brother Mu, your identity is probably not simple, is it?"

"After all, such a secret matter is something that even my second uncle and his family might not know, yet my godfather didn't hide it from you."

"Why exactly did my godfather place you by my side?"

Mu Xu paused in playing with the dagger, raised an eyebrow and smiled roguishly, "You are indeed as intelligent as the Marquis said, but unfortunately I cannot tell you the reason now."

"But I have no ill intentions towards you whatsoever. You can treat me as... well, as a friend or an older brother."

"I'll say it again: as long as I'm by your side, I'll protect you. Anyone who tries to hurt you will have to step over my dead body first!"

As he said this, his expression became increasingly solemn.

Jiayin felt like she had several kittens scratching at her heart, and she became even more curious.

But she also knew that she wouldn't get any answers by asking now, so she simply put it out of her mind...

Perhaps because the lunchtime customers were very satisfied, the hot pot restaurant was even more popular in the evening.

Especially at dusk, large snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and rows of bright red lanterns were lit under the eaves, turning the snowflakes orange.

Sitting in a private room on the second floor, surrounded by a steaming hot pot, enjoying meat, drinks, and snow is a rare and delightful experience.

This prompted countless guests to compose poems on the spot.

Regardless of whether it's good or bad, once it's out loud fueled by alcohol, everyone feels quite heroic!

Jiayin stayed in the backyard, keeping watch until the moon was high in the sky. Just as she was feeling a little sleepy, the Marquis and her second uncle arrived.

My second uncle is staying here to help keep watch.

The Marquis then escorted Jiayin back to the Earl's mansion.

Along the way, Jiayin complained about Mu Xu quite a bit, which made the Marquis laugh out loud, while Mu Xu rolled his eyes...

Within three days of opening, the hot pot restaurant single-handedly stole one-third of the business from all other restaurants.

Cyclamen has been enjoying a rare period of leisure these past few days.

Naturally, his peers were furious, wishing they could burn the hot pot restaurant to the ground with their rage.

Unfortunately, they didn't dare...

Even when secretly thinking about it, I have to cover my ears, afraid that the thoughts in my head will be heard by others.

The reason is simple: the hot pot restaurant is Princess Kangle's business, and behind Princess Kangle stands Marquis Xinting!

In the past few days, this Marquis first sealed off the Wang family's gates, then discovered the Wang family's secret passages and hidden rooms, wiped out the Wang family's assassins, and successively arrested the Wang family's relatives and henchmen.

The bloodshed he unleashed in Xindu made everyone cower and cower at the mere mention of his name.

There are rumors circulating that the Marquis is avenging the princess.

But what exactly the grudge was, no one knows!

Regardless of whether the rumor is true or false, who would dare to touch the princess's business at this point? They'd probably have their doors kicked down and be dragged to the execution ground the next instant...

Jiayin had no idea that she had become the person in Kyoto she absolutely could not afford to offend.

That day, having nothing to do and feeling rather bored in the backyard of the fruit and vegetable shop, she changed into men's clothing and decided to go for a stroll in the street to experience the New Year's atmosphere.

Shui Ling and Shui Yun, unusually, also dressed up as servants, changing into jackets and trousers, feeling both curious and unaccustomed to it.

Following behind their master, the two men, no matter how much they reminded themselves to stand tall and straight, always looked somewhat guilty.

Mu Xu walked behind the three of them, master and servant, feeling both helpless and amused.

This disguise is worse than no disguise at all. Anyone who isn't blind can tell they're women, which only makes them more conspicuous...

Jiayin didn't care about that. So what if people noticed? She was happy as long as she was happy.

As soon as they stepped out the back door, they saw a waiter pulling at an old woman at the back door of a restaurant next door.

Upon suddenly seeing his master come out, the young waiter was so frightened that he took a few steps back.

The silver ingot in the old woman's hand fell to the ground.

Fearing his master might misunderstand, the young waiter quickly said, "Master, this person insists on seeing you. The young master has instructed that strangers must not be brought to your side."

"If I don't agree, she'll try to give me money..."