Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 281 Dai is currently committing a crime
"Master, the young master is ready."

Inside the pavilion, a servant came to Xu Yaozu and whispered something.

In order to achieve the goal of becoming famous through this elegant gathering, now is the most critical moment.

Xu Yaozu looked at the An Jinghou sitting on the opposite side, nodded slightly, and replied: "One more reminder, don't make any mistakes. If you win the favor of An Jinghou, the Xu family will have a chance to rise to the top in the next few years. Tell him to pay attention before he goes on stage."

"Yes."

The winner of the poetry competition had to compose a poem on the theme of autumn within two sticks of incense.

After the poem is completed, it will be submitted to the examination instructor team for preliminary review.

The poems that stand out can be presented in the pavilion for evaluation by several superiors, who will either make comments or ask the poets some questions, and finally rank them into first, second and third places.

Since the people in the pavilion are either well-educated or people of high status, this is very convincing.

Just starting from the instructor examination, everything had been taken care of by the Xu family.

Several people in Lian Pavilion also knew why Xu Yaozu had been holding this elegant gathering for many years.

They all acquiesced and gave the Xu family's children a chance to become famous.

Qian Shiyuan saw Lin Daiyu stopped writing and asked, "Miss Lin, have you finished writing?"

Lin Daiyu dropped her rolled-up sleeves and nodded slightly, "Yes, it's done."

Qian Shiyuan smiled and said, "Well, when all the contestants' poems are delivered, Miss Lin's poems will be evaluated together with them."

As Lin Daiyu nodded, the poem was taken away by the servant beside her.

Looking up again towards the northeast, Lin Daiyu curled her lips slightly.

Xue Baochai is also a talented woman. After seeing Lin Daiyu write a poem, she also felt like expressing her own style, but due to the current occasion, it was not suitable for her to do so.

At the right time, Zhen Yingjia asked politely: "At such a grand event, it would be a good thing if the Marquis could leave a message."

The poems written by men and women generally have different intentions.

For example, it may be possible for a man to write a poem that expresses a woman's melancholy temperament, but it is still too difficult for a woman to recite a poem with a man's heroism.

Xue Baochai is well versed in poetry, but her works are mainly about the emotions in the boudoir. If she were to write a poem this time, people would definitely be able to see through her.

Lin Daiyu tried to smooth things over by saying, "My Lord, you are not good at this, so I won't embarrass myself here."

Xue Baochai fanned herself with a folding fan and nodded slightly in agreement.

Zhen Yingjia sighed, "I am being reckless. Let me offer a toast to the Marquis."

……

Outside the pavilion, Yue Ling was drinking tea and waiting quietly, but Shen Ying turned around and came to provoke him again.

Seeing that Yue Ling had no pen in his hand and no ink on the paper, Shen Ying joked, "You are usually so arrogant, but today, at such an elegant poetry gathering, you can't even compose a single word. It seems that you probably just happened to have seen that couplet."

Yue Ling was waiting for Jia Yun and the elite troops of the Beijing Army. When he heard Shen Ying coming back to his senses and disturbing his leisure, he couldn't help but look up and look at his masterpiece.

"In autumn, the wind is strong and the sun is yellow, and the fruits fall from the branches, filling the yard with fragrance.

Birds are chirping as they compete for food, and my granary is full of grain.

The farmers were busy harvesting, and the workers were drinking and making noise.

Wear a fur coat and have fun at night, and don't worry about tomorrow's affairs. "

After reading it, Yue Ling couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your poem has a kind of beauty of 'a mosquito hums, two flies buzz'."

Shen Ying shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? You call that a poem?"

Yue Ling spread his hands and said, "You are only at this level."

Shen Yishu turned his head and shouted, "Don't make trouble here."

Shen Ying immediately stopped cursing and said, "Brother Xu is the real genius. Wait and see how his masterpiece will blind your eyes and make you realize how insignificant you are for daring to look down on Jiangnan students."

Yue Ling curled his lips, "Jiangnan is a land of outstanding people. It's not that there are no talented people. I just look down on you."

Under pressure from Shen Yishu's anger, Shen Ying stopped arguing and just snorted coldly before turning back.

Miaoyu, who was listening, covered her mouth and laughed, and asked, "You really don't want to write a poem?"

Yue Ling asked back: "I want to ask you, since you have nothing to do right now, why don't you do it?"

Miaoyu's mind was not on writing poetry at all. She moved her body a little closer to Yue Ling so that she could hear his words more clearly and also express her unspeakable thoughts.

"No more, I'll just wait until I can help the Marquis a little later."

Yue Ling nodded slightly and didn't mention the matter again.

Suddenly, cheers broke out from the crowd. Yue Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Xu Lang, the young master of the Xu family, whom he had just met, standing up from the crowd and being led into the pavilion.

Shen Ying turned around and said, "Did you see that? Brother Xu's poems have been noticed by the bigwigs in the pavilion. He will definitely win the first prize and will definitely win the favor of Marquis Anjing later."

Yue Ling took the tea that Miaoyu had poured, took a sip, and said calmly, "Marquis Anjing would not favor such a person."

Shen Ying frowned and said, "Why do you say that? Are you very familiar with An Jinghou?"

Yue Ling waved his hand, "We've only met a few times, so we're not that familiar with each other."

Shen Ying snorted coldly: "You are still talking nonsense here, you will cry in the future."

Yue Ling nodded, "I will return this sentence to you."

……

"The graceful Cangbo Temple and the exquisite door on the water.

The green windows are clean with cloud-like bamboos, and the red doors are dry with dew-like flowers.

Fishes leap aside in the clear sky, and gulls do not fly during the day.

The eastern neighbor’s abode is close, so I can return home without any worries.”

"Mr. Xu's masterpiece is exquisite. It actually depicts Canglang Pavilion. Although there is no autumn in the sentence, the feeling of autumn is written with 'clouds and bamboos are clean' and 'dew flowers are dry'. It is wonderful, wonderful."

Abe clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration at the son of the Left Prime Minister An Jingzhong.

Xu Lang is more than seven feet tall, of medium build, with a gentle and handsome face, but also a lot of arrogance. He stood in the pavilion and saluted the dignitaries from all sides.

"Meet the Marquis of Anjing, meet Mr. Qian..."

Seeing his son's expression, Xu Yaozu's face lit up and he said, "You don't have to be partial to me just because I'm the organizer. The first place in the elegant gathering should be given to the one with the best literary talent. Otherwise, if the poetry collection gets out, people all over the world will laugh at Jiangnan for having no talent."

Abe nodded and said, "Master Xu is too modest. This poem deserves to be the first. What do you think?"

Master Shi responded in a hoarse voice, "This poem by the younger generation of the Xu family is indeed good. It takes less than two sticks of incense to write such a masterpiece, which is worthy of his quick thinking. There are still some poems that I haven't finished reading. It won't be too late to decide after I finish reading them all."

Hearing this, Xu Yaozu's face became a little calmer.

What he feared most was that he would not be able to deal with these celebrities. Celebrities had a good reputation, but they did not care about worldly affairs and did not seek money. They were the very different kind of people from businessmen.

Buying a good poem is for them to evaluate, and through their mouths, the honor is given to his son.

And what Master Shi said at that moment was already half successful.

The father and son smiled at each other, both feeling confident.

“Well, this is a good one.”

Sima Daochang, the Grand Master of the Shangqing School who was standing beside Master Shi, stroked his goatee and praised him repeatedly: "This is an excellent article."

Master Shi immediately became interested. A poem that could be praised by the old Taoist priest must be extraordinary. His temper was even weirder than his own, so there were few poems that he could appreciate.

"Oh, let me have a look too."

Taoist Sima raised his hand and handed it over, "You can also judge whether it is worthy of being the best poem."

Hearing this, it immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the pavilion.

Especially the Xu family father and son, they were the most nervous.

Within two incense sticks, someone's poetry could reach the level they had prepared in advance?

It is a stroke of genius. If someone can write a poem that is even better than the ones they have prepared in advance in such a short time, it is hard to imagine how talented this person is.

But when I entered the park today, I didn't hear of any outstanding talents coming here to attend the conference.

And if he really had great talent, he should have been excluded from the examination for instructors long ago.

For a moment, both the Xu family father and son were confused.

Although Xu Yaozu was sweating, after all, there were only two famous scholars, and there were still six others. Even if we don't count Marquis Anjing, they still had five people, so the advantage was on me.

Even if there was a final vote to choose the top poet, it would definitely be his son Xu Lang.

Xue Baochai looked at the poem, which had quite a lot of words. She could tell at a glance that it was written by Lin Daiyu. She couldn't help but smile and turned her head to look at Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu's mind was not in the pavilion at all. She had no doubt at all about her ability to surpass all the others with one poem.

Lin Daiyu raised her head slightly and looked towards the northeast outside the pavilion, looking very angry.

Xue Baochai smiled in her heart and shook her head slightly.

After receiving the masterpiece, Master Shi could not wait to read it, "Autumn window, wind and rain in the evening? It is a Yuefu poem. How rare, how rare."

"The autumn flowers are pale, the autumn grass is yellow, the autumn lights are bright, the autumn nights are long.

I feel that the autumn window is endless, and the wind and rain can help the desolation!
How fast the autumn wind and rain come! Breaking the autumn window and the green autumn dream.

I can't sleep because of the autumn feeling, so I move the tearful candle towards the autumn screen.

The tearful candle flickers in the short lamp, bringing sorrow, hatred and feelings of separation.

Whose autumn courtyard has no wind? Where is the autumn window without the sound of rain?
The silk quilt can't withstand the force of the autumn wind, and the sound of the leaking water urges the autumn rain to come quickly.

The wind blows gently and then whistles all night long, as if accompanying the weeping of the parting person in front of the lamp.

The small courtyard is becoming desolate due to the cold smoke, and water drips from the sparse bamboo windows.

I don't know when the wind and rain will stop, but my tears have already wet the window screens."

"Imitating the style of "Spring River Moonlit Night", "Autumn Window Windy Evening" is written. The rhythm is catchy, and the fifteen words "autumn" fully describe the solemn and decadent scene of autumn. What a good poem."

Master Shi clapped his hands in admiration, and then unfolded the signature below and saw that it read "Written by Lin Ruhai's daughter at Canglang Pavilion". He laughed and said, "So it was written by Lin Ruhai's daughter. No wonder she used so many boudoir words. Her talent is truly unique."

Lin Daiyu's words of thanks and praise for the blessing.

Xu Yaozu was startled when he heard the voice, and then looked at Lin Daiyu. He had never expected that this elegant gathering would have such a change.

There seemed to be eight people in the pavilion, but if Marquis An Jing decided who would be number one, who would dare to object?
But if Lin Ruhai's daughter took the first place, what was all the hard work all these years for? To help others?

Xu Yaozu's face immediately darkened, and Xu Lang was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. As everyone was reading the poem, he hurriedly said, "I dare to say that although the rhythm of this poem is exquisite, it just doesn't fit the current scene."

"The elegant gathering is supposed to be a first-class event. If such a decadent poem is selected, this..."

Taoist Sima said, "I have seen the suffering of the people and the hardships they face as I have entered the city. I never expected that Suzhou would host such a grand event this year despite the disaster."

Pointing at the untouched food on the table, Taoist Sima continued to denounce him, "It's really like 'The rich have wine and meat, while the poor have frozen to death on the road'. The girl from the Lin family must have seen this miserable scene along the way, so she created the image of a woman who was helpless in the face of sorrow. After examining the facts, how can it not be in line with the scene?"

"To sing praises of the prosperous times is vanity."

This remark made everyone unhappy.

Qian Shiyuan frowned and said, "Master Sima, you are wrong. This meeting is held every three years. The old rules have been in place for hundreds of years and have never been abandoned. Even before the event was planned, students from far away came to participate. How can we not hold it?"

"Besides, we are also using this opportunity to welcome Marquis Anjing today. How can this be considered extravagance?"

After hearing Qian Shiyuan's words, everyone nodded.

The Xu family father and son also breathed a sigh of relief.

Master Shi repeatedly winked at the old Taoist priest, and then Taoist Sima put away his fierceness and asked Xue Baochai, "Which of these two poems does An Jinghou think is the best?"

Anyone with a discerning eye can see the difference between the two pieces. Not to mention how difficult the Yuefu poetry written by Lin Daiyu is, even the question of whether the former was written by Xu Lang is debatable.

Xue Baochai also realized that this meeting was just a show put on by the Xu family, and she immediately felt disgusted.

As one of the most powerful commercial enterprises today, Xue Jiafeng is aware of the Xu family's background in Suzhou and has had some cooperation with them. Now Xue Baochai needs to carefully consider her future choice.

Covering their faces with folding fans, Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu whispered, "You make your own decision."

Lin Daiyu is very smart and can see the same clues that Xue Baochai has seen.

Lin Daiyu always strives to be the first in everything, and today she has a reason not to fall behind, so she nodded, stood up and said, "In this case, how about you all come up with another question and then write another one on the spot?"

Things had completely deviated from the original plan of the Xu family father and son. The two looked at each other and could not think of a good solution. As a major weaving family, the Xu family had the closest relationship with the weaving bureau. Zhen Yingjia of the Zhen family stood up and said, "Miss Lin was invited here with the Marquis, so she is not a participant of this elegant gathering. The title of the best poet must be a talented person who attends the gathering. However, Miss Lin is quick-witted, and I admire her. How about replacing the best poet's work on the first page of the poetry book with Miss Lin's masterpiece?"

In the end, it was still despising Lin Daiyu's female body, that's how the world works. But Lin Daiyu was too well protected by Yue Ling in the room, and she had never been wronged. When she heard the difficulties, her eyes were a little red.

The person beside her was not Yue Ling, but Xue Baochai, and for a moment she was unable to stand up and support Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu then sat down and turned her head away.

"Miss Lin, I'm sorry. The conditions for attending the elegant meeting are clearly written, and the rules are like this. You and the Jia family are relatives, and the Zhen family is also an old friend of the Jia family for many generations. I hope you can come to the Zhen family as a guest in the future."

Lin Daiyu ignored her, so Zhen Yingjia toasted Xue Baochai again to express his apology.

Having come to this point, the Xu family father and son were naturally ecstatic. With the support of Zhen Yingjia, who worked for the palace, the title of top poet was already a foregone conclusion.

Moreover, Marquis Anjing did not express much dissatisfaction, so it seems that this can be ignored.

However, the next moment, there was suddenly a commotion in the distance.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and heard a commotion coming from the stone bridge at the entrance to the park.

Xu Yaozu frowned and called the people around him, "Go and ask what's going on?"

Not long after, a servant came to report, "Master, something bad has happened. A group of soldiers have arrived. They seem to be the guards accompanying Marquis Anjing."

"what?"

Xu Yaozu was stunned. "It's just a top poem. Why do you send troops to fight for it? This... this shouldn't be done by Miss Lin."

……

The terrain of Canglang Pavilion is very elegant, but from the perspective of military strategists, it is surrounded by water and there is no access, so the people in the pavilion are like turtles in a jar.

The elite troops of the Beijing camp, wearing armor and holding spears and carrying flags, entered and quickly surrounded the shore.

The broadsword was unsheathed with a gleam of light, and the scholars did not dare to ask what had happened. They all hid under the chairs, looking into the distance in fear.

The people who maintained order at the gathering, the group of guards in black, saw that the people coming were soldiers, so they shrank their heads and hid under a big tree to keep cool.

In an instant, the elite troops of the Beijing camp seized boats and waded through the water, with more than a hundred people traveling, and arrived at the isolated island in the center of the lake.

All the boats on the lake were cleared at this time.

Such a scene frightened the people under the pavilion, and they looked around in panic.

Everyone in the pavilion was also shocked. They looked at Xue Baochai with confusion and asked, "Marquis Anjing, what are you doing?"

Neither of the two women responded, but just looked towards the northeast with joy. Everyone followed the women's gaze and saw the leader of the group of soldiers, accompanied by a man dressed as a butler, coming to the outermost table in the northeast and bowing.

"Meet the Marquis of Anjing!"

"Master, the soldiers from the Beijing camp have arrived, and Sun Yicai has also been brought here."

Yue Ling laughed loudly, stood up and tore off his robes, revealing a second-grade Feiyu robe, the official robe for the post of governor. It was even more gorgeous and dazzling in the afternoon light.

Shen Ying turned around and saw this scene. He was so frightened that he fell to the ground. "You, you, you, you are the Marquis of Anjing?"

Shen Yishu was also stunned. Liu Xianglian, the second son of the Liu family, had suddenly become the Marquis of Dachang Anjing. It was difficult for him to accept the current situation for a while.

But how could the official robe be fake? Who has so many brains to dare to forge an official robe?
Thinking of his son's previous offense, Shen Yishu immediately fell to the ground, kowtowed with his son and said, "Lord An Jinghou, please be magnanimous and don't bother with us common people. For Yinglian's sake, can you forgive our sins?"

Yue Ling ignored him, just like looking at a stray dog ​​on the roadside, and said to Miaoyu beside him: "Miaoyu, follow me into the pavilion and meet the enemy who killed your father."

Miaoyu's eyes flickered, then turned into determination. She stood up resolutely and followed Yue Ling.

The group slowly came to the pavilion. Every time they passed a banquet, someone would kneel down and kowtow to pay their respects to Marquis Anjing.

The people in the pavilion saw this scene. The man in front was very heroic, with starry eyes, sword-like eyebrows, a nose like a hanging gall bladder, and a loose flying fish robe that could not hide his slender physique. They knew that this was the real Marquis Anjing.

As for the counterfeit goods in the pavilion, no one had time to investigate them in detail.

As they stepped onto the stone steps step by step, everyone's heart began to rise.

It turns out that the oppressive feeling of Marquis Anjing was so great, it was not because he had stayed with the woman for too long, so he had a strange fragrance.

Yue Ling walked into the pavilion with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, looked around, and after meeting Lin Daiyu's gaze, he saw red in her eyes and could not help but frowning.

"Brother Yue."

Lin Daiyu rubbed her eyes and stood up, looking at the hero in her mind with smiling eyes, but she caught a glimpse of someone who was getting in the way, and she couldn't help but pouting again.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was unhappy, Yue Ling stepped forward and asked, "What's going on? Have you been wronged?"

Xue Baochai was finally able to speak, and after a long breath, she said, "In the poetry competition at the elegant gathering, it was obviously Sister Lin's poem that was the best, but they didn't want to give the title to Sister Lin, just because she was a girl."

Lin Daiyu covered Xue Baochai's mouth and said, "This matter is not so important. Brother Yue should do the business first."

Hearing Lin Daiyu mutter the word "business", Qian Shiyuan panicked and hurriedly stood up to salute.

The current Marquis An Jing is the real one, doesn't that mean all previous judgments were wrong?

Qian Shiyuan no longer dared to think about what would happen next, and big beads of sweat fell down his face.

According to common sense, Qian Shiyuan was a third-rank official, so even Yue Ling could not do anything to him.

As a high-ranking official, both the superiors and the subordinates were not subordinates and were all under the control of the emperor. However, facing the pressure from Marquis Anjing, he was a little flustered.

"Qian Shiyuan, the Vice Minister of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, pays a visit to Marquis Anjing. What this woman just said has not yet been concluded. It is just the opinion of Zhen Yingjia, the Supervisor of the Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau."

Zhen Yingjia couldn't help but curse in his heart, trying to divert the trouble to someone else.

Now that Marquis Anjing has come with his troops, he must not be someone to be trifled with. Zhen Yingjia had no choice but to admit defeat in front of him. "Greetings, Marquis Anjing. I am only giving you a suggestion based on the rules of the elegant gathering. The top poet must be nominated by all eight people in the pavilion. My personal opinion does not count."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, looked around, and said in a deep voice: "Lin Ruhai's daughter won the first prize of poetry this time. Opponents can stand up."

Hearing this, Qian Shiyuan and Zhen Yingjia, who had just stood up, sat back firmly.

Xu Lang, who was standing in the middle of the field just now, now saw that An Jinghou was the man with the couplet in front of the door. He had also caused trouble for him before, so he quickly squatted aside with his head in his hands, fearing that he would be recognized by Yue Ling.

"So, the top poet of this elegant gathering is decided to be Lin Ruhai's daughter. Do you have any objections?"

Lin Daiyu burst into laughter and said, "Brother Yue, please don't mention this anymore. I won the title of Poet by my own ability, but now it seems that I was forced to do so by Brother Yue's intimidation."

At the right time, Master Shi said, "The Lin family girl's poem should be ranked first, but someone just disturbed the situation and she didn't have time to express her opinion. Even if it's a vote, I will vote for the Lin family girl."

Yue Ling nodded slightly to express his gratitude on behalf of Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu sat back calmly, her eyes scanning the nun behind Brother Yue, "Hiss, what a beautiful female master. Humph, but it's useless, Brother Yue is the best to me."

Yue Ling stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at everyone in the pavilion, and spoke loudly. The first sentence shocked everyone.

"I have seen too many chaos in Suzhou in the past month. I am here to rectify the situation under the order of Your Majesty. I will not tolerate any criminals."

"In Suzhou for more than a month?"

Everyone looked at each other in shock.

Yue Ling waved his hand, and the two guards behind him lifted Sun Yicai up, which made everyone's faces change drastically, as pale as paper.

"Sun Yicai?"

Sun Yicai looked good, but he was very nervous in such an occasion. After he went up to the pavilion, he knelt at Yue Ling's feet and kowtowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets the Marquis of Anjing."

Yue Ling said calmly: "Do you still remember what you said?"

"I dare not forget."

"Then tell me everything you know."

Sun Yicai let out a breath and said, "This humble official knows."

Then he raised his head and looked at his former colleagues. Under their horrified gazes, he smiled miserably and said, "Initially, Hangzhou made a lot of money by switching from rice to mulberry trees. The Suzhou government was also a little jealous, especially the local wealthy Xu family."

"The Weaving Bureau also supervises Suzhou and Hangzhou. The more mulberry fields there are, the more tributes can be given to the court, so the two are a perfect match."

Zhen Yingjia and Xu Yaozu's faces changed in shock. They stood up angrily and said in unison: "Sun Yicai, you should know what you are talking about!"

Yue Ling glanced at them coldly, and then a guard came forward and pushed the two of them back into their seats.

"go on!"

Sun Yicai nodded, "But changing from rice to mulberry will inevitably lead to a shortage of food. However, the food from the previous year has already been provided to Yangzhou, so Suzhou's granaries are insufficient. The previous governor Zhu Huailin did not want to change the fields."

"Perhaps the Weaving Bureau boasted in front of Your Majesty, or perhaps Prime Minister Zhao once wrote a letter about the benefits of switching from rice to mulberry. I don't know. But it is an indisputable fact that this year's target revenue is greater than last year's."

"So Suzhou's plan to replace rice with mulberry trees was already on the verge of being launched, but the first obstacle was Prefect Zhu."

"Prime Minister Zhao and Assistant Magistrate Qian sent their subordinates to Suzhou, ostensibly to inspect the work, but in reality they altered Suzhou's accounts and transferred some of the unallocated public funds to Prefect Zhu's accounts. With the cooperation of the Xu family's silver shop, this unjust case was confirmed."

Miaoyu sobbed slightly as she listened. Yue Ling wanted to say something to comfort her, but seeing Lin Daiyu's sharp eyes, he remained silent.

Sun Yicai continued, "After the death of Governor Zhu, the conversion from rice to mulberry was unimpeded, but Suzhou had a bumper harvest year after year, and the price of land was too high, with the average price exceeding fifty dan per mu. If one mu of land cost more than fifty taels of silver, it would definitely not make any money in the first year, so Xu Yaozu proposed it, and Zhen Yingjia agreed, and they carried out the stupid move of destroying the dike and flooding the fields."

"The two of them planned to destroy the farmland, buy up the land of disaster victims at a low price, and then convert it into mulberry fields, using the disaster victims as cheap temporary laborers."

"But the Cao Gang showed up to disrupt the situation, which prevented them from purchasing Yantian for a while. So the two of them came up with a plan to use a fire dragon to burn the grain warehouse of the Cao Gang. However, when they went there, the Cao Gang's granary had already been burned, and there was nothing they could do after that."

"Later, the government was not very active in providing disaster relief. It just tried to see how much grain the Cao Gang could transport. The grain was limited, and after it was used up, many people would still have to sell their land. This was their idea."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, then looked at the people in the room and said coldly: "Do you have anything else to argue?"

Qian Shiyuan immediately stood up and said, "My Lord, you can't just listen to his one-sided words!"

Zhen Yingjia also stood up and retorted, "My Lord, he is a guilty subject. His words are just to drag us down and reduce his guilt."

Xu Yaozu, who was the lowest in rank, could not help but say, "My Lord, no matter how bold I am, I cannot do such an immoral thing. I hope you can understand."

"You think I didn't check?"

Yue Ling took a step aside, revealing Miaoyu's figure.

"She is the daughter of Prefect Zhu, who was raised in Panxiang Temple all day long, so you don't know. Prefect Zhu was able to send the map of starving corpses to the capital. Do you really think he wouldn't leave other clues?"

Everyone's expression changed drastically and they looked at Miaoyu in panic.

Miaoyu's cold face was even colder than before. She wished she could draw out the sword of the guard beside her and kill those people right then and there.

But she is a weak woman and cannot do such a thing, so she has to rely on Yue Ling.

Miaoyu pursed her lips, looked at Yue Ling with tears in her eyes, and said with a humble attitude: "I hope the Marquis will make the decision for my daughter."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, his voice became a little colder, and he glanced at everyone in the room, "I arrived in Suzhou a month ago. Do you think I spent this month in vain? To be honest, I was the one who instructed the Cao Gang to provide disaster relief. If I want to frame you, I can use a fire dragon to burn the warehouse and have all your official robes stripped off and your property confiscated!"

Yue Ling walked in front of Zhen Yingjia on purpose, looked at him coldly, and said angrily: "You are the most despicable among them. After destroying the dike and flooding the fields, you used the name of the Weaving Bureau to buy land. The Weaving Bureau is the face of the royal family. You annexed the land under the guise of His Majesty. Do you want to make His Majesty lose the support of the people?"

"If you don't kill a wolf with ambition, you won't feel happy!"

Yue Ling drew his sword and pointed the tip of the sword at Zhen Yingjia's shoulder.

Zhen Yingjia had just seen the fame of the famous Marquis of Anjing today, his face was filled with sorrow, he sat back in a daze, not daring to say anything more.

"I have wasted all this time talking to you just to see if you have the intention to repent. It seems that you have not, so there is nothing more to say."

"Come here, arrest them all, put them in jail, and guard them day and night. No one is allowed to visit them. I will write a letter to the capital to ask for the Emperor's Sword, and when I come back, I will kill all of you traitors!"

The guards immediately stepped out and at Yue Ling's signal, they took away all the people involved in the hall.

The man who was a high-ranking figure just a moment ago was now being escorted by soldiers like a prisoner. This scene shocked everyone outside the pavilion so much that they were speechless.

All the outsiders were sent away, and Master Shi and Taoist Sima stood up at the same time and bowed to Yue Ling.

"We two came here just to see the Marquis' demeanor. Today we see that he is indeed extraordinary. The Marquis is sincere and courageous, and he is unparalleled in the country."

After Master Shi finished speaking, Taoist Sima also said: "There is no false person under a great reputation. It is a blessing for the people to have Marquis Anjing as the master of the people."

The two of them supported each other and walked out of the pavilion.

There were only three women and Yue Ling left in the pavilion.

Seeing Yue Ling, whom she had been thinking about for a long time, Lin Daiyu was so excited about the long-awaited reunion that she could hardly control herself.

Just now, Yue Ling stood up for her. He was the elder brother Yue who protected her every moment. She was deeply moved.

Coming out from behind the table, all the countless speeches she had prepared in front of the Queen seemed to be forgotten. Lin Daiyu just wanted to throw herself into Yue Ling's arms, leaning on him.

But after taking a few steps, Lin Daiyu's eyes widened and she stood there in a daze.

Miaoyu, who was closer to Yue Ling, rushed to the front, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Yue Ling on the cheek, then hurried away...

Yue Ling's eyes were also focused on Lin Daiyu. He was also caught off guard and had no time to dodge. When his cheeks became wet, he came to his senses and turned to look at Miaoyu's fleeing back.

"Brother Yue! She!"

(End of this chapter)