g that this must mean she was leaving, rightThe Xiao family hurried to their feet and politely asked, "Would the two esteemed guests care to stay for lunch"Following this pattern, the host politely sa...Yun Chen was seeing Ye Wenyan for the second time. The first time, he had seen her right after the former emperor's passing. Ye Wenyan had just returned from Duke Su's mansion, her face pale and covered in bloodstains, leaving a deep impression on him.

Originally, I thought that after a few days of recuperation, her condition would improve somewhat. However, I didn't expect that the girl's face was still as pale as a ghost. This made him have to suspect whether Ye Wenyan had been abused at the General's Mansion~.

He walked toward Ye Wen, greeting her with a bow: "My name is Yun Chen, I've come to meet Fourth Sister Ye."

Behind them, the magistrate of Lin'an Prefecture, Chi Hongfang, also walked over. He sized up Yunchen and Ye Wenyan, then followed Yunchen's lead and bowed to Ye Wenyan: "Chi Hongfang, the magistrate of Lin'an Prefecture, greets you, Fourth Sister Ye."

Lady Ye was a bit puzzled. She wanted Yun Chen to be courteous to Ye Wenyan, but it wasn't like what she had thought before—that Yun Chen was interested in Ye Wenyan. But the magistrate of Lin'an Prefecture was a third-rank official. Why would he get involved in this Even when her old man was alive, she hadn't heard of the dignified magistrate coming to pay respects to Ye Wenyan.

What on earth is all this back and forth about

Ye Wen also looked a bit confused, so Yun Chen just stopped. It was definitely Shi Liyuan's face that was being challenged. But this magistrate, don't you think you're learning from Yun Chen too obviously

"Your lordships, please do not be so courteous. I am merely a humble servant girl and do not deserve your respect." She then bowed her head, "My name is Night Wenyan. I have met the Chief Supervisor and the Prefect."

Yun Chen shifted his body, yielding the courtesy to her. Chi Hongfang originally thought that Ye Wenyan returning a courtesy was nothing special, but Yun Chen actually dodged it, so he couldn't bear to accept it alone and could only follow suit.

Ye Wen sighed helplessly, unwilling to dwell too much on this matter. He took the initiative to ask, "Why has Lord Magistrate come in person"

When she questioned him, Chi Hongfang said: "It's like this, a maid from the household reported that someone was wearing a red string during the period of mourning for the late emperor. This is a big deal, my family must go in person to see who would be so bold as to disrespect the royal family."

The voice was loud enough for both the old matriarch and Xiao Shi to hear clearly. Only then did Xiao Shi realize that the government officials hadn't come for Ye Hongzhuang, this matter had nothing to do with her.

"I can't help but feel a little embarrassed. I smoothed my clothes and then asked Jinshu, 'Was I too excited just now Was it inappropriate With so many outsiders watching, how will this be spread What about my reputation' "

Jinxiu quickly said, "My lady, rest assured. I'll go get some silver ready now. When the officials leave, I'll quietly send it out and seal their mouths."

The Xiao family nodded repeatedly, "Good, go quickly, take more. I am now the mistress of this General's Mansion, I can't lose face."

Jinxiu's heart skipped a beat as she retreated, hurriedly going to the backyard to fetch silver.

The old lady then asked, “Whose red string is that” She muttered to herself, “It shouldn’t be! Our family is also in mourning. Everyone has been wearing plain clothes for over a month. It’s impossible for someone to do such a thing.”

He turned his gaze to Zhu'er again, and angrily questioned, “Who wore the red string And why did you go report it to the officials”

Zhui'er has been following Ye Wenyan these days, and her courage has grown considerably. Plus, she wasn't a gentle girl to begin with, so after being influenced by Ye Wenyan, she's almost daring enough to tear off the roof tiles.

The old matriarch questioned her loudly, and she responded in kind: "Of course it couldn't be someone from our own household! It must have been an outsider! As for why a maid went to report it, it's because that outsider went looking for trouble with my sister first thing in the morning!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yun Chen immediately followed up with: "What Looking for trouble with the fourth sister Who has the guts to do such a thing"

The old madam and Xiao Shi shuddered collectively. How did they dare to find trouble with Ye Wenyan Was this directed at the person wearing the red string, or was it meant for them

The usually quiet Ye Feiyu spoke up then, using his familiar gentle voice and asking, "Yaner, who has bullied you again"

Yun Chen then seized on another key point: “Again Does that mean the young master is saying that the fourth sister is often bullied by people in the house”

Nightflying Jade didn't make a sound, she just walked over and reached out to gently rub Night Warm Words' head.

>

As soon as these words were spoken, even the magistrate beside him, Chi, couldn't bear it any longer. He silently covered his face, thinking to himself, "My lord, how can you speak such nonsense with your eyes open While it's true that you treat people sincerely, is your fourth sister truly gentle" Who would believe such a thing

What kind of personality is Ye Sijie You have no idea, do you The officials and common people of Lin'an City have no idea either. Even the imperial family knows, right And yet they set her up as a role model for women! If all women were like her, men wouldn't be able to live happily ever after.

Lord Yun, if you're going to speak like that, I might not be able to handle it!

Mrs. Lao and Xiao couldn't take it anymore. This was an indirect way of calling them servants, or worse, despicable servants.

But they couldn't answer that, because accepting it would be tantamount to admitting guilt. Everyone in Northern Qi knew what the Imperial Inspector was. Only someone who had lost their mind would choose to oppose the Imperial Inspector. So this verbal attack, whether they accepted it or not, they had to accept it. Knowing full well that they were being scolded, they still had to smile and say, "Yes, yes, it must have been some clueless servant who made Lord Yun angry. This old woman assures you, we will rectify and purge things immediately, and such incidents will never happen again."

This was the old lady's saying, she had already decided that it must be Yun Chen who had taken a liking to Ye Wenyan. After all, Ye Wenyan had been hailed as the first beauty of Lin'an since she was ten years old. Her face was indeed beautiful, and it wasn't impossible for Yun Chen to fall for her.

She thought this to herself, and then glared at Xiao Shi again, as if to say, "How come the daughter you gave birth to isn't as beautiful as Ye Wenyan"

Xiao Shi didn't understand what this meant by "wan". She thought the old madam was blaming her for her previous gaffe, and she lowered her head silently.

Yun Chen glanced at the old madam and continued, "This official naturally trusts the old madam, but the future is the future. Right now, we only need to focus on the present. Who's coming right now What kind of person would be full and have nothing better to do than bother Fourth Sister"

He finished, gave the magistrate a knowing glance, and the magistrate cleared his throat twice, knowing it was time for him to take the stage.

Then she walked a few steps to the middle of the courtyard and said, "One of the maidservants near Fourth Sister reported to the government office that there was a midwife with a red rope tied around her neck. She came to trouble Fourth Sister for some unknown reason. Could it be this woman"

The old lady was taken aback, a wet nurse Impossible, there couldn't be a wet nurse around her with a red string tied around her neck.

Xiao suddenly thought of something.

Before leaving from Fulu courtyard, I heard from Binglan, the maid beside Hongzhuang, that Hongzhuang went to find Ye Wenyan early in the morning, accompanied by Cui mama.

She was eager to meet her daughter and ask why she had gone to see Ye Wenyan. Before she could even get there, however, a servant from the front yard came to report that Zhu'er, along with a group of officers, was taking people away. She immediately thought that it was Ye Wenyan's side again, about to drag someone into trouble. In her haste, she and Mu shi both panicked.

But by now she was sure that these officials were not after her daughter at all, but after the palace maid Cui Ma'ma.

Xiao felt this matter was interesting. Although she remained steadfast in her support of Empress Li and the Sixth Prince, after all, she was still a mother. Regarding her daughter's pregnancy, both the Duke of Su and Empress Li had acted inadequately. As a result, while she didn't criticize them openly, behind closed doors, she scolded those two several times.

She had painstakingly raised her daughter with her own hands, and in the end, she was treated so poorly by that mother and son. How could she possibly swallow her anger

Then she spoke to Zhuier: “I wonder, Zhuier, if you went to report the matter to the authorities, whom did you intend to accuse Was it that old woman surnamed Cui”

After seeing Lady Ye Wen nod, Zhu'er replied to the second madam, "It is indeed Nanny Cui."

Xiao nodded, then addressed the magistrate of the Chi family: "To be honest, that person was sent by the Empress Dowager from the palace and is temporarily staying at our house. We didn't know she dared to bring a red string on her body, nor did we know she went to find trouble with the fourth young lady early in the morning. Alas, what can we do After all, she is someone from the palace and under the Empress Dowager's command. We dare not and cannot interfere."

"Hmph, since the Ye family dares not interfere, then this magistrate will take care of it. Otherwise, this trip would have been for nothing," Pool County Magistrate said coldly. Turning to the old matriarch, he added, "Will you have your servants hand over that so-called Nanny, or shall my officers barge in and take her"

Of course, Granny assumes we'll have people brought out and a group of officials storm the mansion to arrest them. Would an official's mansion even dare do that

Then Xiao readily took over the conversation, immediately saying, "Sir, please take charge and apprehend them! Our household truly dares not touch that grandmother."

The old madam understood. This was a way of distancing themselves. In the future, if Empress Li inquired, it would be the officials who stormed in and took the items, with no connection to the Ye family. Even if Empress Li wanted to settle scores, she wouldn't be able to pin them on the Ye family.

He couldn't help but glance at Xiao Shi approvingly, quite pleased with this daughter-in-law.

Of course, the Magistrate of Chi understood what the Ye family was planning. However, he didn't care. Now that they were here, he had already made preparations to turn his back on Empress Li and her faction. What difference did this one step make

With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Bring him here!"

The official entered the mansion, while others waited in the front yard.

The old lady stood for a while, always feeling that something was wrong today. After thinking about it, she finally thought of Yunchen's head.

Then, he pondered for a moment before asking, "I wonder, what brings Lord Yun to visit the pool Prefect together". 。The old lady was very satisfied with her performance, feeling that the 500 taels of silver and the jade bracelet from last night were well worth it. 。Winning people over requires more than just wo...