Chapter 88 Let's have some fun.
How can these be connected?
"Do I look like I'm short of money?" If it weren't for the occasion, Mu Xi would have pointed his finger at him and started cursing, but he was still furious. "Lord Gao, your mind isn't very sharp."
"What are you saying, Your Highness?" Gao Quan didn't hold back in front of the Prince of Yu.
Mu Xi sneered: "Lord Gao is trying to link the remnants of the previous dynasty to my Jin Fangjun Mansion, and to me, Mu Xi. But let me ask you, Lord Gao, if the late emperor's remains were stolen, then my own grandfather's remains were stolen. What would I gain from that? If the King's mausoleum was damaged, it would harm the dragon vein of the Great Yu Dynasty. That would harm the fortune of my Mu family. As a descendant of the Mu family, what would I gain from that? The collapse of Zhilan Terrace is rumored to be because the King stole beams from the previous dynasty to repair his mausoleum. Well... that's because the Court of Justice is useless... I was ambushed and killed by assassins outside the western suburbs of the city, and we still can't find out the truth. Now that rumors are spreading and the Imperial Guards can't suppress them, that's because you, Grand Marshal Gao, are... incompetent."
"You..." Gao Quan was also impolite and was about to curse back.
Mu Ji raised his hand above: "Alas, as I just said, let's not talk about the past. However, this whole matter may not be related to the Jin Fangjun Mansion, but there are too many coincidences involved, and I'm afraid even the young master can't explain it clearly."
Mu Xi was furious at the moment and launched into a tirade: "Your Majesty, why should I be the one to explain this matter? Whoever makes the accusation should provide evidence; otherwise, it is slander."
"Hehe, today the King summoned the Crown Prince to the palace. It was only because the King had doubts based on the evidence and confessions found by the Court of Justice that the King had these doubts. Does the Crown Prince mean that the King is slandering you, Crown Prince Jin Fang?" Gao Quan finally found a pretext to speak.
“No…” Mu Xi was startled when she saw Mu Ji’s face darken.
This is, after all, a feudal ancient society, not a civilized society with a legal system. She was in a moment of anger, and her words were indeed a bit excessive.
Mu Zhen had barely caught his breath when he had to continue, "Your Majesty, my son was ignorant and impudent, but he had no such intention. However, if Your Majesty has any doubts, please allow the Court of Justice to investigate. As for Cao Pan'er, the servant of the Jun family..."
"Ah...no..." Mu Xi had almost forgotten about Cao Pan'er after her barrage of words. Now that her scumbag father brought it up, it was clear that he intended to sacrifice Cao Pan'er, so she remembered her again. Even the Jun family was still being coerced by Cao Pan'er.
Mu Ji then asked, "Cao Pan'er? Which one is Cao Pan'er?"
Gao Quan immediately waved his hand, signaling the Imperial Guards to bring Cao Pan'er up.
Cao Pan'er was suddenly brought forward and lowered her head.
Mu Ji asked, "What is your relationship with Lu Cao?"
"..." Cao Pan'er seemed unsure how to answer for a moment.
Lu Cao answered on her behalf: "Your Majesty, Cao Pan'er is nominally a fellow disciple of the slaves, but we were already convicted of crimes when she was born and never knew each other. In the past few years, apart from delivering food and clothing to her mother a few times, we have really had no connection."
"Is it irrelevant?" Mu Ji was clearly asking Cao Pan'er.
Cao Pan'er initially kept her head down and didn't answer, but when she looked up again, she saw Mu Xi.
"Hiss—" Mu Xi couldn't help but gasp.
Why are you looking at her at this time?
Mu Ji also noticed something was wrong and turned his attention to Mu Xi: "Your Highness, I heard that Cao Pan'er was imprisoned by the Court of Justice for stealing property from the Jin Fangjun residence. Did you go to the Court of Justice specifically to get her released?"
Just as Mu Xi was about to speak, Mu Zhen interrupted, "Ahem... Yes, that is true, but it was to clear Cao Pan'er's name. After all, family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. It's never good for a servant in the household to steal."
Mu Ji then turned to Mu Zhen: "Some time ago, there was a dispute between a nanny and a wet nurse in your household that resulted in a death. At the time, you said that family scandals should not be aired in public and asked me to handle the matter specially. Was the nanny who committed the murder Cao Pan'er's mother?"
Mu Zhen looked remorseful and could not deny it: "Yes, it is my fault for not managing the household properly."
Mu Ji pressed further: "Is it really just a matter of lax household management? And you, my brother, were completely unaware that your mother and daughter had been in contact with remnants of the previous dynasty for so many years?"
“This…” Mu Zhen shuddered again at the words “remnants of the previous dynasty”.
Mu Xi felt there was nothing wrong with saying this, and quickly said, "There are over a hundred servants in the Jun Mansion, and my father can't possibly take care of them all. But the Cao family mother and daughter used to stay with Madam Gao in the West Courtyard."
She said it on purpose because she had always felt that something was wrong.
Previously, Mu Xun had told her that Granny Cao was originally an old woman in the mansion, and Mu Zhen had sent her to monitor the West Courtyard. But now it seems that this "old woman" is not actually that "old" at all; she is actually a descendant of a former official from the previous dynasty, who was uniformly assigned to her.
When it comes to former officials of the previous dynasty, it seems that both Prince Yu Muji and his scumbag father Muzhen have unspeakable secrets.
What's going on here?
If things are going to get this messy, it's better to just push it away.
Mu Ji pretended not to hear and turned to Cao Pan'er: "Cao Pan'er, how did you obtain the token on your body?"
“Yes…it was this servant who stole…” Cao Pan’er stammered.
Suddenly, Mu Xi had a bright idea and quickly said, "I gave it to you."
Mu Zhen had just caught her breath when she nearly fainted again: "Xi'er, you can't talk nonsense in front of the King. You don't have the token, how could you give it to her? That was clearly... clearly..."
Mu Xun, standing to the side, also grew anxious and was about to speak up to take the blame: "It was me..."
Mu Xi forcibly pulled her closer, a helpless expression on her face: "I gave it to you. I stole the token from Steward Pei."
Now Mu Zhen and Mu Xun were speechless.
"Oh?" Mu Ji asked with interest. "Why would the young master give such an important token to a mere servant girl?"
Mu Xi had already made up her mind in a flash: "Your Majesty, then naturally we must ensure that Cao Pan'er can come and go freely?"
"She was originally a servant of the Jun family, why go to all this trouble?" Mu Ji was definitely not someone to be easily fooled.
Mu Xi then carefully crafted the lie: "Because Cao Pan'er gave birth and unfortunately passed away, she is no longer suitable to stay in the Jun Mansion. I originally planned to find her a place to stay outside the city after a while, but I was afraid that she might not be able to come back and might get lost outside, so I gave her the token."
"Huh? I gave birth, why did you give her the token?" Mu Ji didn't understand.
Mu Xi added ambiguously, "It's only because Cao Pan'er is my person that I'm powerless to help her after she suffered such misfortune, yet I can't bear to part with her. That's why I plan to send her away."
"Your person? Then is the child she supposedly gave birth to yours..." Mu Ji's question couldn't be clearer.
Mu Xi deliberately described his relationship with Cao Pan'er in a vague way, but unable to withstand Mu Ji's persistent questioning, he had no choice but to "confess": "I liked this maid and we had a private relationship, but she was later unfortunately defiled and unexpectedly became pregnant. The child is not mine, and as for whose it is... alas... family scandals should not be aired in public, so please don't ask any further questions, Your Majesty. In short, after this incident, this maid is no longer suitable to stay in the Your Majesty's residence. I humbly beg Your Majesty not to implicate Cao Pan'er and to return Cao Pan'er to me."
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