The Emperor had been waiting for the results of the interrogation, and seeing that his cousin had only just arrived, he asked, "Was there something particularly troublesome that caused the delay?"
Of course, the Marquis couldn't say that he had been "tricked" by his plump daughter.
So he casually made up an excuse, saying, "I was so tired after working for several days that I just fell asleep on the table."
Apart from Steward Yi, there was no one else in the room. The Emperor pulled his cousin to sit down and said, "Now that most of the work is done, go back and get a good rest tonight."
The Marquis nodded, pushed all the testimonies in his hand in front of the Emperor, and said, "All the testimonies are here."
"Previously, the defenses were very tight, and no one was silenced or committed suicide. We did manage to get quite a bit of information out of them."
The Emperor quickly picked up the confession, flipped to the top few important pages, and frowned more and more deeply, extremely angry.
According to the many stewards and servants of Yaochi, this courtyard of Yaochi is under the name of the head steward Meng Dong, who is also in charge of it on weekdays.
Even the receiving and releasing of goods were all done during the winter when Mengdong came into contact with the barbarians from the south.
The hibiscus cream was delivered once every six months, each time in five large wooden crates.
I originally thought that with enough customers, these goods would sell out in six months.
To everyone's surprise, after six months, most of the goods were left unsold, and even the target customers were imprisoned in the dockside military camp.
Meng Dong then became anxious.
He sought a breakthrough among several of his most addicted customers, eventually choosing the eldest princess's son. He then contacted the princess and promised her a large sum of money.
The eldest princess's son had reached the point where he needed to inhale hibiscus cream three times a day.
The eldest princess couldn't afford the money, but she couldn't bear to see her son suffer, so she simply joined in.
Even though the eldest princess was not favored by the royal family, she was of noble status. When she hosted flower-viewing banquets or parties, the noble ladies of the various families were not on guard and were happy to attend.
The noble ladies, having been confined to their homes since childhood, crave novelty and rebellion more than the men. As a result, within just half a month before and after the New Year, several noble ladies were dragged into this mess.
Having tasted the benefits, the eldest princess continued to hold flower-viewing banquets.
If Bao Lei hadn't been greedy and tried to harm Jia Yin and the Third Princess, but instead Jia Yin saw through her scheme and ran out to report it, it would have been fine.
Even if it drags on for another three months, at least a hundred noble ladies in Kyoto will suffer.
The Emperor couldn't help but sigh, "This child, Fu Niu'er, is truly lucky!"
The Marquis smiled and said, "Just now, the little maid came over to bring me food and asked me how the interrogation went and whether I could protect the reputation of those young girls."
The Emperor immediately guessed, "Could it be that someone has come to the Li family's door seeking to cover up their daughter's shameful affair?"
The Marquis nodded. "Fu Niu'er is meticulous; she copied down the list. I looked at it, and they're all unimportant people."
"Five of the girls were among the first to be dragged into the Bao family's schemes. All it took was for a nanny to secretly come to their door and take their statements."
"Because we already have the testimonies of the eldest princess and her granddaughter, their statements are merely corroborating evidence."
The Emperor thought for a moment and then said, "Fu Niu'er has already made contributions. When she comes to plead for her, we must consider the little girl's feelings."
"In addition, the girls from each family are not deeply involved, so please don't publish the list. Let's try to cover it up as much as possible."
"I believe that with this lesson learned, families will be able to strictly educate their children and will not be easily misled or deceived."
The Marquis quickly stood up to express his gratitude and said with a smile, "Fu Niu'er is going to make a fortune again. Everyone will surely give her a thank-you gift."
"In the future, when we go to flower viewing parties or similar events, she won't be sitting alone with no one paying attention to her."
The Emperor felt sorry for the girl and couldn't help but speak up for her.
"Aside from their humble origins, the Li family is the best at educating their children in the entire Tianwu."
"Not to mention how smart, obedient, filial, and sensible Fu Niu'er is, all the boys in the Li family are also successful, while those prestigious families are full of dirty and ugly things..."
At this point, both of them recalled the unexpected revelation that had occurred in the imperial court a few days prior.
So the Marquis coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
Meng Dong confessed that, in addition to the foreigners who supplied the goods, there was also a person who would occasionally visit Yaochi, who was completely hidden in a cloak.
"I suspect this person must be one of our Tianwu people, and his identity is known to many people, otherwise he wouldn't be hiding so secretively."
"I will continue to have people investigate and try to catch this person as soon as possible. But I have a feeling that this person is probably connected to that side..."
After saying that, he looked in the direction of Shou Kang Palace.
The Emperor also had this guess.
After all, there aren't many people who would dare to establish a Jade Pool in Tianwu and disregard the safety of the entire Tianwu region...
Jia Yin bid farewell to the Jia family and returned to Suijintan as the sun began to set.
Meanwhile, the news had already spread to the homes of various noble ladies through the Jia and Liu families.
Originally, everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot pan, but when they heard that Princess Kang Le had personally pleaded with the Marquis, they were finally relieved.
Throughout Tianwu and Xindu, everyone knows how much the Marquis of Xinting dotes on his adopted daughter; the phrase "precious jewel in his palm" is simply insufficient to describe it.
It is said that the Marquis has never refused any of Princess Kangle's requests since she was a child, and in fact, he has always been more accommodating.
That's the kind of thing that occasionally asks for a star to play with, but eventually even grabs the moon in its hand...
When Jiayin arrived home, she was surprised to find that her third aunt, eldest brother, sixth brother, and seventh brother were all there, since they had only been back in Luo'an for a few days.
As a result, she was surrounded by her aunt and brothers who scrutinized her closely. Only after confirming that not a single strand of her hair was missing did they feel relieved.
Zhao Yuru hugged her niece and said repeatedly, "Why do so many people choose to die when they can live a perfectly good life?"
"If you want to die, fine, but why are you always dragging my chubby girl along?!"
"Our child finally got to attend a flower viewing party, but instead of having fun or eating well, he was so scared that he threw up!"
"If I ever see that damn princess, I'll rip her hair out!"
Just as Jiayin was about to coax her third aunt, she saw Jia Xu and Lu Zong sitting opposite her, and she couldn't help but blush and quickly explained.
"Third Aunt, I only used a little trick to get away. I'm so brave, how could I be so scared that I threw up!"
Zhao Yuru refused to listen and scolded, "Whatever the reason, who wants to throw up? That's so uncomfortable!"
"If you're bored at home from now on, go to Luo'an. Your third aunt will take you to play. We're not going to those ridiculous flower-viewing banquets anymore!"
Jiayin was touched by this, hugged her aunt, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "I'll listen to you, Auntie, and I'll never go again!"
"Ah, that's right!" Zhao Yuru took out the sticky rice cake she bought at the end of Luo'an Street. "Eat some of your favorite food while it's hot to calm your nerves."
Jiayin then pulled Lige'er and Maoge'er, and the three siblings shared the food, occasionally even pinching a piece and stuffing it into the eldest brother's mouth.
The sticky rice cake was about the size of a mahjong tile, and it was too big to swallow in a short time. Jiaren puffed out his cheeks and kept chewing, looking like a hardworking squirrel carrying goods in autumn, which was quite cute.
This was completely different from his usual refined and composed demeanor.
Jia Xu and Lu Zong couldn't help but laugh as they watched.
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