Wanjin Lady

Chapter 477 Interview
"Last night, the governess taught you the etiquette of the palace, and you learned it very well. Besides, you have always been intelligent and adaptable. Once my aunt sees you, she will definitely like you as much as I do."

Wen Wan adjusted her clothes and looked at him again, "If I make a fool of myself, you will lose face. Others will definitely laugh at you for marrying a woman like me who has no manners."

"You dared to kill the bandits with your own hands, and you dared to use yourself as bait to deal with Mo Sufang and others. You can support a family independently. You are a thousand times better than the noble ladies in Kyoto. Others are jealous of me, so why are they laughing at me?"

"To be honest, I'm sorry for you. You could have lived a free and unrestrained life in Ping County. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have ended up in this cage in Kyoto."

Wei Zheng brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. "You didn't feel inferior because of these things before. You didn't care about what others thought. Now you're so cautious. Is it because of me?"

Wen Wan was stunned by his question.

The young lady's eyes sparkled.

"I don't care about rumors, but I do care about you. You've been labeled a 'traitor' since childhood, and your every move has been closely watched. Our status is still undetermined, and we have a pair of children. I'm afraid Kyoto is already awash with rumors. If I continue to act as recklessly as I have before, those rumors will turn into swords and axes and fall upon you."

“So I wanted everything to be impeccable.”

"Instead of becoming your weakness."

Wei Zheng rubbed his knees subconsciously. Wen Wan seemed to have never changed. She had always been so direct, reckless and sincere.

"But I just want you to be yourself."

"To punish you with swords and axes is also the joy of our marriage."

Wen Wan blinked, her eyes fixed on him, "Wei Zheng, what you said is so nice. Say more, I love to hear it. Hey, why are your ears red?"

She leaned in closer, "Are you shy?"

He stretched out his long arm, pulled her into his arms, and bit her ear as punishment. "Tease me again, and I'll leave you alone with your aunt, and you'll be left with nothing to cry out for!"

After entering the palace wall, the troops split into two groups.

Wei Zheng went to Zhenghe Hall to meet the emperor and present the case, while Wen Wan, led by the eunuchs, walked around the palace wall and headed towards the most noble and magnificent residence of the Great Chen Dynasty.

Wen Wan had anticipated that Empress Wei would give her a show of force before she arrived, so she had eaten and drunk her fill at home. Sure enough, when she arrived outside Chonghua Palace, the eunuch simply told her to wait there before going inside to report.

It took half an hour to get there.

It was a spring day, the sun was scorching, and Wen Wan was standing in the courtyard. Palace maids stood on all sides with their eyes lowered, but Wen Wan knew... they were all monitoring her.

As the saying goes, when you're being beaten, you should stand at attention. Since this is going to happen to me anyway, I might as well relax. Standing in the middle of the palace wall, his expression was calm.

Wen Wan's every move was naturally tipped off by someone. The old maidservant beside Empress Wei, surnamed He, had been in the palace for decades and had a pair of sharp eyes. "This Madam Wen is quite a character. She stood there for half an hour, neither humble nor arrogant, neither noisy nor quarrelsome. She seems... a steady person."

Empress Wei was nearly forty years old and had lived in the palace for many years. She had taken good care of herself, and even though there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, she was still extremely beautiful. As she spoke, the phoenix crown made of pearls and gems on her head did not move at all.

"If she was beautiful but dull, how could she have charmed Jin Yu so much that he would rush to become his son-in-law?"

"If it weren't for protecting her, Jin Yu's legs wouldn't have been in this situation..." Queen Wei was angry. In addition, Wei Zheng was meeting His Majesty today to clarify his brother's case. Queen Wei was worried about her brother. She sent people to the Zhenghe Palace to inquire about the news, but they didn't come back. She felt a tightness in her chest. "If A Lan comes back, tell her to come to see me first."

"Then Madam Wen..."

"Let her stand! She won't die anytime soon!" The curtain was lifted, and a trusted palace maid came to report: "Your Majesty, Lady Wen said that the court assembly may not be over for a while. She is an important witness in the whole case. If Your Majesty is concerned about the case of the Duke of Wei, you may summon her in for a meeting."

Empress Wei was slightly startled, then smiled coldly, "This girl has become a worm in my stomach."

She had intended to leave her alone and teach her a lesson, but she had never expected that this girl would take advantage of her first.

"Let her get in here. If she can't explain it, I'll make her suffer."

Wenwan entered.

The room was filled with the scent of incense, a very elegant combination of flowers and fruit, which was quite refreshing.

Empress Wei was half-leaning on the imperial concubine's couch, her skin was as white as snow, her black hair was tied into a cloud-patterned bun, with a phoenix hairpin inserted diagonally, and her crimson and gold-woven robe hung down in front of the jade steps. The emerald crown made her look even more noble and unattainable.

There was a bit of resemblance between his eyebrows and eyes and Wei Zheng's.

Wen Wan glanced at him briefly before quickly lowering her eyes. Following the etiquette the nanny had taught her the night before, she placed her hands together in front of her forehead, knelt on both knees, and performed a perfectly impeccable salute.

When they reached this point, Queen Wei did not ask her to stand up.

Queen Wei looked down at the person in front of her carefully.

The palace walls were as quiet as a tomb, and outside, the maids made no sound when they moved around.

It can be seen that Queen Wei’s methods of managing the palace were harsh.

half an hour.

Empress Wei snorted coldly, "She is quite pretty. No wonder she can make Jin Yu lose her mind."

Empress Wei was preoccupied with the affairs of Zhenghe Palace and had no intention of settling accounts with her. Furthermore, she was genuinely concerned about Duke Wei's case, so she simply said, "Jin Yu's letter only contains a few words. Please explain the key points to me in detail."

Wen Wan then honestly confessed her past with Zhao Yingzhen. "Now that I think about it, Zhao Yingzhen approached me under the alias Mo Sufang, intending from the beginning to use me to coerce the Marquis into submission. Fortunately, I was aware of this and used myself as bait to lure out the big fish. Then, I discovered the Duke's body on the island, and finally, I joined forces with the Marquis to bring Zhao Yingzhen to justice."

On how to report your work to the big boss.

Reporting is not the point.

The key is how to beautify and package your own achievements in the project.

Wen Wan remained calm, "At first, I didn't know it was the Duke's skeleton. I was just suspicious of the jade belt around his waist, so I ordered it to be brought out during the battle. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps the Duke's spirit is still in heaven, and some kind of divine providence guided me to bring the skeleton back."

When mentioning her brother, Queen Wei became emotional, "My brother...he...he..."

Don't dare to ask.

I'm just afraid of getting the answer I fear the most.

Wen Wan's eyes flushed. "Your Majesty, the Duke's right arm was first chopped off, and then, due to exhaustion, he was captured by Prince Fu's men. They stabbed his ribs with iron hooks, drove nails into his kneecaps, and left him filthy with feces and bitten by maggots. He was tortured to death! After his death, Zhao Yingzhen peeled off his skin, disfigured his face, and dumped his body in a secret room on the isolated island!"

When Empress Wei heard about her brother's tragic plight, tears welled up in her eyes. She threw her teacup to the ground and choked, "Zhao Yingzhen!"