Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

Bai confessed.

Her son's betrayal was a fatal blow to her, instantly shattering her spirits.

The bond between mother and son, which she thought was as solid as a rock, shattered into dust.

But she also figured out why her son did it.

If she doesn't take responsibility for everything, her children and grandchildren will be implicated. Since her father-in-law is determined to abandon her, no matter how she tries to argue, he will find evidence. Bai Xiuyuan and his wife are the best proof.

"In the bandit's den, I pretended to be intoxicated by medicine and took the opportunity to become the master's woman, and even got pregnant as a result."

The master thought Bai Yunshu wanted me dead, and he only agreed to send her away in order to protect me and the child.

The master was unaware of the substitution at first. By the time he found out, I was already presenting myself as Bai Yunshu to the world.

He was a real man, generous to his wife, entrusting all the money to me and never touching the dowry.

Bai looked at the dead soul, his face contorted in pain.

"You and I were born to be adversaries. I am an illegitimate child, and if I don't plan for my own future, I will have little hope."

You, as the legitimate daughter, are reserved and taciturn, unwilling to open your heart to him. This is giving me an opportunity, so how could I not seize it?

If I am wrong, aren't you also right?

The master is only human. Faced with a woman who loves him wholeheartedly and a woman who doesn't love him, he chose me, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Every word he uttered was in support of Master Zhang, and every word he uttered was also an attempt to curry favor with the Duke of Zhenguo.

Master Zhang was initially furious at Bai for deceiving him, but after hearing this, his heart softened.

Everything Weiwei did was simply because she loved him and wanted to be by his side.

What's wrong with love?

Bai noticed his expression and knew that she had made the right choice.

Even in death, she wanted Master Zhang to remember her forever, and for her children and even the Duke of Zhenguo to repay her kindness.

The Duke of Zhenguo pursed his lips and sighed through his nostrils.

He understood Bai's intentions, but he was grateful that she could take on everything and extricate the second son from the situation.

"Your Highness, my son was misled and abandoned his wife and children."

Getting Bai to confess was the first step; the second step was for the Duke of Zhenguo to plead for his son.

"But he was not the kind of person who would put his wife in a difficult situation. Every year, he would have Mrs. Bai send him relief money, and he never took away his wife's dowry."

However, Yun Shu and her son did indeed suffer because of him. As an official appointed by the court, he was so bad at judging people that he couldn't even protect his wife and children. He had no face to lead troops anymore.

This old minister will have him resign from his official post and spend the rest of his life guarding Yunshu's tomb. This old minister will also request a reduction in his salary to admit guilt for failing to properly educate his son. I humbly request Your Highness to consider this matter carefully.

The crown prince did not immediately agree; he looked at Aye and her son.

Following his gaze, the Duke of Zhenguo turned to Aye.

"It is my fault that you and your son have suffered. I will send someone to move your mother's remains back to the capital and bury them in the Zhang family ancestral cemetery."

"From now on, you will be the eldest grandson of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and all the family property under your father's name will belong to you. This is what the Zhang family owes you."

Ah Ye clenched his fists tightly. "I am my mother's child. I don't want anything except my mother's dowry. I just want him to pay the price."

There is absolutely no way he would recognize a thief as his father.

When the interrogation results were reported, all the testimonies were checked, and it was indeed as Bai had said: Master Zhang was unaware that Bai had persecuted Aye and his mother.

The prince interlaced his fingers, pondered for a moment, and finally stripped Zhang Erye of all his official positions, never to be used again.

Among the suffering endured by Ah Ye and her son, Zhang Erye only had one crime: forcibly driving away his wife, which resulted in a year and a half of imprisonment.

However, since he was deceived by Bai, his sentence can be reduced at the discretion of the law, with a maximum sentence of one year, or even direct home confinement.

Gui Yao was also surprised that Zhang Er really hadn't done anything wrong. Although Bai Shi was the one who did all the work, he was also the culprit and deserved to die.

However, according to the law, it is indeed impossible to severely punish him; it would be too lenient for him.

With a slight shift in her eyes, she whispered a few words in the ear of the departed soul, using the black umbrella for cover.

The spirit was stunned at first, then nodded emphatically.

The next moment, the people who had opened their Yin Eyes heard the ghost say to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, Bai's crimes are heinous, but I am already a ghost. Even if I execute her, I cannot be brought back to life."

"Zhang Ji saved my only brother, and I cannot fail to repay this kindness. Therefore, I am willing to forgive Bai for Zhang Ji's sake."

Bai Shi had already prepared herself for death, but upon hearing these words, a glimmer of hope returned to her.

Master Zhang then asked aloud, "Are you really willing to let Weiwei go?"

He also knew that if all the charges against him were upheld, Bai would not survive.

But he couldn't bear to see her die, and now that he heard her ghost say this, he felt a surge of hope.

Only the Duke of Zhenguo had a bad feeling. "Second son, everything is up to His Highness to decide. You must not say anything more."

Then the ghost said again, "But the Bai family has harmed more than just me. There are laws in the country."

But the Second Master's heart was with Lady Bai, and he was also Xiao Ye's father. The old woman couldn't bear to see Xiao Ye resented by him, so she was willing to donate all the money that the Duke of Zhenguo had promised to Xiao Ye under the Second Master's name, only asking His Highness to change the sentence and exile Lady Bai three thousand miles away.

exile?

Bai felt a chill run down her spine, but then she thought, as long as you're alive, there's hope.

Besides, the master will definitely protect her.

She immediately declared, "Your Majesty, I am deeply sinful and wish to be exiled to a harsh and cold land to spend the rest of my life atoneing for all my past evil deeds."

The spirit continued, "I forgive Bai because I am repaying a favor to Zhang Ji, who is also the son of Master Zhang. In addition, considering my own selfishness, I will no longer pursue the matter of Master Zhang expelling me."

After listening to the two warriors' account, the Duke of Zhenguo began to ponder the matter.

Bai Yunshu's remarks were intended to commut Bai's death sentence to exile.

The reason was probably that they felt death was too cheap and wanted to torment the Bai family.

The removal of Lao Er's case might be in the hope that he could facilitate this matter, or it might truly be for A Ye's sake.

Bai Yunshu was switched at birth just over a month after marrying into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and he knew nothing about this new daughter-in-law.

Rationally, it would be best for Bai to die, but he was still tempted.

Under the current circumstances, even with his best efforts, he could at most reduce his second son's prison sentence by six months. But for a family like theirs, even a single day in jail would be a stain on their reputation for life.

He was willing to facilitate the exile of Bai Shi to spare the second son's life, even if it meant dealing with Bai Shi on the way to exile.

Thinking of this, he also spoke up to plead for Bai.

The prince tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair.

Having an uncle in prison is not a good thing for him as the crown prince, but he cannot show favoritism in public.

The spirit of the deceased made this request at the opportune moment, and he was willing to grant it.

Therefore, it is said, "Life and death and sentencing should be based on the law of the country. However, if the aggrieved party wishes to be pardoned and pleads for leniency, the late emperor also proposed that money could be used to reduce the punishment."

He paused, then looked at the departed soul. "In conclusion, the sentence for Bai can be changed to exile three thousand li. This matter, along with all the confessions, should be submitted to His Majesty for ratification."

The departed soul immediately expressed its gratitude.

Gui Yao gently glanced at the umbrella handle with her fingertips, her rhythm slightly cheerful; the matter was half settled.

The ghost listened to the knocking sound, looked at Master Zhang, and said, "Bai Wei said I was heartless to you back then, and I admit it."

I lost my mother when I was ten. Less than six months after her death, my stepmother came into the family. At that time, my younger brother was still an infant. My father was heartless, and my brother had no one to rely on but me.

I glanced at my younger brother, who had suffered so much over the years and looked as old as fifty despite not being forty.

The spirit wiped away the tears on its face and continued, "I promised my mother that I would protect my younger brother. I never thought of marrying far away. But you arranged our marriage with just one sentence, making me marry far away from home."

I begged you to let me bring my younger brother with me when I got married. My stepmother hugged my brother and pretended to call him her "my darling" a few times, and you believed her and said that I had misunderstood him.

How can I open my heart to you in this situation?

As it turns out, I wasn't thinking badly of people. My brother's family was persecuted, and I imagine he must have suffered a lot after I married far away.

I didn't know your situation back then.

Seeing that the spirit of the deceased had forgiven Bai, Master Zhang's attitude softened somewhat. "I will make it up to you in the future..."

The ghost raised its hand to interrupt him, "I kindly saved you, but you repaid kindness with enmity, causing my brother and me to suffer such a fate, all because of your so-called love."

Now that Bai has been sentenced to exile, I hope you will continue to stay by her side day and night, maintaining your noble love, so that I will not look down on you.

Is this to send him to exile as well?

Master Zhang hesitated for a moment.

The ghost gave a mocking laugh, "What, after decades of love, are you going to abandon each other in the face of disaster?"

Madam Bai looked at him expectantly, "Master."

It's certainly good to have a master accompanying you on your journey of exile.

Master Zhang glanced at the two men, then bowed to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, I... request to be exiled with Bai Wei."

"Second son."

The Duke of Zhenguo was so angry that his vision blurred and he almost couldn't kneel down.

Why did he go to all that trouble?

But he couldn't see the mockery on the ghost's face. Master Zhang had feelings for Bai Shi and was extremely proud. With the ghost's provocation, he had no choice but to persist.

Now it was the crown prince's turn to hesitate.

At the same time, he had serious doubts about his second uncle's intelligence.

Seeing that he remained silent, Gui Yao smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, Second Master Zhang has long held military power, but he has been deceived by a woman."

Fortunately, it wasn't a battlefield, otherwise it could have led to a major disaster. His voluntary exile and reflection is a good thing.

Can the crown prince stop a foolish minister from repenting?

No.

So, it was decided that Master Zhang and Lady Bai would be exiled together.

The Duke of Zhenguo felt a dull ache in his chest from anger.

He was careless; he didn't understand Bai Yunshu, but Bai Yunshu understood the second brother.

Little did he know that it was Gui Yao who truly saw through Zhang Lao Er's true nature.

With the dust settled, Lady Hou finally had the opportunity to ask Madam Bai, "Why did you persecute my family?"

Bai was inherently wicked; he was bad himself and couldn't stand seeing others do well.

"My husband saw that the hairpin in your hair was pretty and thought about buying one for me too. He took a few more glances at it."

Marquis Cheng'an was trying to curry favor with my master, and mistakenly thought that my master had taken a fancy to you, so he got my master drunk and sent you to my master's bed.

"You defiled my master and are pregnant with his child. This is a consequence of your family's failure to properly raise their daughter; you should pay the price."

She grinned maliciously, "The Marquis of Cheng'an knows all this, but he angered my master and dared not complain, much less tell you."

Lady Cheng'an looked at Marquis Cheng'an in shock, "Is what she said true?"

"no."

Marquis Cheng'an, unwilling to lose face in public, retorted, "Don't listen to her nonsense."

Concerning her reputation and the life and death of her family, Lady Hou was naturally not going to be easily dismissed. "But you say the second son is a child of the Zhang family, so why do I never remember having any involvement with other men?"

She never dreamed that Marquis Cheng'an would be so despicable.

But just now, in order to save his own life, he shouted out, making it impossible for her and the second son to face anyone afterward.

Is selling one's wife for personal gain any more honorable than abandoning one's wife and children?

Marquis Cheng'an naturally refused to admit it.

In the end, it can only be said that Lady Hou herself was restless and seduced Master Zhang, making him a cuckold.

Lady Hou was unwilling to take the blame, and the couple started arguing in court. In the end, it's unclear who started it, but they ended up fighting.

Gui Yao walked up to the Crown Prince, seemingly talking to himself, yet also asking the Crown Prince, "Does such a family deserve to be a marquis?"

The Crown Prince had a headache. He had finally finished dealing with the case of the dead and thought he was free. He was about to go back when the Tong family started making trouble again. Could he ignore it?

Even if he didn't want to get involved, Lady Cheng'an, who had suffered a loss in the fight, knelt down in front of him with a thud, begging Your Highness to do justice for her.

She knelt down hastily, not keeping her distance properly, and her head hit the prince's feet, her snot and tears smearing onto the prince's robe.

The prince froze, then slowly lowered his gaze inch by inch towards his robes and feet. When he could see clearly, he felt countless dirty things rushing through the air, suffocating him. His vision went black, and he fainted spectacularly.

Gui Yao was stunned. Was it really that serious?

Just as they were wondering whether to put the crown prince in a carriage and send him back to the palace, or to ask a doctor to come and take a look, Li Deshun arrived. He saw from afar that the crown prince had slumped backward.

My heart skipped a beat. Oh no, did the young master kill the crown prince?

He shouted loudly, "The imperial edict has arrived!"