"That's how it is. Lin Zhou is definitely not that kind of person. You must believe him."
Song Ning smiled and said, "Of course I believe him, Your Highness. Don't worry, I didn't think too much about it."
Princess Jianing finally smiled: "That's good. Linzhou cares about you, so naturally he won't do anything to betray you."
“I know all that, but... I would like to meet that Miss Cao.”
"Why bother seeing her? Such a shameless girl would only defile your eyes."
"I just want to see him, in case... I can find out something."
Princess Jianing knew that Song Ning was a person with her own ideas, so she did not stop her and had someone take her away.
Although Cao Wan'er was imprisoned by the Duke's mansion, she was living quite well. She was given a private room and was not hungry for three meals a day.
When Song Ning came in, Cao Wan'er showed no fear of being locked up; instead, she looked stubborn.
What are you doing here?
"I heard that General Xie made a lewd move on you, so I came to see for myself."
"Since you know this, you should be sensible and back out. We have already consummated our marriage. You, a commoner, are you worthy of marrying into the Duke's mansion?"
Song Ning laughed: "Miss Cao, I haven't said anything yet, and you've already said I want to marry into the Duke's mansion. It seems you've done quite a thorough investigation of me."
Cao Wan'er's expression changed slightly, and she turned her head away from her, saying, "I don't want to see you. Get out."
“Miss Cao, it seems you have no awareness of being locked up. You are now locked up in the Duke’s mansion. Although the environment is different, it is no different from being a prisoner. I am not here to argue with you, but I have some questions to ask you.”
"Xie Linzhou made a lewd gesture towards me, and you actually sit idly by?"
"You don't need to worry about that. You just need to answer my questions."
"Who sent you?"
Cao Wan'er remained silent, and Song Ning, unhurried, asked again, "Is it the Second Prince? Or the Crown Prince?"
"Or...is it Tang Xinghuai?"
Song Ning observed Cao Wan'er's expression. Although she didn't find out who it was, she ultimately revealed a flaw.
Cao Wan'er is just a young girl after all; how much could she possibly be hiding in her heart? I wonder how the person behind the scenes could trust her so much?
"Do you know that no matter whether this is true or not, you won't survive?"
Since Cao Wan'er dared to come, she must have known this would be the outcome, but she still came. Why?
"Did the person behind you promise to save your life?"
"It's a pity that you can't leave the Duke's mansion alive. You've lost your chance to leave."
"impossible!"
Song Ning said calmly, "What kind of place is the Duke's Mansion? Do you think it's so easy to get in? Not only will you not be able to leave, but your family will also be implicated. At best, they will lose their official positions; at worst, they will lose their lives."
"Stop spreading alarmist rumors. Don't think I don't know you just want me to reveal who's behind this."
Song Ning couldn't help but laugh: "So you're admitting you have someone backing you up?"
Cao Wan'er immediately realized she had spoken out of turn, lowered her head guiltily, and said nothing more.
"You don't know yet, do you? Your Cao family has been imprisoned. It was His Majesty himself who ordered it. Can the person who made that promise to you influence His Majesty's decision?"
Those who wanted to harm Xie Linzhou truly underestimated Xie Linzhou's standing in the emperor's eyes.
His own nephew, Xie Linzhou, had a grandfather who was His Majesty's teacher, a father who was His Majesty's good friend, and a mother who was His Majesty's younger sister.
Over the years, the men of the Xie family have almost all died for the Jin Dynasty. Even if this story were true, His Majesty would turn a blind eye.
Furthermore, Xie Linzhou's current troubles point too clearly to this.
Cao Wan'er's expression finally changed: "What did you say?"
"I've said everything I needed to say. Think about it carefully yourself."
After saying that, he turned and left.
From her behavior just now, it's clear that Cao Wan'er cares about her family.
He instructed the old woman behind him, "Old woman, please find someone for me these next few days..."
The old woman's eyes lit up instantly. Miss Song is really clever. Now Cao Wan'er won't doubt her.
"Alright, this old servant will take care of it right away."
As I left Cao Wan'er's place, I ran into Jiang Shuyue.
"Sister Jiang, you've come at the right time. I have something I want to tell you."
When Song Ning told Jiang Shuyue what she had recently learned, Jiang Shuyue almost jumped up: "Are you telling the truth?"
Song Ning nodded: "I just tested Cao Wan'er. This matter with Xie Linzhou shouldn't have been done by Prince Qi. He's not that stupid. Of the remaining two people, only the Crown Prince is the culprit."
She didn't know much about the Second Prince's character, but based on Jiang Shuyue and Xie Linzhou's previous assessments of him, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would do something so stupid, so it could only be the Crown Prince.
To eliminate a competitor, he actually came up with such a stupid plan. No matter how smart Tang Xinghuai is, he can't outsmart a teammate who is incompetent.
"Since the Crown Prince dares to do this, we should also give him a big gift. Sister Jiang might be able to use this to ask His Majesty for a reward."
Jiang Shuyue understood what she meant and immediately grabbed Song Ning's hand tightly: "Ning, you've helped me again."
“I’m not helping you, I’m helping the people of the North.”
If this matter is handled well, the people of the North will have at least several decades of peace and stability.
"Is there any evidence for this?"
"Yes, you should know him, it's Master Tian from Jinxiufang."
Song Ning never expected that hiring just a tailor would lead to such a crucial person.
Tian Xing's hometown is a village outside the city, the same village where she went to check on the land last time.
That village used to be a well-known and prosperous place in the surrounding area, but later it caught the eye of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the city, who wanted to expropriate the village and the mountain behind it to build manors and villas.
The villagers have lived here for so many years, so naturally they wouldn't agree. But those people forced them to buy and sell. At first, they would give some money, but later they just robbed them and wouldn't even give them any money.
The mountains were requisitioned, the fields were taken away, what can be done with the few houses left to live in?
The villagers were forced into a corner and decided to sell their remaining belongings, move, and leave the village.
However, some people were unwilling to leave, and a dispute arose with those people, which resulted in a death.
Murder is a serious matter, and even the highest-ranking officials dare not speak out. His Majesty values the people's livelihood most, and the law clearly stipulates that any official who disregards human life will be severely punished.
In an effort to suppress the matter, those people began hunting down anyone in the village who knew the truth.
The survivors hid and fled, but when they had no other choice, they turned to Tian Xing, a fellow villager.
Tian Xing's family had already moved away from the village, but the villagers didn't recognize them, and they dared not go to the yamen for fear of being arrested and losing their lives.
So he went to Tian Xing, who knew that Song Ning was about to marry into the Duke's mansion, and he had asked her for help yesterday.
"Was this instigated by the Crown Prince?"
"Whether he instructed them is still uncertain, but it is definitely related to him."
Didn't they want to take on this job in the North? Now that this has happened, let's see how they still have the nerve to argue.
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