When Shang Wei, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, heard that the yamen runners had arrested Lady Mingzhao's daughter, he was immediately troubled.
Lady Mingzhao is a rising star in the court. Although she is a widow, she has made great contributions to the Great Yan Dynasty since she was granted the title, and she also has Prince Chen as her backer.
It's obvious to everyone that the emperor dotes on Xiao Mochen, and if nothing unexpected happens, Xiao Mochen will be the next emperor.
Of course, it could also be the eldest prince, Xiao Moyan, who is the emperor's eldest son, while Xiao Mochen is the emperor's legitimate son.
Currently, the two are evenly matched, but the eldest prince does not have the same favor with the emperor as the prince.
In addition, Xiao Mochen has accomplished a lot since entering the court, and some upright officials have already begun to favor him, including himself.
Just as Shang Wei was about to give some instructions on not to neglect Lady Mingzhao's daughter, a yamen runner came to report that Lady Mingzhao and Vice Minister Ling of the Ministry of Revenue had arrived.
Shang Wei and Ling Ziyuan had been through several things together, and since they were both currently of the third rank, they were quite familiar with each other. In principle, there was no need for Shang Wei to greet him.
But Yan Qingqing is different. She is a second-rank lady appointed by the emperor and also has a title.
Shang Wei quickly straightened his clothes and came out to greet him.
As soon as he stepped out of the second gate, he saw a man and a woman walking side by side; it was Yan Qingqing and Ling Ziyuan.
Shang Wei saw that Yan Qingqing's demeanor and elegance were no less than those of the young ladies from noble families and matriarchs of noble households who had been raised since childhood, and she was even more lively than them.
He secretly felt sorry for her because she was a widow.
However, Shang Wei quickly composed himself, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Greetings, Lady Mingzhao."
Yan Qingqing replied with a smile, "Lord Shang, there's no need for such formalities."
Shang Wei then exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ling Ziyuan.
Shang Wei turned to Yan Qingqing and asked directly, "Did Madam Mingzhao come here because of the Second Miss?"
Yan Qingqing sighed and replied, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Lord Shang. I came here because of that troublesome, rebellious daughter."
I wonder if I could meet her.
Ling Ziyuan chimed in, "Don't worry, Lord Shang. Madam Mingzhao was just worried that the second young lady was too young and might be scared, so she wanted to comfort her. She didn't mean anything else."
Upon hearing this, Shang Wei laughed and said, "What are you saying, Lord Ling?"
I know the Second Miss didn't mean it; it's just my duty as the Prefect of the Capital. Please, Madam Mingzhao, don't take offense.
Shang Wei isn't stupid. Ling Ziyuan dared to beat up Lord Wu in front of the Emperor in the Golden Hall for Lady Mingzhao's sake, and today he came to the Jingzhao Prefecture with her. It's obvious that he's supporting Lady Mingzhao.
Besides, as long as Han Yu doesn't hold it against him, what can anyone say?
Therefore, Shang Wei's attitude was exceptionally good.
Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "Lord Shang, what are you saying? I am not an unreasonable person."
I fully support your routine procedures.
Since things had come to this point, Shang Wei couldn't say anything more polite and directly led Yan Qingqing and the others to the Jingzhao Prefecture prison.
Li Yueniang was terrified while locked in the cell, but she forced herself to remain calm.
She believed her mother would save her, and Ruhua was there with her.
Suddenly hearing footsteps, the two girls jumped in fright. Ruhua whispered, "Girl, people are coming. Will they torture us?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yueniang trembled slightly but pretended to be calm and said, "No, no, we didn't do it on purpose."
At worst, we can apologize to Young Master Han when we get out.
Don't worry, my mother will come to save us.
Ruhua said with a sob in her voice, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have encouraged the girl to throw the handkerchief."
If they use torture, I'll take it for the girl.
Before Li Yueniang could speak, Yan Qingqing's voice came: "Good girl, she is a loyal protector of her master."
Li Yueniang and Ruhua were immediately excited upon hearing Yan Qingqing's voice.
Li Yueniang clung to the cell door, looking at Yan Qingqing with teary eyes.
She finally saw her mother, and she was terrified. Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
Ruhua knelt down with a thud. She was scared too; the girl's imprisonment was all because of her bad advice.
Fortunately, the lady of the house was able to come and visit them in prison.
Yan Qingqing did not scold Li Yueniang. The incident had already happened, and the child was already pale with fright. Besides, Li Yueniang did not do it on purpose; she just did not consider the consequences.
Yan Qingqing gently comforted the two of them.
Meanwhile, back in the palace, the fact that the top scholar was injured while parading through the streets was unprecedented since the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty, so even the emperor was alarmed.
Han Yu was already awake when he was carried to the palace gate, but he refused to open his eyes.
He's probably the unluckiest top scholar in history; he got knocked unconscious while just being paraded through the streets.
Only a clever and quirky girl like Li Yueniang could come up with the idea of hiding silver in a handkerchief.
However, it would be too embarrassing to tell anyone, so he could only lie on the door panel and pretend to be dead.
Upon receiving the news, Xiao Mochen also rushed to the palace.
He was also startled when he received Ah Da's message. If Han Yu was killed, it would be a big problem.
When Xiao Mochen arrived at the palace, the imperial physician had already examined Han Yu.
The emperor asked, "How is Minister Han's injury?"
The imperial physician bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty, judging from the injuries, there is nothing serious."
The eldest prince, who was standing to the side, also knew that it was Li Yueniang who had injured Han Yu. He felt that this was a good opportunity to win people's hearts and trample on Yan Qingqing, so he said, "Then why hasn't he woken up yet?"
"You audacious scoundrel! Truly a boorish country bumpkin. To dare injure a court official appointed by the Emperor himself in the street, relying solely on your family's power, shows utter disrespect for the Emperor!"
Members of the First Prince's faction echoed the call, demanding severe punishment for Li Yueniang.
Xiao Mochen snorted and said, "Your Royal Brother's ability to escalate things to a higher level is truly impressive."
Such a trivial matter has somehow escalated to the point of involving the Emperor.
If you ask me, it's because Minister Han is too popular with those women.
It was just a slightly excessive act; I can apologize to Minister Han later.
The eldest prince immediately disagreed and retorted, "Ninth brother, what you said is inappropriate."
You can't protect them just because you have a good relationship with Lady Mingzhao. That wouldn't be fair to Minister Han.
In my opinion, Li Yueniang should first be given fifty lashes, then exiled to the border, to prevent these people from becoming arrogant and presumptuous because of the emperor's favor.
Xiao Moyan's words were clearly directed at him.
Even Han Yu, who was lying down pretending to be dead, could tell that if he didn't get up soon, the blame would be pinned on Yan Qingqing.
Lady Mingzhao was his savior; he couldn't allow anyone to slander her like this.
Han Yu, upon thinking of this, "slowly woke up," then sat up and said, "Your Highnesses, please stop arguing. I am fine, just a little faint at the sight of blood."
The second daughter of the Li family certainly didn't do it intentionally; after all, we've known each other for quite a while.
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