After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

The Yong'an Marquis's Residence.

Zhao Yuwan was wrapped in a brocade quilt, her voice thick with a nasal tone, her eyes red-rimmed, crying as if a kettle had come to life.

"Grandmother, you didn't see it! The Eldest Princess doesn't respect our Marquis's mansion at all. In front of the whole street, she grabbed my granddaughter by the back of her collar and threw her into the river!"

She became increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, her voice rising eight octaves: "My granddaughter is the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family. How is this humiliation any different from insulting the entire Zhao family?"

The old lady of the Yong'an Marquis sat on the edge of the bed, her face full of heartache as she tucked the blanket around her.

The elderly Mrs. Zhao, who was over sixty years old, was well-maintained. She wore a dark purple silk jacket and a red gold headband inlaid with rubies, which was held up neatly on her head. Her face was kind and gentle, but her eyes shone with a sharp light.

"Alright, alright, stop crying, your voice is hoarse." Old Madam Zhao took a handkerchief to wipe her tears. "Drink your medicine first, or you'll develop a chronic illness."

Zhao Yuwan took the medicine bowl, took a sip, and then frowned: "It's so bitter, Grandmother, you have to stand up for your granddaughter."

"Of course we should make the decision," said Madam Zhao, patting the back of her hand in a calm tone.

She already had a plan in mind.

It is true that Xiao Mingyue holds considerable military power, but she is also under the control of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager had been friends with her for decades and had always disapproved of Xiao Mingyue's arrogance. As long as this matter was brought to the Empress Dowager's attention, there would be no shortage of people to support her granddaughter.

"No matter how domineering Xiao Mingyue is, she cannot bully the families of court officials in the street. Tomorrow, when Grandmother goes to the palace to pay her respects, she should tell the Empress Dowager about this matter."

Zhao Yuwan's eyes lit up, and she no longer found the medicine bitter. She tilted her head back and gulped down more than half a bowl.

With the Empress Dowager stepping in, let's see how arrogant Xiao Mingyue can be now!

She'll make that wild girl kneel before her and kowtow to admit her mistake!

"The Empress Dowager and Grandmother have known each other since childhood; they will surely stand up for us, won't they?"

The old lady smiled and nodded: "The Empress Dowager values ​​propriety and dignity the most. How could she sit idly by while the eldest princess commits violence in the street? You just rest and recover. Grandmother will take care of everything else."

Zhao Yuwan then leaned back against the pillow, satisfied.

He was already plotting how to get back at the Shen sisters for the embarrassment he had lost yesterday.

Zhao Yuwan lived for seventeen years, and not even her own mother ever touched her!

Yesterday, I made a huge fool of myself because of these two sisters.

After the old lady left, Zhao Yuwan became increasingly angry as she lay there, her whole body itching as if a thousand ants were gnawing at her.

That bitch Shen Tingyun, if it weren't for her wild little sister causing trouble, I wouldn't have lost so much face in front of the Princess.

She was seething with anger inside, and if she didn't vent it on someone, she was determined to die of rage today.

She threw off the covers, sat up, put on the fox fur cloak from the head of the bed, and slipped on her embroidered shoes as she walked outside.

The maid Qiuju hurriedly caught up: "Miss, where are you going? The doctor said you need to rest in bed."

"Go find Shen Tingyun." Zhao Yuwan sneered. "Yesterday, she used my grandmother to pressure me in front of outsiders. We haven't settled that score yet. I want to see if she still dares to be so tough today."

Qiuju dared not persuade her any further and could only jog to catch up.

Zhao Yuwan wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and walked through the covered corridor. Just as she turned into the moon gate of the back garden, a series of rapid flapping sounds suddenly came from above.

She looked up and saw a dozen gray sparrows suddenly appear out of nowhere, a dark mass of them, as if they had planned it all, and they all swooped down towards her.

"Ah!" Zhao Yuwan screamed and raised her hand to block.

But the sparrows seemed to have eyes, and they kept swarming towards her head.

Its sharp beak pecked at the hair bun, causing the hairpins to fall to the ground with a clattering sound, and wisps of fur were torn from the fox fur cloak, flying everywhere.

Qiu Ju was terrified: "Miss! Quickly, squat down!"

She grabbed a handkerchief to swat at the sparrows, but the birds ignored her completely and focused all their attention on Zhao Yuwan.

Zhao Yuwan clutched her head and retreated repeatedly, her embroidered shoes slipping on the wet, slippery bluestone slabs.

"Help! Help!"

Several servants rushed over upon hearing the noise; some grabbed brooms and swung them wildly, while others took off their outer garments and threw them into the air.

But those sparrows were strangely agile; they couldn't be hit by a broom or caught by clothes, and instead, they gathered in ever-growing numbers.

Zhao Yuwan was forced to retreat step by step, her heel hitting the low stone railing by the garden pond.

She leaned back, her hands reaching out haphazardly in the air, but she caught nothing.

thump.

Zhao Yuwan fell into the water twice in just two days.

The pool water was icy cold, so cold that she couldn't even scream; she could only thrash around in the water.

Qiuju lay by the pond, crying and shouting, "Miss! Someone, come quick, get Miss out!"

The servants frantically searched for bamboo poles, and the scene became quite chaotic.

The sparrows scattered and flew away the instant Zhao Yuwan fell into the water, disappearing completely in the blink of an eye as if they had never existed.

Behind the artificial hill in the back garden, a dark figure put away his bamboo flute, silently scaled the wall, and headed towards the Princess's residence.

……

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Study.

Xiao Chengyu put down his vermilion pen and politely greeted Xiao Mingyue.

"It's rare for my elder sister to come to see me on her own initiative. What happened? Come, come, sit down. I've had some of your favorite pre-Qingming Longjing tea brewed."

Xiao Mingyue sat down, took the teacup handed to her by the eunuch, lifted the lid, sniffed it, and then put it down.

"I have come today with a matter I would like Your Majesty to decide."

Xiao Chengyu's smile remained unchanged: "Please speak freely, Your Majesty."

Xiao Mingyue took out a stack of petitions from her sleeve, stood up and presented them with both hands.

"A few days ago, I went out of the city to relax and happened to see several farmers kneeling by the roadside crying and complaining that their land had been forcibly occupied and that no one paid attention to their complaints to the county government."

"So, out of curiosity, I looked it up on the spot."

She spoke calmly, raising her eyes to observe Xiao Chengyu's expression.

"Unexpectedly, those who forcibly seized the land were from the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion."

Xiao Chengyu took the petition and flipped through two pages. His smile remained unchanged, but his fingers paused for a moment as he turned the pages.

"The Marquis of Yong'an's residence? This is probably just some underlings using the Marquis's name to do whatever they want. Zhao Heng is an honest and kind man; he wouldn't do such a thing." He tried to exonerate Zhao Heng.

The Marquis of Yong'an's family was the Empress Dowager's maternal clan, and they had many sons in the court who suppressed many powerful families on his behalf. Naturally, he wanted to minimize the impact of the incident.

Xiao Mingyue picked up her teacup, took a sip, and smiled.

"That was my initial thought as well."

She looked up at Xiao Chengyu and said, "That farmer is really pitiful, so I took the liberty of settling his family in a manor outside the city to prevent them from being bullied again."

"Unexpectedly, when the news spread, dozens of aggrieved families from the surrounding area rushed over, begging me to help them."

Xiao Chengyu stopped flipping through the legal documents completely.

"Dozens of households?"

"Forty-three households." Xiao Mingyue paused. "I have roughly calculated that it involves more than two thousand hectares of land and spans more than three years."

The Imperial Study was quiet for a moment.

This is no small case. If it were to be investigated thoroughly, even confiscation of their property and extermination of their entire family would not be enough to atone for their crimes.

Xiao Chengyu closed the petition and placed it on the table, his fingers lightly tapping the surface.

However, if we were to conduct a thorough investigation of the Yong'an Marquis's residence now, it would be tantamount to cutting off our own arm.

At that time, Xiao Mingyue will probably become the only one in power.

"Your Majesty, you've worked hard. I will have someone investigate this matter, so you don't need to worry about it."

Xiao Mingyue stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty is wise, but I have one concern."

"With the New Year approaching, the people of the capital are hoping for peace and joy. If those forty-three aggrieved households do not receive justice and gather together to cry out and cause trouble, it may damage His Majesty's reputation as a benevolent ruler."

"Your Majesty must make a decision as soon as possible."

Xiao Chengyu lowered his eyes to look at Xiao Mingyue's obedient face, and felt a tightness in his chest.

His elder sister has always been like this, always so assertive and aggressive.

He already said he would investigate thoroughly, so do you expect him, the emperor, to give an explanation on the spot?!

However, he cannot fall out with Xiao Mingyue, at least not now.

Xiao Mingyue has soldiers, popular support, and the immunity from death granted by the late emperor.

He couldn't move, so he could only weaken him one strike at a time.

So he took a deep breath and suppressed his surging anger back into his chest.

"Summon the Imperial Censor," Xiao Chengyu ordered loudly.

The eunuch responded and left.

Xiao Mingyue spoke up at the opportune moment: "Your Majesty, should the list of aggrieved parties and related evidence in my possession be sent to the Censorate as well? This would save the Censorate from having to collect them separately and causing delays."

Xiao Chengyu stared at her for a couple of moments before finally nodding.

"You're always thorough in your work, so let's do as you say."

Xiao Mingyue bowed again: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Imperial Censor Song Shen arrived quickly, received the imperial decree, and then hurriedly took his leave.

As he left, he brushed past Xiao Mingyue, their eyes briefly meeting.

Then he nodded slightly and quickly left.

As Xiao Mingyue stepped out of the imperial study, the winter sun shone on the white marble steps, making her squint.

She took a deep breath of the cold air, and the tightness in her chest finally eased a little.

She had actually been holding the evidence of the Zhao family's encroachment on the land for a long time, just waiting for the right opportunity to make it play its greatest role.

The purge of the Zhao family today serves two purposes: firstly, to punish Zhao Yuwan's arrogance yesterday; and secondly, to deter Marquis Yong'an Zhao Heng from colluding with the Empress Dowager to harm Xiao Changgeng.

Since they've already set their sights on her home, they have to pay a price.

She had just stepped down three steps when she heard hurried footsteps behind her.

A young eunuch trotted over, bowing obsequiously, and said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. The Empress Dowager invites you to have some tea."

Xiao Mingyue paused, a slight smile curving her lips.

They arrived quickly.

It's just unknown whether her mother is standing up for the Zhao family this time, or if she's putting on another act.