"Yun Qingbi, do you know who's behind me?" Pan Yong said, enraged.
"Oh, who is behind Lord Pan? Tell me so I can broaden my horizons." Yun Qingran walked lightly to Yun Qingbi's side.
She wore a simple white belted long dress, and her hair was simply braided into a princess hairstyle. Her unpretentious attire made her look even more pure and natural, like a lotus emerging from the water, captivating people's hearts without them even realizing it.
"Yun Qingran, you useless, wicked woman, how dare you show your face in public?" Pan Yong looked at Yun Qingran with sarcasm.
"I was indeed ignorant before, but a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold. My father and elder brother have no objections. Who do you think you are, you old geezer, to discipline me?" Yun Qingran was not good-tempered. Pan Yong first targeted Yun Xiao, and now he was cursing her. She was already being very civilized by not cracking his skull open. Did he expect her to speak properly?
“You…you…” Pan Yong gritted his teeth in anger.
"Your wife is here." Yun Qingran pointed behind Pan Yong.
"Pan Yong, are you looking for death? You actually sent a prostitute to cause such a scene!" Before Pan Yong could even turn around, his wife's loud voice rang out.
Pan Yong turned around stiffly and, sure enough, saw his fierce-looking wife.
“Madam, I, Hongyan, did not intend to cause trouble here, but I am pregnant and cannot let my child be born without a father.” Hongyan released Pan Yong and knelt before Madam Pan.
"You're just a courtesan, who knows whose child is in your belly?" Madam Pan looked at Hongyan with vicious eyes.
“Lord Pan has been taking me in for half a year. In the past six months, Lord Pan has been my only man. The child must be Lord Pan’s. We can do a blood test to prove paternity after the child is born.” Hongyan looked up and met Madam Pan’s gaze.
"Hehe, I'm worried you won't have the good fortune to bear children. Drag this slut in here." Madam Pan finished speaking and turned to go back to the mansion.
Hongyan looked up at the sky and prayed silently, "Heavens, please protect me." After praying, she resolutely rammed her head against a pillar at the gate of the Pan residence.
"Bang!" Everyone looked over and saw blood seeping from Hongyan's hair, staining her beautiful face and looking horrifying.
"Oh no, someone's dead."
"Madam Pan drove Lord Pan's lover to her death."
"Report this to the officer immediately."
...
The onlookers screamed.
When Madam Pan heard the sound of Hongyan hitting the pillar, she immediately turned around and saw Hongyan staring at her with her face covered in blood before collapsing to the ground.
Pan Yong was also stunned into silence, his heart pounding like thunder.
"Miss Hongyan." Yun Qingran rushed over, took Hongyan in her arms, and then took her pulse.
"Ranran, how is she?" Yun Qingbi followed and asked.
Yun Qingran released Hongyan's wrist, then shook her head and said, "Dead."
"A courtesan, she's dead, she deserved to die." After her initial shock, Madam Pan resumed her haughty demeanor.
“A courtesan is also a life, and according to the laws of Beiyin, apart from being of low social status, a courtesan is no different from an ordinary person. In other words, killing a courtesan is the same crime as killing an ordinary person,” Yun Qingran said coldly to Madam Pan.
"Which eye of yours saw me kill her?" Madam Pan pointed to the pillar. "She killed herself. What does it have to do with me?"
“Forcing someone to death is also considered murder.” Just then, a voice came.
Everyone turned around and saw Jiang Yunqi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, dressed in official robes and riding a tall horse, followed by a group of soldiers from the Court of Judicial Review.
"Jiang Yunqi!" Yun Qingran was surprised to see Jiang Yunqi.
According to the plan, shouldn't it be the Prefect of Jingzhao who comes? The Prefect of Jingzhao has just angered the Emperor because of the refugee issue, so he certainly wouldn't dare to favor Pan Yong after he arrives.
"Ranran, don't get agitated. We can talk about it later." Yun Qingbi quickly grabbed Yun Qingran's hand, afraid that she would do something embarrassing.
"Why am I excited?" Yun Qingran looked at Yun Qingbi, puzzled.
Looking at her confused expression, which didn't seem to be feigned, Yun Qingbi couldn't immediately tell what she meant by Jiang Yunqi's feelings.
Jiang Yunqi heard Yun Qingran call his name and glanced at her from afar.
She changed. Not only her appearance changed, but her entire demeanor changed. Even the way she looked at me changed.
"The Dali Temple is handling a case, make way!" shouted an officer from the Dali Temple.
The onlookers quickly made way, and Jiang Yunqi dismounted, approached Hongyan, and asked Yun Qingran, "What happened?"
Yun Qingbi quickly stood up and stood between the two of them, answering his question, "This young lady is called Hongyan. She is a courtesan. According to her, she was taken in by Lord Pan half a year ago and is now pregnant. She came to his door looking for him. Madam Pan wanted to take her away, and she was so frightened that she committed suicide."
"Lord Jiang, it's not like that. This wretched woman was pregnant with someone's bastard child and wanted to pin it on my master. Then, fearing that I would find out, she committed suicide out of fear of punishment." As Madam Pan spoke, she gave a wink to the maid beside her.
The maidservant quickly came to Jiang Yunqi with a purse and stuffed it into his hands.
Jiang Yunqi opened the purse and took a look. Inside were ten silver notes with a face value of one hundred taels each. After looking at them, he pulled the purse up and held it in his hand.
"Have we run into a corrupt official?" Yun Qingran asked nervously.
Yun Qingbi glanced at Yun Qingran. Her sister actually said that Jiang Yunqi was a corrupt official?
Jiang Yunqi also heard this. He glanced at Yun Qingran, then looked at Madam Pan, "Bribing officials, with witnesses and physical evidence, the crime is compounded."
Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Pan almost fainted.
“Lord Pan, you are a third-rank official. I have no right to judge a murder case involving someone of your rank. I can only ask you and your wife to stay in the mansion while I report to the Emperor for his decision.” After saying this, Jiang Yunqi waved to the soldiers behind him, “Guard all the gates of the Pan mansion and do not allow anyone to enter or leave at will.”
"Jiang Yunqi, are you planning to betray the Liang family?" Pan Yong approached Jiang Yunqi and asked in a low, threatening voice.
The Jiang family is part of the Liang family's influence.
"I am loyal to the Emperor and the people. How can I be accused of betraying the Liang family?" Jiang Yunqi said righteously, looking at Pan Yong with disdain.
"Very well, I'd like to see how your father explains this to the Liang family." After saying this, Pan Yong flicked his sleeves and went into the Liang residence.
"Big brother, what does Jiang Yunqi mean by this?" Yun Qingran asked Yun Qingbi in a low voice.
She has been managing the relationships between the various factions in the court. The Jiang family and the Liang family have a very close relationship, so why would Jiang Yunqi help them today?
Yun Qingbi shook his head, indicating that he also didn't know what Jiang Yunqi meant.
Could it be that he was lustful at first sight, and that it was all for his sister's sake? Yun Qingbi's gaze towards Jiang Yunqi suddenly filled with hostility.
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