A greasy and malicious smile appeared on Cao Wen's swollen face. He narrowed his eyes and tried to look inside the crack opened by Mrs. Wei, as if he wanted to see something.
After a while, when everyone around him had gathered, his expression suddenly changed: "Old lady, that's not entirely true, right?"
He was still sitting astride the horse, not moving at all, and patted the horse's belly with one hand: "I heard that the second son of your family went to Tongzhou a few days ago? He said he was checking the accounts. I don't know why your family has been going to Tongzhou quite frequently recently."
He seemed to want to exhaust other people's patience bit by bit. He spoke slowly but with full of malice in his words: "I also heard that your housekeeper has been very busy recently. This is really strange. I remember you were an old lord who didn't care about anything..."
I've been moving too much recently.
But Cao Wen's eyes had probably never left the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. No wonder, for the turtle in the jar, they were always more interested in watching how the prey struggled for mercy and begged for mercy, and finally became exhausted.
Old Madam Wei shook her head at Wei An calmly, and sighed with a smile: "What do you mean? Did our Dingbei Marquis Mansion's checking of the accounts ruin your business? Or did it bother you? I remember that there was no law in the Great Zhou Dynasty that forbade us to check the accounts of our own farm. So, could the grain that was embezzled from our farm be related to you?"
She looked at Cao Wen's face, which gradually changed from playful to cold, and sneered: "Why else would you care so much about our Zhuangzi?"
Cao Wen held the reins in one hand and suddenly pulled out a whip from his waist with the other hand and hit Mrs. Wei's carriage with it.
Wei An had been watching Cao Wen for a long time, guarding against him from making trouble, so he immediately put his arms around Old Lady Wei's waist and threw himself forward. The lowered curtain made a loud snap and tearing sound, and a lot of dust flew up.
The Third Master finally lost his temper: "Master Cao! My mother is a high-ranking official. Who are you humiliating by stopping a car in the street like this?!"
An imperial decree of superb quality... ... Cao Wen looked at him expressionlessly and sneered in his heart.
What kind of superb imperial edict
The Marquis of Dingbei and the Crown Prince who had earned this imperial decree for her were both dead. What was the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion now? It was nothing more than a dead fish. They could hit it with a hammer at any time and leave them no chance of turning over.
A fish that was going to die should be dead, but it still dreamed of turning over. This is unforgivable. Cao Wen's eyes turned fierce, and the smile on his face disappeared completely. He glanced back with a ferocious face: "What? Do we, the Jinyiwei, need others to tell us what to do?!"
The Third Master felt guilty and his heart was trembling with fear, but he knew that he dared not retreat at this moment. He suppressed his fear and sneered as he stood in front of the carriage: "Master Cao, what you said really makes me confused. What crime did our old lady commit that required the Jinyiwei to humiliate her like this?!"
Cao Wen leaned forward slightly to glance at him, then turned his gaze to the still trembling carriage curtain: "What exactly is this all about? I think you know it in your heart, right? It would be embarrassing to say it out loud. Anyway, come with me, old lady!"
Wei An held the old lady Wei's hand, and quickly recalled what Wei Rui had done recently and how they had handled it. Finally, he shook his head affirmatively: "Grandma, I'm sure that Wei Rui didn't leave any traces..."
Old Madam Wei patted the back of her hand, then straightened up her messy hair and nodded at her: "I know that Wei Rui is always trustworthy in what he does. But An'an, there is no shortage of excuses to accuse someone of a crime. Maybe there have been too many actions in our house recently, which made them suspicious, so they thought of accusing us of a crime at random..."
Old Mrs. Wei is not a naive person, she knows Cao Wen's methods very well.
This kind of person is like a poisonous snake. Once he gets hold of you, he will not let down his guard until he has killed his prey.
Now Yang Qinghe was in the third carriage piled with gifts. If she did anything more, Cao Wen would definitely get suspicious...
At this point, it seemed that there was no other way except to go to the Jinyi Prison with Cao Wen.
Cao Wen, now relying on Cao An's power, has always been lawless and no one can control him.
She whispered to Wei An: "You don't have to go to Linjiang Palace. When I leave with him, you can go home with your uncle immediately." She looked at Wei An deeply, and then said: "Don't be afraid... I will always find a way to make this matter go away. If it doesn't work, Cao Wen will force me to death, and he will not have a good end..."
If Cao Wen really forced Old Madam Wei to death, Emperor Longqing would be furious, and even Cao An would not be able to protect him by then.
Wei An forced himself to calm down, and after a moment he shook his head: "No, Grandma, that won't work... The Jinyiwei's paperwork will be flawless, don't think that way, it won't be a complete loss."
She listened to the gradually rising voice of the Third Master outside, and suddenly smiled: "Wait a minute, Grandmother, wait a minute."
Young Master Lin is not such a stupid person, and neither is Shen Chen. Cao Wen made such a big noise in the street, it is impossible for them not to have heard anything. If they wait a little longer, there will definitely be movement over there too.
But Wei An never expected that the one who came to the rescue this time was not Shen Chen or Young Master Lin, but an unexpected person.
The third master's throat was about to break from talking, but Cao Wen refused to listen and continued to fight. The whip was already raised, but he resigned himself to his fate, blocking the way outside the carriage with his hands and closed his eyes.
No matter what, he could not just leave Old Lady Wei alone, otherwise his official career and future would be ruined.
If you have to die anyway, of course you have to choose a more favorable way to die.
But the whip didn't fall on his face. He heard a simultaneous inhalation, and then he opened his eyes hesitantly. After opening his eyes, he shouted, "Prince Zheng!"
Why is King Zheng here?!
The third master was stunned and turned back to look at the carriage, but unfortunately the curtain was down, blocking the face of Old Lady Wei inside.
Prince Zheng's face was still a little pale as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, but he was still in high spirits. Seeing his guards holding Cao Wen's whip, he looked at Cao Wen and smiled, "What do you mean? I see the emblem on this carriage, it should be the carriage of the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion? What has the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion done that requires the Jinyiwei to take action?"
When meeting the prince, all officials should prostrate themselves and pay homage.
Prince Zheng didn't say anything, but the guards beside him looked at him coldly: "Lord Cao is a member of the Jinyiwei, how come he doesn't even know the rule of kneeling and greeting when meeting a prince?!"