Ink Burns

Chapter 115: Proposal for Separation

The flaming red double happiness lanterns swayed under the eaves. A tall black shadow knocked open the wind chimes beside the lanterns, followed by a tall shadow with hunched shoulders.

In the main hall, Xue Changfeng was exhausted, with his hands on his forehead. A double-layered crimson quilted silk cloak was draped over his back, and the cloak had already slipped down his shoulders.

Zhu walked out of the inner room and helped her husband put on his cloak. She then looked at the old servant kneeling on the ground in the hall and crying bitterly, her stepson sitting upright on the lower left, and her daughter-in-law sitting next to her stepson, who had not yet taken off her bridal attire and was hunched over.

When He Wuma saw Zhu coming out, she cried even harder: "Da Lang insisted on accusing me of colluding with the enemy and wanting to harm him! I am innocent! How could I know that the maid who served the wine was a member of the Lin family who escaped from Shanhaiguan?!"

While howling, He Wuma lowered herself from her knees to a slumped position, slapping her thighs, "I don't have eight hundred and thirty-five eyes! When Dalang gets married, there are three to five hundred people inside and outside! To welcome the bride! To set up the banquet! To perform dances and music! To serve drinks! Do you want me to deal with all of them one by one? I was negligent in my duties, I was wrong, I admit it! I can be fined with silver or be confined to my room! I will accept it!"

"But Dalang wants to beat me and kill me as soon as he opens his mouth! He also wants to throw me into prison! To the Censorate! I, I, who am I to be a Bodhisattva? Do I deserve to be a woodcutter in the Censorate?!"

Zhu said with a "tsk" sound, "Keep your voice down, don't upset the master!"

Zhu never sat down. She either tucked Xue Changfeng's cape or gently helped him hold his forehead with his hands. Her delicate hands rubbed his forehead with varying degrees of force: "Master, your colleagues forced you to drink several glasses of wine. You are dizzy now. Don't make a scene!"

He Wuma's crying suddenly subsided.

Xue Changfeng grabbed Zhu's hand with his backhand, rubbed his palm soothingly, and said softly: "Don't press it. You have been worrying about this marriage for several months. Sit down and have a good cup of hot tea."

Shan Yue at the bottom glanced calmly at the clasped hands of Xue Changfeng and Zhu: It is rare to see such a loving couple in this wealthy and powerful family at this age and as a second wife.

Moreover, this eunuch had a beautiful beard, a well-proportioned body, and an air of scholarliness. He did not have the slickness and fatness of an old man at all, nor did he have the gloomy, wretched, dead and corrupt air of people like Liu Hezhou.

Regardless of other things, just judging by appearance, her father-in-law can be considered one of the best Confucian officials in the court.

After Xue Changfeng comforted his wife, he turned around again, his face suddenly helpless and stiff: "The origin of the maid, Bai Shun showed me the name card and household registration of the mansion. She entered the mansion last month, and there is really nothing strange in the documents. The dental shop she bought from is also a common one. How can you ask Bai Shun's family to identify it? As a person, you can only be a thief for a thousand years, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand years? That Lin family is deliberately trying to kill you, how can you ask Bai Shun's family, a woman in a deep mansion, to defend against it?"

Mother He is from Baishun's family. One lives in the outer courtyard and the other lives in the inner courtyard.

Xue Changfeng asked Zhu to sit down, but Zhu didn't listen. Instead, she busied herself cooking a pot of strong pear and white fungus soup: "Drink some to sober you up."

Shanyue blinked: Among the powerful and wealthy families, it is rare to find a real couple who do this.

Xue Changfeng sipped the sweet and thick soup, sighed comfortably, and looked at Xue Xiao and said earnestly: "Da Lang, all the officials in the court are scholars and officials. A black gauze hat is worn by thousands of people, and a silver belt is tied by tens of thousands of people. If you usually treat people with consideration and act in a more kind and tactful way, how come so many people want to kill you?"

"Why don't they kill others? Why only you?"

"That Lin family woman is determined enough to come back and kill you even if she has to crawl away - it's because you took advantage of Lin Chang's family too much! How can this accumulated hatred be resolved in just one or two generations?"

Shanyue put his hands in his sleeves and clenched his fists tightly: Why do I hit you and not others?

Why did they tie you up on Pingning Mountain and not others?
Why should I burn you instead of others?
Before meeting Shui Guang, Shan Yue had asked himself more than once, but now Shui Guang had opened up his Ren and Du meridians: Why! Why! Why!
Damn it, for no reason!
Because the other person is a bitch!
Shan Yue took a deep breath.

However, Xue Xiao let out a long sigh after a faint laugh!

Just hear a "click" sound!
Xue Xiao smashed a dagger in front of He Wuma and looked at Xue Changfeng with a smile: "This dagger is the murder weapon that Lin used to assassinate. Mother He, look carefully, is there a small word 'Nei' engraved on the handle of this dagger?" He Wuma's pupils suddenly dilated and then quickly contracted.

"What does 'Inner' stand for in this Forty-Nine City? The Department of Internal Affairs."

Xue Xiao leaned back, his lips curled up slightly, "In addition to providing for the expenses of the imperial city, the Ministry of Internal Affairs also provides for the royal families in the city. They must be well-known and close blood relatives. Unfortunately, we in the Great Wei have never had many descendants. If we take a closer look, we will know which families there are."

"Prince You, Prince Kang, Prince Kangning, Grand Princess Chengde, Grand Princess Xiangyuan. And, Grand Princess Jing'an."

Shanyue's eyelids twitched, and he noticed with sharp eyes that Zhu's index finger jumped unconsciously when she heard the words "Grand Princess Jing'an".

Xue Xiao said calmly, "The family of the exiled criminal sneaked back to the capital, holding a dagger produced by the 'Ministry of Internal Affairs', intending to assassinate the victim of the crime that year - what's the next step? Are they going to assassinate the saint? After all, the saint is the one who issued the edict of guilt."

"Be careful with what you say and do!" Xue Changfeng stood up straight and rebuked in a low voice.

Xue Xiao smiled and said, "So this matter is definitely not as simple as what Mother He said. In my opinion, this case involves the 'Internal Affairs Department' and the royal family in the city. It should be handed over to the Censorate to follow the clues and investigate thoroughly to find out how Lin entered the capital? Find out how this dagger made in the inner court got into Lin's hands?"

Fortunately, Zhu changed into a wide robe that could perfectly cover her heaving chest.

Xue Changfeng was in deep thought.

Zhu turned around and calmly spoke to Xue Changfeng, "Da Lang, what you said makes sense. No matter what, our family should have a wedding. It doesn't make sense to get involved in a lawsuit right after a wedding. Wait two days and report the matter to the court for a thorough investigation. Control He Mama, the traffickers, and the buyers and sellers first, and don't alert the enemy."

Things will be better if you take your time. If you can delay for one more day, you will have one more day to make things right.

Xue Changfeng thought for a moment and nodded.

Zhu looked at Xue Xiao and said, "It was my fault that my family didn't do a good job and this traitor took advantage of us. I will be more careful in the future."

"You don't need to worry about it anymore." Xue Xiao smiled and said, "According to my grandfather's will, when I get married, the Nan Mansion will be assigned to me to settle down, and all matters in the Nan Courtyard will be handed over to my wife to manage. I wonder if this order still counts?"

Zhu pursed her lips and turned to look at Xue Changfeng: This is not the way the couple wanted to divide the family property!

The Xue Mansion took over the former residence of Xiang Ge Lao, who lived with his younger brother and his family who worked in Beijing. They divided the mansion into the North and South Inner Palaces with Yao Lake as the boundary, and the brothers lived next to each other. When the Xue family took over, Old Grandfather Xue blurred the concepts of the North and South Palaces and governed them all, but the North Palace was still the main residence of each room and courtyard.

But Nanfu is theirs!
It’s Xue Chen’s, the one she gave birth to!
She even thought about which courtyard in the Nan Mansion the little kid would live in after Xue Chen got married!

She originally wanted to divide the family by driving Xue Xiao back to his mother Su's dowry villa!
Instead of dividing the Xue family’s property into him!

Xue Xiao smiled again: "It doesn't matter if it doesn't count. Then we will make a big fuss on the day of our wedding. I will send this old slave to beat the drum and ask the saint to investigate this matter thoroughly. No matter what the Ministry of Internal Affairs is or what the royal family is, investigate it!"

"Anyway, the anger of the royal family will not be directed at me, but at the entire Xue family and your Excellency the Crown Prince's Guardian!"

(End of this chapter)