A raincoat wind and snow to the small garden

Chapter 45 The Ghost Soldiers of Liangzhou (Sixteen)
The next day, Xiang Xiaoyuan and Wang Rou followed Huaiyu on their journey to Jingzhou.

As a censor, Yang Ju had a residence when he was working outside the capital, so it wasn't difficult to stake out his place.

After inquiring around at Xiaoyuan, I learned that Yang Ju had no wife or concubines and was an orphan who had lost both his parents. It seemed that he had no weaknesses at all. To control such a reckless person would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Even if Senior Brother Huaiyu helped to kidnap him, Xiang Xiaoyuan could not possibly kill a high-ranking official. If the emperor knew that there was a troublemaker in the Xuanqi Division who dared to dig up the emperor's dirty laundry, Xie Zhen would definitely kill her even without Xiang Xiaoyuan getting close to the emperor.

Xiang Xiaoyuan hesitated, until one day, she got a turning point.

On this day, Yang Ju walked out of the government office, not wearing his formal official robes, but in a soft long gown, with a broad-leafed damselfish pouch hanging from his waist. The embroidery pattern was extremely childlike, and the satin was pink, like a sachet worn by a little child.

He glanced at Xiaoyuan and concluded: "Yang Ju may not be without weaknesses; he is going to see a woman."

She glanced again at Yang Ju's washed blue robe, and his hair, which had been changed from a crown to a soft headband.

"It's very likely a junior, not a niece, but probably a biological daughter."

That's why the hair crown was removed to prevent her from getting hurt when picking up the child.

Xiang Xiaoyuan was right. She indeed saw a heartwarming scene in a remote mountain area where Yang Ju was holding a child and teasing his daughter with a rattle drum.

At this moment, Wang Rou was confused and filled with hatred.

She thought Yang Ju was a despicable villain, an absolute evil person. He was heartless and power-hungry, which was why he was willing to betray his brothers from the Wang family who had shared life and death with him and join the imperial family.

But Wang Rou actually saw the scene of Yang Ju and his daughter enjoying family time. Yang Ju also cared for his daughter. Yang Ju was just like a normal person, with feelings and love. He was not a born evil person. Since he was so kind, it made the death of Wang Jiajun seem even more ridiculous.

Wang Rou grasped Xiang Xiaoyuan's hand and pleaded with her, "Grab Yang Ju's daughter, I'll take the blame, please... Xiaoyuan, please help me."

In fact, this did not conform to Xiang Xiaoyuan's code of conduct, but she saw helplessness and fear in Wang Rou's eyes. She did not shed tears, but it looked like she was crying.

Before any instructions could be given to Xiaoyuan, Huaiyu had already leaped down from the sky.

There was a thud.

The Bright Moon Sword, which was pressed against Huai Yu's lower back, was already unsheathed. As it pierced through the air, the silver blade reflected silvery-white snowflakes, and its brilliance shone brightly.

The sharp blade pierced through the sleeve of the seven-year-old child, its momentum swift and its force immense, pulling the young child straight out of Yang Ju's arms.

Before Yang Ju could step forward to snatch the girl, Huai Yu had already firmly grabbed her and tossed her into Xiang Xiaoyuan's arms.

The child cried loudly.

Yang Ju frowned with heartache: "Who are you people?! What do you want to do to my daughter?!"

Wang Rou stepped forward, removed the thin veil from her head, revealing the face that filled Yang Ju with fear and dread.

She was the daughter of Wang Junyang, the governor of Jie Town. Her features resembled her father's, and when she gazed at Yang Ju, it was as if the deceased Wang Junyang was gazing at him.

In that instant, a word came to Yang Ju's mind—retribution.

The retribution, eight years late, has finally arrived.

Overwhelmed with shame, Yang Ju covered his face, unable to meet Wang Rou's gaze. He collapsed onto the snow, his eyes bloodshot, and said, "My daughter... is eight years old."

With just one sentence, Wang Rou understood the whole story.

Eight years ago, Zheng Huai, armed with evidence of the Wang family army's treason, stormed into Wangjiawubao.

In order to protect his own daughter, Yang Ju allowed 30,000 soldiers to be betrayed by their own people and slaughtered on their homeland by Zheng Huai.

Their crimes are too numerous to record, and their evil deeds will be punished by Heaven and Earth.

Wang Rou killed him on the spot, but was still not satisfied.

She was filled with such hatred that Wang Rou felt somewhat numb.

She knew perfectly well that she was powerless to change anything, that she couldn't save her father, and that she couldn't give justice to the Wang family army. She was determined to seek the truth, and even traveled thousands of miles to the border town.

At this moment, her beautiful dream shattered. She clearly realized that ants cannot fight against the heavens, and even if Yang Ju died, he could not bring the Wang family back to life.

Because Xie Zhen was the emperor, Xie Zhen was high above, he was the true dragon emperor, and no one could defeat her.

Wang Rou sighed wearily. She pulled out a dagger from her bosom and took the crying girl into Xiang Xiaoyuan's arms.

With a sharp dagger pressed against the girl's neck, she said to Yang Ju, "I'm taking your daughter away. I want you to confess to fabricating evidence and falsely accusing the Wang family of treason. I want you to atone for your sins with your life!" "If you don't comply, then let's die together. This is what you owe the Wang family."

Yang Ju was certainly aware of the sins he had committed.

But by the time he regretted it, it was already too late.

He thought the Wang family had been wiped out, but unexpectedly, a young woman was still alive.

Yang Ju looked at Wang Rou and inexplicably said, "You really... look a lot like your father, and also a lot like your mother."

After the Wang family army was defeated, Yang Ju lived a life of luxury. In order to win over more people, Emperor Xie Zhen did not mistreat him.

Whenever Xie Zhen held a banquet, he would bring Yang Ju along and treat him as an honored guest.

Yang Ju was just a nobody, and many people didn't know him. But when they saw that the emperor valued him, they would whisper and gossip about him in private. Some people guessed his background and knew that he was a staff member of the Wang family. Even if they knew that he was just exposing the Wang family's crime of treason, everyone still thought he was a traitorous scoundrel.

After all, with constant infighting within the town, who doesn't have the ambition to rise to the top? He's clearly just a dog raised by the Wang family, yet he dares to harm his master; this person is not to be trusted.

Yang Ju's status was awkward; he could only rely on Xie Zhen for survival. Sometimes, in the dead of night, he would sadly think that he had only gone from being a dog of the Wang family to being the emperor's dog.

Fortunately, whenever Yang Ju was plagued by nightmares in the dead of night, a soft little hand would stroke his brow and watch over his sleeping face with concern.

Yang Ju opened his eyes and saw a delicate pink face with almond-shaped eyes that curved like crescent moons when she smiled.

This is the daughter he protected.

Yang Ju never regretted it.

Even though he dreams of Wang Junyang and Cui Qiong every time.

The Wang family treated him very well. Knowing that he came from a poor family and was from the south, Cui Qiong would even have his servants bring him longevity soup noodles on his birthday. General Wang would also explain his military strategies and battle formations to him in detail.

They treated Yang Ju as family.

That night, Yang Ju dreamed of the Wang couple again.

Looking at the steaming bowl of longevity noodles on the table, he finally burst into tears.

He apologized to the Wang couple: "General, Madam, I'm so sorry, I'm a complete scoundrel!"

Cui Qiong smiled and said, "If you have anything else to say, you should eat your noodles first. It's your birthday today, and the noodles are all soggy."

……

Half a month later, the streets and alleys of the capital were abuzz with talk of a miscarriage of justice—the censor Yang Ju confessed to deceiving the emperor. For wealth and glory, he fabricated false evidence, accusing the Wang family army guarding the border of colluding with foreign powers and the Hu people, which led Zheng Huai to lead his army to massacre the city and capture Liangzhou…

Zheng Huai was a treacherous minister who persecuted loyal officials, and it is hardly a case of injustice that he was murdered.

To quell public resentment, Emperor Xie Zhen had no choice but to confiscate the property of the Zheng family and exile the entire clan to Lingnan. Only Wang Rou's lineage survived, and Xie Zhen bestowed upon her the title of Lady of Yongjia County and granted her a fief of eight hundred households.

Wang Rou knew she couldn't fight city hall, and the best outcome she could hope for was getting justice for the Wang family. Before leaving the capital, she asked Emperor Xie Zhen for two more favors: she wanted the emperor to pardon her sworn brother Wang Qinghao and Madam Zheng Si for their crimes.

To silence public opinion, the emperor agreed to each and every one of them.

Wang Rou and Wang Qinghao decided to leave the Wei Kingdom. On the eve of their departure, Wang Rou made a special detour to Liangzhou to meet Xiang Xiaoyuan.

Wang Rou: "Actually, I returned to the Zheng family because I received a secret letter. Someone was trying to lure me back to assassinate the Duke of Zheng. I suspect that this person is very likely Emperor Xie Zhen."

Originally, Zheng Huai, the Duke of Zheng, plotted with Emperor Xie Zhen to seize territory from the Wei state, orchestrating the massacre of the Wang family army and gaining control of Liangzhou. Years later, with imperial power consolidated, Xie Zhen, wanting to discard him after using him, used Wang Rou's hatred to execute Zheng Huai, thus restoring the Wang family's insignificant innocence…

No wonder things were handled so quickly and easily; it turns out the mastermind behind it all along was the imperial family, sitting firmly on the high throne.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Xiaoyuan simply said, "Leave the rest to me."

She didn't say much, but Wang Rou understood that Xiang Xiaoyuan and Xie Zhen must have a blood feud, otherwise why would she be willing to help her like this?

"Xiao Yuan, be careful in everything."

"I will, and you must be careful too. Ah Rou, I hope everything goes well for you in the future, and that you live a peaceful life... Now that the mountains are high and the rivers are wide, let's part ways here."

"Yes." Wang Rou smiled through her tears and resolutely stepped onto the carriage.

This time, she will live with her brother. They will be as close as they were when they were young, even closer than family. They will never be separated again.