Chapter 56 She's really bold...

Upon hearing these words, Ji Jinghe's chest tightened. "Empress Dowager..."

"That's her own business; it has nothing to do with me."

The Empress Dowager stood up and walked towards the inner palace. "You'd better not get involved. You can't help her with this. If you wanted to help, you would have done so already."

To overturn Chu Xingjian's conviction, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate the true cause of Xu Yun's death.

So logically, they should have been on the same path, but Yu'an abandoned him.

That's enough to explain something.

She turned around, and there were those eyes staring at her intently, revealing a stubbornness and calmness, restrained to the extreme.

"Ji Jinghe, you're not even as good as her."

Not daring to take risks, not daring to gamble, is called restraint in a nice way, but it's also useless in a bad way.

"Instead of begging me, you should think about how to provide evidence to help her."

The Empress Dowager sighed, "It's been over a year since the Chu family's incident, and you've done absolutely nothing during your time in the Censorate?"

“The men of your Ji family are not like you.”

She left it at that and didn't say much more.

A profound silence fell over the hall. The wind blew through the windows, and the fragrance of gardenias from the courtyard swept past his nose, as if he had returned to the time when Yu'an still lived in Shou Kang Palace... He could see her inside the room at a glance as he passed by the window.

All the things he thought were good to her, all the things he thought were perfect, were not what she wanted.

He stood up abruptly, turned and walked out of the palace, rode his horse back to his residence, where Wei Ji was waiting at the door of his study.

Master and servant entered one after the other, and Wei Ji immediately reported the situation.

“Sir, we have investigated all the officials who have connections with the Xia family, and none of them have any connection with the anonymous letter that the Xia family sent before. They have no involvement and have no connection with the Chu family’s incident.”

Ji Jinghe didn't answer. He sat at his desk in silence for a long while, then suddenly said, "Release all the things we found earlier..."

Wei Ji was puzzled and was about to ask what it was when it suddenly dawned on him, "Sir, taking out the letter now would only alert the enemy; it's not worth it."

"What's the point of considering whether something is worthwhile or not if it can't be found in the first place?"

What's the point of keeping something that can't be found?

What's the point of leaving your belongings behind if you're gone?

Wei Ji: "But we could clearly guess it was..."

"Guess?"

Ji Jinghe lowered his eyes and coldly looked at the table. "If we can convict someone just by guessing, what's the point of having the Censorate?"

"There is no room for negotiation on this matter. It is precisely because we cannot find the source that we are forcing them to cut their losses and survive."

He refused to believe that the Yan family would stand idly by when their true colors were revealed.

He wanted to force them to take action.

Wei Ji had nothing to say, and he knew why Ji Jinghe was doing this. He had no choice but to accept the order. Just as he was about to get up and leave, Qing Que rushed in.

"Sir, breaking news... His Majesty... His Majesty has ordered the search and seizure of Luo Qian's house. He has found the Xia family's exact account books and letters. Just now, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has imprisoned the entire Xia family, and Xia Zhao and his son have been sent to the Imperial Prison."

This was expected, but Qingque added, "I heard that the decision to raid the Luo family was based on the letters sent by the young mistress..."

How is that possible?

He had looked at all her things, and there wasn't a single item that had anything to do with the Luo family. How could this be...?

Ji Jinghe slowly stood up, a sentence flashing through his mind—

"It's nothing I need to tell you."

She kept it a secret.

Wei Ji's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Luo Qian is Xia Zhao's confidant. As long as we conduct a thorough investigation, there might be hope for the young mistress's case."

That way, they might not have to take action.

Turning to look at Ji Jinghe in front of him, he saw that Ji Jinghe's originally calm expression had improved considerably, but his eyes were now filled with an indescribable blankness.

Pale, dull... that shouldn't be his eyes.

The blue sparrow tentatively called out, but received no reply.

"Sir, shall we do as instructed earlier?" Wei Ji asked.

Ji Jinghe gradually came to his senses. "No need, let's just wait."

Having understood Ji Jinghe's meaning, the two withdrew.

A beam of light fell low on the desk, illuminating half of his body, and the feelings in his heart were truly a mixture of emotions.

*

As dusk fell, the emperor, following his mother's instructions, went to Shou Kang Palace.

Having heard that Ji Jinghe had come today, the emperor could guess why he had been summoned.

The mother and son sat facing each other on the tatami mat, with a newly acquired yellow book on the table.

"My mother summoned me here because of the Chu family's affairs."

The mother and son have never had any estrangement; they always speak their minds. The Empress Dowager didn't hold back either, saying, "Ji Jinghe came to ask me for help today, and I refused. But after thinking it over, I still want to speak up."

"Mother, you have always been clear-headed. I don't know why you value Chu Yu'an so much. Is it just because she looks like my elder sister?"

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, "I'm not stupid. Even if there really is reincarnation, it wouldn't be such a coincidence. It's because of her. Her mother and I were old acquaintances, and she helped me a lot."

“Yu’an is a thoughtful child who is sincere to me. If it’s something I can solve with just a word, why can’t I help her?”

The Emperor said, "How can the Empress Dowager be sure that when she approached you, it was not to take advantage of your compassion?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager was momentarily speechless.

Having weathered twenty years of ups and downs and witnessed too much, she couldn't understand people's true feelings.

"She is close to Mingjia, and she wants to use Mingjia to spread the news of Xia Zhao selling official positions to me. This alone is enough to show that her intentions are impure."

The emperor stared intently at his mother, who had been lucid for many years. He was usually decisive and quick-witted, but now he hesitated.

His eldest sister died under mysterious circumstances, dying young. He was young then and didn't remember it well, only that the Empress Dowager remembered it for many years.

I thought that as long as time went on, people would forget, but I never imagined that in the end, it would only turn into ugly scars and nothing else would change.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, her expression clearly downcast. There were some things she knew in her heart, but she couldn't mention them; it wasn't that she hadn't thought about it before.

"Over the years, I have made many offerings in the temple, both to express my guilt and to put my mind at ease. I thought that since my enemies are all dead, I just can't let go of this matter."

"The Emperor should help us if he can, for my sake. No matter how you look at it, the Chu family has been kind to us..."

Whether it was Chu Xingjian when the late emperor was alive, or her friendship with the Li family long before that, it was enough for them, mother and son, to lend a helping hand.

The Xia family is destined to fall, so what difference does one more charge make? Besides, it's just that the evidence is incomplete, not that there is no evidence at all.

She had considered her words before speaking, and now that she had spoken, she was determined to persuade the emperor.

The mother and son sat and chatted for a while, and then parted ways after having a meal together.

A sudden downpour came at night, and the wind kept blowing rain into the window.

"Your Majesty, reading under the lamp is bad for your eyes," the nanny advised, closing the window.

The Empress Dowager closed the book, looked out the window, and couldn't help but exhale.

"Don't worry about it, it'll probably be tomorrow."

"It's not that I'm in a hurry to watch, it's just that I'm not in the mood to sleep. I always feel like there's something on my mind."

The Empress Dowager frowned, rose, and walked towards the warm pavilion. "I wonder when this rain will stop..."

Whenever it rains, the Ministry of Justice's prison gets damp; how can anyone live there?

Just then, a rustling sound came from under the corridor; it was the eunuch delivering the message.

The Empress Dowager beckoned: "Quickly, let him in."

The old woman responded and then hurried to open the door. The eunuch was still wearing his straw raincoat. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Seeing that Huangmen was in a flustered state and couldn't get his things off in a short time, they simply called him in.

The eunuch bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Luo Qian has confessed and revealed everything about the Xia family. The matter concerning the Chu family has also been settled."

Where are they?

"He's still in the Ministry of Justice prison. He probably won't be released until tomorrow, since he hasn't even had his fifty strokes yet."

The emperor still wants to use those fifty zhang?

She added, "Go down and have someone keep an eye on things."

After seeing the person out, the nanny smiled and said, "Now the Empress Dowager can finally rest in peace, right?"

The Empress Dowager sneered, seemingly amused, and threw the book she was holding onto the table. "This person has a pretty good life."

"With the Empress Dowager protecting them, their lives are naturally good."

The person who heard this smiled and moved on, saying nothing more.

Now that she's gone, she really has to look at her in a new light; she's incredibly bold.

Yu'an suddenly sneezed, wiped her nose, and slowly lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

She spent two days in prison, where she was well-fed and watered, and it wasn't as shabby as she had imagined. It was much better than Chu Xingjian's life back then.

When she first entered the cell, there were only some straw mats and straw. Just now, before she went to sleep, someone brought her a cotton quilt.

The prison was empty, but she could always faintly hear groans. Since she wasn't used to sleeping well, she would wake up several times a night.

I was in a daze for two days, unaware of what the outside world was like, and was essentially waiting to die.

Soon after a ray of white light shone into the prison, the yamen runners arrived, and a set of signatures and fingerprints were made, without asking a single question.

"Chu Yu'an, you're out."

Yu-An: "Any results?"

The constable didn't say anything, but led her all the way out, and finally stuffed her into a carriage.

"May I ask where you are taking me?"

The eunuch outside the carriage stepped forward and said, "Young Madam Ji, there's no need to worry. Luo Qian confessed last night, and the Empress Dowager has sent me to pick you up."

Empress Dowager?

In the end, it was she who helped me?

Yu An was suspicious, but after meeting him in person, she quickly confirmed the reason.

She had intentionally approached her, and since she was in the wrong, she bowed as usual, but then there was no longer any soft voice telling her to get up.

The person seated sipped their tea slowly, without glancing in her direction.

"You're out?"

"Thanks to the Empress Dowager, I was able to come out safely."

"You are indeed blessed by my grace."

A dull thud was heard as a teacup slammed onto the table.

"Chu Yu'an, tell me the truth today. All of our time together, including that day when you risked your life to save me, was all for the sake of exonerating your father, wasn't it?"

Yu An was stunned for a moment, then quickly knelt down.

"Empress Dowager..."

Seeing the panic that involuntarily showed on her face, it was time to stop asking for answers.

Yu An: "Your Majesty, it's not like that. From the first moment I met you, I wasn't trying to get close to anyone or accomplish anything. I only saw you because of my mother, really..."

"That was before. I'm asking about you now, after the Chu family's incident."

Yu An was speechless, her mouth agape and the helplessness in her eyes betraying her.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Empress Dowager: Your wife is about to run away, what are you still savoring? Charge! (Someone like him will never win over a wife.)

Ji's mother: I agree [hug]

Ji Jinghe: She doesn't believe me at all... [heartbroken]