TGCFNM -Chapter 430 Just a Little Bit

After Wan Xing returned, he temporarily stayed at the Wan residence. If anything needed handling, it was Uncle Hong and Steward Zhu who would carry the items over directly.

As for Chu Ling, Wan Sanjin, and the others, they were all kept under watch, behaving properly and not going out for several days.

Outside, however, things were lively.

First, one of the Four Great Families, the Si family, was imprisoned and sealed off. Then Lu Shi presided over a case, reopening an old case from seventeen years ago—one involving the former Crown Prince.

With Lu Shi overseeing it, the case was naturally examined clearly and thoroughly, essentially clearing the former Crown Prince’s name. Although the emperor executed the Si family and their nine clans outright, he didn’t say much about the former Crown Prince. Instead, the Empress Dowager issued an edict, ordering that the matter be announced throughout Great Zhou.

Thus, the public notice boards in front of the yamen displayed the verdict, stating that it had been the Si family abusing the former Crown Prince’s name to levy taxes and amass wealth, leaving many without homes.

It was a good thing the former Crown Prince’s innocence was recognized, but the innocent officials who had been implicated at the time were not vindicated.

So, the former Crown Prince still bore the weight of the crime of rebellion.

After the Si family was sentenced, their residence was sealed, and the household was searched. Box after box of gold, silver, and jewels were moved out, from morning until night, and still not finished. That didn’t even include the numerous antiques and rarities the Si family possessed—some so precious they hadn’t even been in the national treasury. As a result, the next day at court, the emperor’s anger flared, and many officials were demoted.

The atmosphere in the court was tense.

At this critical moment, Xiao Lengjue returned and was granted an audience with the emperor, even staying for a meal.

Almost immediately after, Nangong Jing returned to the Nangong household, and the next day she was summoned to the palace as well, staying there for a long time.

No one knew exactly what the emperor said to the two of them, but it was obvious: the Nangong family’s position was secure, and Xiao Lengjue had earned even more imperial favor.

All these changes had happened just in a few days, so when Chu Ling and the others were finally allowed to go out, it felt as though the whole world had changed.

Wan Xing, after handling some matters, bought some snacks and returned to the Wan residence.

As soon as he entered the front hall, he saw Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin slouched in their chairs, looking utterly bored and without any sense of decorum.

Wan Xing laughed as he looked at them. “Weren’t you supposed to go to Lord Lu’s residence? What, were you kicked out?”

Chu Ling shook her head. “Lord Lu said that even with Uncle Hong helping, they still couldn’t find that person. He told us to go back and think of another plan.”

Wan Sanjin said sadly, “What kind of plan could we possibly have?”

Chu Ling shook her head again. “So we came back.”

“And what about Coroner Su?” Wan Xing asked with a smile.

Wan Sanjin replied, “The poison in Wu Ting’s blood, and the poison in the wine, are similar to those in the Wan Poison Manual, but also different. The mysterious person’s poison is stronger and deadlier… So Su He is trying to find a cure, hoping that if we encounter it again in the future, we can live a couple more moments.”

Wan Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly. “If Coroner Su needs any medicinal materials, he can go to the Wan household to get them.”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “Don’t worry, Big Brother. I already said that.”

Wan Xing gave a small nod, invited the two of them to have some snacks, and then turned to leave.

Chu Ling glanced over. “Your big brother is busy every single day.”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “Gotta make money.”

Chu Ling sat up straight. “I’ve cut off the Si family’s line of influence, but some of the officials involved are still in their positions. I expect they’ll just switch their loyalties to someone else.”

At this, Wan Sanjin was also surprised. “Hey, sir, you said these court officials are like fair-weather friends, so why did His Majesty let them off?”

“Fair-weather friends don’t affect the bigger picture,” Chu Ling said, propping her chin on her hand. “And if you really uproot them entirely, the court itself would run into trouble. His Majesty did consider that. I thought by now he’d only be after women or immortality.”

“This time, the Empress Dowager was even more decisive,” Wan Sanjin lowered his voice.

Chu Ling paused mid-grab for a snack and whispered, “I think this time the Empress Dowager did it on purpose, deliberately taking the opposite side of His Majesty.”

“What’s the Empress Dowager aiming for?” Wan Sanjin frowned. “At her age, instead of properly enjoying her later years, she interferes in state affairs?”

Chu Ling was momentarily dumbfounded. “Exactly. She’s interfering in state affairs, interfering with His Majesty.”

Ghost Scholar couldn’t hold back and tapped each of them once with his fan. “Even in the Wan residence, you two need to be careful. How can you just blurt everything out?”

Chu Ling touched her head, and Wan Sanjin did the same.

“Sir, is it leaking?” Wan Sanjin asked.

Chu Ling shook her head, stuffing a snack into her mouth. “No, maybe we were thinking too hard.”

Wan Sanjin said “Oh” and popped a snack into his own mouth.

“In any case, this capital won’t be short of excitement going forward. After all, the higher-ups handled one noble family with thunderous measures; the others probably won’t have it easy either,” Chu Ling said, thinking of Nangong Jing’s return.

If Nangong Han truly believed Chu Rou’s lies and had the Nangong family marry Nangong Jing off to Xiao Lengjue, wouldn’t Grand Tutor Sun be displeased?

“By the way, can Tianxia Zhi find out some gossip?” Chu Ling asked.

“What kind of gossip?” Wan Sanjin asked curiously.

“The kind Bai Xiaosheng reports—who’s cheating, who’s divorcing, that sort of thing,” Chu Ling asked, eyes sparkling.

Wan Sanjin straightened up, folded his arms, and looked at Chu Ling, grinning mischievously. “Sir, you have this hobby too?”

Chu Ling was a little excited. “Just tell me, can it be found out?”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “It should be possible. It’s all just information anyway.”

Chu Ling’s face lit up. “Have Tianxia Zhi keep an eye on Xiao Lengjue and Zhuque around him, and also Nangong Jing, Sun Yingshou, and that weird Chu Rou.”

“Huh?” Wan Sanjin was stunned.

Chu Ling looked confident. “There’s definitely something going on between them… Oh, and you could also make a ‘Bai Xiaosheng of the capital’ to deliberately spread some rumors. We’re idle anyway; might as well give them something to do.”

Wan Sanjin remembered. “Right, otherwise when they try to win us over, what would we do? We poor little ones wouldn’t dare refuse.”

Chu Ling clapped her hands. “Exactly. Especially Heir Xiao—he won’t stop until he achieves his goal, and he’s riding high right now.”

“Then fine, let’s go find Uncle Hong now!” Wan Sanjin said, slapping the table and getting up.

Chu Ling perked up as well, and the two were ready to head out immediately.

At that moment, Uncle Hong happened to walk into the front hall and instinctively took a step back when he saw their overly excited faces.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Uncle Hong!” Chu Ling excitedly jumped forward, firmly guiding him into the front hall and making him sit down.

“Uncle Hong, we have a tiny little matter to handle,” Wan Sanjin said, making a small gesture with his hand. “Just a tiny bit.”