Chapter 70 A hopeless case

Princess Ning'an's expression was solemn: "You know Prince Ming. Once he takes someone away, unless the Emperor issues an edict, rescuing them is as difficult as ascending to heaven..."

"If He Yun is innocent, does he have to suffer such torture for nothing?" Prince Consort Wen's eyes reddened. "It is true that he offended the Princess Consort of Yan, but the Prince of Yan has already punished him. Why hate him so much that he wants to kill him?"

"Don't rush." ​​Princess Ning'an knew he loved his nephew. "Princess Yan just left, so it's not appropriate for me to go see her now. Let's wait until evening. I'll go to Prince Yan's residence and talk to her. Unless Princess Yan speaks up, Prince Yan won't go to Ming to plead for this, and Prince Ming won't accept anyone else's plea."

Prince Consort Wen pursed his lips: "Your Highness knows what a place like the Imperial Prison is. Once you go in, you have to endure a round of torture for half a day. How...how can he possibly withstand that..."

"Then what do you expect me to do?" Princess Ning'an frowned. "The Zhenfu Division was established by imperial decree, not by Prince Ming's private decree. As long as there is testimony from an official of the third rank or above, people can be arrested without evidence. Prince Ming's actions were in accordance with procedure and did not violate any rules. You expect me to plead for him? Who am I supposed to plead with? On what grounds can I plead for him and vouch for him? If it is ultimately proven that he really committed those crimes, how am I supposed to explain this to the Emperor?"

Prince Consort Wen lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Princess Ning'an looked at him expressionlessly, and couldn't help but have a sudden thought: if Wen Yishu were also sent to the Imperial Prison and subjected to all the dozens of tortures in the Imperial Prison, would it be possible to force him to reveal the true identities of Wen Shiyu and his two siblings, and to find out about his scheming and plotting all these years?

He's a man who uses his looks to gain wealth and status; he probably doesn't have much backbone, but he's quite good at pretending.

He's kept a low profile for so many years, and hasn't revealed a single flaw.

She suppressed her thoughts and looked at his face, which had hardly changed over the past ten years. In the end, she still felt a little reluctant. She didn't know if Wen Yishu had ever been sincere in their relationship over the years, but she herself genuinely liked him.

But the deeper the affection, the stronger the hatred upon discovering the betrayal.

Princess Ning'an stroked his head: "He Yun is, after all, the Prime Minister's son. Prince Ming knows this and won't resort to torture right away. Don't worry, let me think about how to rescue him."

Prince Consort Wen could only nod, then looked up at her and said, "I..."

The eldest princess asked in confusion, "What?"

Prince Consort Wen said, "I'll go and have some peace and quiet for a while, and see if there's any other way..."

Princess Ning'an nodded: "Yes."

Prince Consort Wen got up and hurriedly walked outside.

He suddenly thought of something more important.

He wanted to destroy the evidence.

He had to first tell his sister-in-law that Heyun had been taken to the imperial prison, so that she could clean up Heyun's mess.

It was handled very cleanly.

Even the bodies of those women who died tragically must not be left with a trace.

...

In the spacious carriage, Chu Yunjin suddenly spoke up: "Yan Cang, I want to go home and visit."

He paused, then said, "Go back to the Chu family."

Yan Cang said nothing, but simply lifted the carriage curtain and ordered, "Go to Minister Chu's residence."

Chu Yunjin nestled beside him and began to recall the descriptions of the Chu family in the original book.

Minister Chu had a total of seven children: three sons and four daughters.

Chu's first wife, Madam Huo, had an eldest son, Chu Mingxiu, and a daughter, Chu Yunjin.

During Madam Chu's pregnancy, Zhao, a concubine in the back courtyard, served the master and became pregnant with his eldest daughter, Chu Yunli, and his second son, Chu Mingxiao, who were twins.

Therefore, among the Chu sisters, Chu Yunli is the eldest, Chu Yunjin, the legitimate daughter, is the second, Chu Yunshan, born to Concubine Li, is the third, and there is also a fourth sister, Chu Yunyao, born to Concubine Du.

Besides Chu Yunyao, Aunt Du also had a son, Chu Mingran, the third son of the Chu family.

Well, how should I put it?

Chu Yunjin could only say that her father was quite a womanizer, conforming to the ancient principle of officials having multiple wives and concubines. With no shortage of wives and concubines, both legitimate and illegitimate, his family was naturally also rife with infighting.

However, unlike other families, Chu Yunjin has a poor relationship with her older brother, Chu Mingxiu, because Chu Mingxiu is a complete failure – this is not an insult, but a fact.

As the eldest son of the Chu family, Chu Mingxiu enjoyed the best of everything, including food, clothing, and education.

Minister Chu spared no effort in sending him to the best academy, hiring the best teachers for him, and providing him with an unlimited supply of writing materials. However, Chu Mingxiu did not inherit his father's intelligence. He lived to the age of twenty-two and still hadn't passed the county-level imperial examination.

All the teachers who taught him had only one evaluation of him: "He's hopeless."

As a result, when Chu Yunjin attended poetry gatherings with young noblemen and ladies, she would be ridiculed as a good-for-nothing sister. Chu Yunjin felt ashamed and refused to talk to her brother after returning home, and the relationship between the two siblings deteriorated.

The most academically gifted member of the Chu family was Chu Mingran.

He passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of fifteen and became a provincial-level scholar at the age of seventeen. He was originally able to participate in the metropolitan examination last September, but because he offended Chu Mingxiu, he was forced to kneel for a whole night on a rainy day. He caught a cold and had a fever, and had to stay in bed for more than half a month before he recovered, thus missing the metropolitan examination.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunjin frowned slightly.

Not only is Chu Mingxiu a complete failure in his studies, but his character also seems questionable. How did Minister Chu manage to raise such a bunch of children?

The carriage wound its way around two streets and slowly arrived at the gate of the Chu family residence.

Yan Cang did not have anyone announce his arrival beforehand, so it wasn't until the carriage stopped and the gatekeeper saw that it was a carriage from the Prince of Yan's residence that he hurriedly went into the courtyard to inform his wife.

Whether they had just woken up or were still immersed in their own springtime experiences, Madam Chu and her children arrived at the front yard at a frantic and chaotic pace. Among them, the eldest son, Chu Mingxiu, was still disheveled, straightening his robes as he walked.

"The Prince and Princess are arriving. Why weren't you informed in advance? I would have gone out to greet them earlier." Madam Chu bowed respectfully. "Please, Your Highness and Princess, come to the inner hall for tea."

Yan Cang didn't speak, but held Chu Yunjin's hand and walked through the flower hall towards the main hall.

Madam Chu instructed her servants, "Quickly, fetch the finest tea from the manor—"

"Why is Mother being so polite? It makes you seem too formal." Chu Mingxiu, the eldest son of the Chu family, sneered coldly. "My sister is your own daughter, and she's always been used to doing things her own way. Even after getting married, she doesn't know how to settle down, and she's always having ambiguous relationships with other men—"

Yan Cang paused, tilting his head slightly to look at Chu Mingxiu. His eyes were cold and sharp, and the intimidating pressure emanating from his body sent chills down one's spine.

Madam Chu's expression changed drastically, and she immediately knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, please calm your anger."

The other illegitimate sons and daughters also knelt down.

Outside the main hall of the Chu family, the servants knelt on both sides of the courtyard, not daring to utter a sound.

Chu Mingxiu's expression changed, a chill ran down his spine, and his voice trembled involuntarily: "I...I was just joking with my sister..."