Xiuyifang, the most prestigious and extravagant place in the capital, was now completely exposed to the emperor. Enraged, the emperor ordered Su Qingcai to conduct a thorough investigation, and a sense of unease gripped the court.
Most of the court officials had patronized Xiuyifang. When Su Qingcai handed over a list of patrons, they were all anxious and practically broke down the threshold of the Ninth Prince's residence, trying to find out who was on the list.
Su Qingcai refused to see the ministers and ignored them, so the ministers turned their attention to the people around him.
The person closest to him is Su Xiaoning; maybe she knows something.
The invitations, like snowflakes, flew into Su Xiaoning's hands. When Su Qingcai came to find Su Xiaoning, he saw her rummaging through a pile of invitations with great interest.
Su Qingcai held down Su Xiaoning's hand and casually pulled out an invitation. It was handed to him by the wife of the Vice Minister of Rites, who said that Su Xiaoning was invited to attend a gathering of officials' wives.
He tossed the invitation aside and sneered, "Since you can't get through to me, you've come all this way to find me. You're really asking for trouble!"
Su Xiaoning hasn't officially married into the royal family yet, and these officials' wives are proud and arrogant. They used to disdain inviting Su Xiaoning to any gatherings. Now they're actually rushing to invite her; it's obvious what their purpose is.
It's really disgusting to involve the people around you!
Su Qingcai raised his hand, about to beckon Ding Yi to throw out the pile of invitations, but Su Xiaoning clung to his arm and asked curiously, "Are all these ladies' husbands trying to find out the list? Does Xiuyifang have that many customers?"
"I don't know yet whether they've been fooling around at Xiuyifang, but their guilty conscience is written all over their faces."
Su Qingcai's face darkened, and he began to recount the evil deeds committed by each of the owners listed on the invitations to Su Xiaoning. They were all guilty of exploiting the people and their crimes were unforgivable.
He grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, finally slamming his fist on the table and angrily saying, "This time, we must use the Xiuyifang incident to make the Emperor purge the court. These parasites don't deserve to remain in the court! But the investigation process will take some time, so we'll have to tolerate them and let them roam free for a while longer. I wonder how much of the money they've plundered has they spent..."
"So that's how it is..."
Su Xiaoning nodded thoughtfully, her expression remaining largely unchanged, even slightly furrowing her brow as she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
After pondering for a while, the corners of her lips suddenly curled up: "What is taken from the people should be used for the people. Since we can't arrest them now, it would be good to make them spit out more of their property."
"What do you want to do?" Su Qingcai raised an eyebrow, already realizing what Su Xiaoning was planning.
Su Xiaoning revealed a sly smile, her curved eyebrows and eyes like those of a little fox, captivating all who saw her.
"Just wait and see what happens!"
...
Su Xiaoning casually accepted an invitation from a lady, and as soon as the news spread, many officials' wives rushed to the mansion. The huge mansion was brightly lit and extremely lively.
At the banquet, Su Xiaoning was all smiles, focused only on eating and watching the performance, seemingly unaware of the true purpose of the group of ladies.
The ladies scratched their heads and exchanged knowing glances, but Su Xiaoning remained unmoved. Finally, one of the ladies couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to ask, "Miss Su, do you know about the list that the Ninth Prince presented to the Emperor? What exactly was written on that list?"
“You mean that? I know,” Su Xiaoning put down her chopsticks and replied with a smile. “Since it’s a list, it naturally has the names of several officials on it. I’ve secretly looked at it, and I recognize quite a few of the names.”
She smiled and looked around at the ladies, pleased to see their faces turn pale in an instant.
The lady who asked the question had sweaty palms and asked tremblingly, "Then, do you still remember exactly what these names are? And how does His Majesty intend to deal with them?"
"You want to know the specific name? How am I supposed to remember that?" Su Xiaoning tapped her head, her eyes filled with confusion. "However, I do know about the Emperor's reaction."
"What did the Emperor say?" the lady asked anxiously.
Su Xiaoning smiled slightly, then deliberately spoke in a somber tone, "This is terrible! The Emperor is furious. He smashed everything in the room. He said these people are unforgivable; killing them isn't enough, he wants to exterminate their entire families—all the men will be beheaded, and all the women will be sold off. Tsk tsk tsk, this is truly tragic..."
She deliberately exaggerated the facts, uttering these shocking words. Sure enough, the ladies present turned even paler, some of the more delicate ones clutching their chests and gasping for breath.
The woman who asked the question burst into tears, her eyes brimming with tears, and she knelt down in front of Su Xiaoning.
"Miss Su, I beg you, please ask the Ninth Prince to plead with the Emperor to spare our lives! Our husbands don't deserve to die!"
Her kneeling startled the other ladies, who followed suit, regardless of the fact that the girl before them was the little brat they had once scorned. They kowtowed loudly.
Su Xiaoning had no intention of helping them up. She coldly watched as the ladies kowtowed to her until their foreheads were red and bleeding before she slowly spoke.
"Actually, there is a way. Seeing how pitiful you are, I'll tell you secretly... The Ninth Prince said that these people may have made a mistake on a whim. No one is perfect, and we can't just ruin their entire family like this. If these people are willing to donate their family property to charity, their crimes might be reduced a bit..."
Upon hearing that they were to donate their family property, the ladies who were kowtowing were immediately stunned.
Donating their fortune means their life of luxury will be over...
But what is money compared to precious life? It's not good to earn money but not live to enjoy it!
The ladies all wore expressions of distress and bowed deeply to Su Xiaoning.
"We understand, thank you for your guidance, Miss Su!"
"Good to know." Su Xiaoning had a relaxed and calm smile on her face. She stood up and walked out of the banquet at a leisurely pace, leaving the ladies' discussions behind.
After that night, no one knows how the wives of these officials persuaded their husbands, but these officials actually donated most of their family property to charity, and made it clear that it was Su Xiaoning's idea.
Suddenly, Su Xiaoning became famous again, and the number of people calling her "Saintess" was even greater than before, while Qin Yunyun, who truly possessed the koi fish mark, was forgotten.
When the news reached the Seventh Prince's residence, Su Qing was furious upon learning of it.
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