Among the officials of the current dynasty, Yin Yichen had been raised by the emperor since childhood, and he and the prince were as close as brothers. In terms of power, he was second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Now, no one in the court dared to offend or neglect him.
As soon as the servant finished speaking, Wen Xian immediately stood up from his chair, his expression showing a bit of panic, "Why is Prime Minister Yin here? Why don't you welcome him in quickly?"
Wen Xiancai finished speaking, then seemed to realize something and said to the servant, "Wait, let him sit in the front hall, I'll be there soon."
But before the servant turned around, Yin Yichen had already swaggered in.
Yin Yichen had a straight face, thin lips but not a harsh expression, and a pair of affectionate eyes that seemed cold and distant. He was dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe, a jade pendant tied to his waist belt, its tassels swaying with the hem. Now that the weather was warm, he slowly entered the room, holding a folding fan, looking as if he were in a state of peace and tranquility.
Yin Yichen leaned against the door, his eyes slowly sweeping over the people in the hall. His expression was so cold that no emotion could be seen. "The Minister has asked for leave to stay home to take care of family matters."
"That's right, that's right." Wen Xian nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Your Excellency has come to visit us today, but is there anything important you would like to instruct me on?"
Yin Yichen was always blunt in his words. He sneered and said, "There's nothing important, but I just find it strange that the Minister has so much official business to deal with, yet he has the leisure to gather with his in-laws here?"
"We are dealing with an urgent matter right now." Wen Xian sighed and said quickly, "Once I finish the things at hand, I will start to take care of what the adults are looking for starting tomorrow."
"Oh." Yin Yichen took two more steps inside and said with a smile, "If you don't mind, could you let me listen to the fun from the side?"
"This..." Wen Xian's face was filled with unease. If his current family affairs were to become known, his reputation would be tarnished. Furthermore, if the dispute with the Song family over interest payments were to be heard, there would be no room for maneuver. He was momentarily uneasy.
Wen Xian didn't expect Song Jing to speak first. "There's nothing bad to say. Since the Prime Minister wants to listen, please sit down. My daughter is getting a divorce now, so it's not a shameful thing."
"So that's what this is..." Yin Yichen glanced at Song Wanning, who was sitting on a chair. He saw that Song Wanning was sitting upright, with a calm demeanor, and was indeed dignified and steady. Yin Yichen smiled slightly and said, "Since the general said so, I must witness such a grand occasion."
Yin Yichen said, sitting on the chair next to Wen Xian, and said, "Perhaps, as the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, I can help to make a decision. You guys continue, and don't worry about me."
When Wen Tingbai saw Yin Yichen coming, he hesitated for a moment. He was afraid that if Yin Yichen heard about Song Wanning's interest, it would be like a lawsuit and the divorce would be a done deal, which was not what he really wanted.
Yin Yichen, who was sitting upstairs, saw that no one was talking and chuckled, "Why aren't you talking? Am I getting in your way here?"
"I dare not." Wen Xian, who was sitting next to Yin Yichen, had no idea what his son wanted. He just said, "She has been married to my family for more than three years. Now that we are getting a divorce, all the dowry must be returned home."
Wen Tingbai heard his father speak and quickly interrupted, "Father, now that Wan Ning has done something like that, how can we let her off so easily?"
Wen Xian looked at his son unhappily and said coldly, "Shut up, you have no right to speak here."
"Oh?" Yin Yichen sat beside Wen Xian and raised his eyelids lazily. "I'm actually very curious. What on earth did the general's daughter do wrong to make the minister's son so angry?"
"It's just some small things, small things." Wen Xian smiled repeatedly and didn't want to expose his family's ugly affairs in front of others.
Seeing that there was no turning back, Wen Tingbai glanced at Song Wanning. Song Wanning didn't seem afraid of him at all, which made Wen Tingbai feel even more uneasy. He said coldly, "Song Wanning is lending money at interest, violating the laws of the dynasty. This is truly unacceptable. Speaking out would only offend the Prime Minister."
"I'd like to hear the details." Yin Yichen still had a smile on his face and said slowly, "I'd like to hear how much interest you lent out and to how many people did you lend it to?"
"A total of three thousand taels of interest was only given to me." Wen Tingbai was now disregarding all else, his gaze fixed on the Prime Minister sitting above him. "Song Wanning has defied the law and committed such a crime. In your opinion, what is the sentence?"
Now everyone in the court knew that Yin Yichen had always been ruthless. Everyone in the hall took a breath when they heard what Wen Tingbai said.
Song Jing was the first to stand up. "Prime Minister Yin, there are countless people lending money at interest throughout the capital. Even if I were to lend money at interest, I would only lend it to one person. I beg the Prime Minister to show some mercy. My Mighty General's Mansion owes you a favor."
Wen Tingbai became anxious after hearing Song Jing's words. He pursed his lips and said, "Everyone in the world says that the prime minister of this dynasty will not bend the law for personal gain. I believe that the prime minister will also be able to handle matters impartially without fear of power."
Wen Tingbai said this, but Yin Yichen didn't even raise his eyelids. He just smiled and said, "Speaking of interest, I know another story."
As Yin Yichen spoke, his gaze slowly fell on the old lady at the other end, then turned back to Wen Tingbai. "As far as I know, the old lady of the Marquis of Zhongping's mansion has been lending money at interest for twenty years. If she were to be convicted, she would be executed the following autumn. Miss Song from the General's mansion lent out three thousand taels, but because she only released one person, her punishment is only a little over three months of confinement... Does the Left Censor really want me to handle this impartially?"
When Yin Yichen said this, everyone's faces were shocked. Rumor had it that the Prime Minister had spies in every corner of the capital, and now it seemed that this news was probably true.
Before Wen Tingbai could say anything, the old lady sitting above him immediately stood up and walked up to Wen Tingbai in two steps. "Brother Bo, what are you talking about? I have loved you since you were a child, and this is how you treat me with filial piety? Why don't you apologize to the Prime Minister?"
Wen Tingbai was dumbfounded. He had no idea that the old lady was actually involved in such activities outside the court, and that the prime minister had even known about it. As a result, the evidence he held against Song Wanning became a discarded pawn, no longer of any use.
Wen Tingbai's face was ashen, knowing that he had lost the right to bargain with the mighty general's mansion. He simply lowered his head and said, "I was indeed reckless today. I hope that the Prime Minister will forgive my fault and just treat it as a joke."
Yin Yichen, who was sitting up there, seemed to have heard something funny, a faint smile appeared on his face, "Joke?"
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