Chapter 65 I accept your challenge!

Murong Che was stunned.

I really didn't expect that Xue Youli would notice even such details.

In order to prevent her from discovering that he could eavesdrop on her thoughts, Murong Che simply revealed, "Ahem! Actually, I wrote this report letter myself."

"ah?"

Xue Youli was dumbfounded. The feeling of learning the truth from the Book of Heaven was different from having a man tell her the truth in person.

She wasn't sure what Murong Che's purpose was in doing this.

So, he pretended to be shocked and asked, "Duke Anguo is a man of high moral character and integrity, and is well-known for his virtue. Why would you do this?"

Murong Che held her hand with his big hand, and stared at her with his amber eyes, as if with deep affection, "Shen Ruolan opposed you everywhere in the harem, so I sent people to secretly investigate the Duke of Anguo, hoping to take the opportunity to punish him, but I unexpectedly found out that he had embezzled a large amount of military pay over the years!"

The heart of an emperor is as elusive as the sea.

Xue Youli was not sure how much sincerity Murong Che was expressing in these words.

However, since the emperor had confessed his love to her, she naturally had to express her feelings in return.

She raised her eyes and looked at the handsome man in front of her. There was affection between her eyebrows and eyes. Her tone was more sincere and passionate than his. Her feelings were more abundant and passionate than his. "Your Majesty treats me so well! Since I entered the palace, I have been blessed with your grace and care. I am extremely grateful. I only wish to accompany you with my humble body to repay your kindness!"

After saying that, she put the anonymous letter back on the table, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Anguo has a good reputation. Please investigate carefully and do not wrongly accuse a good official who serves the country and the people. If he is two-faced and deceives his superiors and his subordinates, even if you dig three feet into the ground and turn his chicken coop and pigpen upside down, you must not let the corrupt officials who oppress the people go!"

[The Ministry of Justice naturally has a group of smart and capable officials, but they may not think of digging under the pig pen and chicken coop to look for evidence of the Duke of Anguo's guilt.]

[The two key words "dig three feet deep" and "chicken coop and pigpen" have already been given to you, Your Majesty, you must do your best! ]

Murong Che listened to the words she was saying in her heart and couldn't help but turn his gaze back to her face.

Xue Youli's almond-shaped eyes seemed to be able to speak, clear and lively, her cheeks were as pink as peach blossoms, delicate and bright, so beautiful that it was dizzying.

Only he could remain calm in the arms of such a delicate, dainty and gentle woman. Who else could not be tempted?

A few days later, Xue Youli heard that Duke Anguo was imprisoned for embezzling military funds and his mansion was confiscated.

The case was investigated by the Dali Temple with the assistance of the Ministry of Justice. It is said that their people dug out several million taels of silver from the mansion of the Duke of Anguo. What's more, there were nearly a thousand gold bars hidden in the cracks of his chicken coop and pigpen.

The reputation of the incorruptible Duke Anguo thus fell.

He sent his daughter into the palace, and his dream of becoming the queen was completely shattered.

After all, there has never been a precedent in the history of Jiuzhou for the daughter of a guilty minister to become an empress.

Life is unpredictable, and Shen Ruolan was caught off guard by this news.

The Duke of Anguo's Mansion, which was once rich enough to rival a country, was gone just like that. She was completely panicked and hurried to find Xue Qingyao to discuss countermeasures.

"Sister, what should I do now? Do you think the emperor will be angry with me and throw me into prison?"

Xue Qingyao looked at her panic-stricken look and said calmly, "Don't worry, sister. You didn't know about your father's corruption, and you didn't participate in it. It has nothing to do with you."

Shen Ruolan was so anxious that she was like a headless fly, pacing back and forth in the room, "But, the Anguo Mansion has collapsed. Not only did my father take bribes, he also embezzled military pay. The emperor will definitely hate me and abandon me!"

Xue Qingyao couldn't help but sneer in her heart when she saw that she didn't want to go to the emperor to plead for her father at the first time, but was worried that it would implicate her.

It seems that the family affection in the Anguo Mansion is also very dull.

Her eyes flickered, and she frowned in confusion, "Sister Lan, the Anguo Mansion has a deep foundation in the capital, how can it be confiscated just like that?"

After she reminded him, Shen Ruolan reacted, "This time, the ones who searched my Anguo Mansion were not only the Ministry of Justice but also the Dali Temple! It was Xue Youli! Yes, it must be her! She has been holding a grudge against me for a long time, and took the opportunity of serving in front of the emperor to slander my father and the Anguo Mansion in front of the emperor, so the emperor searched my house!"

Xue Qingyao listened to her confident speculation and pretended not to believe it. "Xue Youli is just the daughter of a junior official of the Dali Temple. How could she be so bold as to go against the Duke's Mansion?"

"She has been relying on the emperor's favor and looking down on others for a long time! Sister, since she has taken action against me, I'm afraid she will take action against you next! We can't just sit there and wait for death!"

Shen Ruolan was now extremely eager to kill Xue Youli. "Oh, right! Didn't Xue Youli's lover enter the palace a long time ago? Let's find a way to let him meet Xue Youli!"

Xue Qingyao showed an embarrassment, "The concubines in the harem are not allowed to see men outside the palace privately. I really have no way to get close to Meng Xingzhi!"

Shen Ruolan's brain was working better at this time, "Where is Princess Qinghe? It's not convenient for us to take action, so we can use her!"

Xue Qingyao hesitated and said, "Princess Qinghe is not the type to let others push her around. We still have to think about this matter carefully."

Meng Xingzhi had originally planned to make this move during the Qiqiao Festival on the seventh day of next month. Now that she has suddenly moved the action forward, there will be many more uncertainties.

Xue Qingyao is a cautious person, how could he take risks for Shen Ruolan?

But Shen Ruolan couldn't wait any longer.

When she saw Xue Qingyao was hesitant, she knew that she could not rely on this woman. "I will go to find Princess Qinghe. Meng Xingzhi is the best weapon to bring down Xue Youli. She will definitely not refuse!"

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Looking at the entire harem, the person who wants Xue Youli to die the most, besides myself, is probably Chu Xinyue.

Lingyun Palace, Shuiyunxuan.

“…That’s how it is.”

Chu Xinyue finished the last bite of the date paste cake in her hand, drank a sip of tea, and then took out the letter of challenge that Shen Ruolan asked her to write. "Shen Ruolan asked me to issue a letter of challenge to you. It's openly asking you to go to Yu Garden to fight tonight, but in fact it's just a trick to trick you. She also called Meng Xingzhi to Yu Garden tonight. Her plan is to let the emperor catch you and Meng Xingzhi having a secret meeting!"

Xue Youli read the challenge and pouted, "I'm not stupid. What if I let you go? Wouldn't your plan fail?"

Chu Xinyue replied, "I have to give some credit to Xue Qingyao. She guessed that you would disagree, so she asked me to add one more sentence at the end of the letter of challenge."

After saying that, she flipped the challenge to the back.

Brother Meng Cairen has a purse with your name embroidered on it in his hand. If you don’t keep the appointment, he will present the purse to the emperor!

The purse was Xue Youli's personal property. If the emperor knew that Meng Xingzhi had her personal belongings, both of them would be charged with the crime of private transmission and would surely be put to death!

However, Xue Youli looked calm and composed.

She held the letter of challenge in her hand and hesitated for a moment before she spoke slowly, "Go back and tell them that I accepted your letter of challenge!"