After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 209 Unexpected disaster
Hai Chengming's face turned pale instantly upon hearing Cheng Kailin's words.

What? He submitted a memorial about the Prince of Huai's plot to rebel?
"Lord Cheng, there are some things you can't say carelessly!"

"This is such a big deal. Are you trying to get me killed?"

Hai Chengming almost jumped up.

Cheng Kailin was a cunning old fox. He saw no surprise in Hai Chengming's eyes, only shock, and knew that Hai Chengming probably regretted it.

"Don't you know about the Prince of Huai?"

Hai Chengming was taken aback. He knew! But he had only just found out and hadn't figured out how to deal with it when someone came knocking on his door.

This is clearly someone trying to harm him.

"I don't know!" Hai Chengming was prepared to deny it to the bitter end.

He now wanted to know who had the audacity to impersonate him and write memorials to the emperor.

His official seal, he always had his official seal in his hand.

Cheng Kailin looked at Hai Chengming, who was stubbornly denying it, and suddenly stood up.

“Lord Hai, why don’t you let me take a look at the letter on your chest?” Cheng Kailin stared at Hai Chengming’s chest for a moment.

Hai Chengming was dumbfounded. How did he know that there was a letter on his chest?

But when he saw himself clutching his chest in nervousness and fear, he understood.

That old fox is definitely bluffing him.

"No letter! There is no letter!"

Hai Chengming quickly removed his hand from his chest, and unfortunately, due to his nervousness, the letter fell out.

The very first sentence is: The Prince of Huai is plotting a rebellion!

Cheng Kailin squinted and bent down to pick it up, but Hai Chengming snatched it away first.

He turned around and was about to put it on the candle flame to burn.

But Lord Cheng refused and quickly stepped in to stop them. In an instant, the two old men, both nearing fifty, began to wrestle.

Hai Daren was physically weak and naturally no match for Cheng Daren.

"Ouch! Ouch! Someone's going to die!"

When Hai Daren saw that Cheng Kailin had taken the letter from his hand, he burst into tears.

The servants who heard the commotion in the courtyard all ran over, and even Hai Shengyang in the backyard was alarmed and hurriedly ran to the front yard.

But seeing the scene before them, no one dared to step forward to help.

"Father!" Hai Shengyang screamed.

Upon receiving the letter, Cheng Kailin immediately stood up from Hai Chengming's body. The old man was in poor health, and Cheng Kailin had been genuinely afraid that he might have accidentally killed him.

When Hai Shengyang saw that Lord Cheng had gotten up, he quickly dismissed the Hai family servants who were still watching.

Seeing that Hai Chengming was alright, he simply waved to Hai Shengyang, who then left somewhat uneasily.

"Miss, what's wrong with the master?"

"Who was that official just now? How dare he lay a hand on the master?"

Chunru has been in the Hai family for so long, and she has never seen her master suffer such a loss.

It seems that since arriving in Huaizhou City, the Hai family has been at a disadvantage!
Hai Shengyang's expression was not good as he met with Lord Cheng. "They are from the Censorate."

"Lord Cheng of the Censorate."

Chunru's eyes widened. What had this master done wrong?
But she couldn't bring herself to ask those questions again.

Hai Chengming finally caught his breath! He pointed at Cheng Kailin's nose and said, "Lord Cheng, you...you want me dead!"

Cheng Kailin had already finished reading the contents of the letter.

This matter is of great importance; otherwise, the Emperor would not have sent him to personally oversee it.

After all, it would be more appropriate to hand this matter over to the Court of Judicial Review or the Department of Criminal Justice than to him.

To put it bluntly, the Emperor was more suspicious of the Lin family than the Prince of Huai.

"Lord Hai, what else do you have to say this time?" Cheng Kailin said, shaking the letter in his hand.

What should Hai Chengming do? Should he continue to protest his innocence? If he does, he might be imprisoned in the next second.

"I was reckless in this matter!"

"The contents of this letter are what I obtained after receiving a tip-off."

"We haven't had time to verify it yet."

So is this true or false?

Hai Chengming dared not draw a conclusion, as this was a capital offense punishable by death.

"What do you mean, true or false? So Lord Hai has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor?"

"Don't dare! Don't dare!"

Hai Chengming is now in a dilemma. What can he do? Besides admitting it, what other options does he have?
"It was an oversight on my part! I'll go and verify it right now."

Hai Chengming was now covered in sweat and stood up unsteadily, but Cheng Kailin stopped him.

"Lord Hai, you're not feeling well, why don't you rest for a couple more days?"

"You have already written down all the details I wanted to know in your letter."

"There's no need to trouble Lord Hai any further."

Cheng Kailin smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

Hai Chengming really wanted to spit out a mouthful of blood right now.

"Very well, Lord Cheng, in that case, I won't see you off."

Hai Chengming immediately ordered Cheng Kailin to leave, and Cheng Kailin left with a letter.

The document above marks the exact locations of all the concentration camps and military settlements mentioned in the memorial.

As for how to verify it, His Majesty had already made a decision.

"Oh! Right! Lord Hai!" Cheng Kailin suddenly remembered something and turned back.

Hai Chengming was almost in tears. "Lord Cheng, is there anything else?"

"This matter is known to you, to me, and to the Emperor. But what if a fourth person finds out?"

"If we really force the Prince of Huai to return, I'm afraid neither of us will survive."

Hai Chengming was stunned, then nodded like a rattle-drum.

After Cheng Kailin left, Hai Chengming realized, "Wait a minute! This isn't something you, me, or the higher-ups knew about!"

"And I don't have the guts to tell anyone!"

Hai Chengming gritted his teeth and stood up. "Someone! Someone, help me back to my study."

Hai Chengming had been in officialdom for quite some time, but this was the first time he had been tricked like this.

He simply couldn't see the memorials that were submitted.
But he has someone to help him!
Hai Chengming prepared to immediately begin writing a letter to his colleague.

But he paused after writing just the first word.

Cheng Kailin clearly told him before he left that if a fourth person found out...
Thinking of this, Hai Chengming angrily threw the pen on the ground.

"Who on earth is it! Who on earth is it!"

Hai Chengming pictured Lin Yunche's face in his mind. "Is it this kid?"

"impossible!"

"How could he know all this?"

Hai Chengming is now racking his brains for solutions, trying to figure out what he should do.

Wait a minute! If the Prince of Huai really is plotting a rebellion, he'll be the first to report it.
Hai Chengming suddenly shuddered, realizing that this might not be such a bad thing after all; he had no other choice at this point.

I've suffered a loss I can't speak of! But what if it turns out to be a success?

Hai Chengming's eyes gleamed as he began to plot the Fang family's affairs.

The reaction of Mr. Fang when he heard that the accounts of the Fang family clinic were to be checked.

Whose people are the Fang family? The Prince of Huai's!

Whose money is the Fang family's? It naturally belongs to Prince Huai.
So, what did the Prince of Huai need so much money for?
Hai Chengming was utterly shocked by his own thoughts. Could it be that the Prince of Huai was really amassing troops?
Hai Chengming thought of the Fang family's account books. Once the Fang family made their judgment, the account books were accepted by the Prince of Huai's people.

The two people sent next were for Zhuangzi.
That's it! That's it!
Hai Chengming carefully considered the contents of the letter. It was so detailed, even including illustrations. This person probably wanted to drag him down to deal with the Prince of Huai.

Hai Chengming finally understood something, but he was still angry.

If this situation goes wrong, the entire Hai family could lose their heads.

He absolutely must find this person.
As for the matter of the Prince of Huai, now that he has come this far, whether it is a merit or a trap, he is probably unable to escape responsibility.

There is no turning back but forward.

"Alright! Let's do it!" Hai Chengming slammed his hand on the table.

The next day, Hai Chengming arrived at the government office with dark circles under his eyes and despite being ill.

Lin Yunche saw Hai Chengming and quickly came over to greet him, "Lord Hai, you still don't seem to be feeling well. Why rush to the government office like this? You can rest for a couple more days!"

Hai Chengming stared at Lin Yunche, but he couldn't see the slightest unease on Lin Yunche's face.

Isn't it this kid?

Hai Chengming snorted angrily, "By the way! When you raided the Fang family's house, did you keep a copy of their account books?"

Meng Zhan shook his head, "Sir, didn't you say back then..."

Hai Chengming kicked out, "What did I say back then?"

Meng Zhan lowered his head, "No, nothing!"

Hai Chengming couldn't find any clues in the Fang family's account books. What else could he do? He now knew that Cheng Kailin was probably heading to those places.

What he had to do was to justify his actions and continuously expand the evidence of the Prince of Huai's rebellion.
But where else can we start?

Hai Chengming thought about it all night but couldn't find an answer.

This is even more of a headache.

Seeing Hai Chengming's hesitant expression, Lin Yunche stepped forward and said, "Lord Lin, I have a favor to ask."

"May I have a word with you in private, Lord Lin?"

Hai Chengming is now genuinely afraid that there might be other things going on, and he wants to refuse Lin Yunche.

But could he refuse? Lin Yunche looked confident; if he refused, who knew what trouble he would suffer.

"Good good!"

Hai Chengming followed Lin Yunche to an open space behind the yamen.

"Let's do it here. Get to the point."

Lin Yunche smiled slightly, "Lord Hai, I would like to resign."

"Resignation?"

Hai Chengming looked at him in disbelief. "Are you... are you crazy?"

"I discovered clues about the Lin family army's rebellion in the Northern Dynasty."

"I am a member of the Lin family, and I must go. I beg Lord Hai to make an exception."

Hai Chengming's head felt like it had been exploded, and he started to have a headache.

He knew that Lin Yunche was a member of the Lin family, and he also knew about the Lin family army back then.

Everyone knew the emperor's intentions: if he hadn't destroyed the Lin family back then, he wouldn't destroy them now.

But the emperor did not exonerate the Lin family!

"Do you know what you're saying?" Hai Chengming felt like he was about to burst into tears.

Lin Yunche showed no fear whatsoever. "This humble official understands."

"If I can find out the truth of what happened back then, I might even be able to uncover the traitor who slandered the Lin family army."

Lin Yunche spoke to himself, seemingly unintentionally.

Under his guidance, Hai Chengming naturally thought of the Prince of Huai's affairs.

The Prince of Huai also participated in that battle.
"You didn't expect it to really be you, kid!" Hai Chengming grabbed Lin Yunche's collar and was about to throw a punch.

(End of this chapter)