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Chapter 126: Preparing for the Unexpected

  Chapter 126: Preparing for the Unexpected

  "You... are Yang Xiu, the Yang Scholar?" a constable said with an odd tone.

  Xia Xun cupped his hands and said: "It is indeed me, I don't know what teachings the two of you have to offer?"

  One of the constables sneered and said, "Mr. Scholar, this is a summons from the Ying Tian Prefecture, please accept it. Tomorrow at noon, Master wants to ask you some questions, don't be late."

  Anyway, Xia Xun was a scholar after all. The two constables who were in charge of the arrest could be fierce and cruel to ordinary people, but they didn't dare to be rough with him. They handed over the warrant and let Xia Xun sign for it before leaving. Gao Feng and his brother watched from outside with a mixture of fear and curiosity, Xia Xun glanced at them and closed the door.

  "Should it be reported to the Metropolitan Governor's office? A trivial civil dispute, even if it involves a charge of killing an ox, should it be reported all the way to the Metropolitan Governor's office? This is the imperial capital, and the Metropolitan Governor has a multitude of important tasks to attend to; does he have nothing better to do than personally try this case?"

  Xia Jiang immediately thought that the Yang family must have used some connection, and this connection could invite Ying Tianfu to move, it must be a bad omen.

  "What's wrong, husband?"

  Peng Ziqi had tidied up her clothes, smoothed out the disheveled hair at her temples, and walked out of the inner room with a lingering flush on her face, still exuding a captivating charm.

  Xia Fu said: "Nothing much, those people won't give up, they've taken the lawsuit all the way to Ying Tian Prefecture."

  Peng Ziqi was shocked: "What? Such a thing?! I said, the Yang family has deep roots in this place, how could they not know some dignitaries? What can be done about it? Those law enforcers are like us martial artists, our techniques and skills are all the same, but the wonder of their application lies in one's mind. If he wants to say you're innocent, he can find a thousand reasons to prove your innocence. If he wants to say you're guilty, he can similarly find countless reasons to prove your guilt."

  Xia Liu laughed loudly and patted her firm and plump buttocks, saying: "My little Qi Qi is not only good at playing with knives, but also sees through those officials in the same way."

  Peng Ziqi followed behind him and saw that he was rummaging through the boxes. He couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking for?"

  "Found it!" He rummaged through the trunk and pulled out a package, opened it, and then pulled out a small pouch. Finally, he untied the small pouch, revealing a beautiful sachet with seven-colored silk threads, golden light, and silver mist intertwined, filling the room with fragrance.

  Xia Liu picked up the sachet and walked in front of Peng Zixi: "Little Xi, this was given to me by someone else..."

  Xia Liu hadn't finished speaking when Peng Ziqi's expression changed slightly: "Someone else? Whose daughter is it, to have given you her personal sachet?"

  Xia Liu smiled and said: "You also know this person, both of us have seen her."

  "Do I know you?"

  Peng Ziqi hastily thought back, the only ones he had met who could give him a sachet and be accepted by him were not possible: Miao Yi from Qingzhou, Xue Lian, or Zi Yifu. The girls rescued from Putai County were also impossible... Ah! Sun Dong's wife from Yanggu County? Spit!

  "Was it Xie Niang from Beiping or Nan Niang?"

  "Is there really no one else?" Xia Yu coughed and said.

  Peng Ziqi thought carefully and hummed: "Who else could it be? Among the people I've seen, only those two are possible."

  Xia Liu Dao said: "Stop daydreaming, actually this sachet was given to me by Meng Er Xiao Jun Zhu when I was in the Yan Wang Fu."

  Peng Ziqi's eyes widened, and after a while, he suddenly became excited, speaking incoherently: "Ming... Ming'er princess? You're so bold! She's a princess, her three sisters are all queens, you're not even worthy of being her servant. She's still so young, she doesn't understand anything, how could you... how could you use sweet words to deceive such a young girl, do you have several heads for her to chop off?"

  "What are you talking about? It's just a sachet, a gift, what's the big deal?"

  "A gift?"

  Peng Ziqi hastily pulled him aside and scolded, "How can you be so muddled? Which girl would casually give a sachet to someone else's family? When a girl gives her personal sachet to a man, that...that is equivalent to giving herself away! Who in the world doesn't know this?"

  "Really? Consent with one's body? Is it that serious? I didn't know!"

  Suddenly, the image of that delicate and charming little girl flashed through his mind. Would he really give himself to her? Xia Yu's eyes sparkled with a clever idea as he plucked a morning dew-kissed flower bud. How wicked!

  He hastily shook his head and said, "It's not possible, it's not as serious as you think. Actually... I saved her life, the young mistress was grateful and wanted to repay me, but she didn't have anything good to give, so she gave me this sachet."

  Peng Ziqi let out a sigh of relief and scolded, "I said so, such a young girl, how could she... really, people are young and don't understand things, you also don't understand, what's the point of taking her little sachet?"

  Xia Liu Dao said, "You're really foolish. What did I come back to Jiangnan for this time? It's said that it's for a wedding, but first, we need a home, right? Rebuilding the ancestral house and standing firm in Miling Town is the prerequisite, isn't it? But after being away from my hometown for over ten years, can I compete with these local snakes? When Little Princess sent me the sachet, she said that if I had any requests, I could just use this token to go to the Zhongshan Wangfu, and everyone in the Xu family would recognize her sachet. At that time, she would definitely come out to help. What status does the Xu family have? They're the first meritorious minister's family of the Great Ming dynasty! With just a casual word, who in this small Miling Town can stop them? Looking at the situation, they must have taken some kind of shortcut and relied on someone. I took out this sachet to prepare for any eventuality."

  Peng Ziqi only then knew he was sincere and moved emotionally: "So, you want to take this sachet and go to the Xu family for help?"

  Xia Fu nodded solemnly: "It's not that I'm afraid of the consequences, but rather that there might be unexpected repercussions. The people shouldn't fight against the officials, and if they really take to the streets, it'll be hard to predict what will happen next. This favor can still be repaid a few more times, so let's try not to use it unless absolutely necessary, as a precaution."

  Peng Ziqi smiled wryly and said, "You're so clever sometimes, but foolish at other times. If you take this sachet to the Zhongshan Wangfu, the person who welcomes and entertains you will definitely not be the young princess herself. If the Xu family finds out that the young princess gave you this sachet, for the sake of the young princess's reputation, I'm afraid you won't get any help, but instead, you'll be killed by the Xu family to keep it under wraps."

  Xia Liu was shocked and said: "This sachet, is it really so important?"

  Peng Ziqi rolled her eyes and said, "How would others know that you accepted the sachet as a request for help? Who would have thought it was just the young mistress being naive? As soon as you take out this sachet, people will only spread the word that the young mistress has given her heart to you, and is willing to marry you. Tell me, isn't the consequence severe?"

  Xia Chuan was stunned, he really didn't know that this small sachet would become a token of his commitment to her, originally thinking it was a lifesaving charm, but now it has become a fatal label, what can be done about it?

  Xia Xian was stunned for a moment, looked at Peng Zikai's appearance, and suddenly came up with an idea: "Well, it's best to do this. You keep the sachet, tomorrow I'll go to Ying Tianfu, if Ying Tianfu's master gives me trouble, you can go to Zhongshan Wangfu for help."

  At this point, Xia Yu reminded him again: "Remember, be sure to wear back your women's clothes and say that this sachet was given to you by the young lady of the Jiang family."

  Peng Ziqi let out a "heh" and put away the sachet, saying with a pout: "You, remember this from now on, a girl's things can't be carelessly taken, or it might cost someone their life!"

  Wang Hongrui was the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture. The prefect of the capital city has never been an easy job, and being the prefect under Zhu Yuanzhang's nose is even more difficult. From the imperial palace to local areas, everything from eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping needs to be managed, and one must think carefully about how to achieve this. In this kind of situation, it is inevitable that one will offend some powerful people, and when something happens, one must consider the relationships and interests of all parties involved. If one is not a master of diplomacy, how can they sit stably in this position?

  But this eight-sided cleverness must also distinguish between who is doing what, and the person who should be acting must have great courage and determination. Otherwise, even if the emperor doesn't move you, how many people will be eyeing this position that is not easy to obtain but holds great power?

  Huang Zicheng had already given him a message, Huang Zicheng was his fellow and also the teacher of the Crown Prince, Wang Hongrui knew the position of Huang Zicheng in the heart of the Crown Prince. Seeing that the current emperor is old and frequently ill, he feared that the time for the dragon to ascend to heaven is not far away. When the time comes for the Crown Prince to ascend to the throne, this imperial teacher will become a powerful figure in the court. For both public and private reasons, this face must be given.

  Although so, with a consistently cautious attitude, he still sent someone to secretly investigate Xia Yu's identity, knowing that he was a Qingzhou student, a well-known rich and powerful local official, seemingly having some dealings with the Qi Wangfu, with a relatively close relationship. This did not worry him, between an unappointed prince who would never be allowed to leave his principality half a step and a future emperor's teacher, it was clear who would be more beneficial to this official in the capital.

  So the case has not been tried yet, but the outcome is already in his mind.

  The governor of Ying Tian Fu rarely personally tried such a small case, but if the presiding judge was in the mood for it, that would be okay too. Song Taizong had even personally tried a case of a citizen losing a pig on the Golden Hall back then, and wasn't it eventually passed down as a beautiful story?

  Xia Jiang rushed to the Ying Tian Fu government office, the scene was just like when he was in Jiangning County. The difference was that this time the Yang family had made sufficient preparations. The eighteen families whose livestock were slaughtered still knelt all over the hall, while those led by Yang Wenwu wore white cloth strips on their bodies, and it was unknown how badly they were injured.

  The case was opened for trial, and the plaintiff Yang's family members spoke first. The old residence of the Yang family has been demolished and is being rebuilt. These circumstances are well known to the family members, who all say that Yang Xiu's ancestral house was neglected in its maintenance, suffered from wind and rain, and was visited by thieves, with empty doors and windows, leaking walls, and was unusable. It was only because of the kindness of the family members that they moved the offering table and spirit tablet left behind by Yang Dingkun to a corner for care.

  As for their occupation of the Yang family's place to raise livestock, they also tried to gloss it over. Farmhouses originally had to raise livestock in the yard, and if the doors and windows were open, chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs would often run into the house, which was normal. Originally, a matter that made people angry, treating someone's home as a cattle pen, desecrating the ancestral altar of the deceased mother, was justified by them in just a few words.

  Looking for evidence? They have plenty of witnesses, but Xia Zhen can't find a single person in the local area who is willing to stand up and testify on his behalf. Although the county magistrate appears to be fair and impartial, with an expression as stern as that of Yan Wang (the King of Hell), it already hints at the outcome of Xia Zhen's case today.

  Peng Ziqi was very clever, she observed the trial in the hall, seeing that the wind direction had changed greatly, and the attitude of the prefecture master was clearly inclined towards the Yang family, Xia Chuo occupied reason, but there was no human evidence or physical evidence, the consequences were not good, she immediately withdrew from the public hall, mounted her horse and rushed to the Zhongshan Wangfu.

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