After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

"Your Majesty, it is my duty to serve the court and seek happiness for the people, and I dare not ask for any reward."

May His Majesty enjoy good health and may the Qin Dynasty remain forever secure.

The imperial dynasty, whose surname was Qin, was also known as the Great Qin.

The emperor was in a great mood and bestowed many rewards upon the emperor.

"Excellent! If the entire court had your talents, how could it not be a prosperous era?"

However, meritorious service deserves reward, and I hereby bestow upon you a thousand taels of gold and a hundred bolts of silk to recognize your achievements.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The emperor then asked, "My dear minister, I have another question for you. Now that the governance of Xuzhou has become a model, what experience do you have to share that other prefectures can learn from?"

Xin Chonglian pondered for a moment and replied:

"Your Majesty, I believe that governing a region should be based on the people's livelihood. We should develop water conservancy projects to protect agriculture; establish private schools to educate the people; and enforce laws strictly and impartially."

Only in this way can the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the prefecture prosper.

The emperor was delighted upon hearing this: "What you say is excellent. I will have my ministers discuss it and promote it throughout the land."

The emperor aspires to be a wise ruler and greatly favors ministers who get things done. Today, Minister Xin received high praise from the emperor in court, but the officials had various thoughts on the matter.

"When there is something to do, we will start to act, but when there is nothing to do, we will retreat."

"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Murong Jing, the Prefect of Chang'an Prefecture, held up a memorial in his hand.

For some reason, Ye Mian had a bad feeling.

"Minister Mu, speak."

"Your Majesty, a heartbreaking case has occurred in the capital city: the corruption of the wicked servant in Minister Ye's household. The memorial is here for Your Majesty's perusal."

The eunuch went down and took the memorial.

Many people looked at Ye Mian. Most of the officials knew that the Ye family had produced a wicked servant, which was reported to the Chang'an Prefecture in the main hall. Some people felt that Ye Mian was extremely unlucky today.

Some people noticed something was amiss: Lord Mu and the Liu family were related by marriage, so why was he accusing Ye Mian in court?

The emperor was furious when he saw it and threw it to the eunuch.

"Read it! Read it loudly for me."

The words on the memorial were clearly heard by all the officials, and all their eyes were focused on Ye Mian.

Ye Mian's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He had clearly drugged the steward and the four maids; they shouldn't have survived to the end of Chang'an.

Without a proper trial and without a confession, a conviction cannot be fully established. Ye Mian exploited this loophole, but unexpectedly, the Chang'an Prefecture still managed to obtain all the evidence.

He could get away unscathed from the previous three managers, but now that his daughter and mother are involved, the problem is much bigger.

What he didn't know was that the men confessed to their crimes on the way, and their deaths in Chang'an Prefecture had no impact on their lives.

Little did she know that Liu Yunshu arranged for him to confess in the street precisely because she feared he would kill her to silence her.

"How dare you, Ye Mian! How could so many evil things happen in your residence right under the Emperor's nose?"

Which emperor under the emperor's nose would allow such despicable things to happen, yet the Ye family managed to uncover so much at once.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have been too inquisitive about matters in my household, which has led to the emergence of so many wicked servants and has corrupted the morals of the capital. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Ye Mian limped and knelt on the ground.

Liu Lingchuan sneered as he watched him downplay his guilt:

"Lord Ye, did you never expect things to turn out this way when you entrusted household affairs to an illiterate village woman?"

“Lord Liu, my wife was injured during childbirth in her early years, and my mother takes care of the household chores. I have many affairs to attend to, and it is really difficult for me to manage them all. I did not expect my servant to be so audacious.”

Liu Yunshu did indeed take some time to recover after giving birth to triplets. Ye Mian even dared to bring up the harrowing experience of giving birth to triplets back then, which made Liu Lingchuan even more furious.

"Back then, my younger sister gave birth to triplets, which was extremely dangerous. At that time, Old Madam Ye happened to be ill and caused a lot of trouble."

It's bad enough that Old Madam Ye was deceived by the wicked servants, but Xiyao has been abused by servants since she was five years old. Don't you know? Surely Old Madam Ye knows that her four personal maids abused her granddaughter?

Murong Jing looked at Xin Chonglian and asked, "I heard that when the subordinates went to the Ye residence to arrest people, Lord Xin witnessed it all."

Lord Xin nodded slightly, his brows furrowed, his face showing reluctance.

"Indeed, Miss Ye's arms were covered in bruises, which was heartbreaking to see. Old Madam Ye even asked Miss Ye for forgiveness."

As soon as Lord Xin said this, the officials started discussing it. Some looked surprised, some shook their heads and sighed, and some were indignant.

"Why would you ask your granddaughter for forgiveness if there was no abuse?"

"No one would believe that the old lady did it without her permission."

Do you think Lord Ye knows about this?

"This Ye family is outrageous!"

"To treat one's young lady like this is utterly disrespectful!"

"When I first arrived in the capital, I heard that Lord Ye was a gentleman who valued his reputation. I never expected that so many wicked people would appear in his home."

"Lord Ye, you should spend more time at home in the future."

"A good name is not as good as Lord Xin accomplishing more political achievements," Murong Jing said calmly.

This is saying that Ye Mian is all talk and no action.

"Pfft!" Laughter echoed from various parts of the hall.

Ye Mian lowered his head, his face contorted in extreme pain.

"What Lord Xin said is right. Lord Ye is very strict with his children. My sister takes care of them most of the time."

On the day Yaoyao faked her death and was reborn, the old lady of the Ye family made a scene, threatening to smash her head against a pillar rather than allow the coffin to be opened. It was my Liu family and my younger sister who opened the coffin together and brought her out.

Liu Lingchuan looked alarmed.

"Since this still happened, Miss Ye is truly blessed with good fortune and a long life."

"I've heard that in the countryside, there's a strong preference for sons over daughters, and it seems that's true."

"It is a good example of a bad bamboo producing a good shoot that such a mother could raise Lord Ye to be a good person."

It's ironic to say this at this time. The people discussing Ye Mian are officials who usually dislike his pretentious attitude. They finally have something to say about him, so they're just venting their frustrations.

“A few days ago, I visited Lord Ye’s house. After returning home, I spent the whole night in the outhouse. It turned out that I had eaten something unclean at Lord Ye’s house.”

"Me too, one night! It almost killed me."

"At the time, I wondered if I had eaten something bad at the Ye family's house. I never imagined it was true."

Murong Jing continued:

"The accountant said that the steward and Madam Ye had an affair, but unfortunately the steward and his party died as soon as they arrived in Chang'an. The coroner also said that they ate something unclean."

This unclean thing is naturally different from what others hear.

"Luckily, I'm tough; I only had to squat there for one night."

The Emperor's gaze was sharp; how could this have even harmed a high-ranking official? He glanced at Ye Mian and reprimanded him:

"Ye Qing, you're foolish!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I was confused."

“The village woman is wicked. In my opinion, she should be sent to a nunnery to eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and cultivate her character.”

As for you, as an official appointed by the imperial court, your failure to properly manage your household is a serious offense that cannot be escaped.

Ye Mian gritted his teeth, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty to manage my family affairs and am willing to accept punishment."

I humbly beg Your Majesty to consider my many years of service to the court and to show leniency.

"One year's salary fine."

"Your Majesty, I thank you."

Ye Mian was reluctant to part with several thousand taels of silver a year, but it was much better than being demoted.

After thanking him, Ye Mian stood up, momentarily forgetting to cover the injuries on his face.

"Lord Ye, didn't you say you fell off the carriage? Your face..."