After listening to her speak so much in one breath, Shen Qinghuai focused on something else: "When you settled His Majesty in the Prince's villa, weren't you afraid Pei Zhixuan would find out?"
"I'm not afraid," Shen Yunjiao replied nonchalantly.
Seeing Shen Qinghuai's shocked expression, Shen Yunjiao added, "He now knows that I'm with Xiao and His Majesty."
Shen Qinghuai knew that his younger sister was always impulsive, but he didn't expect her to be so bold. He was taken aback and said with a slight annoyance, "But weren't you madly in love with Prince Pei before?"
"Now that she's come back to you, you're so carefree, just dumping her outright."
It's true that Shen Qinghuai used to dislike Pei Zhixuan.
But Pei Zhixuan first shielded his sister from Shen Yunmo's knife. Later, when Shen Zhizhang passed away, none of the officials came to pay their respects because they were unsure of His Majesty's attitude towards the Shen family. Only he came.
After that, Shen Qinghuai's impression of his former brother-in-law changed drastically. He no longer gave Pei Zhixuan the cold shoulder as before, and would even greet him politely when they occasionally met on their way to court.
Shen Qinghuai frowned, suddenly remembering the information his attendant had given him on the way.
"Jiaojiao, if Pei Zhixuan finds out about this, will he confront His Majesty? I just heard that he vomited blood and fainted after leaving Feihua Palace."
Shen Yunjiao looked at Shen Qinghuai with a complicated expression.
She was well aware of Pei Zhixuan's nature.
Since he vomited blood, it proves that he was angered by Xiao Huaijin.
It's unclear whether Xiao Huaijin was also furious when confronted by him.
I wonder what it would be like if these two were to fight in the palace?
However, Xiao Huaijin was always clear-headed and would not try to trip up Pei Zhixuan in private; at most, he would confront him head-on.
Shen Yunjiao's eyes twitched, and she decided not to think about these upsetting things.
“Brother, don’t worry about other things. Although I am a woman, I also have the right to love.” Shen Yunjiao stood up and poured a cup of Longjing tea into Shen Qinghuai’s cup. “I know the principle that an elder brother is like a father, but let me decide on my own marriage.”
Shen Yun's clear and bright eyes were unusually firm.
Shen Qinghuai paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and thought for a while before saying, "It's a good thing that His Majesty has deep feelings for you, but we must also guard our own hearts and not give them away easily."
“Brother, I’m not that stupid.” Shen Yunjiao chuckled lightly. Seeing that Shen Qinghuai’s expression had softened, she smiled and rested her chin on her hands.
"Brother, don't just talk about me. Aren't you of marriageable age too?"
Shen Yunjiao pursed her lips and whispered in Shen Qinghuai's ear, "I think Zhixuan is quite nice."
"naughty!"
Shen Qinghuai deliberately gave Shen Yunjiao a stern scolding.
Shen Yunjiao winked playfully at her brother before sitting up straight and reverting to her dignified demeanor.
This meal was the most delicious meal the Shen siblings had eaten in recent days.
Shen Yunjiao also learned from Shen Qinghuai that Xiao Huaijin was recently rectifying the discipline of the court, which would inevitably uncover a large number of corrupt officials.
Just after having dinner, she received a letter from Yan Shiman.
It turns out that Yu Qian, the official in charge of disaster relief in Yongzhou at the time, was a distant cousin of Zhao Shuyi, the current prefect of Yongzhou.
Yan Shiman discovered more than just these things. When Prefect Ye was arrested and imprisoned, Minister of Revenue Lin Ziyu recommended Zhao Shuyi, who was then the head of the Ministry of Revenue, to be the prefect of Yongzhou.
After the disaster relief efforts, Yu Qian suddenly purchased four estates in Beijing and a hundred acres of fertile land in the suburbs.
How did he suddenly have so much money? Is this money the silver allocated by the imperial court for disaster relief?
After pondering for a while, Shen Yunjiao finally figured out the matter.
If Lady Ruoye is innocent, then it proves that these three are indeed guilty.
The officials in charge of personnel, the prefect of Yongzhou, and the minister of revenue colluded to try to seize control of Yongzhou.
After obtaining this useful information, Shen Yunjiao went to the West Courtyard that very night to ask Shen Qinghuai for help.
The next day, after attending court, Shen Qinghuai submitted a memorial to the new emperor, requesting a thorough investigation into the corruption case of the former prefect of Yongzhou.
After being investigated by the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review, the truth of the case was finally revealed.
Under severe torture, Yu Qian, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Personnel, revealed everything about how he framed Lord Ye and how he colluded with the Minister of Revenue.
It turned out that the disaster relief funds had been secretly delivered to the villa of Lin Ziyu, the Minister of Revenue, on the way to Yongzhou.
When Xiao Huaijin learned of this, he was furious. In a fit of anger, he ordered a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice, uncovering several more rats hiding in the gutter.
With this, Ye Zhixuan's father was finally exonerated, and Xiao Huaijin's first purge as the new emperor came to an end.
Upon receiving this good news, Shen Qinghuai rushed home without stopping, heading straight to Shen Yunjiao's residence without even changing out of his official robes.
Just then, Ye Zhixuan and Shen Yunjiao were brewing tea and lighting lamps in the side room.
As soon as Shen Qinghuai met Ye Zhixuan, he told her about it.
"Really?" Ye Zhixuan was so excited that she could barely hold her writing brush. "Lord Shen, my father will be back tomorrow?"
Shen Qinghuai nodded with a smile, "His Majesty is a wise ruler. After investigating this wrongful case, he ordered the prison warden to bring Lord Ye out of prison. Lord Ye is currently having dinner with His Majesty in the palace, so I imagine Miss Zhixuan will be able to see him tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhixuan burst into tears of joy, her tears falling like broken pearls onto the Xuan paper, spreading into ink flowers.
Shen Yunjiao smiled and wiped away her tears, "Oh dear, this is a joyous occasion, don't cry."
Ye Zhixuan put down her writing brush, wiped away her tears, and was about to kneel down before Shen Yunjiao when she was swiftly pulled up by her.
"Why are you kneeling again?" Shen Yunjiao was both amused and exasperated. She quickly pulled him to a pear blossom chair. "You need to change this habit of kneeling at the drop of a hat."
"Yun Jiao, thank you," Ye Zhixuan said, crying. "You've done our whole family a huge favor."
Her tears clung to her thick black feathers, her nose was bright red, and her former composure was nowhere to be seen.
Shen Yunjiao rubbed her head and laughed, "We grew up together since we were little, so our relationship is naturally special. Why are you being so polite with me?"
It was the first time Shen Qinghuai had ever seen a beautiful woman with tears streaming down her face, her face like a pear blossom in the rain. He was at a loss for what to do and could only stand there like a wooden statue, but his gaze remained fixed on Ye Zhixuan.
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