The case of a failed scholar who attempted to murder his wife soon became a topic of conversation among those who had nothing to do with the matter.
Wancheng is not far from Shengjing. After Deng's parents learned the news, they rushed to Shengjing within a few days.
As the rumors spread, Lu and the eldest aunt also roughly knew the "inside story" without Wen Ye telling them.
The heir surnamed Xu smeared blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing medicine on the surface of the snacks and then let Deng eat them, hoping to cause a premature birth and two deaths. However, he was discovered in time by Deng's wet nurse. Xu Muzhi panicked and tried to escape, but was eventually caught by the constables from the government office.
The case was quickly decided, and the judge was stripped of his title and sentenced to exile. He was not allowed to take part in imperial examinations for three generations.
Some people said that the sentence imposed by Jingzhao Yinfu was too severe. After all, Mrs. Deng was still alive, she just had a miscarriage. But Xu Muzhi was a male prostitute, and maybe he would pass the imperial examination next spring.
Some people also said that Xu Mu had great achievements, but he tried to poison his wife and children and seize Yue's family property. He had bad morals and was not worthy of being an official. The sentence given by Jingzhao Yinfu was not severe at all.
It's a pity that Caiyunzhai, which had only been open for a short time, had to close down because it was said that Xu Muzhi had bought snacks from them.
Taozhi had been very diligent in going out of the house these two days and soon found out the whole story of the case.
Wen Ye didn't hear any words related to the "Xue family" from beginning to end, which can only prove that either Xu Yuejia was playing a trick on her, or the real case was covered up.
Wen Ye prefers the latter. After all, based on her superficial understanding of Xu Yuejia, he is not a boring person.
Taozhi was an expert at getting information. After she finished her tea, she continued, "Second Madam, I have found out something else. I don't know if I should tell you."
Wen Ye was polishing her nails and said nonchalantly, "You tell me."
Taozhi lowered her voice and said, "The murdered lady had a daughter who was said to be only six or seven months old, while the fetus that was aborted was already five months old, and it was a male fetus that had already formed."
When Taozhi inquired about the news, she initially thought that this Mrs. Deng was really pitiful, but the more she inquired, the more she suddenly felt guilty.
Wen Ye sat up straighter and looked up at her: "Are you saying that Deng got pregnant with her second child right after she finished her confinement?"
Taozhi nodded and continued, "I also heard that it was Deng's husband who did it on purpose. He calculated the day and had sex with her. His purpose was to wear down Deng's body so that the accident would be more real."
There are ways to prevent pregnancy in this world, and conversely, there are also ways to assist pregnancy.
Taozhi had helped find those recipes. She wasn't afraid of anything happening to her, but she was worried about Wen Ye's future situation.
Wen Ye understood Taozhi's worries. Since Taozhi could find out these things, it meant that everyone involved in this case must also know about it.
Wen Ye was not in the mood to continue polishing her nails at the moment, and she gave up thinking about the new nail polish.
Xu Yuejia is a smart man, and Wen Ye doesn't think he would fail to think of it.
Wen Ye didn't want to keep the matter of whether to have children a secret for her entire life. She just wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible before she could come up with the most appropriate solution. After all, she wasn't harming anyone's body.
It just happened that I ate some food that was not conducive to pregnancy, and I seldom had sex with my husband.
Her menstruation is regular and she is in good health. We can't blame her entirely if she can't get pregnant. Who knows whose problem it is?
However, the Duke's Mansion was much better than she had originally expected, and so was Xu Yuejia.
If Xu Yuejia insisted on having more children, she wouldn't mind letting him take a concubine.
Beautiful, virtuous, or well-educated, no matter which type he wants, she can marry him, as long as he doesn't force her to have children.
But Wen Ye knew that once the matter was exposed, he would be inevitably punished.
She was just wondering if it was possible to minimize the impact of this matter on herself.
After a moment of silence, Wen Ye suddenly spoke up: "Go and tell Nanny Ji that I miss Xuan'er."
Taozhi didn't react: "Ah?"
Regarding the case of Xu Muzhi's attempted murder of his wife, the so-called "confession contents" circulating outside were intentionally spread by Wang Sheng.
If we keep it secret, those who want to know the truth will certainly ask around, and if they find out the whole story, we will be in trouble.
It is better to let everyone think that it was an ordinary case of attempted murder of wife than to block it.
In the prison of Jingzhao Yinfu Yamen, Wang Sheng showed Xu Yuejia the new interrogation statement and said, "The waiters of Caiyunzhai are all here. I have checked and found that their ancestors are all from Shengjing. However, the origins of the chefs who escaped are unclear."
When Wang Sheng realized that this was most likely a conspiracy against the royal family, he immediately sent people to search Caiyunzhai. The shopkeeper Zou Quan was suppressed by his people and died of poisoning in less than two hours.
Zou Quan took the poison himself in advance, as if he knew that people from the government office would come to arrest him. The poison would only take effect two hours after taking it, probably to delay time.
The most popular snack at Caiyunzhai is the one that caused Deng's miscarriage. Normally, this kind of snack is only sold to regular customers, and Xu Muzhi could not buy it with his status. It was a waiter at Caiyunzhai who took the wrong snack that day, which led to a series of accidents afterwards.
Although the snacks were not poisoned, the palace doctors found an addictive medicinal ingredient in them.
If ordinary people take too much of it, their bodies will gradually become weaker and their dependence on the medicine will increase day by day.
It seems that it was no coincidence that the princess accidentally entered Caiyunzhai.
If a pregnant woman consumes it, the impact will be more obvious. Mrs. Deng was already weak, and after eating the snacks mixed with this medicine, she could not save the fetus at all. She was lucky to be able to save her own life.
After reading the confession, Xu Yuejia was not sure what she was thinking. She was silent for a long time before she said, "The fact that Xu Muzhi had accused the Xue family has been investigated. This time it has implicated Minister Xue's family. His Majesty has specifically instructed that it must not be spread."
Wang Sheng repeatedly assured, "I will never tell this to anyone else."
Speaking of this, Wang Sheng was speechless. He didn't know what Xu Muzhi was thinking. He actually thought that he was worthy of the daughter of a third-rank minister of the imperial court.
Even if he succeeded in the end, it was impossible for the Minister of Rites to sacrifice his own future for a son-in-law. The imperial examination system of the Jin Dynasty was extremely strict. It was impossible for a Minister of Rites to hide the truth.
In order to make sure that there would be no such thing as pregnancy, he actually planned for more than half a year. First, he made his wife, who had just come out of confinement, "accidentally" get pregnant again. According to Xu Muzhi's plan, Deng's miscarriage would be delayed for a few days, and on that day, none of Deng's trusted maids and servants would be by her side.
Xu Yuejia returned the confession to Wang Sheng and instructed, "Sir Wang, don't forget to deal with the rumors about the Deng family."
Wang Sheng bowed his head and replied, "I understand. As for the testimony involving the Xue family, it has been completely erased."
Since Wang Sheng became a Beijing official, every time he encountered a difficult case, he had to deal with the young Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Over time, he gradually became familiar with the other party's handling style.
Take Xu Muzhi's case for example. If he had taken full charge of the case, Xu Muzhi's attempt to frame the Xue family would have been impossible to conceal.
Even if the result proves that the Xue family is innocent, there will still be a lot of rumors about the Xue family.
A girl who has not yet reached the age of marriage, being splashed with such dirty water for no reason, will most likely not be able to get a good marriage.
Wang Sheng himself has a daughter, so if he thinks about it a little, he can understand Xu Yuejia's approach.
Understanding is one thing, but Wang Sheng believes that he cannot fully realize this detail on his own.
"We need to continue investigating the details of Caiyunzhai, and also find out the connection between Caiyunzhai and any officials and families in Shengjing." Xu Yuejia said.
Duke's Mansion, West Courtyard.
Several servants were building a small swing next to the original swing according to Wen Ye's request.
The small swing is not only smaller, but also looks different from the big swing. It was made by Wen Ye specifically for Xu Yuxuan.
It was built perfectly according to Xu Yuxuan's body size, ensuring that his feet could touch the ground when he sat on it. After he sat on it, his body was protected in front and behind, so he would not fall out unless the swing was completely turned over.
Xu Yuxuan was brought to the West Courtyard by Nanny Ji. After learning about this, he was extremely excited.
He asked Wen Ye several times: "Really, is it for Xuan'er?"
After saying this, he pointed at his chest with his little finger quite seriously.
Wen Ye assured him: "Of course!"
Xu Yuxuan happily threw herself into Wen Ye's arms, giggling.
Wen Ye also hugged him gently and smiled softly.
Nanny Ji, who was standing by, was relieved when she saw this scene, but for some reason, she felt something was wrong in her heart.
The second wife seems to have changed a lot.
While waiting, Wen Ye also took out the childhood sweetheart that he had bought from Chen Zhuangtou's son for Xu Yuxuan to play with.
When Xu Yuxuan sat on the little childhood horse, his toes just touched the ground.
Xu Yuxuan just sat on the little bamboo horse, swinging back and forth and having a lot of fun.
Wen Ye asked him from time to time: "Are you happy?"
Xu Yuxuan raised his chin and said, "Happy~"
......
The small swing was quickly made, with soft pads inside and outside to ensure that Xu Yuxuan's delicate skin would not be scratched by sawdust.
Wen Ye personally carried Xu Yuxuan to sit on it.
This was the first time Xu Yuxuan swung on a swing by himself without anyone's support.
He touched it left and right, his eyes full of curiosity.
Wen Ye also asked Taozhi to put a table next to the small swing. It was a small bamboo table from the same series as the childhood sweethearts. On it were placed two of Xu Yuxuan's favorite snacks, and a pot of boiled water.
Except for the lack of a script, it is basically the same as her configuration.
However, in order to maintain consistency on the surface, Wen Ye gave Xu Yuxuan a book of his father's and placed it on the small bamboo table as a decoration.
Everything was ready, and Wen Ye sent Nanny Ji away without saying a word.
Besides the mother and son, there was only peach branch in the corridor.
Wen Ye began: "Is your mother good to you?"
Xu Yuxuan nodded: "Okay!"
Wen Ye asked again: "What's the best way?"
Xu Yuxuan took a bite of the snack held up by his fleshy little hands and said, "It feels like Chinese New Year!"
Children express their emotions so directly.
Wen Ye: “…”
Taozhi beside him almost couldn't help laughing.
Wen Ye regained his confidence: "Xuan'er, if your father and I quarreled, would you help your mother?"
Xu Yuxuan was puzzled: "Fighting?"
Realizing that he probably didn't understand the meaning of "quarrel", Wen Ye gave an analogy: "It's like your father already has a plate of cakes, and he wants me to make them for him. If your mother doesn't want to, Xuan'er will stand on your side, right?"
However, Xu Yuxuan only heard the word "pastry". He nodded and said, "Make it, Xuan'er, eat it~"
Wen Ye: “…”
The swing was made in vain.
Xu Yuxuan swung his calves while eating pastries, and he didn't seem to be bothered at all. Wen Ye felt that his posture was very familiar.
It took me a long time to realize that this was just a smaller version of her.
Forget it, don’t count on this kid anymore. Wen Ye sat back on his swing and continued to drink tea, read storybooks and eat snacks.
When soldiers come, we will stop them; when water comes, we will cover it with earth.
Xu Yuejia returned to the west courtyard and just as she walked into the main yard, she noticed the changes in the corridor.
A smaller swing, a smaller table, smaller snacks, a smaller teapot, and smaller people.
Taozhi saw the person who suddenly appeared and quickly leaned over to remind her: "Madam, my husband is back."
Wen Ye quickly took off the script from her face, and her sleepiness instantly disappeared. She looked at the figure approaching and called out as usual, "My dear."
Xu Yuejia walked over, glanced at Xu Yuxuan who was also covering his face with a book, paused, and reached out to take the book away.
Xu Yuxuan was stunned for a moment, and after seeing who the person was, he probably hadn't fully reacted yet.
He murmured, "Father?"
Xu Yuejia held the book and said, "Mr. Qimeng will be here in three days."
Not understanding, Xu Yuxuan looked confused.
Wen Ye watched the excitement quietly from the side.
After talking about Xu Yuxuan, Xu Yuejia turned his gaze to Wen Ye, a little coldly: "Come in with me, I have something to ask you."
Wen Ye met his gaze, perhaps it was a tacit understanding that came from sleeping together?
She actually saw what Xu Yuejia wanted to ask.
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