Chapter 047 Traitor 47
This reason was tenable, and the human trafficker had no suspicion of anything. He just thought that Xiao Yan was scared because of being forced by his high-ranking relatives, so he asked this question.
"The direct line of the Fang family confessed their guilt and was executed. However, the emperor is merciful and has spared the death penalty for daughters who married out of wedlock, as well as children under the age of seven. Instead, they will be sentenced to exile."
"So, Brother Yan, don't worry."
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, his thoughts turning.
If the Fang family's direct descendants were to be manipulated by the aristocratic clan, could this be the way for them to survive? But what good would this do to the Fang family's direct descendants? It couldn't just end up destroying their entire family, could it?
Or is it that the direct descendants of the Fang family have something more important than the destruction of the family, which is in the hands of the aristocratic family, so even if it means the destruction of the family, they have no choice but to do so?
What kind of evidence could make the direct descendants of the Fang family willing to do this?
——The crime of treason!
This guess came to Xiao Yan's mind.
Apart from this, Xiao Yan really couldn't think of any serious crime that could be more terrible than the destruction of one's family.
But the question is, how could a descendant of the already declining Fang family possibly harbor the intention of rebellion?
The only solution now is to find the direct descendants of the Fang family to uncover the truth! Furthermore, what was the conflict between the direct and collateral branches that led to the collateral branch's desire to break away from the main family and relocate to the capital?
Xiao Yan knew that the chances of finding the direct descendants of the Fang family were slim. If this were true, as he suspected, only death could completely protect the secret. He didn't believe that the aristocratic family that could exploit the direct descendants of the Fang family would let this loophole slip!
The direct descendants of the Fang family are probably in great danger!
Xiao Yan was not in a good mood, but he did not show it. Not only that, he could not ask Brother He about the whereabouts of the direct descendants of the Fang family, so as not to implicate Brother He.
For several days, Xiao Yan had been secretly inquiring about this matter and also obtained clues about the descendants of the Fang family. After all, the tragedy of the Fang family was almost known to everyone and it was not a secret.
"A direct descendant of the Fang family? They've been exiled to Lingnan!" The woman who spoke looked suspicious. "Young man, why are you asking this?"
Xiao Yan looked sad. "I have benefited from the kindness of Master Fang, which has enabled me to achieve success and fame. This is a great favor, how can I not repay it?"
"Who would have thought that when I was finally able to repay you, your benefactor would actually...actually..."
Xiao Yan's face was filled with sorrow, and then with indignation: "Your Majesty is merciful, but how can the benefactor be innocent? He is a direct descendant of the Fang family, blessed by the Fang family's grace, how can he escape responsibility!?"
"Since I cannot repay my benefactor's kindness, I should at least avenge him!"
It was obvious from his words that he wanted to avenge the Fang family's side branch, which scared the old lady.
She looked around and realized that she had accepted the money. She also felt sorry for the difficulty of passing the imperial examination, so she immediately advised, "Silly child, don't do anything stupid!"
The old lady said earnestly, "Even though people die, the living must continue. If Master Fang knew about your kindness, he would surely be very pleased! Please don't do something that will ruin your future!"
Xiao Yan shook his head and said stubbornly, "As the ancient saying goes: A drop of water should be repaid with a spring! My benefactor has done me a great favor, as heavy as a mountain. How can I, a junior, only care about myself?"
He looked sad and said self-deprecatingly, "Anyway, I'm alone and have no ties. This future is still thanks to my benefactor. I appreciate your kindness, aunt."
After saying that, Xiao Yan bowed to the old lady and turned to leave.
The background is bleak and desolate, and it is completely integrated with the golden afterglow scattered from the horizon, silently telling the meaning of valuing love and friendship, and the beauty of sadness and beauty.
The old lady hesitated for a long time, and finally stopped the man, "Wait a minute!"
She sighed, "The Fang family case is shrouded in mystery. I'm afraid there's a reason behind it."
Xiao Yan quickly turned around, looking surprised. "What do you mean? Hasn't the government already confirmed that it was the direct descendants of the Fang family who did it? Could there be some other flaws? Please tell me something, Auntie!"
He dug into the pouch at his waist, poured out the last five taels of silver, and stuffed it into the old lady's pocket. "It's just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't mind. This matter is very important to me. I beg you to let me know!"
Together with the silver just now, the total is thirteen taels, which is already a considerable amount.
The old lady didn't refuse. She took the silver and emphasized again and again: "I'm telling you this, and you alone. From now on, no matter what you do, it has nothing to do with me. Do you agree?"
Xiao Yan nodded, "Don't worry, auntie, I'm not the kind of person who would repay kindness with enmity."
The old lady didn't know whether she believed it or not, so she didn't respond. She then said, "On the night of the incident, I went to the Fang family."
Before Xiao Yan could be shocked, she explained: "Everything in the capital requires money, so I found a job to make a living, pouring night incense for people."
According to the old lady, she had a bad fate and her parents died early. Less than a month after she got married, her parents-in-law also died of illness. Later, she finally had a pair of children, but they also died in accidents, leaving only her and her husband.
Others said that she was unlucky in marriage, but her husband didn't mind. The two of them lived happily and supported each other.
One day, her husband accidentally fainted, and the master of the Fang family happened to pass by and helped her. After learning about her family's situation, he asked the housekeeper to help them find a job, which was to pour night incense for the Fang family.
Although collecting night-blooming incense may seem like a rough job, every household has a dedicated person to collect it, and outsiders generally cannot interfere, otherwise they will offend those people.
The master of the Fang family intended to help them, so he assigned the matter of Yexiang to her family.
Although this job was a bit hard, the couple had been working diligently to repay the help of Master Fang. Who would have thought that on the night before the incident, the couple went to collect night incense as usual, but heard a secret!
"Rich families often have inconveniences at night, so they often have toilets. When my husband and I passed by a certain room, we faintly heard someone arguing inside. The person seemed to be over forty, thin and with a short beard, and had the air of an official."
"We didn't think much of it, so we took the toilet and left. But the next day we heard that the Fang family tragedy had already occurred!"
She looked frightened, as if she was terrified by the thought, but she didn't dare to think about it any further.
"Since then, my husband was frightened and fell ill. He is still bedridden today."
"Master Fang has been incredibly kind to me. I've often considered exposing him, but ultimately backed off. I understand how shameful such actions are, but how can a powerless person resist the might of the powerful?"
She looked at Xiao Yan and sighed, "I'm afraid I won't live long. You're the only one who knows about this matter. Whether you want to find out or give up, I have only one word of advice for you: Don't be reckless!"
After saying this, the old lady didn't want to say anything more and left with the basket.
As the sun rose, Xiao Yan felt a little eerie and scary looking at the gorgeous clouds in the sky.
If what the old lady said is true, then the poisoning of the entire Fang family must be related to that person who was arguing with them!
Who was it that visited late at night, had an argument with the master of the Fang family, and finally had the intention to kill?
This person must be closely related to the Fang family master! Otherwise, he wouldn't visit in the dead of night! He's also very likely a member of an aristocratic family!
So did Emperor Xiaozhi know about this?
Xiao Yan always felt that Emperor Xiaozhi's attitude in the Fang family tragedy was unclear.
Logically speaking, the Fang family was the weapon Emperor Xiaozhi used to deal with the aristocratic families. It was reasonable for Emperor Xiaozhi to protect the Fang family. So how could he have allowed the Fang family to be in trouble? Not to mention that after the incident, he even showed leniency to the direct descendants of the Fang family...
Unless... unless Emperor Xiaozhi knows that the direct descendant of the Fang family is not the murderer!
Yes, with the mentality of an emperor, even if he knew that the direct descendants of the Fang family were instructed by the nobles, he would inevitably feel angry when the knife in his hand was destroyed!
You have to know that being murdered under someone's orders and being the scapegoat are two different things. Unless Emperor Xiaozhi knew that the murderer was not a direct descendant of the Fang family, he would let the direct descendant of the Fang family off!
Of course, there is another possibility, that the death of the Fang family also had the acquiescence or participation of Emperor Xiaozhi... This can explain why after the incident, when even ordinary people felt suspicious, only the "mastermind" of the Fang family was executed, but the case was not investigated to the end!
Compared with the former, the latter is more likely and more terrifying when you think about it.
What did the Fang family do to make Emperor Xiaozhi acquiesce to the aristocratic families to take action against the Fang family?
"Brother Yan, the bailiff is here with the good news!" The trafficker panted and ran over. "You've been so hard to find!"
Xiao Yan didn't bother to think too much and went back with the human trafficker.
As soon as I got back, I saw from afar a group of people gathered in front of the house of the nephew of the cousin of the human trafficker's third wife. The sound of gongs and drums was deafening, and people from the surrounding areas gathered around.
"Make way, make way~"
The trafficker led Xiao Yan to the door with great difficulty and bowed to the yamen runner: "Sir, this is Xiao Yan."
Xiao Yan also bowed and said, "I am Xiao Yan."
The yamen runner's expression showed some respect, but not fawning. He must have been accustomed to seeing powerful people in the capital, so he only showed polite respect without any flattery.
The subsequent process was the same as before, he was the top scorer, and Xiao Chen was the second.
After the bailiff left, the trafficker was even more excited than Xiao Yan, the person involved. "Congratulations, brother Yan! Congratulations, brother Chen!"
…
After the announcement, Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen could no longer keep a low profile. Most of the people who came to visit and gave gifts were from a certain party to test them, and they had no intention of winning them over.
The reason was simple. Ever since he wrote that flattering article and helped Emperor Xiaozhi deal with the Empress Dowager's faction, everyone knew that he was on Emperor Xiaozhi's side. Therefore, it was useless to win him over, and it was easy to be accused of forming a faction for personal gain. Therefore, most of the gifts he gave were to ordinary merchants and wealthy families.
This is the case on the surface, but no one knows who is behind it privately.
"Brother, you seem to be quite busy lately?" Xiao Chen asked.
Xiao Yan knew that he could not hide this from Xiao Chen, so he told him the clues he had compiled.
After hearing this, Xiao Chen frowned slightly, "Since that person is involved, why investigate in detail?"
If Emperor Xiaozhi really intervened in this matter, it would not be a good thing for them to know, but would instead bring them fatal disaster.
"If you know there's a rock in the water, but you don't know where it is, how can you be sure it won't get hurt someday?"
After a pause, Xiao Yan continued, "I have always felt that this matter might be related to a certain prince."
The only person who could have caused Emperor Xiaozhi to take action against the Fang family was the Fifth Prince. The imperial family held so many secrets that the only one who would have forced Emperor Xiaozhi to take action against the Fang family, even at the cost of his own life, was the Fifth Prince.
Apart from this, Xiao Yan could not think of what could have caused Emperor Xiaozhi to be so upset that he could do such a cruel thing.
After all, Emperor Xiaozhi had a previous example, so it was hard not to suspect that he was "losing his mind due to love" again.
He also learned from the clues he had obtained that the Fang family had remained indoors for three days when Jin Changzai died. This begs the question: how could the Fang family have known Jin Changzai? Why did they remain indoors when Jin Changzai died?
Combining all the clues, the death of the Fang family might also involve the Fifth Prince! This is also something that Emperor Xiaozhi wants to conceal!
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