After traveling through time, I became the aunt of the loyal dog emperor

Liu Xueyu's case was handed over to Wang Ji for investigation as he wished. This was both an opportunity and a helpless move as the emperor had no one else available in his court.

The officials in the court can be roughly divided into three categories: one is the loyal supporters promoted by the retired emperor, among which the group headed by Prime Minister Du occupies more than half of the power in the court; the other is composed of the old subordinates of Prince Qi and the officials who were secretly funded and promoted by Prince Qi. Although Prince Qi is far away from the political center of Nanye, the seeds he left behind have sprouted and taken root for a long time, and when Prince Qi returns, they will naturally still be Prince Qi's people;

As for the last category, they are young officials like Wang Ji who are outside the power of Prince Qi and the power of the emperor. In other words, they are people who are excluded by both parties. In the less than one year since Ziheng ascended the throne, he has been working under the supervision of the emperor and has not had the opportunity to cultivate his own people. Even if he has his own favorites, they will be suppressed by the emperor in various ways or will not be able to make great use of them.

Wang Ji was a man of real talent and was determined to avenge his friend. It was a pity to talk about his experience. In his first year as an official, he was appreciated by Prime Minister Du, who took good care of him and promoted him in the court.

His smooth career made him forget his own reason, and he thought that he could gain a foothold as long as he had talent, but he had no sensitivity to the party struggles in the court. At a sensitive time, he fell in love with Liu Yuan's youngest daughter Liu Ci, a loyal fan of Prince Qi, and married her rashly despite the dissuasion and became a live-in son-in-law.

Who is Liu Yuan? He was originally an important official in the court, and firmly supported Prince Qi in the battle for the throne between Prince Qi and the retired emperor. After Prince Qi left Nanye, he was suppressed and sidelined by the retired emperor. Since he no longer had the power to pave the way for his son-in-law, he didn't have a hard time relying on his own face.

Three years after their marriage, the elderly Liu Yuan died in Nanye, and Wang Ji's situation fell into a slump.

The people of the Emperor Retired's Party believed that Liu Yuan's position as a son-in-law was naturally the same, while the people of the Prince of Qi's Party had been keeping a low profile since Prince of Qi left. In addition, Wang Ji had been promoted by Prime Minister Du, so they were not confident in him and were unwilling to use their power. As a result, he could only be caught between the two parties, unable to please both sides.

Although he has talent and knowledge, he has been mediocre for many years and is still an unknown and poor official in Nanye.

There are many people in the court who are like Wang Ji who are independent of the two parties. Some of them are abandoned because they have connections with both parties like him, while others are unwilling to participate in the endless disputes between the two parties and disdain to do things like uniting parties to attack dissidents... Ziheng has always been very clear that if he wants to completely get rid of the manipulation of the retired emperor, he must establish his own power in the court.

And this time is a good opportunity!

Wang Ji received the emperor's order and began to investigate the matter. Perhaps he wanted to seek justice for his old friend, or at least win him a reputation, so he investigated with great fanfare, and everyone in Nanye knew about Liu Xueyu's deeds. People who heard about it praised Sangcheng for having a good official. Coupled with the victims' nostalgia and the people's gossip after dinner, the image of Liu Xueyu gradually developed to an unstoppable height, like a patron saint.

Although the publicity of his increasingly majestic and tall image on the streets boosted people's enthusiasm for donating food, Wan Ning still frowned and looked worried.

"Princess, the streets have been filled with praise for Lord Liu Xueyu these days. Why do you look so worried? The more famous Lord Liu is, the more people will feel pity and sympathy for him. So many people came to donate food today." Wan Tao asked in confusion.

Wan Ning turned around and walked under the green eaves, with her back to Wan Tao. In her mind were the countless news she had seen on her phone. She was worried that Liu Xueyu would be like this too. She slowly explained:

"As excited as these people are when they create gods, they are just as crazy when they destroy them."

"Princess, are you worried that Lord Liu is being praised so highly that he will be attacked like this in the future?" Wan Tao asked with sudden enlightenment.

Wan Ning nodded but before she could answer, Zhang Yue'e, who was passing by and heard their conversation, walked up to them with a slightly displeased look on her face.

Wan Ning was confused and asked, "Mrs. Liu is here, what's the matter?"

She also knew that the people of the city were praising her husband, but she simply thought that this excessive "reward" was all because Liu Xueyu's deeds were discovered. She would not allow anyone to say a bad word about her husband, so she retorted with a little anger:

"Princess, you worry too much. What Liu Lang did was to plead for the people. He deserves to be remembered and missed by the people."

Wan Ning understood the hardships that she had gone through raising a child alone after her husband's death, and she was so happy to see that her husband's situation had turned for the better, so she was not angry and just hoped that she was overthinking it.

Things changed in an instant. As Wan Ning expected, a rumor about Liu Xueyu soon spread in Nanye City: Liu Xueyu left Nanye not to contribute to his hometown, but because he could not stay in Nanye City. When he was studying in Nanye City, he lived a dissolute life and often stayed in the red-light district. He had seven or eight lovers at that time. After he entered the officialdom, he often made friends with the rich and powerful, and accepted bribes and kowtowed to the rich and powerful. In the end, he was abandoned, which was "what he deserved".

As for what he did in his hometown, it was all fabricated. Who could have seen it with their own eyes? If he really cared about the common people, how could he let them suffer so much?

The rumors became more and more specific, as if everyone had seen them with their own eyes. The supporters who were still praising him the day before were now stepping on him with more disgust than anyone else, as if everyone had seen him and knew what kind of person he was!

Wan Ning heard this and was worried that Mrs. Liu would not be able to bear the blow, so she took Wan Tao and hurried back to the old house outside Ziheng Palace. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Zhang Yue'e from a distance, looking haggard, holding her child and sitting on the ground, crying uncontrollably. Her appearance was really unbearable.

Li Song, who was standing nearby, saw the princess standing at the door, so he consciously walked towards Wan Ning and took Wan Tao away. Zhang Yue'e noticed this and quickly turned her back to wipe the tears from her face.

"Mrs. Liu, cry if you want to, it's okay!"

Zhang Yue'e wiped away her tears stubbornly before turning around and greeting Wan Ning: "Good luck to Princess Le Yan. I'm really sorry to make you laugh. I'm not only representing myself now, but also Liu Lang. I can't be so fragile."

Wan Ning clearly saw her fragile look and comforted her, "Those rumors outside are just made up by others. You know what kind of person Mr. Liu is."

"Princess, of course I understand him and I believe in him. But how can these people talk nonsense like this? How can they have seen Liu Lang? How can they know what kind of person he is? How can they hurt someone they have never met like this?" Zhang Yue'e, who originally wanted to be strong, burst into uncontrollable tears as she spoke.

"Madam Liu, if you care too much about what others say at this moment, you will really fall into their trap. The most important thing now is to find out the truth of the case, and then Mr. Liu will be cleared of all charges!" Zhang Yue'e nodded, and after a long silence, she asked.

"Princess, is delayed truth still justice?"

Wan Ning stood there in a daze, unable to answer.

The food collection activity was still going on, and there were still many things to do today, so Wan Ning did not stay any longer and went to Liuxingtai. Compared to the usual hustle and bustle, there were fewer people coming today.

"Why is there so little food today? At this rate, when will we be able to gather enough?"

"Oh, Princess, it's all because of rumors. Don't you know what version this rumor has evolved to now?" Shuiyue sat at the table, supporting her face and sighing.

Seeing her mature appearance, Wan Ning asked her teasingly, "How far have you come?"

"Now everyone is saying that there is no disaster in Sangcheng at all. All this is because they are lazy and don't want to work hard, so they played a trick with Master Liu Xueyu to cheat a large amount of food and make a fortune. Some people also say that Liu Xueyu is an undercover agent of the enemy country, and this move is to raise military rations for the enemy."

Wan Ning burst out laughing and continued flipping through the record book: "How could anyone believe such a false rumor?"

"Yes, Princess, what shall we do now?"

Wan Ning shook her head, thinking that the rumor came very suddenly and there must be someone behind it.

They don't care about the truth, they only care about how to make more people not care about the truth. For enemies hiding in the dark, sometimes they don't need to use high-end means, they just need to slander their opponents.

How can a person with poor personal ethics deserve the truth?