The prefect rubbed his hands together: "I wonder if I could become a second-rank official?"
Mu Ange smiled slightly: "As long as your stakes are high enough, achieving the first rank is possible. You should know that everyone in the court now follows the lead of the Fourth Prince."
The prefect's eyes lit up: "I know that, of course, but what kind of bargaining chip does Your Highness want?"
Mu Ange looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Naturally, the more secrets you keep, the higher the official position you will receive."
The prefect looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Young master, have you ever heard of General Meng?"
Mu Ange's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained expressionless.
"General Meng? I've heard of him, but isn't he a traitor?"
Upon hearing this, the prefect chuckled and said, "Whether someone is a traitor or not, it all depends on my word."
Mu Ange suppressed the urge to strangle him and patiently said, "Oh? Tell me in detail."
The prefect said, "Many years ago, I had a quarrel with that old man. I was the governor of a prefecture, but he was stubborn and often disagreed with me on political matters. Later, His Majesty also disliked his eccentric behavior. I seized the opportunity and, when the enemy country was invading, I forged a secret letter of treason and put it in the old man's military tent. That led to the extermination of the Meng family. However, it seems that a daughter was spared?"
Mu Ange clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.
An Ning reached out and grasped Mu Ange's hand, saying, "Your Excellency has impressive skills. But to plan something like this, there must be quite a few people to be planted."
The prefect replied with a proud expression, "Of course."
Mu Ange calmed himself down and said, "Words are not enough. What Your Highness wants is concrete evidence."
The prefect turned around and rummaged through his chests and cabinets, finding some things: "These are letters, some manuscripts of that person practicing his speech, and some of my financial dealings with those people."
"What about authentication?"
Mu Ange said.
The prefect said, "As for witnesses, Zhang Long is one. I heard that the person who imitated the handwriting became a schoolteacher. Young master, here is the list."
Mu Ange took the list: "My lord, please wait patiently. When I return to the capital, it will be the time for you to move into the capital and assume a high position."
"Thank you, young master. Thank you, Your Highness."
After leaving the mansion, Mu Ange swiftly gathered all those people, tied them up, and stuffed them into the carriage.
On the way, Anning looked at the successful evidence-finding journey and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Your Highness? Why did that prefect obediently hand over all the evidence?"
Mu Ange said, "Of course, it's all thanks to your sister in the capital, Xu Jiao'er!"
"Xu Jiao'er?"
An Ning asked in confusion.
Mu Ange said, "She is meticulous and patiently recorded all the interactions between Mu Anjin and those ministers. More importantly, I knew that this matter was not simple because the appointment, dismissal and transfer of officials in the capital were becoming more and more frequent. This time, it was Xu Jiao'er who passed on the news through a minister in the court. Only then did I realize that this prefect had also set his sights on becoming an official in the capital."
More importantly, Mu Anjin wanted more than just money; he also wanted to hold onto the unspeakable secrets they spoke of so he could control them and use them for his own purposes. That's why I staged this whole thing. I also have to thank Xu Jiao'er for saving me a lot of trouble.”
An Ning exclaimed in amazement, "Then we really need many more darlings!"
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