Chapter 115 Making Trouble

With the auspicious time fast approaching, Jin Fangjun Muzhen was nowhere to be seen.

The guests were growing impatient when the head steward, Pei Dong, came limping in to report: "My lord has some urgent business to attend to. Please bear with us, all of you."

What major event could possibly happen at this time?

During the birthday banquet, the guests looked at each other and whispered among themselves.

Mu Xi looked at Mu Xun, who also looked puzzled.

Just as Mu Xi was about to turn around and go to the inner courtyard to ask what was going on, a group of soldiers suddenly broke through the gate of the Jun Mansion and rushed in, heading straight for the main hall.

Tonight, in order to allow guests to better enjoy the performance on the stage in the main courtyard, all eight doors of the main hall had been removed long ago. Unexpectedly, people were able to walk right in.

The leader, dressed in a crimson official robe, wearing a black gauze hat and a broadsword at his waist, strode into the hall: "This humble one, Ma Zheng, Left Supervisor of the Court of Justice, pays his respects to His Highness Prince Jin Fang."

"Left Supervisor of the Court of Justice? Hasn't your Chief Justice Liu Qi already arrived?" Mu Xi didn't react at first.

Ma Zhengzhong was of medium height and, true to his surname, had a long, narrow face, bushy eyebrows, and slanted eyes. He spoke in a loud voice: "I am under orders to verify some things with the young master in person."

The newcomer appeared hostile. Before Mu Xi could speak again, Mu Xun stepped in front of her and demanded, "On orders? Whose orders are you on? Do you know what day it is today that allows you to act so presumptuously?"

Mu Xi did not summon Liu Qi, but instead went to find Pei Dong, who had come to deliver the message.

After delivering the message, Pei Dong disappeared without a trace.

Ma Zheng glanced at him without even looking, his tone imperious: "Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I cannot wait until tomorrow. If I wait until tomorrow, my witness will likely lose his life. Furthermore, I have just received a secret letter that claims Your Highness's identity is false, that you are a woman disguised as a man, and not the real Your Highness..."

With a loud "boom".

Mu Xi's ears were ringing, and she couldn't hear anything else being said.

The guests, who had been gossiping, immediately fell silent, their eyes wide as they focused on her face.

Before the drama even started, someone jumped out and exposed it to my face. What's going on?

Mu Xi found it hard to believe.

Mu Xun, however, remained unfazed: "A mere Left Supervisor of the Court of Justice, spouting nonsense based solely on a secret letter of unknown origin—who gave you the audacity? How dare you so easily slander the Heir Apparent of Jin Fang?"

Ma Zheng was intimidated by Mu Xun's imposing manner and swallowed hard, but when he glanced at the head of the table on the east side with his slanted eyes, he regained his confidence: "I am acting under orders. It is the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice, and many times I cannot take into account the occasion."

Before Mu Xi's mind had even finished reeling, she followed the direction Ma Zheng was looking in and saw Gao Quan sitting steadily behind the table, his wolf-like eyes gleaming, looking like he was ready to watch a good show.

Gao has always colluded with the Court of Justice, how could she have forgotten this?

Mu Xun also sensed this and took another half step closer to Mu Xi, his face expressionless: "If you have anything to say, wait for your Minister of Justice Liu to come out and speak in person. A mere Left Supervisor is not qualified."

Ma Zheng replied, "I have both witnesses and evidence here. This matter is of great importance. I dare not delay with such a shocking incident. Now that Lord Liu has come to your residence, he will surely handle it impartially."

How could Liu Qi, the Grand Minister of Justice of the Court of Justice, not know this?

Mu Xi did not believe it.

"How dare you overstep your authority to investigate? Who gave you the audacity?" Mu Xun roared. "Guards, escort this Left Supervisor out."

The guards outside the hall were about to step forward, but they didn't know how many men Ma Zheng had brought, and were stopped outside the hall.

Mu Xi's heart skipped a beat: "How dare a mere Court of Justice trespass into the Jin Fangjun residence? Where are the guards?"

She asked Mu Xun in a low voice.

Mu Xun's back twitched slightly, clearly also caught off guard.

Ma Zheng raised his slanted eyes and said, "Please forgive my rudeness, but if it is found that someone deliberately framed me, I will certainly not let them off lightly. However, if it is proven to be true, then the law will not tolerate any leniency, and it will not be up to me to decide."

Jin Fangjun's birthday banquet was attended by royalty and high-ranking officials. How could Ma Zheng, a mere Left Supervisor, dare to make such remarks in public? How could he dare to do so without anyone supporting him?

Mu Xi lowered her eyes and looked around, as if standing on a mountain overlooking an abyss.

Everyone was scrutinizing her with probing eyes. Such a big thing had happened, and yet her scumbag father, Mu Zhen, still hadn't shown up.

A huge sense of foreboding washed over me. After struggling for so long and laying the groundwork for so long, was I really going to perish tonight?

The more uneasy we feel, the more we need to stay calm.

"Mu Xun, go and ask Father." Mu Xi instructed Mu Xun without showing any emotion, then turned around and sat down behind the table to the left of the main seat. "Since Lord Ma insists, then ask him."

"This..." Mu Xun was worried about leaving Mu Xi alone.

Mu Xi simply said, "Aren't you going to check what's going on outside?"

Tonight's birthday banquet, for the final "sword dance to celebrate longevity" segment, the Jun family's troops were scattered in all directions. I don't know if it was because of this that the people from the Court of Justice were able to break into the main hall and courtyard directly.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Mu Xun gestured behind Mu Xi, then quickly left.

Seeing that Mu Xi had relented, Ma Zheng's attitude softened considerably: "How dare I interrogate the heir of the Jun family? I am merely following procedure to verify the matter. If there is no such thing, I will certainly apologize to the heir. If there is such a thing... then the Court of Justice will not shirk its responsibility."

After saying that, he turned around and clapped his hands twice.

Two guards outside the hall brought three people with them: two women and one man.

If there are three or more people, they will kneel down on the ground.

The first person in charge just slightly raised his head.

Tao'er, who was attending Mu Xi, called out first, "Qing'er?"

Mu Xi was a step slower in loading the original owner's memories, but she quickly recognized that the little maid at the front, who was about thirteen or fourteen years old, was the maid who served the original owner when she lived in Xihua Mountain.

He was startled again.

Something happened at Xihua Mountain?

When the original owner left Xihua Mountain to return to Jin Fangjun's mansion more than three years ago, he did not bring all the servants back with him, but left Li Mama and others to guard them.

Qing'er is the daughter of Granny Li, and was arranged after the original owner went to live in Xihua Mountain in her childhood.

Granny Li was a trusted old woman by the side of the birth mother, Shen Ying. At that time, she had just given birth to Qing'er, a daughter born late in life. When Qing'er was four or five years old, she was sent to serve the original owner of the house.

However, the original owner already had Tao'er and Zhelan by her side at the time, and Qing'er was still young, so she was not allowed to get close to her. Therefore, she probably did not know the original owner's true identity.

In the original owner's memories, there was not much of an impression of Qing'er.

Behind Qing'er, a couple dressed as farmers followed in. The woman had clearly never seen such a scene before, and she was trembling like a leaf. Her husband was supporting her tightly.

Mu Xi had absolutely no recollection of it.

Ma Zheng responded to Tao'er's exclamation, "It seems this servant is indeed the young master's servant at Xihua Mountain. I'm glad I haven't made a mistake. As for these two, they are a farmer couple from a village outside Moyang City. I wonder if the young master remembers them?"