Chapter 184 Wei Junyan's Formidable Rival
The room remained silent for a long time.
Outside the window, Yun Zhao clenched his fists, wishing he could climb in right now, grab Ling Xuerou by the collar and shake her.
Who is it?!
After a long while, Ling Xuerou's voice rang out.
In the spring of the eighth year of the Yuanqi era, a plague swept through Jiangnan. Ding Yan was ordered to investigate, and the disaster relief funds were stolen.
The case was fraught with complications, ultimately resulting in the downfall of dozens of officials in Jiangnan. Among them, the Governor-General of Jiangnan was able to atone for his past mistakes through meritorious service.
The Empress pleaded for his life, and he was spared. Ding Yan investigated and confirmed that he was from the maternal family of the Princess Consort of Huainan.
As a result of Wen Qingbo's actions, his clan was stripped of their titles, and except for the Princess of Huainan, the entire clan was exiled to the northwest.
"Earl Wenqing? A low-ranking nobleman, how could he possibly have such ability?"
Ling Ruofeng didn't believe that a low-ranking nobleman who couldn't even get into the palace banquets could have the ability to embezzle such a large sum of money.
Yun Zhao didn't believe it at all.
In his previous life, the King of Huainan was so powerful and respected the Queen of Huainan so much, how could his entire clan have been exiled?
"That's because Wenqingbo was just a scapegoat."
Yun Zhao immediately sensed something was wrong.
If Wenqingbo was the scapegoat, then someone must have promised something to the Princess Consort of Huainan, which is why the Prince of Huainan became so powerful later on!
In his previous life, Ling Ruofeng went to great lengths to send her to the heir of the Prince of Huainan. At that time, the Fifth Prince was already in decline, and the Empress had already passed away.
Therefore, the person behind the Prince of Huainan is neither the Fifth Prince nor the Empress.
Could it be that he's one of Wei Junyan's men?!
Yun Zhao felt a chill run through his body, and even his breathing became rapid.
After a moment, Ling Xuerou continued, "Father, what you said in the dream was that Wenqingbo was a scapegoat for Ningqianhou."
"It was His Majesty who, in order to protect the Marquis of Ningqian, promised the Earl of Wenqing that as long as he took the blame, his fiefdom would never be stripped during his lifetime."
"Never reduce the power of the vassal kings? That's impossible. Ever since the King of Loulan was convicted of treason, His Majesty has always been extremely wary of the vassal kings."
Now only the King of Huainan and the King of Beiqing remain. Beiqing is impoverished and not a threat.
But Huainan is wealthy; why would he make such a promise to the King of Huainan?
Ling Ruofeng was skeptical of this.
Lin Shujing was completely confused. "Xue'er, you should know that the King of Loulan rebelled back then..."
The entire clan was almost wiped out. How could His Majesty, so wary of the vassal kings, make such a promise to Huainan?
“Mother, the King of Loulan was once a powerful and well-equipped army, which His Majesty naturally feared. But the King of Huainan is different.”
Huainan was prosperous, and the southern barbarians were no match for it. Over the years, Huainan had become utterly corrupt.
Moreover, the heir apparent of the Prince of Huainan is utterly incompetent, so His Majesty naturally has no concern that Huainan will rebel.
Ling Xuerou sneered.
“You’re right. In that case, we can use this to report this matter to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.”
Tell him to shift all the blame to Ding Yan and not to get involved in this matter, lest he needlessly displease His Majesty.
"No."
Ling Ruofeng had just opened his mouth when Ling Xuerou interrupted him.
"Marquis Ningqian was later a formidable rival of Wei Junyan. Father, we should have the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner take over this matter."
The evidence points directly to Marquis Ningqian. Bringing him down from his post would not only allow them to plunder his property, but also seize his 50,000 troops.
"If we could replace him with one of the Fifth Prince's men, then the Fifth Prince and Wei Junyan could work together from the inside, and Father, you would have rendered a service to the emperor!"
Wei Junyan?!
Yun Zhao couldn't help but catch his breath.
As expected, Ling Xuerou, having been reborn, would definitely contact Wei Junyan in advance.
That's wonderful! Wei Junyan is only a teenager.
She could have taken the opportunity to kill him and avenge her family's past life!
As for the crimes of Marquis Ningqian, she certainly couldn't let them escape!
Marquis Ningqian was greedy for money, but he was a skilled military commander.
His Majesty's decision to protect him likely stems from a lack of capable officials in the court.
But those who even embezzle disaster relief funds must not be allowed to live!
When Yun Zhao heard that there was no more movement inside, she quickly told Tiger to take her away.
She had to think of a way to tell Ding Yan about this!
Back in the room, Xu Qingyi quickly went up to her and looked her up and down.
"Zhaozhao, where did you go? Jingchen said he was looking for you, but he didn't see you and the tiger!"
Yun Zhao: ...
She assumed that Wei Jingchen had secretly gone to that courtyard with Lu Li and didn't intend for her to know about it.
That was too hasty.
Yun Zhao immediately pretended to look scared and waved to Xu Qingyi.
"Mother, Zhao Zhao has something to tell you!"
Xu Qingyi quickly squatted down, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She quickly leaned close to Xu Qingyi's ear and whispered, "I just took Tiger to pee, and I overheard Uncle Ling and the others talking about doing something naughty!"
"What? But Lord Ding and Lord Wei are both not here. We'll go tell your father!"
Xu Qingyi knew she was completely ignorant of these schemes and tricks, so she quickly picked up her daughter and took her to the next room.
The inn didn't have many rooms, and they still kept men and women in separate rooms.
At this moment, Yunxuan was living in a room with the Xu brothers and the male members of the Wei family.
She knocked on the door politely, and Wei Mingyu answered it.
"Second Master Wei, Zhao Zhao misses her father, so I brought her here to see him."
"Come in quickly!"
It's only natural for a daughter to miss her father, so Wei Mingyu quickly turned to the side.
Upon hearing the sound, Yunxuan quickly turned around.
Yun Zhao ran over and whispered something in Yun Xuan's ear.
Xu Qingyi watched anxiously from the side, only to see Yun Xuan's expression change as he asked in a low voice, "Who else did you tell about this?"
"No, I only told my mother."
Yun Zhao shook his head and explained.
"Anan, come, help me up, I'm going to see Lord Ding myself!"
Yunxuan hurriedly tried to get up, but Xu Yinan was startled and grabbed his arm.
“Brother-in-law, Jingchen hasn’t returned yet. Lord Ding might still be in that courtyard. Why don’t we wait for him to come back…”
"No, this is extremely urgent, we must go there immediately!"
"Second Uncle, we have to go quietly. You put Daddy on Huahua's back, and Huahua can sneak out!"
Yunxuan is now extremely thin, and it's not impossible for his mother, with her robust physique, to lift him up.
Yunxuan looked out the door in astonishment. The tiger was squatting there, its eerie green eyes terrifying.
He swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.
"Daddy, don't be afraid, Huahua is a very good girl!"
Yunxuan nodded: "If Zhaozhao isn't afraid, then Father isn't afraid either!"
His daughter is only five years old and she can be so bold. As her father, how can he back down?
It's just a tiger!
He's not afraid at all!
Xu Yinan and Wei Mingyu worked together to put Yunxuan on the tiger's back, and were immediately a little worried.
"And what about you, Zhao Zhao?"
Although Yunxuan is thin now, he is still a grown man.
As soon as he lay down, there was no space left on the tiger's back.
"Huahua can take Zhaozhao to see Uncle Ding, don't be afraid~"
Yun Zhao ran outside the door; she was so small that no one could see her when she hid in the shadows.
"Huahua, let's go!"
Xu Qingyi took two steps after him with concern, but Xu Yinan quickly pulled her sister back.
"Sister, Zhao Zhao said to go quietly, so let's pretend that Zhao Zhao is taking care of brother-in-law in the room. You shouldn't go out either, so that others won't see you."
Xu Yinan was clever and naturally knew that when she said "quietly," she meant that the Ling family and Old Madam Xu should not find out.
"Yes, I understand."
Xu Qingyi was worried about her husband and daughter, but could only stand in the room anxiously.
Yun Zhao walked slowly, so the tiger followed slowly, reminding her from time to time that someone was there.
Looking at his daughter's furtive behavior, Yunxuan couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
If he weren't now a cripple, why would he let his daughter take this risk?
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