A large tree has deep roots that cannot be pulled up. But if you dig up the surrounding soil, the roots will be exposed and the soil will loosen, causing it to fall over naturally.
Even without the case of Shi Boyin, Yun Qingxian's fate was sealed. But Long Er had promised Mu'er that he would make sure Shi Boyin's injustice was brought to light.
"My lords," Mu'er spoke before Long Er could say, "I have another great grievance to seek justice for."
Yun Qingxian's eyelids twitched, but he kept a blank expression and didn't look at Mu'er.
Mu'er began to speak.
It was a story sparked by a heartless man, a tale of love and hate left behind by a musical score.
Too many people have suffered unjustly because of this. Nearly a hundred lives were lost in Shi Zechun's family alone. One person was convicted and publicly beheaded, another mysteriously fell into a river and drowned. Another went blind and lives a life of fear. The old doctor, the servant witness in the murder case, supposedly fled to another place, but never returned. Neither alive nor dead, there is no way to investigate.
Then there was the imposter, the brothel woman who lied and deceived others, who was eventually killed in a night raid with bandits.
Mu'er began by recounting the music from three years ago, detailing every single incident, every suspicious point, and every clue, from speculation to confirmation, until finally hearing Yun Qingxian's account firsthand. The whole affair left those who were unaware of the situation completely dumbfounded.
Yun Qingxian remained silent, and the Prince of Kang shouted at him, "Yun Qingxian, is what Mu'er said true?"
Yun Qingxian said expressionlessly, "In any case, there must be solid evidence before a conclusion can be reached. It cannot be based on speculation or hearsay."
He turned and glanced at Long Er, then fell silent.
In truth, whether Yu Yunqingxian confessed to the crime or not made no difference, but he didn't want Long Er to be smug. If they were so capable, they could present their own evidence and make their own judgment. He didn't mind causing them any trouble.
Liu Yu whispered something to Mu'er, who nodded. Liu Yu then took out a book from her bosom and gave it to her. Mu'er touched it, overwhelmed with emotion. She had once thought that this musical score would never be made public in her lifetime.
"My lords," Mu'er said, walking forward. Long Er quickly went to help her. Mu'er held up the book: "This is the musical score I wrote from memory before I went blind. There is another one in the hands of Miss Lin Yueyao. She is temporarily staying in the Western Min Kingdom to avoid being killed. When she returns, you can compare the contents of the two musical scores. It is indeed my handwriting from before."
Long Er also said, "Three elders in Meilin Village can confirm that Li Dongwang does indeed have the Qilin birthmark on his shoulder. The most renowned qin teacher in Guishan County still remembers this unparalleled qin music. When Lin Yueyao visited him, the qin teacher immediately recognized the piece, and he could also play a section of it. He no longer remembers the appearance or name of the woman who first played this piece, but he will never forget the melody. He also remembers that the woman had a son named Qingxian. Because he didn't believe that the woman could compose such a wonderful piece, her son threw a tantrum at his qin school, and the woman hurriedly stopped him, constantly calling him Qingxian."
Upon hearing this, Yun Qingxian was overwhelmed with memories. His eyes welled up with tears, and he couldn't help but close them.
"Qingxian." "Qingxian." He heard his mother calling him again and again. She told him that his father was a remarkable person, and she asked him to go to his father and tell him that she was unwell and could not wait any longer. She had broken her promise to wait for him to return, and she apologized.
He had returned to his hometown, but everything had changed. The people he used to know were gone; many had gone to other places to make a living, and some had long forgotten him and his mother, and even his mother.
Just like that black-hearted Li Dongwang, just like that hypocritical Shi Zechun.
They all forgot their mother, but he did. He was the only one who would remember her forever.
Tears finally welled up in her eyes. Ding Yanxiang, watching from the side, couldn't help but burst into tears as well, rushing over to hug Yun Qingxian tightly. "Husband, husband..."
Yun Qingxian held her in his arms, speechless. He had married this woman to acknowledge his father and elevate his status, but he had sworn to take good care of her and never act like that bastard Shi Zechun. Therefore, he wouldn't abandon a woman he truly loved, and he would clean up her messes no matter what she did. Unexpectedly, in the end, she was truly the only one left by his side.
With the courtroom in such a state, there's no need for further investigation. Long Er explained the situation to Prince Kang and the others in detail, revealing that his men were secretly escorting the witnesses to the capital. Once they arrived, everything would be confirmed.
Originally, they lacked physical evidence, and even with strong arguments, a conviction would be difficult. But now, with multiple charges against them, a verdict couldn't be easier to reach. The crowd had long since run out of doubts, and their reaction to Yun Qingxian confirmed the truth of the matter. So, the crowd dispersed after a night of commotion, and Yun Qingxian and his wife were taken to the Ministry of Justice prison.
Before leaving, Mu'er said something to Ding Yanxiang.
“Madam Yun, your resentment and hatred towards me must stem from your deep love for Lord Yun. But I want to tell you something: if it weren’t for you, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
Ding Yanxiang was stunned for a long time as she watched Long Er carefully help Mu'er leave.
Ding Yanshan went to visit Ding Yanxiang in prison. To call it a visit would be a more accurate description than a trip to see her.
She can't describe how she feels about her sister now; she feels that the impression of her sister from the past twenty years has died.
When she came to see her, she didn't know what to say.
The two sisters stared at each other for a long time. The elder sister, who had once brought down her mother's family, was now in prison garb, looking utterly wretched. The younger sister, on the other hand, was pure and composed, as clear as jade and as firm as stone.
After a long while, Ding Yanshan finally spoke, saying, "I'll go ask Father."
"What?" Ding Yanxiang didn't understand.
“I went to ask him if it wasn’t him, then who was it? I asked him why he couldn’t find out either, since I couldn’t find out either. I asked him why he didn’t avenge me if he could find out.”
It was about the case of the bandits who kidnapped people back then. The questions asked were the same ones that Ding Yanxiang had used to mock her sister and father back then.
Ding Yanxiang understood, but she pursed her lips and remained silent. She didn't care about the answers to these questions; she knew what kind of person her father was, and she hated him.
Ding Yanshan ignored whether she wanted to hear it or not, and said directly, "Father answered me. He said it was because your sister did it."
Ding Yanshan paused after saying that. Ding Yanxiang was startled, realized what she meant, and slowly turned her head.
Ding Yanshan remained expressionless and said, "He found out, but because it was you who did it, he did nothing. He said that you are his daughter, and he owed you something in the past, so he pretended that this never happened. He only gave Yun Qingxian a warning and told him to discipline you properly."
Ding Yanxiang didn't know how to react. Her mind was blank; she felt she understood, yet it also seemed she didn't. She stood there, stunned, not even noticing Ding Yanshan leave.
Finally, she remembered Mu'er's words: "If it weren't for you, this matter wouldn't have ended up like this."
Ding Yanxiang screamed and banged her head against the cell bars. It wasn't her, it wasn't her, it wasn't because of her! It wasn't because of her!
Long Er asked Mu'er why she said those words to Ding Yanxiang. Mu'er replied, "She's clearly such a vicious person, yet she insists on making herself look pitiful and miserable. I really don't like it; I won't feel at ease unless they're sad."
Long Er nodded vigorously: "You don't need to like them, just like me."
But being happy for him is useless; he is currently "unmarried."
The old man was facing a dilemma. His daughter had been divorced from the Long family, so he should have brought her back home. However, every time he went to the Long residence to retrieve her, he was unsuccessful.
Master Long guarded him closely, determined not to let him take the person away.
This is truly against propriety.
Father wasn't usually so particular, but the divorce was personally decided by the Emperor, and an imperial edict was even posted at the Bureau of Records. Other families only post ordinary notices for divorces, and only those who pass the imperial examinations receive an imperial edict. But his Mu'er, for this very reason, received an imperial edict.
Although my father inexplicably felt that having the opportunity to be listed on the imperial edict once in his life was not bad, he also felt that it was a dishonorable thing.
Anyway, in short, Father received a guarantee from Second Master Long that he would definitely remarry Mu'er. He also said many heartbreaking things, begging Father not to cruelly separate this ill-fated couple. Father also finds the hassle of picking her up and dropping her off troublesome, but the Emperor himself has ordered a divorce. If he doesn't accept her, wouldn't that be considered disobeying the Emperor's decree? And what are the serious consequences of disobeying the Emperor's decree?
So Dad was very distressed.
The father was unaware, and Long Er was also very troubled.
Long Er went to see the Emperor and first condemned his despicable act of forcibly separating the two most well-matched lovers in the world. Then he gave the Emperor a chance to rescind his order and allow them to remarry.
The emperor ignored him completely, focusing instead on the chessboard.
Long Er presented the facts and reasoned with the Emperor, saying things like "It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage." After a long while, the Emperor finally looked up at him. "You little brat, you've dragged me into this too! Can't you just talk to me about this injustice properly? Why do you have to turn the court and the country upside down? You dared to use me; it's already a great favor that I haven't punished you severely. Besides, you saw what happened that day. Although Yun Qingxian's search for you and the confiscation of your Long family's property was a bit excessive, it was still somewhat based on evidence. If I hadn't clarified the relationship between your wife and your Long family, you'd probably still be in a mess by now. You haven't even thanked me, and you're still whining here. It seems I've been too angry with you lately."
"If His Majesty wishes to express his gratitude, how about bestowing upon him an even greater reward? And perhaps arranging a marriage for him as well?"
"No way. A king's word is law. I told you to divorce, and now if I were to ask you to go back to your marriage, what would become of my dignity?" Judging from his tone, it was impossible for him to help you with this.
Long Er was very unhappy: "Is the Emperor clearly determined to ruin my marriage?"
"How did I ruin it? I only said to strip her of her Dragon Palace registration, not that she couldn't re-register. Go ahead and marry her again. Aren't you quite capable? Aren't you a lowly commoner who can manipulate the Emperor and all the officials perfectly? Just marry her again. Does she not want to? If she doesn't want to, that's because you're incompetent, it has nothing to do with me."
The emperor spoke with a belly full of sourness. He was indeed angry with Long Er, who had set up one trap after another, forcing him to play along.
It's a good thing Long Er wasn't made an official. If he had, wouldn't he have caused even more chaos and misery for everyone? The Emperor wasn't going to swallow this insult so easily, so he took advantage of the situation and taught Long Er a lesson that day, just to make him furious!
"Look at how stingy the Emperor is!" Long Er thought to himself with disdain.
But he was truly troubled. Because Mu'er was also angry with him. He had planned this for a long time, but hadn't told her anything. Moreover, he had even orchestrated for her to be falsely accused and imprisoned.
In her words, "How could anyone be so heartless as to send a blind person to jail?"
She said she suffered in prison, was constantly terrified, couldn't eat or sleep well, worried about him constantly, and did all sorts of other things. In short, she had countless accusations against him.
She still lives in the Long Mansion, still sleeps in the same room and bed with him, and still lets him have his way with her from time to time, but she just won't agree to marry him again.
Long Er was so annoyed. He felt uneasy every day that this woman's name was no longer written on the Long family register.
This is a battle! His Mu'er is going to challenge him, and he refuses to believe that he can't beat her.
Okay, a hard approach won't work. Let's try a softer one.
Long San refused to help him, Feng Wu never even considered helping him, and Bao'er didn't know how to help. Long Da and An Ruochen remained away from home. Granny Yu and Steward Tie both said that the Second Madam had indeed suffered, and that whatever she wanted to do, just go along with her.
Go along with her? Why not go along with him instead?
If hard tactics don't work, and soft tactics don't work, then surely bribery will work?
Long Er walked into Langyin Pavilion while still angry.
"Shopkeeper, how much did you sell that broken zither—no, that peerless zither?"
...
...
Shi Boyin once said that he only played the zither for those who understood him.
The manager of Langyin Pavilion once said that good zithers are only sold to connoisseurs.
What is a soulmate?
Long Er doesn't understand the zither. But he understands love.
From the day a blind girl with a cane walked into his teahouse, made an impolite request, and spilled tea all over him, he began to be associated with romance.
The hand that operates the abacus can also hold the hand that plays the piano.
January 18th is an auspicious day, but Master Long no longer wishes to get married on that day.
He chose January 16th. He was happy for a long time simply because it was two days earlier than the 18th.
Mu'er married Long Yue for the third time, becoming Long's Second Madam.
The blind woman married three times, but only to one man.
This story was passed down through the streets and became a popular tale.