Desperate to save lives...

With this imperial edict in hand, Xie Jingyan had no reason to doubt it.

Is the Empress Dowager mentioned by the Minister of Justice the same Empress Dowager who has always disliked him?

Aside from the fact that he saved the eldest prince's life, the Empress Dowager had never shown him the slightest kindness before.

Of course, although the Empress Dowager disliked him, she did not do anything to make things difficult for him before her mother's accident.

Xie Jingyan suppressed these thoughts and asked, "Besides my cousin and cousin, are there any other members of the Yan family still alive?"

The Empress Dowager asked the Minister of Justice to help save two people, but before she could say that, her cousin had already been rescued from the Ministry of Justice's death row. Xie Jingyan hoped that his cousin would not be among the two people to be rescued, so that one more member of the Yan family could survive.

The Minister of Justice said, "Prince Ling, rest assured, all the children of the Yan family are alive..."

Xie Jingyan hadn't held out much hope, but upon hearing the Minister of Justice's words, he suddenly looked up, "They're all alive?"

His voice trembled, suppressing a hint of surprise.

The Minister of Justice lamented, "It's a pity I couldn't save Grand Tutor Yan..."

The Empress Dowager instructed the Minister of Justice to protect the Yan family's bloodline. The Minister of Justice sought an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager, partly because he was frightened at the time and wanted to protect himself and his family, but also because he wanted to help the Yan family.

As the Minister of Justice, the entire Yan family was under his watchful eye. It would have been easier for him to rescue them than for anyone else, but he dared not. Saving Yan Qing'er alone was enough to keep him on edge.

Now that the Empress Dowager has ordered him to save two people, and he has the imperial decree in hand, he can save one or two more. Even if things go wrong, the Empress Dowager will be there to protect him. The Empress Dowager is the Emperor's birth mother. If she wants the Emperor to release one or two people, he has to obey her. Besides, he is only the Minister of Justice. How could he dare to disobey the Empress Dowager? If the Emperor wants to investigate, he can only investigate the Empress Dowager, not him, the Minister of Justice.

If the matter is truly investigated, the Empress Dowager will protect him. If she cannot protect him, then in the future, no minister will be at her beck and call.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, the Minister of Justice said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will take care of this matter as soon as I return. The Ministry of Justice prison is cold and damp, even the officials cannot bear it. Several younger members of the Yan family have fallen ill, and one of them died this morning. If it weren't for Your Majesty's kindness in sparing their lives, they probably wouldn't have survived until the day of their execution..."

The Minister of Justice was telling the truth, and also to avoid arousing suspicion from the Empress Dowager later.

The Empress Dowager had spent her entire life in the palace and knew how difficult it was to raise children. Many princes and princesses died young, let alone those who ended up in a place like the Ministry of Justice's death row.

The screams of torture alone were enough to terrify those children.

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, and the Minister of Justice took his leave with the secret decree.

After returning home, the Minister of Justice immediately began the rescue efforts.

Within three days, apart from Young Master Yan, several other children were "dead from illness" and taken out of the Ministry of Justice's death row.

Young Master Yan was already thirteen years old at that time. He frequently attended banquets in the palace and was present at all kinds of banquets in the capital. Many people had seen him, so it was not easy to fool them.

Fortunately, Young Master Yan was lucky. There was someone about his size in the Ministry of Justice's death row cell who was disheveled and kneeling behind the execution platform on the day of his execution, so no one would notice him.

The Minister of Justice transferred the man to another cell, and Young Master Yan was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's death row for several more days. Only after the entire Yan family was executed was the Minister of Justice able to rescue him.

The Minister of Justice still remembers that when Grand Tutor Yan noticed that he was saving someone, he knelt down and kowtowed to him.

Even with the prison cell door between them, he couldn't help Old Master Yan to his feet.

He wanted to save Old Master Yan and the eldest master of the Yan family, but they were too conspicuous. Although the Yan family was in trouble, there weren't many people who dared to plead for them. However, Old Master Yan had many disciples who would surely come to the execution ground to see them off. There was no way to switch them out. Only by having them stand in front and attract everyone's attention could no one notice that the eldest young master of the Yan family and several younger members of the Yan family had been switched.

Grand Tutor Yan was not afraid of death. Knowing that the younger generation had been rescued, he felt comforted and faced death with even greater composure.

Xie Jingyan asked, "Where are they now?"

The Minister of Justice said, "Except for Qing'er, who is being raised in the Wang family, everyone else is in my hometown of Guzhou."

After rescuing her from the Ministry of Justice's death row, the Minister of Justice didn't delay and sent her out of the capital that very evening. However, Yan Qing'er's condition was serious at that time, and she was still in danger and unable to travel a long distance. In addition, when she woke up, she didn't even remember her own name. He and his wife were truly heartbroken to see this. This was a young lady from the Grand Tutor's mansion, who had become a prisoner overnight and almost died of illness.

They simply couldn't bring themselves to send him out of the city; he was so ill that he would likely die on the way to Guzhou.

The Minister of Justice thought that the Empress Dowager had issued an imperial edict allowing him to save two lives, so he decided to let him stay at his residence.

However, he had never taken a concubine. All the ministers in the capital knew that he only had one son and one daughter, both of whom were legitimate children. It was impossible to explain why another one suddenly appeared. It wouldn't be right to raise the daughter of the Grand Tutor's family as a maid. So, when his illness improved slightly, he sent her to the Wang family and made up the excuse that she was seriously ill and needed to be raised by a girl disguised as a boy. No one suspected anything.

Yan Qing'er lost her memory, forgetting the happy times of the past and the pain of being imprisoned with her grandfather and parents. In addition, the Wang family doted on her, so she grew up carefree.

Yan Qing'er never doubted that she was not the biological daughter of the Wang family. Spoiled and mischievous, she was confined to the gate and not allowed to leave the mansion. So she sneaked out to play by crawling through the dog hole. As a result, she even participated in a meat bun eating contest and won. She became acquainted with the son of Princess Huyang and the eldest son-in-law, which exposed her true gender. The princess and the eldest son-in-law came to propose marriage.

Yan Qing'er looks a lot like Consort Chen, how could he dare to agree?

The Empress Dowager ordered him to save the person and then send them far away, but he kept them under her nose, which was disobeying the Empress Dowager.

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