"Don't worry, I will definitely investigate this thoroughly and give you justice."
The old emperor's words moved Wen Yuanhou even more, and the two even talked about their childhood.
When he was a child, he was not a favored prince of the old emperor. Marquis Wenyuan was an adopted son of a marquis's family. Although he was favored by Madam Pei, Marquis Wenyuan did not like him at the time.
Therefore, Marquis Wenyuan's childhood was not very pleasant.
Later, when the palace was selecting study companions for the princes, the unfavored princes and the unfavored heirs were paired up.
Later, when the old emperor came to power, it was inseparable from the unwavering loyalty of Marquis Wenyuan.
The Wen Yuan Marquis's mansion's current glory is naturally inseparable from the old emperor's favor; otherwise, with only a hundred years of glory, how could it have squeezed into the ranks of the eight great families?
It should be noted that the prominent families of today all have a history spanning hundreds of years, and their ancestral trees are filled with illustrious and renowned figures.
The Marquis's mansion's history is clearly incomparable.
Marquis Wenyuan was well aware of this and was even more grateful for the old emperor's boundless grace, not to mention that Pei Yanzhi had been assassinated and the person behind it might be a prince.
"Rest assured, I will never let my loyal ministers be disheartened!" The old emperor held Wen Yuanhou's hand, his eyes filled with sincere promise.
"Your Majesty's will is my command," said Marquis Wenyuan, and Pei Yanzhi bowed his head in gratitude.
However, compared to his father's grateful and tearful expression, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes.
The case has been handed over to the Ministry of Justice. Marquis Wenyuan will continue to serve in his post. Pei Yanzhi left the palace and headed home. However, as soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he saw Fei Hong waiting for him with a group of soldiers.
Upon seeing him, Fei Hong immediately clasped his hands in greeting.
"Young Master Pei, I am here on His Majesty's orders to escort you back."
"Thank you, General Fei Hong."
The two spoke very politely, and when they arrived at the entrance of the Marquis's residence, there were no eyes or ears around, so Fei Hong quietly asked.
"That's really strange. Your wife called my name earlier. Goodness, we're complete strangers. How could she know me... I've heard she has always admired military officers. Her best confidante married Lu Shaogan, who is also a military officer..."
"Although Lu Shaogan has risen very quickly and is now a fourth-rank general, he is still a step behind me."
"How did your wife find out about me out of the blue? Could it be that she... she likes me?"
"..."
Pei Yanzhi fell silent, and Yin Quan also fell silent.
"It's just that I called out your name, is it really that big of a deal?" Yin Quan retorted directly. "There are plenty of young mistresses in the Marquis's mansion who can be called out by name."
"How can that be the same? We've never met before. She must have heard of my fame and sent someone to ask for my portrait. Ah, being popular is so painful. It's a pity that one shouldn't mess with a friend's wife. She and I are destined to be apart..."
"Your Highness, listen to what he's saying. He's gotten too cocky."
Yin Quan rolled his eyes and said, while Pei Yanzhi seemed to be deep in thought.
I've never seen it before, but I can name it...
This is really illogical. Could it be that Fei Hong really saw Fei Hong's portrait somewhere before, as he said?
As he was pondering this, a guard came running.
He remembered that this guard had accompanied Jiang Shuwan and her entourage to the banquet.
"What's wrong? Did something happen at the villa?"
Hearing his anxious question, Fei Hong mocked, "Didn't you say before that Princess Nan'an was always spoiled, but your wife is always clever and won't be in any trouble? Why are you so worried now?"
Pei Yanzhi ignored him, and the guard jumped off his horse and said without even panting.
"Young Master, I don't know where Princess Nan'an found out about the young mistress's inability to write poetry and paint. She ordered everyone to compose poems and paint pictures, but the young mistress couldn't do them and was embarrassed. So some people made sarcastic remarks about her. The young master's wife was furious and made those noble ladies and Princess Nan'an lose face."
"The younger sister-in-law also praised the young mistress for being different from other women, saying that the young mistress was very talented and should not be treated with the standards of an ordinary woman."
"..."
After the guard finished speaking, panting heavily, everyone fell silent.
Is it raining red blood?
*******
Royal Villa.
As soon as Jiang Shuwan arrived at the Royal Villa, she met the eldest daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was also Yao Zhijie's elder sister.
Yao Jinshu was a few years older than her. The two met at a banquet hosted by Madam Yao, where the Yao family mother and daughter were very kind to her.
They met again at several banquets later and had very pleasant conversations. Yao Jinshu was considered a good friend that Jiang Shuwan had made in the elite circles of Beijing.
As soon as she was helped down from the carriage by Qingxing, Yao Jinshu rushed up to greet her anxiously.
"I heard the Crown Prince was assassinated at the bridge. Are you alright?"
As he spoke, he looked Jiang Shuwan up and down.
"I'm fine, and the young master is also alright."
Jiang Shuwan smiled and said that Yao Jinshu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She saw two more maids helping Jiang Yao and Liu Yunyan, who were sitting in the carriage. Because of the assassination attempt, the two of them had not yet recovered from their injuries.
Looking somewhat listless, Yao Jinshu glanced at them and pulled Jiang Shu a couple of steps to the side.
She whispered, "These are your second younger sister and the cousin from the Marquis's mansion... Princess Nan'an has always been arrogant and haughty, how could she possibly look up to them? I think you should be careful, maybe they invited them just for you."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan also glanced back.
According to the memories of the previous life, the Earl's Mansion was not on the list of invitations from Princess Nan'an. Although Liu Yunyan had been taken as a concubine by Pei Yanzhi long ago, she had never appeared on such occasions.
After much thought, it's possible that, just as Yao Jinshu said, the Princess of Nan'an invited them because of her...
It seems the rumors about the Crown Prince's love for her have really gone too far, to the point that Princess Nan'an actually condescended to invite Jiang Yao and Liu Yunyan over for her sake.
I just don't know what tricks she's going to pull.
Jiang Shuwan lowered her head and pondered. Several more carriages had stopped at the Royal Villa, all belonging to scions of prominent families in the capital. Each one was elegant and refined.
The one leading the group was Yao Zhijie.
Upon seeing Yao Zhijie, Yao Jinshu quickly waved for him to come over.
Yao Zhijie responded and grinned as he went over. Then, when he saw Jiang Shuwan, he looked like he had seen a ghost, slipped, and fell on his backside.
"What happened? Why did you fall again? Have you been focusing on something lately and kept falling?"
Yao Jinshu felt sorry for his younger brother and rushed over to check on him. Yao Zhijie was grimacing in pain.
Jiang Shuwan, curious, asked, "Why has Lord Yao been falling so often lately?"
"That's right, I don't know which god or Buddha I offended, I fell down a few days ago."
"Yesterday was the same. I don't know where he went gallivanting. He didn't come back until curfew, and he fell on the ground, which was as cold as iron. His butt was split in four. Today, I told him not to come, but he insisted on coming. Now look what happened, he fell again."
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