The grass in the factory should be plucked

The scandals of the Jiang family became more and more serious. Even the in-laws of Jiang Xiuyuan's three sons and one daughter couldn't help but secretly grumble, fearing that their own children would fall into the Jiang family's trap.

Especially the eldest daughter Jiang Yao, who married Gao Wenxuan, the son of the Minister of Rites Gao. After Yu's reputation as a "poisonous woman" spread, Gao Shangshu's wife Jiang felt dizzy and hurriedly called Jiang Yao to ask, "Is it true?"

Jiang Yao was so angry that she gritted her teeth and wiped her tears, saying, "That's absolutely not the case! It's clearly the manager of Longmen Trading Company who is making up stories!"

"Did Miss Fang really marry into the Jiang family?" Jiang asked suspiciously.

"My family did have a concubine Fang, and she gave birth to a daughter. She has been dead for more than ten years. If her death was mysterious, why didn't the Fang family come to our house back then?" Jiang Yao said angrily.

It was such a big basin of dirty water that she was afraid to go out recently.

"You have a concubine sister? How come I have never seen her?" Jiang asked curiously.

Jiang Yao said, "Her horoscopes conflicted with my grandmother's, so she was raised in a country farm since she was young. After she reached the age of 15, she entered the palace and was named Yu Guiren by the emperor."

Jiang frowned. The emperor was already so old, yet the Jiang family actually sent a young girl who had just reached the age of marriage into the palace. It seemed that Yu's reputation as a "poisonous woman" was not groundless.

She frowned and said, "Okay, go out less recently to avoid being talked about."

"Yes, mother." Jiang Yao gritted her teeth secretly, but she could do nothing about it.

Even her husband Gao Wenxuan frequently complained to her, and he was frequently asked about this matter recently, which made him feel embarrassed.

But what can she, a woman in the inner chamber, do?

After the palace banquet, Xie Changan had some free time, and he and Jiang Li spent every day together again.

Zhou Bodu began to think about cleaning up the house and preparing to welcome the mistress.

When he asked Xie Changan how to repair the house, Xie Changan blushed and said, "Go ask Aunt Lian."

As expected, Uncle Zhou went next door to ask Aunt Lian.

Aunt Lian's face froze. The girl hasn't even left the palace yet. Isn't it too early to start preparing for the wedding?

She smiled and said, "My girl is still young, there's no rush."

Uncle Zhou smiled and said, "I know that Auntie can't bear to leave the girl, so let's just live next to each other. We can open a corner gate on the other side of the wall, so Auntie can see the girl all the time, right?"

He added, "There are a lot of things to prepare. In the past, our parents were rarely at home, so the yard was left uncultivated. We started cleaning it up in the spring, and it will take until the fall to finish. We also have to make new furniture. If we don't start preparing now, it will be too late by then."

Aunt Lian had no choice but to say, "Let me ask my daughter first."

She grabbed Jiang Li and gritted her teeth, "The neighbors are about to start packing up their new house and putting up furniture, what do you say?"

Jiang Li blushed and said, "I know nothing!" Then she ran away with a giggle.

Aunt Lian was so angry that she stamped her feet. She wanted to hit her a couple of times, but this girl was too good at running and there was no way to catch her!

What Jiang Li is thinking about now is the Lantern Festival.

The last time I went to the Lantern Festival with Xie Changan, we hadn’t confirmed our relationship yet and ended up parting on bad terms.

I must go shopping this time and buy a bunch of lanterns and knickknacks, and let Xie Changan carry them all!

Who made him only buy himself a rat lantern last time?

At this time, what Jiang Li didn't expect was that she still didn't get to visit the Lantern Festival that she was looking forward to.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested a scholar from Shanxi.

The Ningyang Marquis's Mansion reported that the Ningyang Marquis's son was being blackmailed.

The person who blackmailed him was a scholar from Shanxi named Feng Sihai.

Feng Sihai was cunning by nature. He got inspiration from the controversy surrounding Concubine Zhou's book "Guifan Chuan". He then lobbied Gao Dafu, a wealthy businessman he knew, to publish a collection of poems, and he could write for him.

Feng Sihai swore solemnly that he was only after the money and would never accuse Gao Dafu of plagiarism. He also agreed to sign a document and put his signature on it as proof.

In order to show off his literary taste, Gao Dafu readily agreed.

Feng Sihai did have some talent, and his poems were written with brilliant literary talent and gorgeous words. Gao Dafu was very satisfied after reading them, so he paid the balance, published the collection of poems in his own name, and sent them to his relatives and friends.

Unexpectedly, Feng Sihai deliberately put a poem in the collection of poems, implicitly satirizing that Concubine Zhou was trying to seize the throne for the King of Qi, but the current emperor actually protected her and did not pursue the matter of her plagiarizing other people's books.

How could Gao Dafu understand what this meant?

After he distributed his collection of poems to his relatives and friends, Feng Sihai immediately sent people to blackmail Gao Dafu, saying that there were rebellious words in his collection of poems, which involved a "demon book" case, and that he would report Gao Dafu to the government.

Gao Dafu was afraid of causing trouble, so in panic he had to pay a large sum of "hush money" and took a lot of effort to take back the poetry collection he had sent out and destroy it.

He knew that he had been tricked by Feng Sihai and was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

If Feng Sihai had stopped there, he wouldn't have encountered such a terrible disaster.

He was greedy and used the collection of poems to blackmail the Prince of Ningyang, asking him to buy the collection back at a high price, otherwise he would spread the poems everywhere.

The prince was timid, and seeing that public opinion in the court and the country was unfavorable to Concubine Zhou, he had no choice but to pay a large sum of money to buy the collection of poems.

Unexpectedly, when Ningyang Bo saw this collection of poems, he was overjoyed. Isn’t the author of this poem the author of the "demon book"?

Whether he is or not, he must be.

Only if the "demon book case" is closed as soon as possible can Concubine Zhou be cleared of suspicion.

So, the Earl of Ningyang took the collection of poems to report Feng Sihai, accusing him of blackmailing the prince.

He didn't dare to go to the East Factory, so he went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When the Jinyiwei saw the poem, they felt like they had found a treasure and immediately arrested Gao Dafu and Feng Sihai.

Gao Dafu already hated Feng Sihai, so he took out the written document Feng Sihai had written that day, stating that the poem was indeed written by Feng Sihai.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards then released Gao Dafu and tortured Feng Sihai severely.

Feng Sihai cried out in injustice at first. He blackmailed Gao Dafu and the Prince of Ningyang just for money. He had no relationship with Lu Youliang, so why did they distribute the "evil book" to clear his name?

He can't make a penny, but he still has to pay for printing flyers. He is not a fool!

The "Demon Book Case" remained unresolved, and the Jinyiwei were reprimanded by the emperor many times, which put them under tremendous pressure.

They finally caught the "suspect" before the Eastern Depot. This was the best opportunity to make merit and overpower the Eastern Depot. How could they let it go easily?

Plus, this person happens to be from Shanxi, so it’s you!

Finally, Feng Sihai could not endure the torture and confessed under duress, admitting that he had fabricated the story of Concubine Zhou's plagiarism and concocted the "evil book" to attract public attention.

After receiving the confession, Li Tongguang, the then commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hurried to the emperor to ask for credit, and the old emperor was very pleased.

The news that the Jinyiwei had arrested the author of the "evil book" spread quickly, shocking both the government and the public.

In order to close the case as soon as possible, the old emperor immediately ordered the cancellation of the holiday, all officials from various departments to return to work early, and ordered the Dali Temple, Jinyiwei, and Dongchang to jointly investigate the case.

In the court, officials from the Qi Wang faction and the Zhenguo Duke faction quarreled with each other.

The Duke of Zhenguo and Lord Shen did not believe that the "evil book" came from Feng Sihai. The content of the leaflet was profound and could not be written by someone who was not familiar with the government affairs.

It is impossible for a cunning and down-and-out scholar like Feng Sihai to have such vision and insight!

Moreover, the motive is wrong. Who would spend money and effort to fabricate a "demon book" just to "attract attention"? The target of the attack is the emperor's favorite concubine and the mother of the King of Qi!

Isn't it simply because he is tired of living and wants to die?