After everyone had left, An Xin felt a wave of dizziness and timidly reached out her small hands for support.
"Miss, let me help you..."
An Xin was startled and turned around to see a girl in a red dress and pink jacket. She was of average appearance and her eyes were full of heartache when she looked at her.
An Xin gradually relaxed, wiped the blood from her face, and calmly asked, "Do you have a handkerchief?"
The little girl hurriedly handed over the handkerchief, and An Xin pressed the handkerchief to her forehead and said calmly, "Where is this?"
The maid suddenly opened her eyes wide: "Miss..."
"I injured my forehead, so I can't remember some things from before." An Xin thought this reason was acceptable.
The young maid suddenly burst into tears: "Miss has suffered so much since marrying the Grand Tutor. The Grand Tutor loved the Second Miss, but the Second Miss disappeared, and Master had no choice but to send Miss in her place. But the Grand Tutor hasn't even glanced at Miss since the marriage!"
An Xin carefully analyzed the girl's words. Wasn't she from the mountains and fields? How did she become a young lady?
“Let’s start from the beginning,” An Xin said in a low voice, looking at the girl. “Perhaps I can remember.”
The young maid looked at An Xin with some fear, seemingly sensing that her young mistress was different. Not daring to think further, she stepped forward and carefully wiped the blood from An Xin's face, saying, "My name is Dewdrop, and I am your personal maid. Master was originally a commoner from the countryside. Later, he dug up an antique from three dynasties ago, sold it, and used the money to buy a minor official position. There are no sons in the family, only you and the second young lady. Master's official rank is low, but it's considered good in the county. Later, the Grand Tutor took a liking to the second young lady and offered betrothal gifts to marry her..." But my sister disappeared at this time. Since the Grand Tutor hadn't announced which young lady he intended to marry, my husband thought that the Grand Tutor's status was prestigious, he was unmarried, and handsome; if my sister married him, she wouldn't be mistreated. Besides, my sister liked the Grand Tutor, so my husband arranged the marriage. However, my sister suffered countless taunts because of this, and even my husband was branded as a social climber. A few days ago, my husband misjudged a case, offended a powerful figure, and was detained in the capital. Furthermore, because of his involvement in buying an official position, he angered the Emperor, who wanted to execute him!
Dewdrop rattled off so much in one breath, but Anxin listened with alarm: "And then?"
Dewdrop wiped away her tears and said, "Madam has fallen ill, and Master is still awaiting trial in prison. Although the Grand Tutor has also intervened, he doesn't actually have much influence in the capital. I've heard..."
An Xin's eyes darkened as she said, "Speak."
Dewdrop dared not speak loudly, and whispered, "I heard that the Emperor is young, and the Right Chancellor is all-powerful, making all the decisions in the court. The reason why Master was wronged is precisely because of the Right Chancellor's behind-the-scenes manipulation, which is why he cannot turn the tables."
An Xin sorted out her thoughts and thought that since she had taken over this body, she should take care of her parents in her place. Although it was wrong for this father to buy an official position, there were too many cases of buying and selling official positions in ancient times, and it was impossible to stop them. Right now, if she wanted to save him, she had to overturn the case first.
"What case was Dad's?" An Xin asked after a pause.
Dewdrop said, "It was a fight between two people. One person said the other wanted to kill him, and the other person said he didn't..."
An Xin, feeling dizzy, frowned and said, "Use A and B instead."
Dewdrop immediately nodded and said, "A said that B wanted to kill him, and indeed there was a dagger stuck in his abdomen. And that dagger was indeed in B's hands at the time. But B said that he did not kill A, but that A wanted to frame B. The master sentenced B to a crime at the time, and then someone reported the master, saying that the master had made a mistake."
An Xin pondered for a moment and then asked, "How long will this matter take?"
The dewdrop said, "Three hours."
An Xin then asked, "What about the other two prisoners?"
Dewdrop shook her head and said, "This servant does not know. Miss is probably going to ask the Grand Tutor. However, all the officials are currently discussing the Master's case in the Lanyue Palace, and it is said that they are arguing fiercely."
An Xin was suspicious. It was just a case of misjudgment, why did it have to be taken so far to the Emperor and cause such a huge uproar? There must be some kind of conspiracy involved!
But in this urgent situation, there's no time to think about anything else; the only thing to do is to save this father who has been unjustly targeted.
But how can we save them?
If the ending is actually a huge conspiracy, even if the truth comes out, it might be suppressed!
However, since the officials are arguing, it means that there must be a faction that is protecting this father, and this faction must be on par with the right prime minister in terms of strength!
An Xin had an idea and whispered, "Dewdrop, do you know where the Moon Embracing Palace is? Take me there!"
Dewdrop said, "This servant knows. The Moon-Viewing Palace is where the Emperor holds grand banquets. As a member of the Imperial Chamberlain's family, Miss was also invited. However, you ran away during the meal. The banquet is probably about to end now, so it would be good for Miss to go back."
It was clear that this place was not far from Lanyue Palace. An Xin was in a hurry and did not have time to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the garden. She soon arrived at Lanyue Palace and could hear the noise inside from afar.
An Xin's clothes were dirty, but the blood on her face had been cleaned. She took a deep breath and slowly walked in.
Behind the beaded curtain, three figures could be vaguely seen. The one sitting in the center must be the young emperor, while the figures sitting on either side, shrouded in mist, must be the prime ministers.
The ministers argued fiercely, spitting as they spoke, and some even stood up and started fighting, completely disregarding the embarrassed family members sitting behind them.
An Xin cleared her throat and said loudly, "This subject begs for forgiveness on behalf of my father!!" The girl's voice was unique, sharp, and penetrating, and it even drowned out the arguing of the crowd and reached behind the beaded curtain.
The curtains swayed, as if a faint, almost imperceptible laugh could be heard escaping from them.
Then the young emperor stood up angrily and said, "Stop arguing! What kind of behavior is this! Don't you all respect me?!"
Everyone was startled and immediately retreated to both sides. The middle was a mess, with several pairs of shoes that had been stepped on lying there all alone, and of course, An Xin standing alone in the middle.
All she could say was that the ancients were crazy...
As the curtains swayed, An Xin felt that three different gazes were scrutinizing her, or rather, countless gazes were falling on her from the left and right.
"If you are pleading guilty, why not kneel?" The young emperor's voice came calmly, and his tone was still somewhat immature.
Upon hearing this, An Xin frowned slightly and said, "This subject will not kneel because my father is guilty, but he is, after all, my biological parent, and His Majesty may behead him at any moment. This subject kneels to Heaven, Earth, and the Emperor, but not to the murderer of my father."
"Insolence!" The young emperor was clearly enraged. No emperor could accept being called an enemy to his face.
An Xin felt no fear. If it were the person in this body, she would probably be terrified to death. After all, all the officials, the emperor and his courtiers were right in front of her. How could a woman of lowly status utter such rebellious words? But she came from a society where everyone was equal. Although she knew that there was a hierarchy in ancient times, that was all she knew.
“Father is guilty of buying an official position, but not of death. Besides, if one can buy an official position, then there will naturally be someone selling it. In the end, someone wants to take advantage of the situation to make huge profits. But I do not deny my father’s guilt. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and dismiss my father from his post as a warning to others! But I do not believe that my father is guilty of the misjudgment!”
"How dare you!" The young emperor's voice was childish, but his anger was genuine, and all the officials looked at An Xin as if she were a monster.
A voice lazily came from behind the beaded curtain: "You say An Youwei is innocent, but do you have any evidence?" The voice was casual and languid, like the gentle plucking of a precious zither string, yet it immediately changed the expressions of many people, and even the young emperor shut his mouth.
“Of course I have evidence, but I beg Your Majesty to allow me to bring up the two men my father wrongly judged. My evidence is on those two men.” An Xin noticed Ling Xiyao’s cold gaze and glanced at him indifferently before looking away.
She found it hard to have any good feelings towards a man who forced his woman to apologize to another woman.
The beaded curtain gently clattered, the sound of the glass beads hitting each other was exceptionally pleasant, as if a soft laugh was overflowing from it.
"His Majesty said 'Granted,'" but the voice was lazy and indifferent, actually issuing the order on behalf of the Emperor.
An Xin was slightly startled. Could this person be the Right Prime Minister? If he was the Right Prime Minister, she wondered what kind of person the Left Prime Minister was, as he seemed to have remained silent throughout.
The two people were quickly brought up. One of them was still lying down with a white bandage wrapped around his abdomen. The murder weapon was also brought up along with him.
An Xin picked up the knife and examined it closely. It was an ordinary, straight dagger, the kind that could be found anywhere. It had some symbolic carvings on it, but they were messy and disorganized. The dagger was not sharp, and was even a bit dull, but it was certainly capable of piercing someone's abdomen.
An Xin released the weapon and walked up to the uninjured person, asking, "Approximately how tall are you?"
Her question seemed absurd, and someone impatiently asked, "Where's your evidence?!"
An Xin rolled her eyes at him and said, "How would I know if I didn't ask!"
The man, who appeared to be a pedantic old scholar, pointed at An Xin, his beard trembling with anger, and shouted, "Deceiving the emperor! Deceiving the emperor!"
An Xin said calmly, "Old man, if it's a misjudgment, the Emperor will punish you. If you wrongly judge me to the Emperor's face, that would be a huge deception of the Emperor!"
"Pfft!" Someone couldn't help but laugh.
A soft laugh emanated from behind the beaded curtain, but this time it wasn't one laugh, but two.
---Aside---
This new story is delicate and needs to be handled with care. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to bookmark it.
From now on, I'll accompany you on this journey, through countless beautiful sights. I hope I can bring you an extraordinary reading experience. Love you all~
Chapter Two: Even the Ancients Went Mad
An Xin, with her sharp ears, heard it clearly, and the old scholar was immediately speechless with anger.
An Xin turned to the man in front of her and asked, "How tall are you? Why are you fighting with him?"
The man lowered his head and honestly said, "I am seven feet tall. Three hours ago, I was eating at the Donglai Inn. I drank too much and got a little drunk. On my way back, I was suddenly grabbed by this madman when I passed the alley. He took a dagger and stabbed at me. I struggled because I was scared, but somehow the dagger went into his body!"
An Xin said calmly, "Were you standing or lying down when you were fighting?"
Someone sarcastically remarked, "Girl, what's the point of two grown men fighting while lying down?"
An Xin's words drew laughter from the crowd. She smiled and said, "Of course, a lady wouldn't lie down with a man. You all understand without me saying it." Her words were blunt and hurtful, immediately causing even louder laughter. The women sitting in the back blushed with embarrassment, and some even scolded An Xin for being shameless.
An Xin, with her sharp ears, heard it clearly. Women in ancient times were outwardly reserved but inwardly wanton. Those who said she was shameless probably also had shameless moments.
The man's face immediately turned ashen and he fell silent. An Xin looked at the man in front of her and said calmly, "Also, you have to answer me: do you have any enemies?"
The man shook his head and said, "I am an honest man with no enemies. I was just fighting this man on the spot."
An Xin nodded slightly, then looked at the man lying down and reached out to untie the white cloth covering his abdomen.
The crowd gasped in shock: "What are you doing?! Men and women shouldn't touch each other! Don't you know shame?!"
Ling Xiyao also increasingly noticed An Xin's unusual behavior. This was so different from the women he usually saw. Could it be that An Youwei's affair had completely changed her personality?
Behind the beaded curtain, the young emperor suddenly stood up, asking in surprise, "What is she going to do?!"
"She needs to check the wound!" Two voices spoke in unison, one from the left and one from the right.
She waved her embroidered folding fan and chuckled lazily, "The Left Prime Minister has a good eye."
"Likewise," came the soft, jade-like voice.
The person with bandages was wincing in pain, and An Xin naturally didn't hold back. When she finally saw the wound, she suddenly raised the corner of her lips and asked, "Why were you fighting with him?"
The man was silent for a moment before saying, "He was the one who lunged at me first."
An Xin smiled and asked, "How tall are you?"
The man, completely bewildered, said, "Five feet tall..."
"Oh, are you called Wu Dalang?" An Xin made a low-brow joke. She loved to tell these meaningless jokes when she was happy, hoping to relax the murderer.
"Girl, how did you know?"
An Xin: "..." He really is called Wu Dalang!
After a while, she spoke again: "Because you are five feet tall..."
The joke was clearly a bit lame, and an eerie silence enveloped the surroundings, broken only by soft laughter coming from behind the curtain—this time, three laughs.
An Xin clapped her hands and stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, let's not talk about who the murderer is yet, let's talk about their methods."
The young emperor was clearly intrigued and immediately said, "Tell me quickly."
An Xin said, "Actually, the method is very simple. This Wu Dalang was stabbed in the abdomen from top to bottom."
Immediately someone retorted, "Nonsense! How can you determine from a single wound that the wound was stabbed from top to bottom?"
An Xin said, "If you want me to give you a thousand reasons, I'll have to pierce a thousand holes in you from top to bottom, so you can see clearly!"
"You!" the man gritted his teeth.