Before entering Jingzhou, Gu Yanji sent the letter to the Wei Mansion through special channels.
In order to allow them to enter the mansion smoothly, Wei Xuezhi began to prepare after receiving the letter.
Wei Xuezhi has three sons. Previously, because of the affairs of the Song family, except for the third son who was left alone, the other two sons believed that they had seen through their old father's cold-bloodedness and moved out one after another. The whole family would rather squeeze into the shabby residence of a fourth or fifth-rank official than live back home. In the past two years, the huge Wei Mansion has only become popular during the New Year holidays.
The first preparation that Chief Minister Wei made was to send someone to urge his three stupid sons to go home and live there, otherwise he would go to Jingzhao Yin to sue them for being unfilial.
In Dai Viet, it is a serious crime for children to be unfilial while their parents are still alive. If an official in the court is unfilial, the crime is even more severe.
Only when there are more people in the palace will the emperor's people be dazzled.
The two brothers of the Wei family never expected their father to be so ruthless.
"Brother, what do you think father means by this?" The speaker was the second son of Prime Minister Wei, Song Qin's father-in-law. "Sacrificing Xin'er isn't enough? He insists that all of us, his sons and grandsons, become stepping stones for his future?"
Wei Huairen used to be the person who understood Prime Minister Wei's thoughts the best, but now he has no idea what his father wants to do.
He had no choice but to comfort his second brother, "Shicheng, please be patient. I don't think father will do this."
Wei Shicheng snorted coldly, clearly having lost trust in his father. "Not really? Then why would he burn down the courtyard where Xin'er lived? That's his own granddaughter!"
In this matter, his father was indeed wrong, and it was difficult for Wei Huairen to defend his father and second brother.
"We'll move back to the mansion tomorrow." Wei Huairen finally made this decision. "It's time for us to go back and visit anyway. At worst, our two families can live in the west courtyard."
This is the only way. After all, even if the two of them don't consider themselves, they have to consider the younger generations in the family.
Guard Cheng: "I will let Min'er leave tomorrow to stay at her grandfather's house for a while."
As a father, Wei Shicheng failed to protect his eldest daughter and he regretted it deeply. His youngest daughter Min'er refused to jump into the fire pit no matter what.
When Wei Huairen heard what he said, he couldn't help but ask, "Min'er is still so young, how can you bear to let her travel such a long distance alone?"
Wei Shicheng didn't care about that. "It's better to endure a little hardship during a long journey than to be schemed against by your own grandfather."
In his eyes, his father is no longer the good father who was strict with himself and did not get involved in the imperial power and party struggles.
Wei Huairen sighed helplessly, "Shicheng, my second brother, you are too paranoid."
Wei Shicheng blurted out, "Brother, you only have one daughter, and she's already married, so of course you're not in a hurry."
Wei Huairen was really angry.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" He pointed at the rebellious guard Cheng and said, "Which one of Xin'er and Min'er is not my niece? You think you're the only one who feels sorry for her, right?!"
Wei Shicheng knew that he had been impulsive, but he was also worried. "Brother, I said the wrong thing, but Min'er will be fourteen soon. What if father decides to send Min'er to the palace on impulse? What will I do then?"
Wei Shicheng's words seemed to alert Wei Huairen, and he finally realized, "You mean, father wants to send Min'er to the palace?"
Wei Shicheng had this guess after receiving the letter from the Wei Mansion, and the only one in his family who was qualified to enter the palace and of the right age was his youngest daughter.
"Don't send me off tomorrow, let's go tonight." Wei Huairen said, "I'm afraid father really means this."
When Wei Shicheng heard that his elder brother also thought so, he became even more worried. "Okay, when we get back home, I'll have Min'er pack her luggage and leave tonight."
When people go to Jiangnan, the emperor is far away. If the emperor really wants to take Min'er into the palace, he can just say that he has already promised her to him in Jiangnan.
"Wait!" Wei Huairen raised his hand and called him, "A cousin from your sister-in-law's family came to the capital a while ago to visit their married daughter. I remember they plan to leave early tomorrow morning. Let Min'er go with them to Jiangnan. Send a few more people to follow. That way it will be safer."
It's naturally better to have company than to be alone. The guard was grateful, "Then please, big brother, thank you for me and my sister-in-law."
Wei Huairen raised his hand and said, "Don't thank me yet. The carriage to Jiangnan still needs to leave tonight."
He stopped there, and Wei Shicheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood, "Thank you for the reminder, big brother."
When the news reached the Wei residence, Wei Xuezhi smashed his most treasured tea set. Madam Wei hurriedly tried to appease him, "Why are you so angry with them?"
This is the truth, but Wei Xuezhi still couldn't help but feel angry, "Am I the kind of person who would push my own granddaughter into the fire pit for power and status?"
Madam Wei couldn't help but add, "You were the one who started the fire yourself."
Wei Xuezhi's face turned serious. "If I hadn't done that under the circumstances, the knife hanging over the Wei family's head would have fallen immediately."
Mrs. Wei knew that she couldn't argue with him, so she stopped talking and asked someone from outside to come in and clean up the mess.
After the servants had packed up and left, Madam Wei continued, "Should we send someone to tell the second son's wife?"
Wei Xuezhi snorted coldly, "No matter what you say, people will think I'm up to something bad. Go back and find a few reliable people to follow secretly and protect me."
Madam Wei hadn't seen her grandchildren for a long time and had long missed them. She felt a little reluctant to let them go. "If you really want to send them to Jiangnan, I'm afraid they won't be back for two years."
Wei Xuezhi looked out the window, his slightly cloudy eyes drooping slightly, and he sighed deeply, "Two years might not be a bad thing."
If we lose this time, it would be good if we could escape at least one person.
Speaking of this, Madam Wei really wanted to ask, "Did they say when they would arrive tomorrow?"
Wei Xuezhi was about to answer when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure passing by the window, and then shouted sharply, "Who's outside?"
A quarter of an hour later, the eavesdropper was caught. It was the green ring next to Madam Wei.
Wei Xuezhi knew from the beginning that she was the emperor's person, and he also discussed it with Madam Wei. He did not deal with it because there would be others even if the green ring was gone.
Instead of this, it would be better to keep someone they all know well.
But I didn't expect that Green Ring would risk being discovered and hide outside the study to eavesdrop under the pretext of delivering new tea sets.
"Speak! How much did you hear?" Wei Xuezhi had a cold face. Although he was over sixty years old, he still had dignity.
Lu Huan was tied to the ground by the secret guards, her hair was disheveled, and both sides of her face were swollen. She spat out a mouthful of blood but said nothing.
Madam Wei frowned tightly, "Luhuan, tell me how much you heard, and I can let you live under a different identity."
Lu Huan was born a assassin, and her life never belonged to her. If she had even a thought of betrayal, the poison in her body would make her life worse than death, so the degree of torture by the Wei Mansion was nothing to her.
Wei Xuezhi was not afraid that Lu Huan had heard anything, but was afraid that she had spread what she had heard.
Given the emperor's suspicious nature, how could it be possible that Lu Huan was the only spy in the palace?
Wei Xuezhi carefully recalled what he had just said to his wife in the study. Fortunately, no names were mentioned. There was a way to remedy the situation, but the emperor was afraid that he would become suspicious of the Wei family after tomorrow.
Unable to force the truth out of her, Wei Xuezhi knew that she had already spread the news and the mission was accomplished. It no longer mattered to him whether he lived or died.
Wei Xuezhi ordered his servants to lock Luhuan up in the woodshed for the crime of theft and await his punishment.
After everyone in the yard had left, Madam Wei said anxiously, "How about I ask Ami to tell the eldest and third brothers to leave?"
Wei Xuezhi certainly wouldn't do that. "Regardless of how much Green Ring heard, have you ever considered that if my two sons were suddenly forced to leave the capital with their families, even without Green Ring spreading the news, the Emperor would still be suspicious of my Wei family."
Madam Wei was not afraid of death. She had lived to such an age that she had long since become indifferent to life and death. She was mainly worried about the new generations that had just been added to the family and were still so young.
"So what should we do?"
"We can only try our best. I'll send someone to contact them right away and tell them to wait two days before heading to Beijing." Wei Xuezhi already had a preliminary plan in mind. He asked, "Did someone from the clan come to plead for mercy last month?"
"Indeed, there was one. He took advantage of the Wei family's influence in the capital and forcibly abducted a girl from a commoner's family. Unable to bear the humiliation, the girl hanged herself at home. He is currently imprisoned in the Jingzhao Yin Mansion and will be executed in three months." Having been married for decades, Madam Wei quickly understood his intentions. Her eyes lit up. "You want to?"
Wei Xuezhi nodded, "This is the only way I can try."
Song Wan and others arrived earlier than Wei Xuezhi expected. When Wei Xuezhi sent someone to deliver the message overnight, they had already left the manor prepared by Wei Xuezhi outside the capital and entered the south gate before dark.
Song Wan was riding a horse alone, and Gu Yan's horse was so anxious that it lagged behind her by half a step.
Song Qi and Gu Wu, um, that's not right, now they should be called Liu Xiangcai and Wan Liulian. One of them is driving the carriage outside, and the other is protecting Gu Yu in the carriage.
"This is the capital." Song Wan glanced at the bustling streets, and the only vague memories of the capital in the original owner's mind gradually became clear at this moment.
"After I meet the people you need to meet tomorrow, I'll take you for a nice stroll." Gu Yan looked at her gently and said.
"Okay, okay." Song Wan had been rushing along the way and hadn't stopped to have fun. Now that he had finally arrived in the capital, he had to have a good meal and have some fun.
Song Wan always remembered the Beijing specialties that Yun Zhuo had mentioned. Now that she was here, of course she had to try them all.
"So where are we going now?" Song Wan turned around and looked at him. "The inn?"
Gu Yan shook her head anxiously, "We won't stay at the inn tonight."
Go out from the back door of the Wei Mansion, walk straight to the left, and then turn right. There is a dark alley that few people know about.
Between the dark alley and the main street in front is a shop with a backyard. They will stay there tonight so that they won’t be too conspicuous when they go to Wei Mansion tomorrow.
This was a decision Gu Yan made on the spur of the moment. The shop was safer and more hidden than the crowded inn.
They arrived at the back door of the shop. Song Wan asked curiously, "When did you buy the shop?"
Gu Yan hurriedly took out the key from her pocket and replied, "I bought this shop by accident. Not many people know about it, and I didn't use my real identity."
Song Wan said "oh" and saw him take out the key to open the door. She resisted the urge to climb over the wall, holding Baozi's hand, and waited eagerly to enter through the main door.
The key was inserted into the lock cylinder and turned gently, and the heavy lock opened. Gu Yan hurriedly prepared to put the key away and push the door.
Song Wan, who had been waiting obediently, suddenly threw the bun in her hand to him, and then flew in from the wall beside her.
Gu Yan quickly caught the bun and threw it to Gu Wu, then pushed the door open without thinking.
In the yard, Song Wan jumped down from the tree and shouted arrogantly at the person trying to move on the ground, "Still want to run?"
After saying that, she even tried to strip him of his clothes, "Let me see what you stole!"
Gu Yan breathed a sigh of relief, it turned out to be a thief.
The person under his feet was extremely dishonest. Song Wan released a trace of mental power to drill in and out of his body, causing him severe pain.
"Speak or not!"
"Wuwuwu! Let me go!" The person on the ground was still struggling.
Gu Yan hurried over and stopped her hand from stripping the thief's clothes. "Next time, let Durian and Coriander do it."
Song Wan curled her lips, "Then let's see what he stole first."
Gu Yan was anxious and helpless, "Okay, I'll search you."
Song Wan agreed, but before Gu Yan could squat down to search the so-called thief, something fell from his body.
With a thud, it rolled to Song Wan's feet.
Song Wan bent down to pick it up and exclaimed, "What is this? A token?"
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