Ban Yanxiu was seeing off the guests with a smile when Jian Xubai walked into the inner chamber, unbuttoning his collar: "It's just a nanny who has committed an offense, you can go to the study and get a note yourself, and have someone send it to the Jingzhao government office. Ban Yanxiu naturally understood, why did he need to call me back?"

  Song Yi Xiao, who was sitting on a soft couch with his head down reading a book, put down the book and was about to speak when he looked up and saw that he was wearing a formal hat and official robes with jade belt, clearly having rushed over without even changing clothes - especially since it was already deep autumn, there were obvious sweat stains on his collar, who would believe that he hadn't hurried?

  "If you're going to be hypocritical, then just put up with it for now!" She was crying and laughing in her heart, but she knew that if she exposed him, Jian Yu would definitely become angry and humiliated. After thinking for a moment, she said: "I've never dealt with the government before, so I thought it would be safer to wait until you returned?"

  "This is also the case." Jian Xubo happily accepted his wife's subtle compliment and sat down across from her, asking, "The person on the road didn't explain clearly either, what exactly happened?"

  "This case itself is simple: my maternal grandfather's son-in-law had an affair outside, bullied his wife and children, and my maternal grandfather stood up for his daughter. He was a bit ruthless and was sued by the Zhao family." Song Yi smiled and poured him a cup of tea from the teapot on the table, saying casually, "However, I just agreed to let Zhao's mother take Qiao Chen back to see her, and the steward came over to explain the whole story. He knew more about it than the person sent by the You family to report the news, especially mentioning that I was sold to a brothel by my stepmother Liu when I was young, which is quite strange!"

  Jian Yu Bai had just accepted the tea and was about to take a sip when he heard this and put it down again, frowning: "What did he say?"

  "What else can I say?" Song Yi smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, laughing lightly. "It's nothing more than hinting that this case isn't simple, but he happens to know the inside story due to coincidence and has a way to help. However, the list he gave me earlier is something I need to put my mind to, so I can agree quickly!"

  "In that case, there's no need to wait for someone to investigate the list clearly." Jian Yu Bai spat out a mouthful of tea water and said calmly, "Whoever wants to plead can do so after the New Year!"

  Song Yi smiled and nodded in agreement: "I think so too."

  Jian Xuwu was already fed up with these busybodies, now they still want to take advantage of the situation? Jian Xuwu would do as they wish only if he were out of his mind!

  However, she reminded him, "The big manager doesn't seem like a fool, why would he say something like that?"

  "What's so strange about that?" Jian Yu Bai said coldly, "The time for Lang Xing to take over is imminent. Before she and Third Brother get married, we need to prepare the personnel in advance. At that time, we can tell outsiders that since Third Brother is also getting married, we divided up the personnel left by Grandfather, so others won't have anything to say; if we wait until after they get married to transfer people over, how can outsiders not think that Third Brother is taking advantage of his position as the master to bully me?"

  On this list, Song Yi Xiao was holding onto it and wouldn't give it up, so wasn't the leader anxious?

  Jian Yu Bai rolled up his sleeves and narrowed his eyes, saying, "I hadn't intended to trouble San Ge with this matter, but it seems he's made the first move!"

  He glanced at his wife and thought for a moment, "About that matter back then, did my mother-in-law leave any evidence? Although Third Brother doesn't get along with me, to be honest, he's always been meticulous in his actions. If he didn't obtain some kind of proof, even if he suspected something, he wouldn't have taken action so rashly."

  "...shouldn't be." Song Yi smiled, knowing that he still believed that the mastermind behind the sale of the Liu girl was Wei Mengying or the Wei family. However, she didn't want to reveal the truth either, and after a moment's hesitation, she shook her head. "The whole process is just hearsay, Zhao's parents have always been loyal, and although the madam is an outsider, she received a generous gift afterwards and gained a good reputation, so it's unlikely that she would easily go back on her word?"

  "Loyalty in the past doesn't mean loyalty forever!" Jian Yu Bai put down his tea bowl, "That Pei Jun Chang and his ancestors have never been your slaves. The only connection he has with you is that he married your wet nurse - how do you think he knew about your affairs?"

  Song Yi Xiao smiled wryly in her heart, and after Jian Yu Bai said this, she thought of the situation.

  She couldn't bear to be too harsh on Zhao's parents, so she tactfully said: "Maybe it was someone behind the scenes who deliberately let him talk nonsense to test me? However, I can confirm that there is no physical evidence for this matter, and it's all based on Fu Junchang's empty words, a person who has never even seen me before. Does he want to plead not guilty for Liu Shi?"

  She also said, "Although it's false that the Liu family sold me out, their harsh treatment of me for almost a year after I was taken away by the madam is true! After I was taken away by the madam, the Liu family's confidant deliberately delayed time so that I couldn't find my way back, which is also true. If the Liu family had any kindness towards me, they wouldn't have fallen into trouble that year and could have pushed Wu Mama out as a scapegoat!"

  This is the truth - after all, this frame-up had been exposed when Jian Yu was eleven years old. The reason why Liu Zhenxiang, who was then the Minister of Justice, couldn't refute it was mainly because the Wei family had investigated and found out that after marrying into the Liu family, they had treated Song Yixiao with contempt, often scolding and beating her, and had tried every means to bully her.

  Who would believe such a stepmother is virtuous?

  What makes Liu's family say she is virtuous?!

  But Wu's mother took several hours to return to the Song Mansion to report the news, which further solidified Liu's evil reputation. Although Old Lady Pang didn't intend to find her granddaughter after hearing the news and also acknowledged Liu's announcement of Song Yishang's death, she was the grandmother and not in charge at that time. With just one sentence "being deceived by the stepmother", she could shift most of the responsibility onto Liu.

  So Liu's family would be speechless and unable to defend themselves, and if they didn't die, it wouldn't be enough.

  Jian Yu Bai sank into thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, even if Third Brother has any evidence, it won't matter."

  Since the Liu family was originally a strict stepmother, even if the truth came to light, Wei Mengying and her mother would not be completely unreasonable: in the entire Song family, there is no one who treats Song Yiliao as a close relative, nor can they allow their own mother to find a way for their daughter to make a living?

  But if it really comes down to that point, Song Yi's reputation will be ruined as well.

  Jian Yu Bai didn't want his wife to end up in such a miserable state, that would also lose face for him, wouldn't it?

  So he said, "Third Brother probably thinks that he is still a princess, and because of the Emperor's uncle and aunt, we can't use Longxing's reputation as an excuse. But there are many ways to stir up trouble in this world, and since they've come at us with courtesy, we should return it in kind!"

  The couple then seriously discussed for a long time how to deal with Jian Yiyou. As a result, they received news from the Beijing Prefecture in the late afternoon: "The mastermind behind this case is suspected to be Qiu Shangshu!"

  "Qiu Shangshu?" Song Yi smiled and thought for a while before finding some memories, "Mother seemed to have said that he is the Empress Dowager's nephew, our uncle, but not a good person to get close to, let me keep my distance - I only knew he was strict by nature, but it turns out he has grudges against us?"

  Jian Yu's face turned pale and iron-like, and after a long while, he said: "Xue Pei's kneecap was shattered by that old thing, bit by bit!"

  "What?!" Song Yi laughed in surprise.

  "Because at that time I happened to be away - that old thing sent people over, originally in order to deal with me!" Jian Yu Bai coldly smiled and said, "As a result, Xue Pei refused to say my whereabouts, those people in order to extort..."

  He fell silent for a moment and then said, "This involves the inside story of our capture five years ago: do you know why Duke Ji Guo retired after returning to court?"

  Song Yi Xiao didn't think that just her father-in-law hitting her husband would lead to such a big deal, and for a moment her heart was racing. After calming down, she said: "Outside, they all say it's because the Duke of Ji is getting old..."

  "That's just to save face for the Su family as a founding contributor, giving him some dignity! " Jian Yu's eyes were full of sarcasm, "You say that Zhao Wang is only 12 years old this year, how did his ambition, or rather the Su family's ambition, reveal itself?"

  Song Yi smiled faintly and shook her head, he sneered with a smile, "It's been like this since we were captured!"

  "That's not Ji Biao... " Song Yi smiled and said halfway, seeing her husband's cold smile, she suddenly stopped talking.

  "Ji Biao Ge only has a nominal title, after all! But he can't be said to have no responsibility at all." Jian Xuan narrowed his eyes and said lightly, "After all, among those few people, he is the one with the least city government and the easiest to use - in fact, the mastermind behind our capture is Ji Guo Gong!"

  Otherwise, "it is said that parents know their children best, and it is also said that a mother worries about her child even if he is a thousand miles away! At the beginning, those who were captured, except for Xue Pei, I, Ji Biao's older brother, and several others, all had our parents at home, and they knew we were young and ignorant, yet they allowed us to follow the army, how could they not have made preparations?"

  Jian Xū bái cháo yī xiào, "Just say I myself, not only have rough through martial arts of Ji Sui serving left and right, nominally is a personal soldier, in fact it's just serving me. My mother even dispatched dozens of elite guards, temporarily transferred into the army, specifically to protect me. To ensure my safety, these people can without my permission, forcibly take me back to the imperial capital! You say under such circumstances, how can we privately act?"

  "As for sneaking out of the camp, that's even more ridiculous! The military camp is heavily guarded, with sentries everywhere. Is it a place where one can come and go as they please? If things had really reached that point, Da Rui would have been in danger long ago, let alone talking about intimidating the four barbarians! Without the commander intentionally manipulating us, even if the patrol soldiers didn't discover us, the people protecting us would have already tied us up and brought us back!"

  It wasn't until he said this that Song Yi Xiao suddenly realized: "Is Duke Ji Guo doing this for the sake of Prince Zhao?"

  "Not bad!" Jian Yu Bai sneered, "Everyone in the court knows that the Emperor's uncle was originally set up as the crown prince because of the Emperor's poor health. Although it has been dragged on for years, the fact is that his spirit has become increasingly weak!"

  The more this is the case, the less likely it is that Emperor Xian will change the heir, and the more he must support the Crown Prince - after all, the Crown Prince is only 24 years old this year! At this age, for ordinary families, as long as they are not mediocre, they can already support their households, but for a monarch, whether it's experience or prestige, they are still immature!

  After all, the crown prince is just outstanding and has not yet reached the level of being stunningly talented.

  So having a legitimate birth status in the imperial palace and also having a powerful external family, Zhao Wang basically had no chance at all!

  "But when the prince ascends to the throne, apart from going through the Eastern Palace's ceremony and following the proper order of succession to inherit the ancestral legacy, there are also other paths."

  "The city is under siege, and the situation changes by the day!"

  The problem is that Emperor Xian's body is not good, but his control over the court and the outside world is not bad!

  Although Ji Guogong had a deep-rooted power in the military, he thought that forcing Emperor Xian to abdicate during his reign was not very hopeful!

  "Six years ago, on the eve of the great army's expedition, the emperor's uncle had once fainted in the rear palace. At that time, although it did not disturb the outer court, the emperor's aunt as the empress knew about it."

  The Empress Dowager knew about it and would have a way to inform the Su family.

  Just when the army needed a commander with sufficient seniority and prestige, Ji Guogong got this position without hesitation - so Su's family thought of a way: drag!

  Drag out the time of conquering the Wuhuan until Emperor Xian of Han passes away or is unable to attend to state affairs!

  Then eliminate the Wuhuan, lead the army back to the court, take advantage of the momentum of the great army, and besiege the city. In conjunction with Empress Su, abandon the crown prince and support the establishment of King Zhao!

  Jian Xu Bai sneered, "This plan isn't bad, but there's a biggest problem - Wu Huang is just a small country, no matter how hard it resists, in the face of our great army, it's nothing but futile! Without sufficient reason, it's impossible to deceive the Emperor's uncle!"

  "So the King of Ji State pinned his hopes on you?" Song Yi smiled, understanding. "Originally, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief because he was worried that the noble young masters following the army would not listen to orders. Since there were such concerns beforehand, and then news came that you were greedy for merit and rashly advanced, causing a great disaster, naturally no one in the imperial capital would suspect!"

  Seeing the frosty look on his face, she hesitated and said, "But what does this have to do with our cousin?"