Chu Lingxuan was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "How despicable and conscienceless they are! They dare to claim such military merits! The assassination of the Prince of Wan was very famous. I also know that it laid the foundation for our army's final victory. It is said that fifty soldiers went to the battlefield, but only three came back alive. Even the emperor issued an edict to commend them... This matter must be thoroughly investigated and my uncle must be given an explanation."

Wang Cheng said quickly, "It's been so many years since that happened, it must be difficult to investigate. Lord Chu, please don't offend someone you shouldn't offend for the sake of a villain. General Zhao said that person's backing is very strong and we can't afford to offend him. I've already done this, so let it be."

Chu Lingxuan consoled him, "It's okay. My third uncle was also at the border at that time. Ask him to help investigate. He will definitely be able to find out."

Chen Afu didn't care whether he had won the military merit or not. She kept wiping away tears for Wang Cheng, who had suffered many hardships in his life. She looked at Wang Cheng's left hand. Half of the palm from the index finger down was gone. Only half of the palm, the thumb, and a small part of the index finger were left. It seemed that his waist was not straight enough. She felt very distressed.

Wang Cheng smiled and comforted Chen Afu, "Afu, don't be sad. Compared with those brothers who died, your uncle is already very satisfied. Although he is disabled, he is still working in the army, has military credits, and has married and had children. Now he has found you and your sister. God has treated me well." After saying that, he also wiped away his tears.

Chen Ahfu asked again, "I heard that my aunt is not in good health, what's going on?"

Wang Cheng sighed, "It's also my fault. When we got married, we had to give betrothal gifts to her family, and buy land to build a house, which caused a lot of hunger. My brother's mother was busy doing embroidery day and night, and she didn't take good care of herself after the confinement. She got sick. Her eyesight is not good, so she can't do embroidery for a long time. She also has back pain and can't walk long distances. When it's serious, she has to walk with the help of a wall..."

Wang Cheng's military pay was one tael of silver per month, so he should be able to live well if he married a wife in the countryside. Before getting married, he saved more than twenty taels of silver and wanted to save more to bring back to Xiaoli Village to give to his adoptive father's family so that they could tell him about his life. But he met Wu, who was pretty and hardworking, and he liked her very much. So he thought about continuing to save money after getting married, and returning to Xiaoli Village when he had enough money.

To get married, he had to give Wu's family thirty taels of silver first, and ten taels of silver were needed to buy land and build a house. In order to spend the money for the wedding, he borrowed thirty taels of silver from a few of his brothers and got the marriage done.

Wu had to pay back her parents' money, and she felt bad for using up all the money her husband had used to find out about her background, so she worked hard on embroidery. In the first few years, she did earn a lot of money, and she paid back all the money Wang Chengpao had paid, and Wu's parents also paid back fifty taels. But later, as her health deteriorated, she became slower and slower at embroidery, and generally only dared to make small pieces, so she earned less and less money...

Chen Ahfu asked, "How much money do you still need to pay my aunt's family?"

Wang Cheng said, "I have paid back the principal and more than twenty taels of interest, and I am still short of nine taels of silver."

Chen Ahfu said, "Uncle, please don't let my aunt do embroidery work anymore. I will pay back the money for you. My aunt's family is really cruel. They squeezed so much money from my aunt and it's not enough. They also charge interest and force their daughter to repay the debt despite her illness."

Wang Cheng blushed and said, "Ah, it's all because of my uncle's uselessness."

Chu Lingxuan said disapprovingly, "How can my uncle be useless? He is a meritorious official of my Dashun Dynasty. After we investigate the matter thoroughly, we will pay back what we owe to him."

The food has been served, and the three of them sit at the table to have lunch.

After dinner, Chu Lingxuan went out. He first had to tell the old man that he would go back to the countryside another day, and at the same time he had to go out to discuss countermeasures with Lord Chu and the third master. On the surface, Lord Chu was the head of the Chu family, but privately, Lord Chu was the real head of the Chu family. The old man and the third master would listen to him on important matters of the court.

Chen Afu and Wang Cheng were talking in the house. Wang Cheng would stay at Chu's house for one night today, and tomorrow morning Chen Afu would go with him to Wang's house in Jiuli Village. After some preparations, Wang's family would go back to their hometown with Chen Afu to reunite with Wang in two days.

In the middle of the night, Chen Afu was sleeping soundly when he heard some rustling sounds and Chu Lingxuan lay down on the bed.

Chu Lingxuan kissed her and said, "Ah Fu, you have a good name. You are my lucky star."

He had drunk some wine, and he smelled quite a bit of it.

This sobered Chen Ahfu up. He opened his eyes and asked, "What do you mean? What blessing have I brought you?"

Chu Lingxuan laughed softly, "You brought my uncle to the Chu family - it's like searching for something without any effort, but now it's finally found..."

As he said this, he bent down and kissed her again.

Chen Ahfu was so anxious that he blocked his mouth and said, "You are so anxious. What's going on? Tell me," and threatened, "If you don't tell me, I won't kiss you."

Chu Lingxuan laughed, lay down and said, "I heard from my third uncle that three people returned from the assassination. The other two were fine, but the one with the problem must be Yang Qing. My third uncle was initially puzzled as to why Yang Qing would personally participate in such a dangerous mission to assassinate the prince of Wan State, and even succeed in the assassination and run back. At that time, my third uncle secretly inquired about it, and found out that Yang Qing was indeed involved and was seriously injured. My third uncle thought he had underestimated him, but it turns out that he is also a real man."

"Who is Yang Qing?" Chen Afu asked.

"Yang Qing is Wang Guojiu's sharp knife. Because of his meritorious service in assassinating the prince of Wan, and with the help of the Wang family, his career was very smooth afterwards. He climbed up step by step to the position of the general of Shaanxi, and the Wang family even married their daughter to him... In wars, there are bound to be people who falsely claim military merits, but most of them falsely claim the military merits of those dead soldiers, but he climbed up by stepping on the shoulders of the living, which is really abominable. If this matter is suppressed, it will be suppressed. If it is revealed and confirmed, it will be a serious crime of deceiving the emperor... If Yang Qing can be brought down, the second prince and his party will lose a great general."

Hearing that the people who took credit for the crime were so powerful, Chen Ahfu couldn't help but worry. "They are so powerful, and so many years have passed. Can they be found out? Those people have given false testimony. If it is proven that they have committed a serious crime, can they tell the truth? Besides, will Yang Qing kill people to silence them?"

Chu Lingxuan said, "It's definitely difficult to investigate, but as long as you do it, there will be loopholes. Keeping my uncle here may be a way for General Zhao to protect himself. General Zhao is a smart man, and he should have other evidence. Third Uncle has been operating in the West for twenty years. If we investigate slowly, there will be results."

After saying that, he kissed Chen Afu again.

Chen Ahfu felt better after hearing these words. But Chu Lingxuan smelled too much alcohol, so she turned her face away and said angrily, "Hey, how much did you drink?"

Chu Lingxuan smiled and said, "We are happy today. Dad, Third Uncle, and I all drank a few more cups."

Chen Ahfu pushed away his face that was leaning forward again, and said half-seriously, "You smell so much of alcohol, I won't kiss you."

Chu Lingxuan smiled and buried his head in her neck, saying, "Okay, I won't kiss you."