Chapter 62 After several days of estrangement, Xie Zhuo still couldn't help but...
Xue Mingyao was taken aback when Xie Zhuo came to pick her up in person. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out her slender, white hand from her brocade sleeve and placed it in his palm.
A warm, large hand firmly grasped hers and led her out of the carriage.
Xie Zhuo helped her down from the carriage and then let go of her hand.
He entered the gate first and she followed. After turning a few corners, they came to a square drill ground where dozens of armored guards were practicing. Upon seeing Xie Zhuo, they all bowed their heads and called out, "General."
Xue Mingyao felt a sudden stirring in her heart. She glanced at Xie Zhuo out of the corner of her eye. His jaw was cold and resolute, as if he were born to be a great general who could command the three armies. No one would have thought that he was once a scholar who could not even kill a chicken.
None of the guards along the way dared to glance at her, which was different from when she first arrived. Back then, not a single arrogant noble son of the Imperial Guards could ignore her. The discipline of the Jade Unicorn Guard had improved by more than a little.
Xie Zhuo led her into a room, where a servant brought tea. The two sat across from each other at a table. Xie Zhuo held his teacup, neither looking at her nor speaking.
Xue Mingyao remained silent and drank the full cup of tea in one gulp. She had been running around for most of the day and was extremely thirsty.
Seeing the teacup empty instantly, Xie Zhuo pushed his own cup towards her. Xue Mingyao picked it up and took a few sips, then, gathering her thoughts, forced herself to speak, "Feng Wan's younger brother, Feng Sheng, is dead. My elder brother has been arrested by the Dali Temple as a suspect—"
“I know, you don’t need to go into details about Xue Xingtai’s case,” Xie Zhuo interrupted her.
"...Are you familiar with his case?"
"Hmm." Meeting Xue Mingyao's puzzled look, Xie Zhuo said calmly, "He is a guard officer of the Jade Unicorn Guard. He has been detained by the Dali Temple. As his superior, I have no reason not to inquire about it."
After leaving the princess's residence last night, he went directly to the Dali Temple.
Xue Mingyao bit her lip. "My brother said he was wronged. He only punched Feng Sheng three times. It's impossible for him to have died."
"A reckless and impulsive fool like Xue Xingtai is capable of anything. Even if Feng Sheng wasn't beaten to death by him, his imprisonment wouldn't be considered unjust," Xie Zhuo said coldly.
Xue Mingyao knew that Xie Zhuo was telling the truth, but she had no choice but to say, "But he is my elder brother."
Xie Zhuo raised an eyebrow, as if asking, "So?"
"I am determined to save him," Xue Mingyao said frankly.
"How can you save them?"
"Anyway, I'm saved."
Xie Zhuo's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Princess, what you call saving him is nothing more than asking someone to protect him. Asking the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the Empress—oh, you can't ask the Empress, she doesn't like you. And your father's comrades and relatives, those who have the ability, go and ask them too. But will any of that work? The aggrieved party is the Feng family, not an ordinary person. They won't give you the opportunity to cover up or show favoritism."
Xue Mingyao's face paled.
Xie Zhuo was right.
Before coming to the Imperial Guard, she had already met with the Emperor at Qifeng Palace. Emperor Deyuan's attitude was very clear. He stated that one side of the matter was Consort Feng's younger brother, and the other side was General Xue's second son. He could not be biased and ordered the Court of Judicial Review to conduct a fair trial and make a reasonable judgment.
The emperor also said that Xue Xingtai, as the son of an official, resorted to violence to solve problems, and this incident would serve as a lesson for him. He reassured her that, no matter what, Xue Xingtai's life would be spared.
Faced with Emperor Deyuan's "comfort," Xue Mingyao laughed until she almost cried. This lesson was enough to make her brother and sister-in-law's family's sky fall down and cause half of the Xue family's reputation to be shattered.
The elders of the Xue family ancestral home, who value the family's reputation, will likely launch a verbal attack on the elder brother and remove him from the family genealogy.
“Even if it’s useless, we have to do it,” she said to Xie Zhuo. “No matter how many faults my brother has, he is still my brother. We share the same fate, and if he is imprisoned, I will lose face, and my father will not be at peace in the afterlife.”
She paused, looking into Xie Zhuo's eyes, "And your brother-in-law becoming a murderer will only bring you harm, not benefit."
"Oh, you want me to help you save him?" Xie Zhuo smiled faintly.
Xue Mingyao was speechless.
Last night she suspected Xie Zhuo of framing her brother, and today she begged him for help. Xue Mingyao had never done anything so shameless in her life.
Staring blankly at a single light brown tea leaf floating in the teacup, Xue Mingyao felt dejected and thirsty. But just as her hand touched the cup, Xie Zhuo snatched it away.
After finishing the remaining half cup of tea, Xie Zhuo spoke softly, "If you want to get your brother out of prison and clear his name, you still need to start with the case itself."
"What's lacking in this case is evidence. After drinking with others, Feng Sheng went to his outer residence alone and died there within four hours. Feng Sheng's mistress, who escaped, is the key witness. If Feng Sheng's death really has nothing to do with Xue Xingtai, then the mistress's testimony might help him. The Dali Temple is currently searching for this woman, but it's hard to say how much effort they'll put into the search or whether they'll even find her."
“That’s how it is.” Xue Mingyao nodded, surprised by Xie Zhuo’s detailed knowledge. “If this person cannot be found, and the Dali Temple hastily closes the case, then my brother will be the murderer, and he will be doomed.”
"It also depends on the attitude of the Feng family," Xie Zhuo continued. "If the Dali Temple cannot find the person for a long time, and the Feng family believes that Xue Xingtai is the murderer, they will not let the Dali Temple drag on the case. They will urge the Dali Temple to punish him in time to comfort the spirit of Feng Sheng."
"So I still have to go see the Feng family."
After Xie Zhuo finished speaking, a mocking smile appeared on his lips. "You can't even beg me, so can you lower yourself to beg the Feng family?"
Xue Mingyao's face immediately flushed.
Xie Zhuo had studied her brother's case and understood her intentions; he was waiting for her to ask him for help.
But Xue Mingyao couldn't bring herself to speak.
She pretended not to hear the first half of Xie Zhuo's sentence and gritted her teeth, saying, "I do intend to meet the Feng family, but I don't intend to beg them. I have plenty of dirt on them. If they insist on convicting my brother, I will expose the fact that I forged the story of Feng Wanji to deceive the Emperor, and see if they dare to do it."
Xie Zhuo's eyelids twitched instantly. "Are you as brainless as Xue Xingtai? If you expose that, won't you get yourself involved too?"
"Now you not only think I'm bad, but you also think I'm stupid," Xue Mingyao said irritably. "Of course I won't really tell anyone, I'm just using it to threaten them."
"A handle is a double-edged sword; it will hurt them as well as you. The Feng family isn't stupid; do you think they'll believe your threats?"
"You'll only know if you try."
"We can't try!" Xie Zhuo said decisively. "Don't provoke them."
Feng Wan's father, Feng Shunkang, had served as a prefectural official in other places for many years. A year ago, he was promoted to the position of supervisor of salt and iron. He went to the south on official business and only returned to the capital last month. Xie Zhuo thought about it carefully and then paid him a visit.
When Feng Shunkang saw him, he was speechless with astonishment and sighed, and his words also carried a sense of guilt for what happened back then. Feng Shunkang was used to putting on an act, and Xie Zhuo had no intention of probing the sincerity of his guilt, simply telling him that the past was the past and there was no need to mention it further.
Feng Shunkang naturally shared the same sentiment; he wished his daughter, who was to become a concubine in the palace, had never been engaged to anyone.
However, when the Xue family was mentioned, Feng Shunkang's contempt became undisguised. It turned out that the marriage alliance with the Xue family was not his intention. Apart from himself and Feng Wan, no one in the Feng family knew about their deal with Princess Yongning. His stepmother doted on her youngest son, Feng Sheng, and seeing that Feng Sheng liked Xue Mingyu, she actively promoted the marriage alliance with the Xue family.
When Feng Shunkang returned to Beijing and learned of this, he was unable to persuade his wife and son, so he simply let it be.
Feng Shunkang was quite understanding of Xie Zhuo's marriage to Xue Mingyao. "They say even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman. In my opinion, heroes don't need to. A true hero should have a beautiful woman in his arms. My dear nephew, that wicked princess used to bully us so arrogantly. Now she's yours. You can do whatever you want with her. How wonderful!"
Xie Zhuo scoffed. Feng Shunkang was a shrewd opportunist who made himself out to be a victim of Xue Mingyao as well. He was shameless.
However, this reveals Feng Shunkang's attitude towards the Xue family.
If that wicked princess Xue Mingyao really barged into the Feng family to speak on behalf of Xue Xingtai, she would probably make Feng Shunkang furious.
Thinking of this, he warned Xue Mingyao again, "The Feng family has lost their son, and this is a sensitive and painful time. Don't go and rub salt into their wounds."
Xue Mingyao sensed that Xie Zhuo was subtly protecting the Feng family. She couldn't understand how Xie Zhuo could be so unconcerned about Feng Wan and her father's betrayal and how he could speak in their favor.
Forced to swallow her resentment, Xue Mingyao rested her gloomy face on her elbow and said, "Then what should I do?"
Xie Zhuo didn't reply, but called someone to refill his tea.
The steaming tea vapor rose and dispersed slowly, creating a mist between the two people.
Xie Zhuo looked at Xue Mingyao's pretty eyes and brows hidden behind the mist and suddenly asked, "When are you going back to live at the manor?"
Xue Mingyao paused for a moment, then took a sip of tea. "My elder brother is in trouble, and my sister-in-law and younger sister are very worried. I need to stay at the Xue residence to keep them company."
"As long as Xue Xingtai doesn't get out of prison, they won't have peace of mind, and you'll have to stay with them forever?"
Xue Mingyao's watery eyes widened. "That's why my brother has to come out quickly!"
Xie Zhuo stared at her intently, then suddenly stood up and walked in front of her. He bent down and pressed down on her shoulder, locking his gaze firmly into hers. Xue Mingyao felt a pain in her shoulder and struggled slightly. She felt that he was acting strangely, but she stubbornly looked back at him.
"Are you threatening me?" Xie Zhuo said coldly.
Xue Mingyao's eyelashes trembled.
"You won't come back until I get your brother out. Is that right?"
Xue Mingyao thought to herself that not only did she think badly of Xie Zhuo, but Xie Zhuo also often suspected her of having malicious intentions.
Even if she wanted to stay in the Xue family mansion, her sisters-in-law would definitely persuade her to return to her husband's family.
“That’s not what I meant.” She curled her long eyelashes and gazed at him intently. “But if it’s about blackmail, can I really control you?”
Xie Zhuo seemed to find it ridiculous, released her shoulders, spread his robes, and sat down.
Xue Mingyao then turned to look at him again.
Xie Zhuo initially ignored her gaze, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her close to his chest.
Xue Mingyao groaned in pain as her nose was hit. Xie Zhuo pressed her tightly against his warm, broad chest, listening to his strong heartbeat as she breathed heavily.
In a daze, she heard Xie Zhuo's deep voice, his breath trembling, "Xue Mingyao, can you be nicer to me?"
Xue Mingyao remained silent.
Xie Zhuo smiled wryly, regretting asking the unnecessary question. He loosened his grip and lowered his head to find her lips.
Even though the two of them had a falling out and he had been estranged from Xue Mingyao for many days, he still couldn't help but want to kiss her.
Unexpectedly, someone beat him to it.
Soft, delicate kisses landed on his neck, meandered upwards, and then settled on his lips.
Xue Mingyao parted his lips and stuck her tongue inside.
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