Su Wanwan gently patted her back: "Don't be afraid..."
A sharp-looking military officer in a flying fish robe emerged from behind the carriage. He appeared to be in his twenties, with piercing eyes and a lithe figure. He clasped his hands in greeting to Su Nan and said:
"Master Su, I'm going back to report for duty."
Su Nan bowed deeply: "Thank you, Lord Qian, for saving me from dire straits."
Lord Qian clasped his hands in a respectful bow to the air and said politely, "This humble servant is merely acting on orders from above. Master Su, you are too kind."
Su Wanying wiped away her tears and stepped forward to bow, saying, "Lord Qian, I will visit you another day to express my gratitude."
The flying fish robe was the attire of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the emperor's personal guard, and they only obeyed imperial orders.
Su Wanwan had mixed feelings.
The entanglement between her and Lu Xingjian was already too complicated to unravel.
Later that day, the appointment of Su Nanguan to be reinstated was delivered to the Su family.
Before retiring, Su Nan was an assistant director of the Ministry of War's Carriage and Vehicle Management Department, a fifth-rank official.
The Carriage and Chariot Office was in charge of matters such as imperial processions, ceremonial guards, imperial guards, postal relays, postal tokens, stables, and livestock.
Su Nan was not in a hurry to take office and planned to rest at home for a few days.
The next day, Duke Xu Chengbi of Wei paid a visit.
Compared to his confrontation in court in July, Xu Chengbi looked much older.
"Brother Cheng'an, are you okay?"
Su Nan disliked the Xu family very much, and directly stopped him at the door, coldly mocking him:
"Duke of Wei, my daughter's dowry has already been donated. Do you expect our Su family to sell our land and fields to support your Xu family?"
Xu Chengbi's old face turned bright red with embarrassment.
He had no idea that Han Xiufen, that good-for-nothing idiot, would actually try to freeload off Su Wanwan.
Completely enraging the emperor, he resorted to a "praise-to-death" tactic.
The emperor not only rejected the Xu family's land encroachment case, but also overturned the case, which was based on irrefutable evidence, and the officials who advocated severely punishing the Xu family were all imprisoned.
These officials are all from powerful families, and now public opinion is overwhelming, with everyone wanting nothing more than to tear the Duke of Wei to pieces.
Even the Empress's maternal family, the Marquis of Qingyang, has been implicated and is being scolded so badly that they can't even lift their heads.
He never expected that Su Wanwan would be so strong-willed, and that she would simply donate all of her dowry.
To thoroughly establish a reputation for generosity and righteousness.
No matter how much others try to smear her in the future, they cannot deny her great contributions to the country and its people.
The Xu family, on the other hand, seems to have won a complete victory in the land encroachment case, but their reputation has been utterly ruined.
Now that Su Nanguan has been reinstated, he has no choice but to shamelessly beg his former in-law for a hand.
Given the Su family's lofty and upright position among scholars, with just a little help, the Xu family's life would be better, and they would gradually recover.
"Brother Cheng'an, you flatter me. I am ashamed."
Xu Chengbi was embarrassed. "I just brought a small gift to visit Brother Cheng'an. I have no other requests."
After all, he is the head of the family, and what he wants most now is to restore the Xu family's reputation.
Southern Jiangsu showed no mercy:
“I, Su, am not worthy of this title. Please return, Duke of Wei. I fear that if you stay any longer, my house will become part of the Xu family.”
Xu Chengbi had no choice but to leave sheepishly. After returning home, he was still furious and called Han Xiufen over for a good scolding.
Later that day, the Ministry of War urgently summoned Su Nan for a meeting, instructing him to depart that day for official business in Xuanfu and Datong.
After a moment's hesitation, Su Nan decided to go home and bring Su Wanwan and Su Wanying with him, and leave the city before dark.
Also leaving the capital with them were the border troops who had been summoned to the capital to defend the emperor; their safety along the way was not a problem.
...
The Imperial Study in the Qianqing Palace.
Lu Xingjian stood beside the imperial desk, his expression indifferent, and instructed Yu Yong, "Go."
Yu Yong looked up at his narrow eyes and saw the coldness within them. He felt a chill and swallowed the words he was about to say.
That evening, flames engulfed a mansion in the capital and burned for a long time.
At the morning court session, the newly appointed Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Hu Fu, whose face was still covered in cigarette ash, nervously reported:
"Your Majesty, a fire broke out at the Marquis of Qingyang's residence last night. Your humble servant went to the scene to help, but the weather was dry and the fire was too big, resulting in many deaths!"
The fire was quite bizarre; the houses where the Xia family masters lived were completely engulfed in flames, while most of the servants' quarters were spared.
The neighbors were all delighted, but few were willing to go and put out the fire.
After the Xia family became relatives of the emperor last year, they expanded their mansion on a large scale and forced their neighbors to move out to make room for them.
Those who had lived in the neighborhood for over a hundred years were full of complaints.
At that time, the imperial court was severely short of money, and the inner transport treasury was empty, so it could not afford to pay compensation to the neighbors.
The matter escalated to the point that the Minister of Works personally submitted a memorial requesting an imperial decree to halt the expansion of the Xia family mansion, saying that the project could be undertaken again the following year when the court had sufficient funds.
But it was ultimately rejected.
Because of the Xia family's status and position, the neighbors had no choice but to swallow their anger and pay out of their own pockets to move out, leaving the Xia family to forcibly occupy their ancestral home.
Seeing the Xia family in such dire straits, everyone felt a sense of vindication, believing that evil had finally been punished.
Lu Xingjian's eyes narrowed as he looked at Hu Fu.
"Can the cause of the fire be found out?" the question was asked coldly.
Hu Fu carefully chose his words and stated the preliminary conclusions drawn from the current on-site investigation:
"It must have been the work of treacherous officials and rebels who plotted against the people in Changping Prefecture and outside Desheng Gate. Their flags and weapons were found at the scene."
Lu Xingjian calmly replied, "Do your best to save lives and catch the mastermind behind it all."
Standing in the ranks of military officers, Yu Yong didn't dare to look up; a layer of cold sweat broke out on his face despite the freezing weather.
Today, no one understands the principle of "serving a ruler is like serving a tiger" better than him.
He even dared to harm his own father-in-law's family.
Fortunately, the favored "Consort Yu" in the palace was not his daughter.
Otherwise, you never know when you might offend the emperor and suffer the calamity of having your entire family wiped out, with no one to seek justice for you.
Empress Xia Xueyi, who was still in bed recovering from childbirth, heard that the Qingyang Marquis's mansion had been wiped out and immediately vomited blood and fainted.
When he woke up again, he disregarded his unhealed state and, dressed in plain white clothes, knelt before the imperial study to beg for an audience with the emperor.
The weather in November was already bitterly cold, and in less than fifteen minutes her whole body was frozen stiff, shivering in the cold wind.
Seeing her swaying figure, Steward Li still ordered someone to bring a cloak to wrap her up:
"Your Majesty, please return. The Emperor is deeply grieved by the loss of the Qingyang Marquis's residence and does not wish to see anyone."
Xia Xueyi's blank and numb face finally showed some change.
She curled her lips into a mocking smile.
"Is the Emperor grieving? Is he grieving?"
This kind of nonsense might fool outsiders, but it's utterly ridiculous to try and fool her.
She killed his birth mother and then tried to pin the blame on Su Wanwan, whom he loved.
How could he possibly let her off the hook, or let the Xia family off the hook?
They didn't even bother to fabricate charges to arrest and imprison him.
Instead, they resorted to the most brutal method of destruction.
When it comes to ruthlessness and cruelty, who can compare to him?
Xia Xueyi didn't know how long she had been kneeling.
She only moved slightly when it got dark and someone hurriedly requested an audience with the emperor.
Lu Xingjian raised an eyebrow at the newcomer: "The Marquis of Qingyang isn't dead?"
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