Marrying a treacherous official

After having Granny Tong see the Marquis off, Lady You's tears instantly dried up.

Even she had to admit that Gu Yunji was incredibly lucky; such a huge wildfire hadn't killed her, but it was the worthless Aunt Du who died, which saved Gu Yunji's life.

That would have been bad enough, but then another case of cheating in the scientific examinations came out.

Cui Gongquan was implicated and imprisoned in the Dali Temple prison. Whether he can get out now depends on Cui Zemin's mood and begging him to be lenient.

How could she not hate?

Granny Tong summoned two trusted maids to stand guard outside the door, closed the lattice door, quietly entered the room, and stood in front of Madam You, saying:

"Madam, all seven people have been dealt with."

"What kind of medicine was used?"

"Heartbreak Soup".

Granny Tong, who was meticulous in her actions, said, "When I met these seven people, I put poison in their soup and food. Seven days later, the poison took effect, and even the best doctor could not save their lives."

Madam You toyed with the nail polish on her fingernails, her eyes filled with malice as she said:

"Even with such scheming, I still can't kill Gu Yunji. Heaven has been kind to her, but it just won't favor me. If once doesn't work, then twice. I refuse to believe that I can let her escape death every time."

"Madam, please calm your anger."

Granny Tong stated the facts as they were:

"This failure can be attributed to the sudden appearance of the men in black, which disrupted the arson plan at Lingshan Temple."

"It was supposed to be an arson attack from within and without, trapping the First Madam in the mountain temple. However, because the man in black killed someone, the temple caught fire prematurely. This gave the signal to the people on the outside, who then set fire to the pine forest from twenty feet away. This allowed the First Madam to escape by sheer luck."

"However, while this would clear Lady Hou of any involvement in the matter, it would also indirectly cause the deaths of many people."

Ms. You asked, seemingly unconcerned:

How many people died in this fire?

"Nearly five or six hundred people."

"Compared to the thousand people Cui Zemin broke into the city and burned and killed, I can be considered merciful."

If Lady You hadn't been cold-hearted, she would never have been able to marry into the Cui family, let alone secure her position as the mistress of the household.

She could only defeat this madman if she acted even more ruthlessly than Cui Zemin.

Granny Tong pondered for a moment and asked, "What has the Lady of the Marquis thought about the matters that Granny Wang mentioned in her letter?"

Madam You never expected that the merchant's daughter whom Pei Yun was so eager to marry was actually Gu Yunji.

Regardless of whether Cui Zeming knew about the past affair between the two, now that he has taken a liking to Gu Yunji, he can certainly use this to his advantage.

"There is only one pond in Qinghui Courtyard, which is far from enough."

Even if Lady You wanted to poison someone, no one could get into the inner courtyard.

"Have Granny Wang persuade Li, the cousin from Qianzhou, to come to the capital. Tell her she's going to seek refuge with her older cousin and wants to marry into a good family in the capital. How could her older cousin possibly turn her away?"

"The merchant's daughter is short-sighted; once she hears this, she'll definitely rush to the capital without stopping."

Granny Tong immediately agreed, "This old servant will go out and write a letter to Granny Wang right away."

Cui Zemin rushed to the Dali Temple overnight. As soon as he entered, he heard Zhou Boren, the Right Wound Attendant, talk about the prison visits he had made in the past few days.

When he heard Gu Jingyu's name, he paused slightly and asked again:

"Who did you say went to see Gu Jinyu?"

Pei Yun of the Northwest Xuanjia Army.

"Is he still in jail?"

"I just bribed the officials and smoothed things over with them."

Zhou Boren said without any guilt, "Pei Yun has spent a lot of money; staying here for half an hour wouldn't be a problem."

Cui Zemin scolded him sternly, "The Dali Temple really needs a good overhaul; it's full of scoundrels like you."

When Zhou Boren was in the Tiger Wing Army, he was a master of military discipline under his command. Now that he has been transferred to the Dali Temple, he is enforcing the same law, so how come he has become a scoundrel?

"General, isn't it true that we need to be targeted in order to gather more information?"

"So what did you hear?"

After Li Xiuji came over with a torch, Cui Zemin stepped into the prison. "What are you all standing there for? Lead the way."

Zhou Boren looked at Li Xiuji, who had followed him, at a loss.

"Aren't we going to interrogate Cheng Wengong? Where are you headed, General?"

"Gu Jinyu is the general's brother-in-law."

Li Xiuji advised him, "Even the general hasn't gone down to the prison to visit you, how can you let someone else get there first?"

Zhou Boren quickly went down into the prison and led the two directly to Gu Jinyu's cell.

As Cui Zemin walked down the dimly lit corridor, before he even got close, he saw Pei Yun standing outside the cell, earnestly instructing Gu Jinyu.

"I know your character and your talent; I would never do anything like cheating in the imperial examinations."

Pei Yun did everything he could to take care of everything for him. "The Hanlin Academy has started reviewing the exam papers. The results will be available in less than three days. Just wait a little longer and you'll be able to leave."

Gu Jinyu, with his upright character, has nothing to fear. He said with an open and honest heart:

"I have nothing to be afraid of. It's just that my family doesn't know about my situation in prison. I would like to ask Brother Pei to go to the Gu family and tell my grandmother, second uncle, and second aunt that I am doing well here."

He took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Pei Yun.

"Please have Brother Pei deliver this letter to the steward of the Gu residence. Once the steward receives it, he will pass it on to my elder sister. Please don't let my elder sister worry about me."

"I won't trouble General Pei to deliver the letter."

Cui Zemin walked steadily forward and looked at Gu Jinyu in the prison through the wooden fence, saying, "Your sister asked me to come and see you."

An eerie silence fell over the prison.

Li Xiuji snatched the letter from Pei Yun's hand and spoke up to defuse the situation, saying, "Young Master Gu, don't worry, this letter will definitely be delivered to the First Madam."

Pei Yun was not angry that his letter was taken away, but instead asked Cui Zeming:

"I heard that General Cui has detained and interrogated Cheng Wengong. Is that true?"

Cheng Wengong was one of the twelve philosophers of Confucianism. He was hailed as another great Confucian scholar after Confucius, Mencius, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming. He was the great synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism and was highly respected by students all over the world.

Upon hearing this, the scholars imprisoned in the cells all stood up indignantly and, through the wooden bars, voiced their questions:

"Why are you imprisoning Cheng Wengong? This is a desecration of Neo-Confucianism!"

"The imperial court has framed a scholar without any investigation and now intends to interrogate Cheng Wengong. This is an injustice done to scholars across the land. I will go and beat the drum to appeal to the Emperor!"

Gu Jinyu gripped the wooden fence in front of him tightly and pressed Cui Zeming for answers:

"Why did you arrest Cheng Wengong? What reason did you have to arrest him?"

Cui Zemin has always looked down on these scholars and intellectuals, simply because they cannot distinguish right from wrong and are easily swayed. A single word from someone else can set them on a high level of enthusiasm.

He said with disdain, "Cheng Wengong leaked the imperial examination papers, and he's the one I arrested."