Madam Min's eyes were icy: "Whether it's the Emperor's praise or a reward, Ye Qingxue is not worthy of it! You should immediately go find your maternal uncle and make sure he comes to the palace tonight..."
Madam Min leaned close to Ye Cunjin's ear and spoke in a low voice for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before instructing him: "Once this matter gets out of control by tomorrow morning, it will be too late to undo it!"
"This will not only damage Prince Ding's reputation, but also harm the relationship between our Marquis's Mansion and Prince Ding. Therefore, you must send your maternal uncle to the palace immediately! Tell the Emperor to rescind his order, withdraw all the rewards given to Ye Qingxue, and turn the tide!"
Ye Cunjin immediately ordered his horse to be prepared. He stood up to bid farewell to Madam Min and was about to leave when Madam Min called him back.
"There's no need to rush. I saw that Ye Qingxue was unconscious when Xia Lu took her away earlier. She will probably suffer from the poison all night and won't be able to wake up. You have one night—no, it's almost midnight now, you only have half a night left. Go!"
Ye Cunjin bowed deeply and turned to leave.
The servant had already prepared the horse. He mounted the steed and headed straight for his maternal uncle's house in the north of the city. He woke his uncle, who was already asleep, and relayed all the instructions given to him by Madam Min. He then asked his uncle to immediately go to the palace to request an audience with the Emperor.
Upon hearing his words, the eldest uncle was furious. He immediately dressed and put on his shoes, ordered someone to bring his horse, and rushed to the palace.
When they arrived at the palace gates, they realized it was late at night and the gates were already locked.
Without the emperor's summons, it was impossible to see him.
Besides, unless it's something extremely urgent, who would dare to wake the sleeping emperor at this time?
The eldest uncle didn't have the courage, so he waited at the palace gate, hoping to enter the palace and request an audience as soon as the gate opened.
Although Ye Cunjin did not approach, he watched from a distance and realized that it was not easy to enter the palace at this time. He was able to see the emperor earlier when it was dark only because the emperor was summoning Ye Qingxue and he benefited from it.
The eldest uncle will wait here, and will enter the palace to request an audience as soon as the palace gates open the next morning. He will certainly be the first person to see the emperor and will not affect the overall situation.
Ye Cunjin believed that Ye Qingxue and her Guanju Courtyard would be in a deep sleep that night, giving them enough time to turn the tide.
However, the reality was completely different from what he had imagined.
Although Ye Qingxue was unconscious, Dong Bai was not idle at all. When Ye Cunjin rode away from the Marquis's mansion, Dong Bai also took a manuscript and a painting and quietly left the mansion.
Both the manuscript and the illustrations were created by Xia Lü.
Of the four of them, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, Autumn was the best at reading, writing, and painting, but unfortunately she was not around, so Summer took over.
Xia Lu is a person who is strict with herself and others. Although she is not as talented as Qiu Shen in writing and painting, her years of practice have made her not much inferior to Qiu Shen.
After taking the two items out, Dong Bai climbed over the wall into the courtyard of the Hanlin Academician, accurately located the Academician's room, and knocked on the door.
The Grand Secretary got up, put on his robe, opened the door, and saw a person dressed in black standing outside. He was so frightened that he almost fainted.
Dongbai covered his mouth first, and then told him, "Don't be afraid, sir. I'm just here to deliver a tabloid to you."
The Grand Scholar was taken aback. Tabloids were rampant in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but many people didn't know that he was the one who started them!
As it turned out, the person in front of him not only knew that he was the owner behind the tabloid, but also managed to find his doorstep in the dead of night.
Dong Bai said, "It's widely rumored outside today that the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion and the eldest son of the Minister of Rites had a secret rendezvous all night. This is a disgrace to the family and a disgrace to the royal family. Doesn't the Grand Secretary want to know the truth behind this matter?"
The truth? Isn't the truth simply that young men and women are shameless and eloping in secret? The scholar thought with disdain.
Even if there were other unavoidable reasons behind it, the Grand Secretary did not want to know in such an extreme way, as he always felt that the corpse was chilling.
Dong Bai said, "You don't know yet, sir? Just tonight, the Emperor rewarded the eldest daughter of the Ye family, bestowing upon her 50,000 taels of silver, as well as countless jewels, ornaments, silks, and satins."
"If the magistrate publishes this matter in the tabloids first thing tomorrow morning, the tabloids will surely sell like hotcakes. Moreover, this is firsthand information that no one else knows, which will further solidify the tabloids' position in the hearts of the people."
The Grand Secretary scoffed at Dong Bai's statement. Ye Qingxue's secret rendezvous with Pan Heng all night was a slap in the face to the royal family. Had the emperor gone mad? Would he reward Ye Qingxue?
He was already preparing to publish the news of the Wei family's property being confiscated in the tabloids the next morning. Not long ago, when he learned of Wei Jingtong's embezzlement, although he was shocked, he did not forget to secretly take a carriage to investigate the situation, and even hid in the carriage to draw the scene.
It will definitely shock the whole city tomorrow morning.
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Dongbai pulled him to sit on the steps. The night was cool and still, and Dongbai slowly told the Grand Scholar the reason why Ye Qingxue had been commended.
The Grand Secretary was speechless with astonishment.
"If you don't believe me, sir, feel free to send someone to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence to inquire. If I've uttered a single falsehood, may I be struck by lightning!"
Dongbai shoved the manuscript and illustrations in front of him: "Sir, look, I've prepared the manuscript and illustrations for you."
"Whether or not to appear in the tabloids is up to you. If you don't do it soon, the tabloids will lose their credibility in Kyoto, and they won't even know about such a big event."
After Dong Bai finished speaking earnestly, he patted his shoulder, leaped up, and jumped over the wall.
The Grand Secretary was dumbfounded. If only his intelligence spies had such amazing skills.
He returned to his room, asked someone to light candles, and read through the manuscript and drawings by candlelight. He was so eager to read them that he eventually sent a secret agent to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence to investigate.
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