The case of the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion is like pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud along with it.
It started as a minor squabble between the two families. Even if Xue Shaojun's evil deeds were proven beyond a doubt, as long as the Prince of Huaiyang upheld justice and punished his own relatives, the Prince's mansion would not be implicated. But no one expected that a divorce case would lead to a serious case involving the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion selling smuggled salt for profit and murder to cover up the crime.
Salt tax is a matter of national importance, and the sale of smuggled salt has always been a serious crime. Upon hearing of this, Emperor Cheng'an immediately ordered the Salt and Iron Bureau and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate the case. The brief assignment of Prince Shou, Xue Gui, was quickly handed over to Cui Zichen, the deputy commissioner of the Salt and Iron Bureau.
When Cui Zichen went to the Cui family to arrest the person with the officials from the Ministry of Justice in charge of the case, Xue Shaojun saw the nonchalant smile on his face and immediately understood everything.
How could it be such a coincidence that a victim went to the capital to file a complaint right when his affair with Xie Qinglan came to light?
The Prince's Mansion's smuggling of salt is not a recent phenomenon. They have been doing it discreetly, with all the officials and their associates well-connected. Moreover, it's not just them doing it alone, so there have never been any problems.
It's Cui Zichen.
Only Cui Zichen.
The Salt and Iron Commissioner, who oversaw salt, iron, and tea throughout the country, had always turned a blind eye to the "business" of the Tokyo families. However, if they really wanted to investigate, they would find out the truth every time.
Xue Shaojun stared at Cui Zichen in utter shock, but couldn't utter a single word.
On the contrary, the Prince of Huaiyang was still trying to build a relationship, handing over a thick wad of silver notes while concealing them with his sleeve, before Xue Shaojun could stop him.
"What does the Prince of Huaiyang mean by this?" Cui Zichen took the silver notes, but smiled and placed them on the table. He turned to the official from the Ministry of Justice and said, "Such a large amount, isn't this bribery?" His upturned eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a cold light: "Lord Cao must testify for me that I did not dare to touch a single one of these silver notes."
The Prince of Huaiyang turned ashen-faced.
If they won't even accept banknotes, then there's absolutely no room for negotiation.
Watching from the side, Xue Shaojun felt a chill run down his spine. He gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Cui, isn't this settling a personal score?"
Cui Zichen looked surprised and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What grudge do I have against Young Master Xue and the Prince's Mansion? I'm just following orders to investigate a case, how does that become settling a personal score?"
Seeing his confident and fearless demeanor, Xue Shaojun ultimately didn't finish her sentence.
The officials from the Ministry of Justice took the Prince of Huaiyang and Xue Shaojun and left cleanly and efficiently.
The Princess Consort watched helplessly as the man was taken away, pacing anxiously, "What should we do?" She looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang, "Isn't your uncle working in the Ministry of Justice? Maybe he can find out some information?"
Zhang said, "I'll go home right now."
*
News of the imprisonment of the Prince of Huaiyang and Xue Shaojun quickly reached the Xie family.
After discussing it with his wife, Xie Lianhong decided to go to the prison to have Xue Shaojun sign the drafted divorce papers.
Their original intention was to avoid involving Xie Qinglan, and ideally, to prevent her from even meeting Xue Shaojun. They believed that once the divorce agreement was signed, their future marriages and other matters would be completely separate.
Just as Xie Lianhong was about to leave the mansion with the divorce papers, Xie Qinglan hurriedly chased after him and stopped him.
"Where is Dad going?"
Looking at his daughter's pointed little face, Xie Lianhong naturally couldn't tell her the truth, so he vaguely said, "There are some matters at the government office..."
Xie Qinglan snorted and tilted her chin up, saying, "Still trying to fool me? I overheard you discussing this with Mother. You're going to get Xue Shaojun to sign the divorce papers?"
Xie Lianhong looked helpless: "You child..."
"I'll go myself. It was me who got married to him, so I have to handle the divorce myself." Xie Qinglan took out the divorce papers she had prepared: "Here, I've already written the divorce papers."
Xie Lianhong's eyelids twitched, and after taking the book and reading it, he said, "Aren't you kidding me? Young Master Xue might not be willing to sign it."
Xie Qinglan said, "He deliberately deceived me, but I can only divorce him. Wouldn't that be letting him off easy? Moreover, if the smuggling of salt is true, the entire Prince Huaiyang's mansion will be implicated. If I divorce him now, what will outsiders say about me?"
Xie Lianhong was well aware of these things, but he would rather endure gossip than let his daughter be left unscathed.
Seeing his hesitation, Xie Qinglan playfully shook his arm and said, "Let me handle it myself first. If it doesn't work, then Father can go."
Xie Lianhong couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he could only nod. Seeing that she had even prepared a carriage, he felt even more helpless: "Can you manage alone?"
Xie Qinglan lifted her skirt and boarded the carriage, then lifted the curtain and said, "Zhaozhao, come with me."
Hearing that Shen Youying was accompanying him, Xie Lianhong felt much more at ease.
The girl from the Shen family has always been sensible and reliable. Seeing that his daughter did not look depressed but was instead full of fighting spirit, Xie Lianhong simply let go and let her do whatever she wanted.
Xie Qinglan first went to the Prince of Qin's mansion to pick up Shen Youying.
Shen Youying read the letter of divorce she wrote and praised, "Good writing, but it doesn't quite look like something you would write."
Xie Qinglan pouted, puzzled, "You can even tell that?"
Shen Youying couldn't help but laugh, pointing to the words on the letter of divorce: "Because I was young and inexperienced, I was deceived by your sweet words and admired your talent, so I treated you as my husband. You should have fulfilled your duties as a husband and cherished and loved me, but I never expected that you would not know this, have no heart to treat me well, and instead become treacherous and make many mistakes." She teased, "This looks like something you copied from a storybook, doesn't it?"
"You guessed it all." Xie Qinglan snorted and tickled her. "You're the smartest one!"
The two laughed and joked all the way, and soon arrived at the Ministry of Justice prison.
Xie Qinglan was about to ask Lian Qiao to take care of the guards when a guard stepped forward and respectfully said, "Greetings, Princess Qin and Lady Xie. Lord Cui has already instructed that if Lady Xie comes, she can simply go in."
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