Secret talks in the palace

It was extremely easy for Prince Ding to invite the emperor to his house. That evening, Su Musong received a reply from Prince Ding, and the emperor agreed to meet him.

Early the next morning, Su Musong and Su Mufeng picked an inconspicuous carriage and ordered people to carefully explore the surrounding area in advance to confirm that there were no spies. Only then did they leave the Anguo Mansion through a side door in the garden.

Since the Right Prime Minister has a plan, the relevant mansions will likely send people to keep watch. However, the Anguo Mansion has already been involved in the martial arts world, with many experts in the mansion. Su Musong himself is in charge of the pigeon loft. When it comes to preventing such incidents, there is probably no mansion in Kyoto that is better equipped than the Anguo Mansion. The Ding Prince's Mansion has a thousand guards. After Su Mufeng returned from Xizhou, he cleaned up the mess and sent away all the maids, servants, singing and dancing girls, musicians, and handsome servants who were sent in from outside to act as spies and curry favor with the Ding Prince. Now the palace is united, and there is no need for the Emperor and the Ding Prince to stage any more discord.

When the carriage reached the main gate of the Duke's Mansion, it happened to encounter Su Mubai, who was returning home. Without a word, Su Mufeng grabbed him and put him in the carriage. Su Mubai had been busy with the Imperial Academy Competition and hadn't returned home for several days. Today, he finally had some free time, but he didn't expect to be robbed right at his doorstep. A weak scholar, he had never seen such a scene before. He panicked and didn't even bother to see what was happening inside the carriage. He tried to call for help, but Su Mufeng quickly covered his mouth in shock.

"Second brother, it's us!"

Hearing Su Mufeng's voice, Su Mubai finally calmed down. Looking at his eldest brother and the princess who he didn't know whether she was his younger brother or sister, he just wanted to roll his eyes. Ever since he knew that Su Mufeng was marrying in his place, he knew that among the four brothers and sisters, he was probably the only decent person. He sighed helplessly and said,

"We're at home, among our own brothers and sisters, so we can talk it out. What's the point of this?"

"This is a serious matter and cannot be seen by others. I can only let my second brother suffer a little."

Ever since Su Mubai became famous for his studies, the entire capital had been watching him closely, yet no one could find any fault with him. Even the Duke and his wife of Anguo had been puzzled. They had the same upbringing, but why did Su Mubai grow up to behave like an old scholar?

Su Mubai has always been upright and proper, and he felt that he had seen such a ridiculous thing as Su Mufeng marrying in place of him, and he thought that there would be no more shocking thing than this.

"Tell me, what trouble have you gotten yourself into again?"

But obviously, with a group of free and unrestrained brothers and sisters, life is full of surprises.

Su Musong explained the whole story in detail, and Su Mubai remained silent after listening.

Su Musong's face was filled with shame. His younger brother, at such a young age, was already a Hanlin scholar, and would inherit the title of Duke of Anguo. He was also in love with Princess Youning, and they were likely planning a marriage next year. No matter how you looked at it, his future was promising. Revenge for the Xiao family was his priority. He had originally planned to carefully evade the Duke's Mansion, but now that Xiao Luochen had been captured, there was no time for further planning.

"Mu Bai, if you lose this time, I'm afraid it will affect your career..."

"If this injustice is not redressed, where is the law of the land, where is justice?! Never mind my career, even if it means sacrificing my life, I must bring these thieves to justice. Otherwise, how can I comfort the spirits of the heroes?"

Su Mubai has always been dignified and self-possessed. This was the first time that Su Musong and Su Mufeng had seen him so furious with his face red and ears flushed. They were at a loss for what to do.

"We are going to Prince Ding's Mansion to meet with the Emperor and prepare to overturn the verdict."

Although he was furious, Su Mubai's mind was still clear. After all, he was in the court. He only heard Su Musong's words once and then hit the nail on the head.

"The Wang family's influence is complex and intertwined. Judging from the evidence you currently possess, as long as the Right Prime Minister insists that the events of that year were all his own, with no involvement from the Wang family, then the Wang family can clear themselves of any responsibility. After all, the story of the Wang family promising the position of Prime Minister was simply a tale told by the postmaster who overheard the incident, and now he's dead and has no evidence to prove it. While this makes sense, it lacks concrete evidence."

"The current situation doesn't allow us to care about so many things. Saving Luo Chen is the most important thing. As for the Wang family, let's just break one of its arms for now. Once the hole is torn, no matter how strong the iron wall is, it will eventually be broken."

Su Musong had already figured it out. The Wang family was powerful, and to bring them down, he had to rely on imperial authority. However, the Wang family had governed for four dynasties, and their disciples and former officials were spread throughout Xiangping. If he couldn't obtain solid evidence of their crimes, and could not eradicate them completely in one fell swoop, he feared that this would actually shake the foundation of the country.

Su Mufeng showed the way, and the Su brothers entered Prince Ding's Mansion through a remote small gate.

Emperor Yuwen Xuan and Prince Ding Yuwen Ye grew up together. He often heard his sister talking about Su Mubai in his ear. In addition, he fell in love with Su Muliu by chance. Therefore, when he saw the three brothers of the Su family, he did not put on any airs of an emperor.

Because Yuwen Ye had already told Yuwen Xuan the whole story and the relationship between Su Musong and Xiao Luochen in advance, Yuwen Xuan knew that Su Musong came here to save Xiao Luochen, but he was curious about how to save him. As smart as Young Master Su was, he would know that as the emperor, he had no chance of pardoning a criminal who should have been beheaded in public from the hands of the Right Prime Minister.

However, Su Musong did not plead for Xiao Luochen, but told the emperor a story...

After the story was told, the young emperor nearly gnashed his teeth with hatred. Although his father was the sovereign, seemingly supreme, he was restricted in every way. He had to watch his loyal ministers framed and unable to protect them. What a shame and humiliation for the emperor. And now this group still controlled the government. His life had been like walking on thin ice for years. He had even been poisoned by a Gu. If Changsun Chenqian hadn't intervened to save him, he would have become a puppet controlled by others.

Su Musong saw that the emperor looked strange, so he took the opportunity to ask

"May I ask Your Majesty, are you determined to eradicate the Right Prime Minister's faction?"

Yuwen Xuan pondered for a moment. The power he had cultivated in the court had begun to improve, and the military power was different from that of ten years ago. One-third of it was in the hands of Prince Ding. As long as he could find a way to hinder the Empress Dowager and make the troops in her hands unable to move, then it would be possible to get rid of the Right Prime Minister quickly and easily. However, the Empress Dowager's grandson, Prince Rui, who had inherited the throne not long ago, would probably have to stay in the royal villa outside the capital for a while.

Although this matter is dangerous, if it is done, it will cut off one of the arms of the Empress Dowager, so it will be much easier to take back the real power in the future. Thinking of this, Yuwen Xuan has made up his mind.

"If we can eradicate the treacherous party, we will forge ahead despite all odds."

After hearing Yuwen Xuan's words, Su Musong no longer had anything to worry about. He immediately knelt down and said,

"All evidence and testimony regarding the Right Prime Minister's accusation of treason against the Xiao family has been compiled into a book. The relevant witnesses will arrive in the capital soon. Please, Your Majesty, punish the traitors and exonerate the Xiao family!"

Yuwen Xuan helped Su Musong to get rid of the right prime minister, which was a good thing. However, there seemed to be no opportunity to reopen the old case. Su Musong saw Yuwen Xuan's concerns and said,

"Your Majesty, Wang Zheng will escort Xiao Luochen to Kyoto within ten days. We can then take the opportunity to reopen the old case."

Su Musong had been preparing for overturning the verdict for ten years. Even though the most crucial confession from the enemy general of Qingning who had colluded with the right prime minister was missing, the existing evidence was enough to overturn the verdict of that year.

However, if we take action against the Right Prime Minister, the Wang family will definitely protect him. In this case, we have to plan carefully and take down the Right Prime Minister in a swift and efficient manner.