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  To defy an imperial edict is to risk beheading!

  Ming Xuan's eyelid twitched, and she asked anxiously, "Do you know which family's young lady is to be bestowed? And why did Uncle refuse the marriage? Did he defy the emperor's order in court? Has the Emperor blamed him for it?"

  The imperial edict granting marriage is a great honor for the people of the time, and the idea of loyalty to the emperor has deeply entered the hearts of the people. Even Gu Yuanjing, who bears the grudge of his father's death, cannot be an exception. Everything he does is not just to gain fame and then ask the Emperor for justice, but rather to make himself important, using his achievements to clear his father's name.

  He has endured the hardships and pains for nearly four years, if there was no reason that he could not continue to endure, he would not have made such a fatal mistake of disobeying orders.

  Changgeng hastily replied, "The emperor wants to bestow the princess of Lin Nan Wang's clan. Uncle also comes from a humble background and is not worthy of marrying into royalty. He begged the emperor to reconsider his decree. The emperor was somewhat embarrassed and only said that he would discuss it again later before retreating from court. It seems that he didn't intend to punish uncle."

  He paused, then explained another sentence, "The little servant who serves beside the third master has a good relationship with me. These are all messages I heard from him. After the court was dismissed, Master Xiang was invited by the emperor to go to the imperial study, and the other masters went to their respective yamen to take office. Only the third master returned first."

  Ming Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, and in her mind, it was like a clear mirror. Chang Geng's news should be very accurate. As for the channels and sources he used to gather information, they were absolutely not obtained from You Fu. The events that occurred on the Golden Throne Hall two hours ago were definitely not something that a small servant like You Fu could know about.

  Moreover, this marriage has not been finalized by the Emperor yet, and it is uncertain whether it will be successful or not. The Emperor's intentions are difficult to fathom, and before things settle, Old Master Pei would not casually mention this matter to a young servant like you.

  But Ming Xuan has always been a person who knows how to gauge the situation. She never intentionally tries to pry into other people's secrets, and if Chang Geng doesn't want to tell her the truth, then she'll just pretend she doesn't know anything. Those "secrets" aren't something she needs to know anyway.

  Pei Jingchen smiled warmly and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, saying softly, "The great victory in the Western Frontier, His Majesty has already said that he wants to reward the army. Uncle will definitely be fine, so don't worry, if there's anything else you're unsure about, wait until we return home and ask Uncle yourself. Isn't that better?"

  He took her hand more and more skillfully, pulling her out as soon as he did.

  Chang Geng hesitated and called out to him, "Sir, I still have something to report to you..."

  He was used to the days when it was just him and Pei Jingzhen, but now suddenly there was an extra mistress, and for a while he wasn't quite used to it. Moreover, he still didn't understand what his master's intentions were towards this woman. His words and actions were filled with hesitation, speculation, and probing.

  Ming Xuan smiled and said, "I'll go in and check the warehouse, and arrange some tasks for the maids."

  She lightly nodded and then walked out by herself.

  Pei Jingxuan gazed at that slender figure, his mouth curling up as he turned to Chang Geng and said, "Big Madam is very clever. From now on, let's not bring out those lies that can't fool people, lest we become a laughing stock. As for our matters, it's temporarily inconvenient to tell her, but if we encounter something like this again, just say what you've heard, no need to explain where the information came from."

  He paused for a moment, "What's going on, Your Majesty? Why would you think of marrying off the Princess of Lin Nan?"

  Wang Yuannan is far away in the southern border, and only major events and festivals are good for entering the capital. Before today, Gu Yuanjing was just a small person with no name or fame, and at one point he was even suspected of dying in the western border, so this marriage must not be Wang Yuannan's intention.

  In this hasty moment, how did the Emperor suddenly think of the Princess of Lin Nan? If it was to win over Gu Yuanjing and tighten his grip on the hearts of the Western Frontier generals by grasping the entire Gu family in the palm of his hand, increasing his leverage against Pei Xiang's power struggle, then he should have used a woman from the Lu family for an alliance instead.

  Changgeng hastily said, "The news spreading from inside the palace says that it was Empress Yu Hui who pulled the strings."

  Yu Huifei was the illegitimate daughter of Dingguo Gong Yu Keqin. Her mother was a low-ranking slave in the Gong's household, who became pregnant with her after a chance encounter with Dingguo Gong. Due to her humble birth and Dingguo Gong's lack of regard for this daughter, she was sent to the Ninth Prince's estate as an unnamed concubine when he was still young and insignificant.

  Later, the ninth prince ascended to the throne as emperor, and Yu Hui Fei took advantage of her long-time companionship and was appointed as Hui Fei.

  At that time, Empress Pei had just married, and the Emperor was immersed in the pain of Yuan Fei's death. He often went to Hui Fei's palace, and Hui Fei's favor was unmatched for a while. The Dingguo Gongfu Yu family also attached great importance to her. After the death of Madame Dingguo two years ago, she took over as the head of the household because her mother, Liao Shi, had no son and only two daughters. Yu Shizi did not object either.

  Pei Jingchen's eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Yu Huifei?"

  Changgeng hastily said, "The second son of the King of Lin Nan married a concubine daughter of the Duke of Dingguo, who is the younger sister of Yu Huifei. The Yu family and the King of Lin Nan's mansion are relatives by marriage. Last year on the Empress Dowager's birthday, the eldest daughter of the King of Lin Nan, Princess Ziteng of the Imperial Clan, came to the capital and also stayed at the Duke of Dingguo's residence. That Princess Ziteng was originally going to be given in marriage to your uncle by the Emperor."

  He paused for a moment, "I heard that Yu Huifei is three months pregnant. The emperor has few children and attaches great importance to it."

  The queen had no children, and the women who were pregnant with dragon descendants all wanted to fight for it. Yongning Hou had once thought about it, and Dingguo Gong also wanted to take a gamble. However, before the daughter of the Gu family became pregnant with another dragon descendant, the greatest enemy of the Yu family was still the Pei family. This was also the reason why Yu Huifeng wanted to pull Gu Yuanjing onto the chariot.

  "Grandfather is going to be busy for a while again, isn't he?"

  He stood up, his low voice revealing a hint of unspoken excitement. "About that matter we were investigating last time, Tian Kui said there was a breakthrough when he came back. Has there been any new progress recently?"

  In recent years, there have been a series of strange deaths among the servants in the Pei Manor. The clues point to an old case from over twenty years ago. Pei Jingchen suspects that it is related to his mother's death. Even if it isn't, it must be connected to a major secret within the Pei Manor. Therefore, he has been sending people to investigate and recently there have been some discoveries. He has been preoccupied with this matter for a long time and wants to know the truth.

  Chang Geng shook his head, "The trail went cold in the northwest, it seems someone deliberately blocked our way. Besides us, there are two other forces also investigating, to avoid startling the snake, Tian Kui just followed from a distance for now, and the letter is seeking your instructions."

  He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Also, among them was a group of people who seemed... seemed to be sent by the young master."

  Pei Jingchen's eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Let Tian Kui see the opportunity to take action, first think of a way to figure out the young master's purpose."

  In his impression, Pei Xiao'an was a weak and incompetent father who watched him being poisoned by Yang without any reaction. It didn't seem like he spoiled Yang either, or else the main house wouldn't have had so many concubines and children born out of wedlock.

  People who live such a dull and aimless life are actually interested in those murder cases...

  Bai Jingchen suddenly thought of something, and he said in a low voice, "The people who have died in the mansion over the years, although their identities, ages, and positions are different, they must all have some commonality. Try to retrieve those case files again and carefully examine the common points among them. As soon as you find anything, report back immediately."

  He paused for a moment and added, "with a focus on twenty years ago."

  Changgeng hurriedly bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

  He then asked, "The account books that you instructed to be sent to the old lady's house, I have prepared them. But there is one thing, among the maidservants here, many of them are spies from various houses who were planted here on purpose. Now that the old lady has arrived, should we continue to keep them or not?"

  Pei Jingchen's mouth slightly curved, his tone carrying an unconscious lightness, "Just hand over the account book to Eldest Madam, the rest will be decided by Eldest Madam herself."

  Leaving has its benefits, and driving those people away also has its benefits.

  Since he has married Ming Xuan and decided to get along with her, these decisions should be made by her. This is not a test, but trust. He believes in his ancestors' insight, and even more in what he sees, hears and feels. Ah Xuan will give him surprises he's never had before, he believes.

  Pei Jingchen returned to the inner chamber, where she saw that all the maids in the courtyard had changed into their evening clothes. Ming Xuan was leaning against the windowsill, cutting out shoe patterns. The warm and gentle sunlight of noon fell evenly on her back, casting a glow behind her. Her delicate face wore an expression of seriousness and dedication, yet also possessed a uniquely captivating charm.

  He was moved in his heart and leaned over, "What are you doing?"

  Ming Xuan gently swayed the shoe sample in her hand and smiled, saying, "I just tidied up a bit and saw that there were very few shoes, so I wanted to make a few more pairs as backup."

  She also leaned in close to him, with a somewhat flirtatious tone, saying "I suppose you haven't heard, my embroidery skills have been praised by Lady Ingenious, and throughout the entire city of Shengjing, it's not boastful to say that I'm one of the best, so when I finish making these shoes, I'll just have to wait for others' admiration!"

  Pei Jingxuan was taken aback and lost his smile. Men's shoes are usually made of dark-colored leather, not like women's with embroidery or bright colors. At most, they might have some patterns on the fabric. Besides, men don't pay attention to each other's clothes, shoes, and socks when interacting with each other, so he probably won't get any compliments from others.

  But in her heart, it was as sweet as if coated with a layer of honey.

  Since his birth, few people have cared about him. Although both Shi Tai and Yuan Hui's mother loved him, as outsiders, they couldn't take care of him in every aspect of daily life. Therefore, most of the clothes he wore, except for those provided by the mansion, were bought from ready-made clothing stores.

  It was the first time someone had made shoes for him with their own hands.

  His heart surged with ripples, and his body involuntarily leaned in closer to the past. With a somewhat coquettish tone, he said, "After you finish making shoes, will you also make clothes for me? I want to wear clothes made by Ah Xiang when I go out, so others can envy me for having a wife with excellent embroidery skills."

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