Su Yuanqing subconsciously wanted to say that Su Xiangling was the mastermind. His voice was not too loud, but He who was beside him heard it clearly.
Upon hearing this, He immediately grabbed Su Yuanqing and pinched his arm hard.
Then he whispered, "Don't mention your sister. If you dare to say it was your sister's idea again, I won't forgive you."
This was the first time that Mrs. He, who always favored her son, spoke up for her daughter.
Perhaps it was because of the heartache she had just felt for her daughter. Perhaps it was because of Su Xiangling's current status that she couldn't bear to ruin her future.
Even He himself didn't know why.
But I have to protect my daughter and my son as well.
It's so cold, how could anyone live in a place like the Ministry of Justice Prison? After one night, I'm afraid they'd be half dead.
She raised her head and saw Su Qingyu and Shen Zhixiu talking with their heads down. Shen Zhixiu looked at Su Qingyu with eyes full of doting.
He walked straight to Su Qingyu and knelt down.
"Miss, please spare your brother for the sake of our blood relationship."
"Please help Second Aunt, Second Aunt can only count on you."
"Your grandmother is still ill. If she knew, her condition would definitely worsen. Miss, you don't want to be that unfilial granddaughter, right?"
He's voice was quite loud, and several officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were about to leave looked over.
Su Qingyu's brows furrowed, a trace of impatience on her face. She had no idea what He was thinking, that he would actually beg a victim like her for help.
The moment He knelt down, Su Qingyu moved away and did not accept her greeting.
After listening to her, he continued in a cold voice: "The prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as the common people. Not to mention my cousin, even if I committed a crime, I would have to accept the judgment of the Great Zhou Law."
"As for Grandmother, if she is really angry about this and her condition worsens, then that would be unfilial of my second brother."
"Aunt, you can kneel if you want. It's freezing cold. I'm going back first."
Jade and Pearl brought the cloak and helped her tie it on, and handed her the prepared heater.
Before leaving, Su Qingyu instructed Su Shunci, "When you and mother are done with your work tonight, go home early."
These days, Su Qingyu has been helping out at noon, and Lin Wanyin has been coming in the evening. Su Shunci is here all day, and thankfully, Lin Wuchen is also here most of the time, so Su Qingyu has nothing to worry about.
Su Shunci replied "OK" and told her to go back without worry.
Shen Zhixiu gave a few more instructions to the official on duty at the Ministry of Revenue, then followed Su Qingyu into the carriage and returned home.
Although the capital was experiencing heavy snow and light snow, the Imperial Guards had been constantly clearing the snow, so the streets were relatively clean and the carriages were moving steadily.
Su Qingyu was looking out through the gap in the carriage curtain at the street outside. The capital was the emperor's capital, and disaster relief efforts were strong. There were no victims begging outside, or freezing or starving to death on the roadside.
But the situation outside the capital is unknown.
Su Qingyu thought of Li Yunzhou, who was still fighting in the northern border, and a trace of worry crossed her brows. If the capital was so cold, how much colder would it be further north?
Shen Zhixiu hated to see her frowning, so he put his arm around her shoulders and asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"
Su Qingyu suppressed her worries and turned to give him a smile.
"I want to eat the beef pie from Chengnan Wangji."
Shen Zhixiu raised his voice and ordered Wen Zhu, "Go to the south of the city."
Su Qingyu nestled in his arms, quietly watching the snow passing by outside.
Suddenly, Shen Zhixiu said, "Everything is fine in Yunzhou. There was another victory report this morning."
"The food and fodder we prepared earlier has been delivered to Yunzhou."
"As for the grain and grass that the Li family is transporting, they are at Black Tiger Mountain, and Wuchen's people are already prepared."
"Once they report that the food supplies have been robbed, the guards will relax considerably. Then Wuchen's men will rob the food supplies and deliver them directly to Yunzhou."
Su Qingyu was startled. "How do you know I'm worried about this?"
Shen Zhixiu couldn't help laughing, and hugged her directly on his lap, holding her tightly with both hands.
His chin rested on the hollow of her shoulder. "How could I not know what you're thinking? Don't worry, Yunzhou is a natural born handsome man, otherwise I wouldn't have taught him so carefully for so many years."
Su Qingyu looked at the snow outside and suddenly remembered that she had been reborn for more than a year. Ever since she publicly said in his mourning hall that she would remain faithful to him, they had been entangled in the dark.
She raised her head, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him seriously.
Their lips and teeth were entangled wildly, and Shen Zhixiu's hands pinching her waist became hotter and hotter.
…
The two of them ate the pastries and returned to the Shen family. It was already completely dark.
After returning home, Shen Zhixiu went straight to the study. When he finished his work and went back to rest, Su Qingyu was already lying on the bed, breathing evenly.
He lay down beside her carefully, afraid to startle her. After lying down, he pulled her into his arms.
Su Qingyu showed no signs of waking up, and found a familiar position and comfortable posture for herself.
Shen Zhixiu kissed her eyebrows with satisfaction before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
The next day, Shen Zhixiu submitted a detailed memorial about the poisoning of the victims. Emperor Xuande was furious and sentenced He Guangfu to exile.
Later, He Guangju's political enemies impeached him, saying that he was the actual head of the He family's herbal medicine store.
Emperor Xuande interrogated He Guangju on the spot and after confirming the facts, he stripped him of his official uniform and dismissed him from his post.
As for the Su family, since there were no officials to be dismissed and the Su family held titles, their crimes did not warrant exile. In the end, Su Chengyan and Su Yuanqing were each given thirty lashes as a warning to others.
After dealing with the He and Su families, Shen Zhixiu asked who should be responsible for the medicinal materials for this disaster relief.
Emperor Xuande recalled what Shen Zhixiu had mentioned in his memorial. Lin Wuchen, the third young master of the Lin family, had promptly brought the herbs. He then directly appointed the Lin family to take over the disaster relief efforts. Of course, the inner palace's medicinal herb business was also subsequently handed over to the Lin family.
This matter dragged on for two days, and the ultimate benefit fell into Lin Wuchen's hands. By taking over the inner palace's medicinal herbs business, the Lin family's status among merchants would be greatly improved. Annual revenue would also increase by several percent.
Shen Zhixiu finished his court session and walked out of the hall feeling very satisfied. After two days of hard work, it was finally not in vain.
After a few days, Chen Ping finally reported back that the grain and grass to be transported to the northern border had been robbed.
As soon as this news reached Ganyang Palace, the whole hall was in an uproar.
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