There were two pots of charcoal in the Cloud Pavilion.
Liu Yuanchun sat by the window in a daze, some distance away from the brazier.
She was punishing herself.
She should never have allowed a vixen to stay in the residence. What made her unable to believe it was that she actually ate tasteless food for him and suffered from insomnia every night. Her mind was filled with the scene of him and that vixen hugging each other.
Damn it! Had she really fallen for Yao Xuanye?
Even though the two of them had yet to become husband and wife, she had unknowingly become a wife.
She couldn't, could she? One day, she still had to find a way to return to her own era! How could she fall in love with an ancient man?
"Madam, come over and warm yourself up. It's snowing outside!”Lu Xiu called out from behind Liu Yuanchun. At the same time, she poured a cup of hot tea and waited.
Liu Yuanchun turned a deaf ear to it, falling into deep thought.
Lu Xiu sighed and slowly walked behind her master.
"Have a cup of hot tea and warm yourself up! Madam." Seeing her master, who had always been lively and cheerful, with a mind full of evil ideas, become unhappy, she felt very uncomfortable.
Only then did Liu Yuanchun turn around and look at Luxiu. "Tell me, am I too stupid to be struck by lightning with good intentions?”
It had been a day and a night since she returned to the Jia residence. This was the first time she had spoken and responded.
"There's nothing wrong with Madam's kindness. It's Ji Xiaoyun who's ungrateful. Her conscience has been gnawed by a dog."”At the mention of her, Green Sleeves was filled with anger.
Liu Yuanchun smiled pitifully and didn't say anything else.
Ever since she was young, her days had always been smooth and there were few storms. Now, this blow had ruthlessly shattered her sincere heart and made her look at the world again.
Kindness is always rewarded?
Not necessarily! Too much enthusiasm would only make him look like an innocent fool.
"Whose heart was eaten by a dog?”Accompanied by the voice, Jia Baoyu appeared at the entrance of the Cloud Pavilion.
He brushed the snow off his shoulders and walked into the room.
"Young Master!" Lu Xiu called out respectfully.
"I heard from Grandma that you're unhappy. I wonder what it's about?”Jia Baoyu asked despite knowing the answer.
Liu Yuanchun glanced at him and realized that he still had a jade-like face, and his playful heart didn't decrease, and he still had the mentality of teasing others. She turned her face and firmly shut the door on Jia Baoyu.
"Wow! He was indeed annoyed. He didn't expect Yao Xuanye to be so powerful that he actually angered the girl.”Jia Baoyu said.
"Don't mention his name!" Liu Yuanchun turned around angrily and glared at Jia Baoyu.
“欸! I say, good girl, don't be angry. It's normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Why are you angry?”
Liu Yuanchun's anger grew even more intense as he vented it all out. "Who said that it's normal for a man to have fun? Why did women have to be obedient, allow men to have three wives and four concubines, and show tolerance and magnanimity? Who stipulated that women had to endure these bastards? Tell me!" She approached Jia Baoyu.
Jia Baoyu was stunned. "Uh, this…haven't women been like this since ancient times?”
"Wrong! Everyone had a heart. No matter if it was a man or a woman, they did not want their sincerity to be betrayed.”The moment he finished speaking, Liu Yuanchun's heart shook greatly.
Wasn't she talking about her own heart?
It turned out that she had really given her heart.
Instantly, Liu Yuanchun's heart was filled with an unfamiliar bitterness.
Her doomsday had arrived. Heavens!
"Perhaps…uh, Minister Yao didn't let you down. He, he just accepted another person's feelings.”Jia Baoyu said with an unnatural expression. What was he talking about? He couldn't even convince himself, sigh!
"I didn't accept the intentions of others.”Yao Xuanye suddenly appeared at the door.
Huh? Why was he here?
"Ah! Sorry, sorry. You husband and wife can chat slowly. I still have something to do.”With that, Jia Baoyu shot a glance at Luxiu, and the two of them walked past Yao Xuanye and left the Cloud Pavilion.
Only then did Jia Baoyu heave a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had escaped quickly. Otherwise, he would have been wronged if he had been frozen to death by Yao Xuanye's cold eyes.
The moment Liu Yuanchun saw Yao Xuanye, his heart actually felt a stabbing pain for no reason. "You go! I don't want to see you." His voice was surprisingly calm. She didn't want him to see her anger, because it meant that she cared.
Yao Xuanye didn't do as he was told. Instead, he walked straight towards her.
"Don't come over! This is not the Yao Residence." Liu Yuanchun stared at him.
"No matter where you are, you are still my wife.”Yao Xuanye stood in front of her, his dark eyes locked onto her face without a trace of guilt.
"Maybe I should divorce you.”Even though he was unwilling, his tone was filled with anger. After all, she was a human and could not control her emotions completely.
Yao Xuanye chuckled. "You can't do this.”
"Is that so?" Liu Yuanchun raised his head, unwilling to admit defeat, his eyes filled with provocation.
"Logically speaking, I didn't do anything improper. According to the law, a woman had no right to decide whether her husband would stay or leave.”After a pause, he suddenly bent down and leaned closer to her beautiful face. "So, you will always be mine, understand?”His handsome face returned to his usual devilish smile.
He was really arrogant!
"Perhaps I will never return to the Minister's Mansion.”Liu Yuanchun had an expression that looked as if he was looking at what he could do.
This time, the smile on Yao Xuanye's face widened. "Do you think the Jia family dares to openly oppose me?”In fact, there were only a handful of people in Jinling who dared to be his enemy, and the Jia family was not one of them.
He always knew where the enemy was.
"You, is this considered a threat?" Liu Yuanchun finally couldn't hold back his anger and revealed a furious expression.
"I'm asking you to come back to the Minister's Mansion with me.”Yao Xuanye extended his hand toward her.
"I don't want it! Did you hear that? Minister." Liu Yuanchun immediately refused.
After a moment of silence, Yao Xuanye smiled again.
"Forget it! It's up to you." After a pause, his gaze suddenly changed, turning from light to dark. "However, I believe that you will definitely return to my side.”As soon as he finished speaking, he planted a kiss on her lips before turning around and walking out of the Cloud Pavilion.
Liu Yuanchun only regained his senses when his tall figure disappeared from his sight and sighed lightly.
In the middle of the night-
Bo Xinren's door opened slightly, and then a slender figure flashed in.
He raised his head and glanced at her before burying his head in front of the desk and writing quickly.
There were seven or eight balls of paper on the ground. Ji Xiaoyun picked one up and opened it. She couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Bo Xinren frowned and said unhappily.
Ji Xiaoyun spread the paper flat on the table." Look at it yourself. The words here seem to have nine similarities. Only the signature is wrong. It doesn't look like it at all.”The obvious mockery and indifference in his tone were revealed.
Bo Xinren sneered." In that case, why don't you write it?"”He put down his pen.
"Yo! Why, are you angry now? To think that the old man relies so much on you. It seems that the old man is going to be disappointed!”Ji Xiaoyun leisurely sat down on a chair, her crescent-shaped eyes filled with ridicule.
Bo Xinren furrowed his brows and became angrier. He stood up and went to the door. "I don't want to see you. Please go back to your room.”He opened the door.
Ji Xiaoyun did not move and slowly said,"It's easy to chase me away, but if I can't do it and the old master blames me, don't drag me down with you.”She stared at him with a sly smile in her eyes.
"Tell me, what did you help with?”Bo Xinren raised her eyebrows and asked.
"At least I chased Madam Yao away."
"Other than that, you have no other strengths.”he quickly replied.
"Is that so?" Ji Xiaoyun was still smiling as she took out an exquisite jade seal from her pocket.
"You…"
"With this jade seal, even if your handwriting is slightly different, it will be easy to convince others, right?”This jade seal was something she had taken out when she was searching the study room. As the seal was not large, it was not easy to detect if it was lost in a short period of time.
Bo Xinren stared at her for a while before finally closing the door.
"I helped, didn't I?”Ji Xiaoyun's smile grew wider, and her eyes were filled with pride.
At least she had been to places he could not approach.
Bo Xinren returned to the table and started writing.
Not long after, he picked up the paper and blew on it. After the words were completely dry, he stamped it with the jade seal.
Ji Xiaoyun came to his side, glanced at him, and said slowly,"It's finally more presentable."
Bo Xinren was still speechless. He folded the letter and put it into the envelope.
Suddenly, a pair of slender hands hooked around his neck from behind him, and a warm breath immediately entered his ears.
"What are you doing?" Bo Xinren asked stiffly.
Ji Xiaoyun did not answer him. Her fair and soft hands reached into his lapels and gently rubbed them. A sly smile appeared in her eyes.
"Please control yourself!" Bo Xinren rebuked.
Ji Xiaoyun did not retreat. Instead, she moved forward. Her slender body went straight to his side and pressed against his chest, allowing her round chest to press against him.
" Tonight, I can stay." She stared at him and murmured seductively.
The old master had once said that after the matter was done, he would give her an official position. She had to take the opportunity to get close to him. Who knows, she might even be able to get a wife in the future!
"No need." Bo Xinren pulled her hands away and pushed her away.
" You…" Ji Xiaoyun's face was filled with shock. In her experience, she had never met a man who refused to eat meat.
Damn it! A man who did not know how to appreciate favors. Anger quickly spread to her cheeks.
"You can leave now." Bo Xinren was indifferent and ordered him to leave.
Ji Xiaoyun narrowed her eyes and turned to leave.
I will definitely repay this humiliation in the future! She secretly swore, but there was still a faint smile on her face. The change in her mood was only in an instant, and no one could notice it.
"I didn't expect to see Liu Xiahui today.”After saying that, she tidied up her dress, took back the jade seal, and left.
At the same time, another beautiful face appeared in Bo Xinren's mind, and he couldn't get rid of it for a long time.
Shanhai Pass was the number one pass in the world, an important pass on the Great Wall.
On this day, the messenger rode straight into Jinling from the border and brought a shocking piece of news. General Fan and his deputy, who were stationed at Shanhaiguan, had both died from an explosion during a test shot of the Hongyi Cannon.
When the emperor knew, he was furious.
"Emperor, please calm down!" The one who spoke was a first-grade official, Grand Scholar Lu Wenguang of Hongwen Pavilion.
"How can I not be angry after losing two generals?”
"Your Majesty." Lu Wenguang took out something from his bosom. "I have another matter to report. Perhaps it can let the Emperor understand the true reason for General Fan's loss.”He respectfully handed over a letter.
Gonggong Li, who served the Emperor, immediately took the letter and presented it.
The Emperor opened the letter, and when he saw it, he could not help but deepen the creases between his brows.
"How did you obtain this letter, my dear minister?" After the Emperor finished reading, his mood became heavy.
"I won't hide it from the emperor, this official has long suspected that Lord Yao is using his authority for personal gain, thus I sent people to secretly investigate. I didn't expect that in the past two days, I found out that besides stuffing his own pockets, Lord Yao had an affair with the Tartars.”
"Zhen doesn't understand. Lord Yao has always been loyal to the Imperial Court, so how could he collude with the enemy?”There was obvious hesitation in his tone.
"Emperor, it's hard to predict the human heart. Moreover, the handwriting on the letter was indeed written by Lord Yao.”
" This…" The Emperor's gaze fell on the cinnabar seal. This was indeed Yao Xuanye's seal and handwriting.
"Your Majesty, Lord Yao colluded with Portugal merchants to purchase inferior Hongyi cannons and then reported the military equipment to make a huge profit. This is equivalent to indirectly killing General Fan and the deputy army officer. I hope the emperor will understand!”
After a while, the Emperor made his decision.
"Minister Lu, listen up. I order you to immediately lead the Imperial Guards to the Minister's Mansion to capture Yao Xuanye and send him to the Ministry of Justice's prison for trial.”
"This subject obeys the decree!" A victorious smile floated on Lu Wenguang's old face.
Those who were unwilling to be on the same side as him were his enemies.
He believed that it would not be long before the thorn in his side was removed.
"Madam, Madam…something bad has happened…"
Lu Xiu rushed into the Cloud Pavilion, her body covered in fine snowflakes.
Seeing her panting heavily, Liu Yuanchun opened his mouth and said,""Tell me slowly, don't be anxious."
"Furen, how can I not be anxious? Just now, Old Master told me that Lord Lu is leading troops to the Minister's Mansion to capture Lord!”
"What?" Liu Yuanchun suddenly jumped up from the chair. "What happened?"
"I heard that it was because of the false report of military supplies. As a result, the inferior Hongyi cannon exploded and killed General Fan at the border.”
Instantly, Liu Yuanchun felt his heart churn.
In the end, he was still confiscated!
She couldn't describe the feeling in her heart. All of this was something she had planned, but when it really happened, she was still caught off guard.
"Furen, should we go back to the residence to take a look?”Greensleeves asked.
Liu Yuanchun didn't say anything else and immediately took the cloak and rushed outside.
The wind and snow were not heavy, and only fine snowflakes drifted in the air. The sedan chair had just stopped when Liu Yuanchun rushed into the Minister of Foreign Affairs 'Manor.
"Who is it?" The royal guards guarding the gate blocked her way.
Liu Yuanchun stared at the guard and said without changing his expression,""I am the emperor's sister-in-law."
Sister-in-law? Wasn't that the Empress 'younger sister?
The imperial guards saw that she was a national beauty and had an extraordinary aura. They immediately bowed and retreated, making way for her.
Hah! I didn't expect this move to be so effective! No one dared to doubt her.
After Liu Yuanchun's mood cooled down for a short while, he rushed to the main hall.
Just as he stepped through the door, Liu Yuanchun was stunned by the scene in front of him.
These people, these people were actually…actually looting her house!
A wave of anger suddenly exploded from the bottom of her heart. No matter what, this was the home where she had been welcomed into the house by the eight people in the palanquin and lived for several months!
Only now did she realize that she had unknowingly treated the Minister's Manor as her home.
At this moment, four guards were moving the red sandalwood table in the hall past Liu Yuanchun.
Liu Yuanchun stretched out his hand and pressed down on the red sandalwood table, shouting,""All of you, stop!"
As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes fell on her.
"Officer, do you have a search warrant?”Liu Chun Yuan stared at one of the guards who was moving the table.
Search warrant? What the hell was that?
Liu Yuanchun saw his blank expression and immediately changed his words to ask,""Where is the person in charge?"
"I'm here." Lu Wenguang coincidentally walked into the hall from the door on the left.
Liu Yuanchun saw that he was holding the Jade Kylin that was originally placed on the offering table.
As far as she knew, that pair of jade kylin was from the Yuan Dynasty and was very precious. At that moment, she was furious and was about to scold him when her eyes met Yao Xuanye's.
Although he was not handcuffed, he was surrounded by several guards.
Their eyes met, and Yao Xuanye shook his head gently at her.
Liu Yuanchun's heart tightened slightly as his fury gradually subsided.
How could she not understand what he was trying to convey? However, it was not easy to let others plunder her family property.
She took a deep breath and said slowly,""Why did Lord Lu come today?" Her attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, and she was natural and generous.
Lu Wenguang's eyes flashed, knowing in his heart that she must be Yao Xuanye's wife. "Minister Yao was corrupt and perverted the law. He colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. The emperor specially ordered this official to arrest him.”
"Do you have proof?" Liu Yuanchun asked again without any fear on his face.
Lu Wenguang had always heard that Yao Xuanye's wife was gorgeous. Seeing her today, he felt that other than her beauty, her courage was not bad. If it was any other woman, she would have long since fallen to the ground crying for her husband's crimes.
"This official is passing on the emperor's orders." Lu Wenguang said briefly.
When Liu Yuanchun heard that, he could not help but sneer. "Since it's a verbal order, Lord Lu only needs to capture people, how can you move the items in my residence? According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, after the person is convicted, the Emperor can only confiscate the property and seal my mansion. Don't you know this?”
Damn girl, you have a sharp tongue!
"Madam has misunderstood." Lu Wenguang smiled obsequiously. "This official is not leading the troops to raid the house, but collecting evidence for this case.”
Hearing that, Liu Yuanchun could not help but sneer once again. "Dare I ask Lord Lu, what does this case have to do with the red sandalwood offering table in my mansion?”
"Oh, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. The guards moved the wrong things, they moved the wrong things.”Lu Wenguang immediately gave a look to the person who moved the table.
At that moment, the altar returned to its original position.
"Then, what about the Jade Kylin in Milord's hand? How does it help the case?" Liu Yuanchun wasn't willing to let him off in the slightest.
"Uh, I'm just admiring it…admiring it.”Then, he reluctantly placed the Jade Kylin back on the altar.
That damned girl!
The servants of the Minister's Residence who were kneeling at the side could not help but smile when they saw this. Especially Yao Fu, who admired his wife even more.
"Then, what about those vases and antiques?”Liu Yuanchun's gaze was half smiling and half fierce as he shot towards the guards in the hall who were currently plundering their belongings.
"Put them all back!" Lu Wenguang gritted his teeth and ordered.
This hateful girl, if not for the fact that Old Jia Furen and the Empress Dowager had a deep friendship, he could have disregarded everything and raided the Minister's residence without anyone daring to ask.
It was all her fault! Damn it!
"Take her away!" Lu Wenguang immediately ordered.
Liu Yuanchun was powerless to stop him and could only watch as Yao Xuanye was captured.
Because, deep down, she was not sure if he was really corrupt or if he was a traitor.
She was very confused!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。