Only after Li Qingchen's reminder did Zhang Jian belatedly realize that he had actually hit the jackpot!
Once the gold medal was awarded, the situation was completely out of his control. In this way, he had not let either side down, so naturally he had no fault to speak of!
With a sudden sense of clarity, Zhang Jian's eyes gleamed, but after a moment, he felt a pang of guilt: "I have received kindness from others, but I have not been able to repay it. I am still ashamed in my heart."
Li Qingchen chuckled, not afraid of being a villain, and bluntly stated: "Does Lord Zhang know that back then, in order to gather talent, the Jing Prince's Mansion recruited all the graduating students, and Lord Zhang was just one of them? True good deeds leave no trace, and one does not ask for anything in return. Those who seek repayment for favors are never the ones who deserve it."
Zhang Jian had actually heard what Li Qingchen said before, but he was stubborn and believed that one should repay kindness, regardless of whether the benefactor saved only him or countless others.
It was probably precisely because of his straightforward nature that he was able to thrive in the Censorate, a place dedicated to correcting the mistakes of officials and unafraid of offending people.
Seeing that he remained unmoved, Li Qingchen added fuel to the fire: "Lord Zhang, do you know that Shengjing has always been peaceful and stable, and thieves are not common? Especially during the spring and autumn examinations, the patrols in the wards are more frequent, and once a criminal is caught, he will be severely punished."
Li Qingchen only hinted at the point and then stopped talking, but Zhang Jian was not stupid and naturally understood the implied meaning.
Li Qingchen was trying to remind himself that the thieves he encountered on his way to the capital for the imperial examinations were very likely part of the Prince Jing’s scheme to recruit people!
Having served Prince Jing for three years, Zhang Jian had come to understand the prince's temperament to some extent; he was indeed the kind of person capable of such a thing. To win someone over, one must first drive them to the brink, then offer assistance—this is the true meaning of providing timely help.
Zhang Jian stared incredulously at the young Prince Qiaochuan before him. The other man was clearly much younger than him, yet his words had given him a profound sense of enlightenment.
However, Zhang Jian was unwilling to make a hasty judgment, so he simply bowed and thanked him, deciding to personally investigate the incident of encountering the thieves years ago. Although so many years had passed, it concerned whether Prince Jing was a benefactor or a villain.
After parting ways with Zhang Jian, Li Qingchen boarded his own carriage in front of Ziying Gate.
Yuan Que spurred his horse and turned back to ask, "Young Prince, shall we return to the manor?"
There was a moment of silence inside the car before a soft voice said, "Take a detour."
*
Although Emperor Pingjia had instructed the Censorate to release the Wei family members, since all of the Wei family members except Wei Zheng were detained by the Court of Judicial Review, there would still be a procedure to follow if they were to be released.
As the process continued, the sun began to set.
Unaware of what was happening outside, the Wei family members were resting in the prison when they suddenly heard the clinking of keys. Wei Hai was the first to peek out through the iron bars and saw a jailer walking towards them.
"Are they going to interrogate us again?"
Wei Hai couldn't help but worry, and turned back to Wei Shuwan with a nervous look, asking, "Shuwan, is your gold medal real or fake? Could it be that little Qiao Chuan King is trying to fool you?"
For a whole day, he still couldn't understand why this young Prince Qiaochuan was so generous! Even if he had saved someone's life, it would be one thing to reward him with some gold and silver, but he was even willing to give away the life-saving charm of their Prince Qiaochuan's mansion!
Upon hearing her husband's question, Madam Meng quickly looked at Wei Shuwan, waiting for her to speak.
Wei Shuwan, however, was too lazy to pay attention and said calmly, "Uncle, there's no need to worry. Even if that pardon is fake, it won't implicate your eldest branch. After all, my father isn't a member of the Wei family."
"You brat!" Wei Hai frowned in anger, but then thought better of it. After all, Wei Shuwan had saved the life of the Prince of Qiaochuan. Even if he was her elder, he would have to be more accommodating to her in the future.
So he swallowed back the words of rebuke that were about to come out of his throat.
Meng gave a cold "humph" and said no more.
Madam Wei felt a pang of guilt. It seemed her granddaughter would remember the words she had spoken in court for the rest of her life, constantly reminding her of how heartless she had been.
The sound of the key grew louder and louder, and the jailers drew closer. When the two jailers reached the iron gate, everyone in the Wei family except for the old lady and Wei Shuwan stood up, staring at the jailers' every move with anxious expressions.
The jailer unlocked the chains on the iron gate and swung it open: "Come out, all of you!"
"Are we going to be interrogated again?" Wei Hai asked nervously as he shrank into the corner.
The jailer, unusually, smiled, as if to say he was doing them a favor in the end: "We're letting you go home!"
They've been in this prison for over a decade, and they've hardly ever seen anyone walk out of this door unscathed. Today is quite a novelty.
"Let...let us go home?" Wei Hai repeated in disbelief.
The other members of the Wei family were also extremely shocked, even the usually calm Wei Wenshi had to stand up while leaning against the wall.
Although everyone had guessed that with that gold medal, he might soon regain his sight, no one dared to imagine that "soon" would be this quick—he was interrogated in the morning and released that evening.
The crowd stood there, stunned, for a long time.
Wei Shuwan was the last to stand up, but she was the first to walk out of the iron gate. After taking a deep breath outside, she turned to her father, mother, and younger brother and said, "Let's go home!"
It seemed that from Wei Shuwan's words, the entire Wei family finally believed it was true. Their shocked expressions transformed into excitement, and they scrambled to squeeze towards the door!
Wei Zheng and Sun Lurong supported each other, while Wei Shuwan helped her younger brother Wei Chengxiu, and together they left the prison with the Wei family.
However, after stepping out of the Censorate's gate, upon seeing the setting sun and the passersby looking in their direction, the women of the Wei family all stopped in their tracks, either lowering their heads or turning their backs, not daring to let those people see their faces.
Once the most prestigious family in Jiangzuo, even after moving to Shengjing, they were still wealthy and honorable noble ladies. But now, they stand disheveled and ragged on the side of the street, becoming a hilarious sight...
The men were much more easygoing and didn't react immediately. However, when they saw the mocking looks and sarcastic smiles from the pedestrians, they looked down at their own clothes and realized how utterly pathetic and embarrassed they were.
Just then, two elegant and exquisite carriages stopped one after the other in front of the Wei family, blocking the view of pedestrians on the road.
Wei Shuwan noticed a shadow looming over her, so she looked up and saw Gu Zhuang driving the carriage, turning his head to smile at her.
"Miss Wei, please get in the car."
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