Mingyu patted Hong Fanger's shoulder in a good-natured way, and moved closer to her, like a close friend of many years, and said with a smile: "These are all my true feelings. I tell you because you are my friend. Don't tell anyone else, especially Lord Lu and Mrs. Lu. Don't tell anyone!" Please, go home and spread the news! It would be best if Lu Hao could be scared away.
Hong Fanger stared at Mingyu for a long while, then suddenly laughed, feeling somewhat guilty and uncertain, and said, "Are you kidding me? I'm not a three-year-old child. I will believe everything you say."
Mingyu spread her hands. "Believe it or not, I'm telling you this because I consider you my friend. I divorced Lord Anxi because he was a careless person who pushed all kinds of things into the house. Anyway, my reputation is just like that. I can't tolerate concubines. If they dare to have children in the future, I will find a way to get rid of the children."
Hong Fang'er looked unhappy. She sat there absent-mindedly. She picked up and put down the cup of tea in front of her several times. The steaming tea had gone cold, but she still hadn't come up with any ideas. Looking at Mingyu who was smiling opposite her, she suddenly felt that the smile that seemed gentle and sweet in the past was now full of viciousness and cruelty.
For nearly half an hour, the two of them sat in silence, leaning against the window looking at the street scenery.
"Let's stop here for today." Hong Fang'er suddenly stood up, with a forced smile on her face, and said, "I've been out for a long time. If I don't go back, my aunt and mother will be worried."
Mingyu also stood up quickly and nodded, "That's fine, you can go back quickly."
Hong Fanger went out. She called the waiter and asked him to call the boy who was drinking tea downstairs up. When the boy took the bag and went out first, Mingyu took Hong Fanger out of the private room. She held Hong Fanger's hand and warned her carefully: "Don't tell your aunt and cousin!"
Hong Fang'er had made up her mind and just wanted to go back quickly. She almost swore to the heavens, "I won't tell anyone, don't worry!"
Mingyu then watched her leave with a smile.
After returning home, Mingyu heard Xu Changqian say that he did not find Lu Hao at the government office and planned to visit Lu's house in the evening. She felt a little disappointed. Subconsciously, this matter was a hot potato and she had to solve it quickly before she could feel at ease. However, Lu Hao could not be found for a while, so there was nothing she could do. Mingyu had to go into the house first, cleaned and packed up the gifts that Lu Hao had sent during this period, and let her father take them back in the evening.
After a while, Mrs. Xu also returned home. Seeing that Xu Mingye had not come back yet, she could not help but complain. When it was time for dinner, the family was waiting for Xu Mingye to come back for dinner, when someone knocked on the door loudly.
Li Xiang hurried to open the door. When she opened the door, she saw two officials standing at the door, wearing red robes and holding broadswords. The leader was about thirty years old and asked Li Xiang, "Is this the residence of Lord Xu Mingye?"
"Yes." Li Xiang was a little hesitant and asked, "What do you want, brothers? I'll go report to my master."
Xu Changqian and Madam Xu, who were in the room, had already come out when they heard the noise at the door. Seeing that they were two government officials, they were shocked at first. Xu Changqian walked in front and told Lixiang to go back to the room first. He bowed and smiled and said, "I am Xu Changqian, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites. Xu Mingye is my son. May I ask what brings you here?"
The two runners who came were just low-ranking clerks, so they naturally didn't dare to be disrespectful to Xu Changqian, who was a fifth-rank official. The leading runner bowed and said, "Sir Xu, we are here out of helplessness." He took a step closer and said in a low voice, "Someone died in Mindong Building this afternoon. The victim's family knew a lot of ruffians in Beijing, and they set up a mourning hall in front of the court and made trouble. They want us to severely punish the murderer and pay compensation."
Xu Changqian was disappointed, but he didn't show it on his face. He asked, "What does this have to do with my son Mingye?"
The bailiff hesitated for a while before saying, "Someone pointed out that they saw Master Xu entering the private room in Mindong Building in the afternoon. The victim's family insisted that Master Xu was the murderer and started to make a scene. There were so many people watching the scene. We, the masters, wanted to suppress it but we were powerless..."
Madam Xu was horrified when she heard this. She knew Xu Mingye very well. Even if he was a bit unruly, he would never do anything to murder someone. She screamed in a shrill voice, "Impossible! My son is an official appointed by the court, how could he do something to kill someone? It must be a false accusation!"
The bailiff said hurriedly, "Madam, don't worry. In my opinion, this is probably because the victim's family wants money, so they made things out of control. If you give them more money, they can get rid of them." He had seen many such cases. A dandy boy had a murder case, or he was unlucky and wronged. The victim's family wanted money, so they made trouble and asked for a lot of money. Rich people, for the sake of reputation, would spend money to avoid disaster.
Xu Changqian had been an official for decades, so he naturally understood what the yamen runners meant. However, today's incident was different from those extortion cases. For the victim's family, it was just to extort more money, but for the Xu family, it was not a matter of money at all. His son Xu Mingye had made great achievements, was a newly-minted Jinshi of the Great Chu, and was a Cheng'an Sheren of the seventh rank. If so many people saw that he was involved in a murder case, his life would be ruined!
Thinking of this, Xu Changqian felt a buzzing in his ears, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. Fortunately, he was the county magistrate in Lu'an and had rich experience in handling cases. After calming down for a while, he regained his thoughts and asked, "How did that man die?"
The bailiff said, "The coroner has examined the case and found that he died from swallowing gold."
Xu Changqian frowned and soon found the problem. "Did he die by swallowing gold? That's probably suicide. How can it be related to my son?"
The bailiff secretly admired him and nodded, saying, "Master Xu is right. The coroner examined the scene and found no signs of a struggle, nor any external injuries on the body... From all the signs, it was undoubtedly suicide. However, someone saw Master Xu enter the private room at the time of the crime, and he died in the room. With the witness, the victim's family insisted that Master Xu was the murderer and forced someone to death, and they wanted compensation for the loss."
Mrs. Xu burst into tears and asked anxiously, "What about my son Mingye? Where is he?"
The bailiff said, "Master Xu is still in the court, but he is now the defendant. The court is blocked by the victim's family, so he has to spend the night in the court wing. Madam, don't worry, Master Xu is fine."
"How much money do they want? Just give it to them. Don't make trouble anymore. Do you want to save my son's reputation?" Mrs. Xu cried. She felt panic in her heart and felt that everything in front of her eyes turned dark.
The yamen runner recalled the scene at the mourning hall at the entrance, and looked at Lord Xu and Madam Xu with sympathy, as well as the courtyard behind them that was not up to standard. They were not rich families at all. Those seventh-rank officials in the capital were all well-off, with servants and concubines at home. There were many more people than Xu Changqian. It was really unbearable that he was blackmailed even though he was so honest. The yamen runner said, "The group of scoundrels leading the group are all on record here. They are well-known scoundrels in the capital, and they are used to making trouble and blackmailing. In the past, they would have to extort dozens of taels of silver if they were trampled by a young man on horseback. Today, for this murder case, I'm afraid... I'm afraid they will ask for a thousand taels."
Mrs. Xu gasped when she heard this. One thousand and two taels of silver, wouldn't that mean they would lose everything they had
Seeing the shocked expressions on Madam Xu and Xu Changqian's faces, the yamen runner said out of pity, "This is just my prediction. It is indeed the worst case scenario. It would be best if we can prove that Master Xu has nothing to do with this case. Tomorrow morning, we will open the court to try the case. Master Xu, you must go there!"
After the bailiff left, Madam Xu covered her handkerchief and cried out loudly. She had been living a good life, but this was suddenly a disaster! She kept saying, "How could Mingye do such a thing? It couldn't be him, he is still so young..."
Mingyu was anxious and afraid. She was sure that Xu Mingye would not kill anyone, but gossip can destroy a person. If the matter was not handled properly, even if Xu Mingye was acquitted, some people would say that officials were protecting the murderer. Once the matter was determined in the public's mind, it would be equivalent to being labeled, and it would be difficult to wash away the stigma for the rest of her life.
A table of prepared dinner was placed on the table, but no one had the heart to eat it. Xu Changqian hurried to Lord Qi's house. They didn't know many high-ranking officials in the capital, and in terms of close relationships, the only one who could help was Lord Qi.
Mingyu was a little hesitant, but looking at her mother who looked sad and sorrowful, she couldn't help but speak, and said slowly: "Mom, I'll go find Lord Lu and ask him to help think of a solution." After all, he is a second-rank official, and the Jingzhao Yin will give him face.
If there were another opportunity, she didn't want to ask Lu Hao for help at all. She had no intention of marrying him in the first place, and it would not be good to owe him a favor.
Mrs. Xu was in a state of confusion and said, "This is not good... We don't want to marry him, and now we have to go and beg him... What will you do?"
Mingyu shook her head and whispered, "If it's not handled properly, even if my brother is found innocent, he will still carry a stain on his body and be criticized for the rest of his life... My little thing is nothing." Thinking back to what she said to Hong Fang'er in the afternoon, it really seemed like a joke.
Mrs. Xu had no other choice. After thinking for a long time, she felt that asking Lu Hao for help was a good idea. She thought that Lu Hao was kind and wanted to propose marriage, so he would definitely help.
Mingyu didn't care about anything else and took Lixiang and Dongyuan with her, called a carriage and headed straight to Lu's house.
When they arrived at the Lu family, it was already dark, and the big red lanterns at the gate of the Lu mansion were lit up. Mingyu stuffed a hundred coins into the doorman's pocket and said with a smile, "I'm a girl from the Xu family. I want to see Lord Lu for something. Please ask him to come out."
When the doorman heard that it was the girl from the Xu family, he looked Mingyu up and down with a strange look in his eyes. Mingyu patiently let him look at her, and then the doorman ran to the yard. (To be continued