She still had some things to do before leaving the Xue family.
Xue Zhiyi had no intention of dressing up and was still wearing plain clothes. However, her unmade-up face looked quite pretty and charming.
Now that the Xue family is in chaos, no one cares about Xue Zhiyi's movements.
Taking advantage of the afternoon, she took Qiuyun Suyue out.
But when Xue Zhiyi brought them to the gate of Lin'an Marquis Mansion, Su Yue was still stunned: "Miss, what are we doing here?"
In her impression, the young lady and Marquis Lin'an had only met a few times.
But Qiuyun knew that some of their young lady's actions at the Spring Fair that day had been seen by the Marquis of Lin'an, and she couldn't help but worry at this moment: "Young lady, is everything okay?"
Xue Zhiyi just smiled and said, "Nothing, I just want to ask the Marquis of Lin'an to do something."
Before they could knock on the door, the gate of the Lin'an Marquis's Mansion opened, and a handsome guard came out. The guard bowed and said, "Miss Xue, the Marquis invites you."
Under the surprised gazes of Qiuyun and Suyue, Xue Zhiyi thanked them and went into the house with the guard. The two of them hurriedly followed.
The backyard of the Marquis's Mansion is spacious and has a nice view. It is surrounded by rockery, spring willows swaying on the embankment, and the air is filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms.
They were led along the stone path of Lin'an Marquis Mansion, and in the distance, there was indeed a peach forest.
After days of cold and damp weather, the weather in Huajing finally cleared up today. Under the warm spring sun, there was another small pavilion in the peach forest.
In the pavilion, there was a man in red clothes, lying leisurely on a bamboo chair covered with warm fur. Unlike before when his long hair was casually tied up, after wearing the crown, his hair was tied under the cold silver crown.
"You guys wait here."
After saying that, Xue Zhiyi walked into the pavilion alone.
Huo Wuyou was seen resting his head on his arms with his eyes closed. One had to admit that his face was very delicate, with bright eyebrows and lips. Especially when he closed his eyes, his eyelashes appeared even longer, and they moved slowly with his breathing.
Although she had put on a crown, there were still a few strands of hair hanging dishonestly. One of them hung on her eyelids, swaying from time to time as her eyelids trembled.
"Haven't you seen enough?"
Huo Wuyou did not open his eyes. The tired voice made Xue Zhiyi look away.
He opened his eyes, his pupils were light brown in the sunlight, with a faint smile.
He sat up and stretched slowly: "Don't stand there, sit down."
"Thank you." Xue Zhiyi sat down opposite him.
Before she could speak, Huo Wuyou asked her, "Such a sudden visit, but have you come up with any ideas for your grand plan to overthrow the Dali Temple Minister?"
"Yes." Xue Zhiyi came here for this matter, so there was no need to deny it: "I have something I want to ask for your help, Lord."
The tea on the stove gurgled. Huo Wuyou's bony fingers slowly lifted the kettle and poured her a cup: "Tell me about it."
"Help me kill someone."
Huo Wuyou's hand trembled and a few drops of tea spilled out. He almost thought he had misheard.
But Xue Zhiyi's expression was calm, as if he didn't realize at all that he was saying something terrible.
He put down the teapot: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
Xue Zhiyi only smiled slightly, his watery almond eyes were gentle, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "It's not something that harms the world."
As she spoke, her slender fingers picked up the teacup. The tea was a little hot, so she placed it in front of her, her fingertips carelessly stroking the rim of the cup. The aroma of tea curled up, lingering and refreshing. "Tell the Marquis a story."
Seeing Huo Wuyou remained silent, she spoke softly, "Three years ago, there was a noodle shop on Huajing West Street. The owner and his wife were deeply in love, and they had a pair of young children who had just grown up. The family of four lived a prosperous and peaceful life. However, things can change unexpectedly. One day, the couple's son had his leg broken by a startled horse. The owner of the horse was none other than Lu Yan, the beloved youngest son of Lu Minchun, the Minister of Rites."
Huo Wuyou nodded: "I have some impression."
Xue Zhiyi sighed as he spoke, "Logically, Lu Yan's horse injured someone, so the poor boy should have been sent to a doctor. However, Minister Lu doted on this old boy too much, and he actually raised him to be a scoundrel. Not only did he refuse to treat the injury, he also beat up the couple who rushed over. The couple filed a complaint with the authorities, but Lu Yan turned the tables and accused the boy of blackmail. The Supreme Court Minister was also a man of his time, not wanting to offend Minister Lu, so he actually had the boy thrown in jail."
Xue Zhiyi's hand caressed the steaming teacup. "Lu Yan, seeing the pretty girl, became obsessed with possessing her. He threatened to kill her brother for blackmail if she didn't comply. Seeing the young man imprisoned in a cold cell without medical care, the girl tearfully agreed. But in the end, the young man died from his injuries. The girl, a strong-willed woman, rose up to die with Lu Yan, but was beaten to death by his guards."
Xue Zhiyi took a sip from his teacup and continued, "The couple tragically lost their two children and, with nowhere else to turn, took an extremely risky action. They stopped the imperial carriage and, on the day Your Majesty was to offer sacrifices at the imperial mausoleum, committed suicide before it, begging Your Majesty to punish Lu Yan according to the law."
As she spoke, her eyes dimmed. "This incident caused a huge uproar and became known to everyone. His Majesty was furious and immediately implicated Minister Lu and the Supreme Court Minister. The case was retried, and Lu Yan was sentenced to death by beheading."
Unfortunately, after all, Minister Lu was an old minister who supported the emperor to ascend the throne, and he had not made any major mistakes over the years. The emperor did not want to hurt the old minister's feelings, but he could not ignore the people's feelings. Therefore, although Lu Yan was sentenced to death, he acquiesced to Minister Lu and the Dali Temple Minister and let Lu Yan escape on the eve of the execution.
Xue Zhiyi looked at Huo Wuyou with an ambiguous look. She certainly would not talk about the emperor in front of his nephew.
After a moment's thought, she said, "Unfortunately, Lu Yan escaped on the eve of his execution and hasn't been heard from in years. The Dali Temple Minister shifted the blame onto his own subordinates, and only had one year's salary docked. That was all."
She picked up the teacup and drank it all, then sighed deeply, "In the end, Lu Yan is living happily somewhere, the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Justice are still doing their jobs safely, but that poor family is still alive and well."
Only that family became the one that had to rely on favors from these distinguished people for no reason.
After hearing this, the smile on Huo Wuyou's face disappeared, and his eyes became much stiffer.
Seeing that Xue Zhiyi had finished his tea, he filled another cup and pretended to be casual, saying, "Who of these people you just mentioned do you want to kill?"
Xue Zhiyi looked straight at him and said seriously, "I want you to help me kill Lu Yan."
After a moment of silence, Huo Wuyou spread his hands and asked, "Where are the people?"
Xue Zhiyi smiled and said, "How can I dare to trouble the Marquis of Lin'an to take action if I don't even know his whereabouts?"
Huo Wuyou's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and Xue Zhiyi blinked softly. "I hope the Marquis of Lin'an can help me kill Lu Yan, the son of the Minister of Rites, who is currently being held captive by the Rong family in Shili County, Cenzhou."
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