Could it be that Min Hu was beaten? The only people who could hit him were the Minister of Min, the Old Lady of Min, and even the Lady of Min.
Seeing his tired face, Xu Lanyin felt uncomfortable, as if she saw a patient she had cured with great difficulty relapse.
Min Hu bowed and said, "Miss Xu, please take a seat. I have both official and personal matters this time, so I've been delayed for a while. I'm sorry for the trouble, Miss Xu."
Qingfeng served tea to Xu Lanyin, Minhu waved his hand, and Qingfeng left.
Xu Lanyin said, "Lord Min's mental state seems to have returned to the past. How could this be?"
As soon as this voice that comforted him rang out, Minhu felt as if all the flowers in the world had bloomed. The spring breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers blew all over his body, blowing away all the haze of the past few days.
Xu Lanyin felt a little creepy when he suddenly smiled and looked at her with an unusually gentle gaze. She quickly said, "Lord Min, do you want me to hypnotize you? You really should get some sleep."
Min Hu was awakened by the wake-up call. His face flushed as he sighed and said with a wry smile, "I wanted to ask Miss Xu to hypnotize me so I could have a good sleep." He added, "I have something to say first, and then I'll go to sleep." After a pause, he continued, "Well, let's talk about business first. On October 26th, Gu Chenwang married Miss Su Er. Because of Marquis Su's connections, the wedding was very lively."
Xu Lanyin said "Oh" expressionlessly and said nothing. She thought to herself, when did Gu Chenwang marry Su Qing become a formality?
Minhu continued, "On the second day after Gu Wangchen's wedding, he secretly came to me and said that the owner of the Yiju Restaurant was suspicious. Their business wasn't very good, but they had a lot of money. He was also close to many officials, including Hong Xihuan, Hong Wei, Hong Zhen, and County Magistrate Wang. He also seemed to have connections with merchants from the Western Xia Kingdom..."
While in the capital, he and Grand Tutor Zhou analyzed three possible scenarios. One possibility was that the Third Prince was aware of their actions and had someone mislead him. Another possibility was that the Third Prince was unaware of their actions and simply wanted to use the high-profile actions of the Hong family father and son to attract attention and use the Min family to eliminate the current Crown Prince behind them. Another possibility was that Gu Wangchen was not being instructed by anyone, but that it was indeed his tea shop that discovered something amiss at the Yiju Restaurant, and he was extremely alert and rushed to tip them off.
So, no matter what the situation was, they could just take advantage of the situation and dispatch some people to follow Gu Wangchen's clues to investigate Yi Ju Restaurant and the Hong family father and son, in order to confuse those who wanted to confuse them...
Xu Lanyin raised an eyebrow. In the book, Gu Wangchen wouldn't report Minhu until the year after, when he became the Chief Justice. Now it's over a year earlier. Those little wings have changed so much. Furthermore, in the book, Gu Wangchen was instructed by Su Qing to contact Minhu. The Third Prince discovered Minhu's affair and caused his "sudden illness" to die. It's more likely that one of Minhu's confidants leaked the secret... She thought of Gui Fu again. She had to find an excuse to remind Minhu.
Xu Lanyin said, "Gu Wangchen specifically pointed out those people, which means they are in danger now. Hong Zhen is working for the adults, and the adults will definitely find a way to ensure his safety. The father and son of the Hong family in the capital cannot be silenced..."
Min Hu nodded and said, "The personnel in the capital have been deployed. In addition, I will mobilize other personnel to investigate based on the clues provided by Gu Wangchen. Your family is in Nanping County, so please be careful."
Xu Lanyin nodded. She knew the real game had begun. In the near future, the court would be engulfed in bloodshed, and who knew how many more people would die. Minhu and the others had made so many preparations, so shouldn't the Third Prince be the final winner?
Minhu hesitated again and said, "Miss Xu, you once said that if I have something on my mind, I can tell you..." Then he said shyly, "Alas, they say that family disgrace should be made public. Please don't laugh at me, Miss Xu. I can't find anyone else to confide in except you."
It turned out he was looking for a heart-to-heart talk. Apparently, not only was his work a headache, but he was also facing difficulties back home in the capital, unable to resolve them. Even looking at that "paradise" kept him awake.
Xu Lanyin nodded and smiled, "Yes, I did say that. In fact, every family has its difficulties or scandals, and my family is no exception. For example, Lord Min must have heard of the rumors about me. If it were another girl, she might think that I was too ugly to go out and see people. But I don't think so. Although some things happened to me, it was not my fault, so I am very calm. Some things were indeed caused by my confusion and mistakes before. But I know my mistakes and can correct them. I have the courage to face them, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about."
Xu Lanyin's eyes were calm and composed, and she did not shy away from admitting her past mistakes, which made Minhu relax his nervous mood.
A girl could be so open and honest, yet I, a man, was hesitant and cautious. Minhu gave a wry smile and said, "I must cultivate myself, manage my family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. But I, with my family in such a mess, how can I be a good official? I feel ashamed of my ancestors and the emperor."
Xu Lanyin said nothing, just looked at him calmly. She thought to herself, "Your father is more responsible for the mess at home. He still managed to become the Minister of Justice and a Grand Secretary." Many men are educated, have smooth official careers, and are very good at socializing outside, but they can't handle household chores well.
Minhu's face flushed slightly as he continued, "This time coming home, ah," he sighed deeply, lowered his head and hesitated, as if he found it difficult to speak. After a moment's silence, he continued, "You probably know that my current mother is my stepmother. When I was five, my mother fell ill and passed away. My grandmother, in order to ensure that I grew up safely and healthily, did her utmost to arrange for my mother's half-sister to marry my father as his second wife. She was very kind to me, and to love me even more, she said she would wait until I was fifteen before having her own children. She not only earned my love and dependence during my childhood, but also the respect of my maternal grandparents, my grandmother, and my father..."
Xu Lanyin thought to herself, it seems that Mrs. Min was a kind and good stepmother who was rarely found before. What kind of stimulation could cause her personality to change so drastically?
Minhu continued to say that when he turned fifteen, Mrs. Min was already twenty-six years old. Perhaps because she was too old, or perhaps because she drank too much contraceptive soup, she still had not given birth to her own child after so many years.
Because of this incident, both the Minister of Min and the Min Hu felt guilty towards her.
Min Hu married Lady An at the age of eighteen. To show his respect for Lady Min, he left Lady An behind while he was on a government post in a distant place to take care of his mother-in-law. Many people at the time praised Lady Min and Min Hu, calling them a model for stepmothers and stepsons, especially those with stepmothers, who celebrated the story as a positive example.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
