Dream of the Red Chamber: My Daiyu Has Been Reborn

Liu San was so anxious that he scratched his head and clicked his tongue.

He had received strict orders to keep a close watch on the kidnapper and the little girl, and not to make any rash moves. But now that the little girl had been rescued, how could he keep an eye on them?

Liu San's eyes darted around. Now that things had come to this, his only option was to get the person back first!

He immediately called to his two companions, and while Zhou Hui was leading Xiangling out of the city, they blocked their way at the entrance of a secluded alley.

"Young lady," Liu San bowed to Zhou Hui with a smile, "this young lady is the one we took a liking to first, and we would like to ask you to do us a favor and hand her over to us."

Zhou Hui warily shielded Xiang Ling behind her. The three men in front of her all had thick calluses on their hands and feet, and they didn't look like ordinary thugs, but rather like martial arts practitioners.

"Who are you? What do you want with this little girl?"

"Well, we're sorry we can't say more. Anyway, we're taking this girl with us. We'll compensate you double the amount of silver you spent."

"Not for sale."

Zhou Hui said coldly, "I saved this girl. If you want to take her by force, you'd better ask my fists first."

Seeing her firm stance, Liu San knew he couldn't reason with her. So he had no choice but to resort to force.

"Then I'll have to offend you."

Liu San waved his hand, and two men rushed forward, and the two sides immediately started fighting.

Although Zhou Hui was skilled in martial arts, she couldn't withstand the superior numbers of Liu San's men, none of whom were easy to deal with. After a fierce struggle, Zhou Hui gradually lost ground, and Liu San seized an opportunity to grab Xiang Ling.

Zhou Hui tried to take it back, but the other two held her back tightly.

Liu San led his men back quickly, saying, "We'll take good care of this girl; she won't suffer. Don't worry."

Zhou Hui was both anxious and furious, but she saw the men snatch the person and quickly disappear into the depths of the alley, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Xiangling's mind went blank as Liu San dragged her along at breakneck speed. She was trembling with fear; she had just been rescued by kind people, and now she was in the hands of another group of people?

Liu San and his men led Xiangling through the winding streets of Jinling City, finally arriving at a secluded courtyard where they locked her in a side room.

Xiangling huddled in the corner, tears streaming down her face, feeling utterly miserable.

Outside the courtyard, Liu San and several of his brothers squatted on the ground, each with a worried expression.

"Third Brother, we've managed to snatch this girl, but what are we going to do next?"

Liu San also found it quite troublesome; the task of keeping watch was now completely ruined.

"Alright," Liu San gritted his teeth, "we'll send this girl to the capital. Since this mission has already gone wrong, there's no point in us lingering here. We might as well send her to our master; that would be a proper explanation."

The brothers exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

……

Li Qi returned to the gates of the Marquis of Duanping's residence within three to five days.

When Gu Jinhong saw him coming, he dismissed everyone else.

"You found it?"

Li Qi threw a stack of testimonies on the table: "It's all been investigated. Wu Yong is utterly despicable. He kept a mistress in Qingyang Lane, who was originally the daughter of Manager Cui of the silk shop in the east of the city. Three years ago, Wu Yong met her on the street. Seeing her beauty, he used some underhanded means to make Manager Cui incur huge gambling debts, forcing him to the brink of desperation. In the end, he had to use his daughter to pay off the debts."

"That Cui woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son less than half a year after being taken as a concubine. He is now two years old." Li Qi's tone grew cold. "Although such things are not uncommon in the capital, to marry a princess is to deceive the emperor."

Gu Jinhong carefully read through the testimony that Li Qi handed over.

Li Qi's investigation was extremely meticulous. He not only had the detailed address of Wu Yong's mistress, but also the signed testimonies of the neighbors, and even the child's birth date was recorded clearly. In addition, Wu Yong had several other affairs outside, which, although not as scandalous as Cui's, were still quite unsightly.

"If this evidence is presented to Father Emperor, the Wu family will surely suffer the consequences." Li Qi crossed his arms. "Then let's see how that Wu fellow will put on airs in front of my mother."

"You can't be the one to expose this."

Why is that?

"If you present these things directly to His Majesty, Consort Wu will surely know that you were investigating her brother behind the scenes. At that time, her plans will indeed fail, but your mother in the palace will suffer her revenge. Consort Wu is currently favored, and you should know the power of her influence."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi's expression changed slightly, a wave of fear washing over him. He had indeed overlooked this detail. Fortunately, he had arrived first and hadn't impulsively presented it directly to the Emperor.

"So, in your opinion, who should handle this?"

"The censors are worried that they have no memorials to impeach. However, not all censors are upright and incorruptible. We need to find one who is not afraid of Wu Tianyou."

"That's true." Li Qi pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of a candidate. "How about Zhang Wei? He had a grudge against Wu Tianyou in his early years. Back then, when Wu Tianyou was evaluating the education administration of the country, he dismissed one of Zhang Wei's favorite students because of personal grudges. Zhang Wei has always held a grudge about this."

Gu Jinhong glanced at him with some surprise. She had heard of Zhang Weita before; he was known for his upright character, never yielding to anyone's authority. In his early years, he had offended countless powerful figures in the provinces. Later, Emperor Yongxi, appreciating his integrity, transferred him to the Censorate as Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. Quite a sharp blade.

Li Qi had clearly done his research beforehand; otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken so casually. He is, after all, a prince.

Seeing the surprise in Gu Jinhong's eyes, Li Qi instantly understood what he was thinking and chuckled softly, "If all my brothers only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, they probably wouldn't even know how they died one day."

Gu Jinhong didn't say anything more. He tapped the table lightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Zhang Wei is indeed a good candidate. However, we can't go directly to him; we have to take a roundabout approach."

"That's easy. Zhang Wei has a close friend from school named Zeng Pu, who is currently a Hanlin Academy Reader. He is an upright man and hates those who use their power to oppress others. I'll have someone casually mention Wu Yong's romantic escapades to Zeng Pu. If he can't stand it, he'll definitely tell Zhang Wei."

"When Zhang Wei reports this to the authorities, the Wu family will only think it's retaliation and won't be traced back to me. My mother will also be completely cleared of any wrongdoing."

Li Qi acted swiftly. Three days later, in the Imperial Study.

Dai Quan carefully presented the memorial impeaching Wu Yong to the emperor.

After reading it, Emperor Yongxi showed no expression on his face, and simply put the memorial aside.

"Is this Wu Yong the younger brother of Consort Wu?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I recall that Consort Wu mentioned her younger brother a few days ago, saying that he was a promising young man."

Dai Quan bowed, not daring to reply.

"Go and investigate. Report back to me once you've confirmed it."