Steal my marriage? Turn around and marry the tyrant to take the throne

"Everything is fine at home, sir, you don't need to worry."

Madam Tang sat down next to the Prefect of the Capital, scrutinizing his expression. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, "As for the palace... Yao'er sent a message through someone this evening."

"Yao'er?"

The Prefect of the Capital paused, his heart skipping a beat: "What did she say? Did she hear something in the palace?"

He was most afraid that his daughter would be implicated or wronged in the palace because of his affairs.

Madam Tang comforted him, "Don't worry, sir."

"It's good news that Yao'er sent word. She said she knows about Master's current predicament and is very anxious. Today, she went to Yongshou Palace to pay her respects to the Imperial Noble Consort, hoping to plead for Master's sake..."

Upon hearing this, the Prefect of the Capital frowned slightly.

The daughter actually went to beg the Imperial Noble Consort?

This...this is utterly ridiculous!

The Imperial Noble Consort is currently embroiled in rumors and is trying to avoid suspicion. How could she possibly speak up for the officials investigating the rumors?

Isn't this a slap in the face for her?

Madam Tang didn't notice the sudden unpleasant look on the face of the Prefect of the Capital, and continued speaking, her tone tinged with relief: "...The Imperial Noble Consort, perhaps out of some concern, did not agree."

"However, when Yao'er came out of Yongshou Palace, she happened to meet the Imperial Concubine, and Yao'er told her about Master's difficulties."

"After hearing this, the Imperial Concubine was very understanding and invited Yao'er to Changchun Palace to talk, where she comforted her. She personally promised that if the master's investigation was not going well in three days and His Majesty wanted to punish him, the Imperial Concubine would definitely find a way to help him."

"Master, look, isn't there hope now?"

"The Imperial Concubine's maternal family is the Grand Tutor's Mansion, which has influence with His Majesty. With her help, Master, you don't need to worry too much."

"Yao'er was quite clever this time, knowing to go find the Imperial Concubine."

The Prefect of the Capital suddenly stood up, his face ashen, his chest heaving violently.

His eyes widened as he stared at the bewildered Madam Tang, and he said coldly, "Foolish!"

"She's not clever at all; she's as dumb as a pig, and she's going to get her father killed!"

Consort Tang inherited her mother's personality; both mother and daughter were innocent and carefree, and were well protected at home.

Madam Tang was stunned by the sudden outburst of anger from the Prefect of the Capital: "Master, what's wrong with you? Yao'er was only trying to be filial and had been working hard for you..."

Enraged, the Prefect of the Capital slammed his hand on the table, making the dishes rattle: "Running errands for me? She's telling the whole world that I, Tang Wenbai, the Prefect of the Capital, am a complete and utter waste!"

"His Majesty gave me three days. These three days were when I risked my life, racking my brains to find clues and arrest people."

"And what's she doing? Before the results are even out, she's already running all over the palace, crying and begging this person and that person to save her father's official hat. What kind of behavior is that?!"

At this point, the Prefect of the Capital pointed towards the palace, his fingers trembling: "The Imperial Noble Consort's refusal shows her intelligence; she knows how to avoid suspicion and observe the rules."

"And yet, she turns around and begs Consort Zhuang. Why should the Consort help her? And why should the Zhuang family risk offending His Majesty for the sake of someone as unrelated as me, the Prefect of the Capital?"

"The Imperial Concubine's empty words were probably just to fool that brainless, foolish girl!"

"If word gets out, what will others think? They'll only think that I, Tang Wenbai, have failed in raising my daughter. I'm incompetent, letting my daughter embarrass herself in the palace and beg for mercy everywhere!"

"Even my daughter doesn't believe I can handle this task, how can His Majesty believe me?!"

Madam Tang was left dizzy and pale from the barrage of rebukes from the Prefect of the Capital. She stammered, "No...no...Her Imperial Concubine promised herself..."

"Yao'er meant well; she was just too worried about you..."

The Prefect of the Capital said angrily, "Can her kindness feed me? Can it help me solve cases? It will only make me a laughing stock! It will make His Majesty think I'm useless!"

"Let those who are waiting to see me make a fool of myself and want to climb over me be even more smug!"

"I've said it before: Yao'er is naive and innocent, and doesn't understand worldly affairs. She's completely unsuitable for the palace. Is that kind of place where people devour each other without spitting out the bones a place where someone with her brains can stay?"

"During the preliminary selection, I'll have you secretly sabotage her by making some harmless mistakes in etiquette or talent, so that she can be eliminated smoothly."

"We'll find her a suitable match later, someone from a respectable and honest family, so she can live a peaceful and stable life. What's wrong with that?"

The Prefect of the Capital looked at his wife, whose expression shifted, wanting to argue but unable to find a way to speak, his eyes filled with heartache: "But what about you?"

"You care about your reputation. You feel ashamed that your eldest daughter failed to be selected, so you insist that she excel in everything and strive for perfection so that she can enter the palace in a grand and glorious manner."

"Now look what's happened, she's really in! But besides that face, what else does she have?"

"Now she can't help the family at all; instead, she's become the biggest burden!"

"If I don't handle this rumor well, losing my position would be the least of my worries. Yao'er is in the palace without the support of her family. With her limited intelligence, she'll be devoured until there's nothing left!"

Mrs. Tang finally realized the seriousness of the matter.

Not only might her husband lose his official position, but her daughter's future situation in the palace would also become extremely dire...

She said regretfully, "Master...I...I didn't know it would turn out like this..."

"I just want Yao'er to be well..."

The Prefect of the Capital waved his hand weakly, too exhausted even to be angry: "What's the use of saying all this now? What's done is done."

"The most urgent task is whether I can solve the case in the next three days..."

……

The lights in the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Five City Garrison Offices burned all night long.

The soldiers searched the streets and alleys repeatedly, arresting and questioning people.

Secretly, the Xia family was also investigating this matter.

Under pressure, there will inevitably be results.

Whether it was the Xia family's trade network or the government's investigations, the clues ultimately pointed to...

The report was delivered to the Emperor's desk in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

As Nangong Xuanyu read through the text word by word, his expression gradually darkened until it became clouded with gloom, his eyes brewing a terrifying storm!

The clues in the report seemed scattered and disjointed, but their direction gradually became clearer.

The initial, vague rumors that the Imperial Noble Consort was pregnant, possibly coincidentally linked to the miscarriages of Feng and Chu, eventually took several twists and turns, all ultimately connecting to the Qin family…

They may have been born to servants of a distant relative of the Qin family, or to subordinates of merchants who had business dealings with the Qin family, or to people who had worked as day laborers in the Qin family's villa.

Qin family.

Qin Mingyuan, Governor of Shandong Province.

Last year, she entered the palace in a grand fashion during the imperial concubine selection. After serving the emperor, she was granted the title of Consort Qin and became the maternal family of Qin Shuyan, who held a principal position in the palace.

"...Good, very good!"