Chapter 65
Mr. Xie lowered his eyes, pondering carefully, as if trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Xie Xuanye said, "Do you remember when I was eight years old, you were framed by people in the court for embezzling and accepting bribes of 100,000 taels of gold and were imprisoned?"
When Xie's father recalled this incident, he remembered that ten years ago, he was upright and looked down on the disgusting faces of those officials in the court, who were all greedy and insatiable.
On the one hand, they receive salaries from the imperial court but do not serve the people; on the other hand, they embezzle taxes to fund their own fame and fortune.
So he wrote a memorial to the emperor, who was furious after reading it and sent people to investigate the matter. Before long, the matter was clarified, and it was found that those officials had indeed engaged in such behavior.
Soon those officials were imprisoned, some were beheaded, and others were exiled. But to his surprise, there was one who escaped the net, and that person was the former prime minister, Zhang Wen.
Three months later, there was flooding in the south. The court sent me to the south to solve the flood problem. At the same time, the court also gave me 150,000 taels of gold to help the poor and repair the buildings in the south.
But when I returned to the capital from the south, someone reported me for embezzling disaster relief funds, including 100,000 taels of gold. The person who reported me was my own confidant.
He handed the emperor a fake account book that he had somehow obtained. The emperor was not furious, but ordered an investigation. However, the results of the investigation enraged the emperor.
The Ministry of Justice's investigation revealed that instead of treating the people in the south, I used the money for personal consumption, gambling, and prostitution, and even bribed my subordinates not to betray me.
But I didn't do any of these things! I was framed!
But at that time there was no evidence to prove that I was framed!
After I was imprisoned, I was tortured, my child was humiliated because of me, and my wife fell ill and eventually died of depression. Before she died, she told Xuan Ye that she believed I was not that kind of person!
Five months later, I was released. By then, my family had undergone tremendous changes. My wife had passed away, and my son had become taciturn and quiet.
I was released because Zhang Wen fell from power, and the one who brought him down was the current prime minister, Meng Kang.
Xie Xuanye said fiercely, "I hate the corrupt officials in this world! If it weren't for them, you wouldn't be in prison!"
"My mother won't die of depression!"
"At the same time, I also believe that there are many people in this world like me who have lost loved ones because of corrupt officials who embezzle and accept bribes!"
Xie's father understood why his son had suddenly brought this up and asked, "Xuan Ye, why are you suddenly bringing up these old stories?"
Xie Xuanye gave a bitter smile and said, "Father! Because in a place you don't know, your son is realizing his original ambition!"
Mr. Xie frowned, realizing this was no simple matter, and asked nervously, "What did you say!"
What does that mean?
“That militia was organized by me! The reason they were able to grow so quickly is all thanks to me!” he said.
"Slap!" Xie's father slapped Xie Xuanye across the face.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he angrily pointed at Xie Xuanye, shouting, "You wicked child! Do you know what you're doing?! You're going to destroy the Xie family! You're going to destroy me!"
"Do you know how much blood your ancestors shed and how many people they killed for this title?!"
"Do you know how much effort your father has put into the entire Xie family?!"
Xie Xuanye remained expressionless, though a burning pain shot through his face. He said, "That's why I told Father all this, hoping you would expel me from the family."
"That way you might be able to save the lives of everyone in the Xie family!"
Father Xie scolded, "Do you think I don't want to?"
Xie Xuanye said calmly, "That's good!" After saying that, he knelt down, kowtowed three times, and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Xie's father asked.
He paused, then replied calmly, "Go where I need to go!"
Soon, news spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital that Xie Xuanye had been expelled from the Xie family mansion, and the streets were abuzz with discussion.
When Su Yuexing heard this news, she felt something was wrong. She went to the Xie residence to look for someone and was told that they were also secretly looking for Xie Xuanye.
So Su Yuexing hurried to the Duke of Meng's mansion, which was decorated with festive decorations as preparations were underway for Li Jinghe's wedding.
She stared blankly at the red cloth hanging at the door, hesitating whether she should step inside, since the last time the two of them had parted on bad terms.
However, considering the importance of Xie Xuanye's matter, Su Yuexing gritted her teeth and stepped inside. The old woman at the door stopped her, saying, "Miss Su, the old lady has instructed that you are not allowed to enter our Dream Mansion!"
Seeing her disdainful look, Su Yuexing gritted her teeth. The matter was urgent, and she didn't have time to waste words with her.
He punched her in the face. "Ouch!"
Her face quickly swelled up, and she pointed at Su Yuexing, saying, "Someone! Get this crazy woman out of here!"
A group of servants swarmed forward, but Su Yuexing easily dealt with them, one in each hand. However, the main problem was that there were many people from the Meng Mansion.
A long time passed, and Su Yuexing's strength gradually gave out. Outside, Yue and Hua exchanged a glance. "Should we go up and help?" Hua asked.
Yue hesitated for a moment before saying, "She must have something urgent to tell the master. Let's help her!"
The two quickly joined the battle. Su Yuexing, seeing them, asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"No time to explain, we'll hold them off here! You go find the master!" Yue said anxiously.
"Okay!" Su Yuexing nodded in agreement. She quickly broke away from the battle and ran towards Li Jinghe's courtyard.
Suddenly, the old lady and the old duke appeared out of nowhere. "If you're so capable, then step over us!" the old lady scolded.
Su Yuexing explained, "Madam! I've come here urgently to see Jinghe! I hope you can do me a favor!"
The old lady coldly refused, "It's inconvenient!"
Su Yuexing felt remorseful, blaming herself for being too hasty and not thinking of climbing over the wall, instead coming in through the main gate.
Her eyes turned cold as she said, "Then I'll have to offend you!" With that, she attacked them.
The old Duke immediately stood in front of the old lady, saying, "You little brat, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
Although the old Duke was getting on in years, his martial arts skills were still as sharp as ever, and his moves were fierce and swift.
Su Yuexing was struck on the shoulder and staggered backward. A metallic taste filled her throat, and "Pfft!" Blood gushed out.
The old Duke intended to kill her. "Stop!" Li Jinghe rushed over and shouted.
Everyone stopped, and Yue and Hua's faces lit up with joy. Sai Taxue quickly lowered her head, afraid that he would recognize her.
Su Yuexing withdrew her hand from in front of her. "You've come!" the old Duke said calmly.
The old lady advised, "Jinghe, you've already divorced this wild girl, so you need to be careful about your behavior!"
Her eyes held a mixture of worry and wariness.
“I understand, Grandmother.” Li Jinghe said respectfully, then walked towards Su Yuexing and asked, “You turned the Duke’s mansion into this state to see me?”
Su Yuexing forced herself to stand up and said, "Yes! I have something important to tell you!"
Li Jinghe said coldly, "Do you know that I'm getting married in a few days? Is there anything more important than my wedding?" His eyes held a hint of provocation.
Su Yuexing moved her lips, her face pale, and said, "Xie Xuanye has disappeared. Do you know where he is hiding?"
Li Jinghe's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed, "What! He's missing!"
Su Yuexing nodded and continued, "Yes! The day before, he chatted with his father for a while, and then, for some reason, the Xie family removed him from the family genealogy and kicked him out of the Xie family."
“I went to look for him, but I couldn’t find him. I searched most parts of the capital, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.”
When the elderly men saw that she had come to see Li Jinghe about the Xie family's affairs, their expressions were not as serious as before.
"So it was because of Xiaoye that you came to the Meng Mansion." After the old lady finished speaking, she paused for a moment and then said, "However! Xie Xuanye being kicked out of the Xie family is their family matter and has nothing to do with my Jinghe."
The old Duke disagreed, saying, "At least the two of them played together when they were young."
“There are naturally feelings between them.”
The old lady said unhappily, "If someone goes missing, you should go to the authorities, not my little grandson!"
"He's been incredibly busy these past few days with wedding preparations!"
Hearing their conversation, Su Yuexing felt a lump in her throat and looked at Li Jinghe, saying, "Just tell me where he might have gone, and I'll go find him!"
Li Jinghe lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, looked up sharply, and walked outside.
"He'er! Where are you going!" the old lady called out.
Li Jinghe replied without turning his head, "I'll be right back!"
Su Yuexing quickly caught up, and Yue and the others followed closely behind.
As Li Jinghe walked through the bustling streets, memories of his childhood with Xie Xuanye flooded his mind.
When Lord Xie was falsely accused and imprisoned, he was bullied by his peers, and it was he who mustered up the courage to drive them away.
He helped Xie Xuanye, who was covered in wounds, to his feet and led him to a banyan tree on Feima Temple Mountain, telling him that this was his secret base.
He comes here and sits there all day whenever he's unhappy.
Listening to the monks ringing the temple bell would inexplicably calm his heart, and all his unhappiness would disappear.
The secret base later changed from one person to two.
Li Jinghe's vision went black. He grabbed onto a tree trunk, presumably because the medicine was taking effect.
Su Yuexing stepped forward and asked, "Are you alright?"
He shook his head and said, "I'm fine!"
Seeing his pale face, which didn't look like he was alright, Su Yuexing said, "Why don't you rest for a bit and take it easy?"
Li Jinghe waved his hand in refusal, "We're not far now, let's hurry up and go."
The two hadn't walked for long when they stopped. Li Jinghe felt as if his blood had frozen, and his body swayed uncontrollably.
Su Yuexing wasn't much better off; her mind went blank. She gently helped Li Jinghe to the ground and settled him down.
Her hands trembled as she covered her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes. "Thank you..." she choked, unable to say anything more.
When Yue and the other two arrived, they were all shocked by the scene and stood there dumbfounded.
Xie Xuanye hung from the tree, the shadows of the leaves and the sunlight hitting him were extremely dazzling.
A stone weighed down the letter he left behind.
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