Chapter 19 "It seems to be the young general of the Pei family who led them there..."

When Ji Jinghe returned on horseback, Qingque, upon learning of this, hurriedly ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal.

"Is Madam ready? If not, I will go with Madam," he instructed.

The lady probably won't be able to eat for a while.

Qingque didn't voice her true feelings, but simply bowed her head and answered "okay".

The atmosphere in the half-acre courtyard was much quieter than before, as if everything had been cleaned up and no one lived there.

Ji Jinghe pushed open the door and entered, immediately hearing soft sobs. He glanced over and saw Yu An sitting on the couch, wiping away tears. Noticing his return, she immediately forced back her tears, pretending nothing was wrong, clinging to the last shred of her dignity.

Baozhu was loyal to her master and also cared for him. She immediately put on the airs of a head maid in an official's family, showing Ji Jinghe a cold shoulder and refusing to greet him. She walked straight past him and left. After a while, she came in with a basin of warm water and wiped Yu'an down.

Yu An felt something was amiss, and after calming down a bit, she let out a long breath before asking, "Has the master thought it through and is willing?"

Her almond-shaped eyes, red and swollen from crying, stared at him intently, the sorrow in them almost overflowing. Even the hardest heart would waver.

Ji Jinghe felt the strange sensation in his chest, turned around and sat down at the table, deliberately turning his back to her, perhaps because he felt guilty and wanted to avoid those eyes.

"His Majesty will instruct the officials in the court to handle the case carefully and will not wrongly kill a single person, so you can rest assured."

He ignored her and continued to repeat what he had said during the day.

For Yu-An, this is a form of denial and neglect.

Despite his upright and noble character, Ji Jinghe was ultimately just a mortal. He couldn't set aside worldly ties and prejudices to trust her. Even if he preferred to listen to others, he would only believe what he believed.

Yu An raised her hand to wipe her face with a handkerchief, let out a long breath to calm herself, and placed the divorce letter from her sleeve in front of Ji Jinghe.

The words "Letter of Divorce" were glaringly obvious, as was the signature. The delicate calligraphy on the paper seemed to speak, each word accusing her of bitterness and helplessness. Ji Jinghe only glanced at it a few times before looking away.

“I was rude at the gate of the imperial prison today, uttering such treasonous words.” Yu’an sniffed. “I have already had my servants pack my things. As long as you sign this divorce agreement, I can leave tonight and will never bother you again.”

He coldly raised his eyes, and when he looked into those reddened eyes again, there was a hint of determination in them.

In a short while, she figured it out.

Having not slept a wink last night, the grogginess in his head had quietly spread throughout his body. For some unknown reason, he felt an unprecedented urge to escape. He changed to a gentle tone and said slowly, "I saw your father today. He's doing well and told me to tell you not to worry. The people who went to the Chu residence to fetch Zhuo'an should arrive soon. You and your siblings can stay here peacefully until things settle down..."

“I want a divorce,” Yu-an interrupted him, reiterating.

Ji Jinghe frowned impatiently, "You should calm down before mentioning divorce."

"I am very calm."

Her eyes, which used to hold a gentle warmth, now seemed to have been soaked in ice, as if the last bit of warmth had been burned away, and could no longer stir the slightest ripple.

“Since you hold such a high position, it will only take you a short while to file a petition with this letter of divorce. I will not take anything from the Ji family, only the servants and dowry that came with my dowry.” She spoke slowly, as if she had suddenly severed all ties, and even her voice was sharp.

This is a decision they've made up their minds about.

Ji Jinghe sighed inwardly. Seeing her current state, there was no point in saying anything more.

If he were her, he would never divorce her at this time. No smart person would do that; it would be the worst choice.

A sense of unease slowly crept up his chest, robbing him of the patience he had before. He propped himself up on his knees, lowered his eyes and tapped the table, his gaze fixed intently on the divorce papers.

He casually uttered four words, as if he were lightly tapping a table, each word striking Yu An's ear.

"Think it through."

Ji Jinghe pushed open the door and left, the sound of the door closing echoing behind him. Yu An collapsed onto the stool, almost completely exhausted, with no strength left in her body.

Baozhu stepped forward to comfort her, just as a knock sounded at the door.

"Madam, the food is here."

With things having escalated to this point, who was in the mood for eating? Baozhu opened the door and saw Qingque leading two or three servants carrying lunchboxes.

When Qingque saw the expression on Baozhu's face, she was equally astonished.

"The old man said he was having dinner with his wife..."

Baozhu waved her hand, "Take it away quickly, Madam doesn't want it."

After saying that, he immediately closed the door, not giving Qingque a chance to catch her breath.

Yu'an heard everything that was happening outside the door. The stinging in her eyes that had just subsided came rushing back, making her restless.

"Baozhu, grind the powder and help me send a message."

*

Back home, Ji Jinghe had no appetite. The scene from earlier that day was still vivid in his mind, haunting him and preventing him from calming down.

I don't know why things have gotten to this point. One thing after another has made everyone uneasy, and it has completely thrown him into a state of mental turmoil.

It's been so many years since this happened...

He rode away into the distance, and as soon as he turned the corner, he saw her figure standing in the corner on horseback. He knew perfectly well why she had come, and he knew perfectly well what kind of torment she was going through, so how did things turn out like this, and why was she still fighting with him for a divorce?

This marriage was an impulsive and unjust act of his. Now that the misunderstanding has been completely cleared up, it should be the most carefree time. However, when he thinks of all the grievances and suspicions he had against her before, he doesn't know how to face her.

Guilt, shame, indebtedness... a complex mix of emotions surged into his heart, making him unable to recognize himself.

For some reason, he especially couldn't bear to see her looking at him with tears in her eyes...

Ji Jinghe had no appetite, so Qingque brought him two cups of tea and hot water. Seeing that Ji Jinghe was leaning back in the armchair pretending to doze off, he drank two cups of tea and then rested in the study.

However, after a short rest until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Wei Ji arrived.

Ji Jinghe rubbed his temples and took a couple of sips of cold tea from the table to refresh himself. To outsiders, he looked unusually haggard.

“Sir, we’ve found it. It’s Li Yan, the Vice Minister of War.” Wei Ji presented the interrogation confession. “We found that there were unusual people coming and going from Li Yan’s residence. This person is the steward of the Chu family. While Grand Secretary Chu was away on an inspection tour, Li Yan coerced the steward to hide gold and forged account books in the kitchen. The steward said that Li Yan did not reveal what was in the box, only saying that it was a gift for Grand Secretary Chu, which is why he agreed. He did not check it afterwards.”

"So much gold, but where did it come from?" A single statement is not enough to overturn the case; corroborating evidence is needed.

Wei Ji: "This Li Yan is very strange. He appears honest and upright on the surface, but he is actually quite cunning. Gambling and frequenting prostitutes are common occurrences for him. We secretly kidnapped the steward of the Li family and claimed that Li Yan had recently sold off a lot of land and shops, but no one knew what he was using them for."

So that explains the source of those two boxes of gold.

But Ji Jinghe still didn't believe it. Not just anyone could produce a thousand taels of gold; the person behind it must have helped a lot.

“How could a third-rank vice minister have such wealth?” Ji Jinghe sneered, then asked, “Are you sure that the thousand taels of gold came from Li Yan alone?”

Wei Ji: "The investigation is still ongoing, but we should have some leads soon. We found several ledgers in Li Yan's study, one of which was from March of this year. The ledger showed an income of 20,000 taels of silver, all of which came from a gambling den in the capital."

Ji Jinghe glanced at the ledger, then closed it and handed it back to Wei Ji. "Continue the investigation. Once you find the next person, no matter who it is, hand it over to Lord Zhang. He knows what to do."

Wei Ji accepted the order and left. Qing Que entered and served fresh tea. Then, she stood aside with some things she had found from the Chu family. "Young Master Chu is already resting in the guest courtyard. He will be able to see Madam tomorrow."

Ji Jinghe drank a cup of tea to moisten his throat and then said, "I'll send it over when it's light."

After Qingque left, he intended to look at the account books for a while longer, but he had a headache and had no choice but to lie back on the couch and continue to sleep.

Perhaps because he had something on his mind, he would always wake up for no reason just as he was falling into a deep sleep. It wasn't until Wei Ji came again at Chenshi (7-9 AM) that he finally got dressed and washed up.

Zhang Yanche had already presented the evidence he had gathered the previous night to the palace. Emperor Hongwen was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. When the Imperial Guards arrived, they found that Vice Minister Li Yan had hanged himself in his study, leaving no one to testify.

"Are you sure it was suicide by hanging?"

"The coroner's examination found no signs of struggle before death, and there were no injuries on the body, so it was not a homicide."

That's strange. If he hadn't been informed of the truth earlier, how could he have hanged himself out of the blue? His death was such a coincidence.

The gambling den has now been raided, and the owner is being interrogated; this is the only hope left.

With no other options at the moment, Ji Jinghe suppressed his unease and ordered his guards to continue keeping an eye on the Xia and Yan families.

Before heading to the imperial prison, Ji Jinghe, remembering Yu An from yesterday, still hurried to Banmu Courtyard. He thought it best to bring her in today to see her, thus settling her concerns.

When he arrived, Yu'an was nowhere to be seen, but the furnishings inside the house remained the same, as if she had been moved.

"Where did the young mistress go?"

Baozhu hesitated, then stammered as she faced Ji Jinghe's face, "The young mistress...she's gone out."

Ji Jinghe was too lazy to ask any more questions, and looked directly at Qingque beside him. Qingque, being the teacher, replied, "Half an hour ago, the young mistress rode off to the imperial prison."

"It seems to be the young general of the Pei family who led them there..."

A note from the author:

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