Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

After Xiao Zhenwei left, Xiao Lan took a deep breath and then methodically began to handle the following matters. The first was the question of whereabouts of the servants interrogated the previous day. After careful examination, if it was determined that these servants had not committed any crimes, they would be brought back to the Xiao Marquis's residence shortly; as for those servants found to have engaged in illegal or disorderly conduct, they would be handed over to the Prefectural Governor's Office without hesitation for legal processing.

At the same time, Xiao Jinshi, Qi Jing'an, and Xiao Dayi also need to be brought back to the Xiao Marquis's residence first. It is worth mentioning that Xiao Jinshi and Qi Jing'an had previously re-signed their contracts at the Prefectural Governor's residence, which means that, to some extent, their indentures are now in Xiao Lan's hands.

As for Zhen Jian, although his indenture had been transferred to Madam Hou, she still needed to return to the Xiao family to pack her belongings. Therefore, after careful consideration, Xiao Lan decided to temporarily have Liu Pengfei imprison Zhen Jian in the prefectural jail. He would be taken away once Madam Hou returned with her belongings. This way, Zhen Jian wouldn't escape, and Madam Hou would have enough time to properly handle the situation.

The indentures for Qi Shu and Qi Lanlan had been written, but Xiao Lan was at a loss as to what to do with them. After some thought, she decided to have Li Yuan find the two women, pack their indentures together, and send them to Lin Dayou's residence. However, to cover her tracks, she would announce to the outside world that the two women had already been sold to others.

After everything was mostly settled, Xiao Lan turned to Liu Pengfei and said sincerely, "I am deeply grateful for the help I received from the Prefect. However, I have a presumptuous request, and I hope the Prefect will grant it."

Liu Pengfei secretly guessed that Xiao Lan probably wanted him to keep quiet about this matter. After all, if such family matters were to get out, it would make people feel ashamed to some extent.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Lan then said, "Although this matter is a family scandal, the large-scale arrest of criminals today is bound to arouse suspicion among the people of the city. To prevent unnecessary chaos, could the prefect send someone from the prefectural government to spread the word about what happened today? Moreover, tomorrow I intend to punish Xiao Dayi in front of the Xiao Marquis's mansion."

Liu Pengfei stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long time. After finally regaining his composure, he nodded repeatedly as if waking from a dream, mechanically replying with "okay." However, at this moment, his heart was already churning like a raging storm.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This woman who could become a prince's consort is truly extraordinary! She actually had the audacity to reveal such a shameful affair to outsiders without any hesitation. Such decisive and resolute character was truly astonishing.

However, Liu Pengfei was unaware of the true situation. It turned out that only by thoroughly confirming everything could the Xiao Marquis's mansion truly belong to Xiao Daren. To put it more bluntly, it meant placing the mansion entirely under the control of Xiao Lan's biological brother, Xiao Mu'an. Although Xiao Mu'an himself might not have had much of a desire for this, in his previous life, he had been so devoted to protecting his sister Xiao Lan that he had accidentally injured his face, ultimately preventing him from participating in the imperial examinations and cutting off his path to officialdom, leading a life of extreme frustration. Therefore, in this second life, Xiao Lan was determined to do everything in her power to create favorable conditions for her brother, to make up for the regrets of her past life.

Speaking of the Xiao Marquis's mansion, although Xiao Daren was unable to inherit the prestigious title in his lifetime, the wealth accumulated by the mansion was absolutely comparable to that of a nation! Especially considering that Xiao Zhenwei, a man of great power and position, was one of the eight pillars of the state; and then there was the Jin family, whose maternal family was one of the three most famous and prestigious families, and the Jin family's only legitimate daughter! With such a powerful alliance, it's simply unimaginable how much wealth the Xiao Marquis's mansion possessed!

However, it's regrettable that much of the wealth has already been generously given away by Xiao Jin to a collateral branch of the Jin family. Fortunately, Xiao Lan acted decisively, quickly dispatching people to seal off the Jin family's collateral branch in Changzhou. Presumably, it won't be long before most of the lost property is recovered! As for the capital, it's estimated that it will also be sealed off in a few days. When I return, those who purchased the antiques from the Xiao Marquis's old residence will gradually return the items. After all, our Great Xia Dynasty has clear laws: anyone who buys stolen goods is considered an accomplice!

This explains the existence of numerous jade shops within the Great Xia Dynasty. These shops sell various antiques and rare items at regular intervals, but they also bear the risks associated with receiving, inspecting, and providing after-sales service. If Xiao Jin's sister-in-law chooses to sell her items through a jade shop, and the shop fails to rigorously verify the item's provenance, then once the buyers discover the truth, the jade shop will bear all the liability for compensation. However, if Xiao Jin's sister-in-law doesn't use a jade shop for the transaction but instead conducts the sale privately, then whoever ultimately acquires the item can only lament their bad luck and accept their loss.

Otherwise, once Xiao Lan returns to the capital, armed with a list of past transactions involving that item, she could go directly to the Prefect of the Capital to report the matter. In a less serious case, she might only need to return the item and pay a fine; but in a more serious case, she could face imprisonment. Regardless of the final outcome, it's safe to assume it won't be a pleasant ending. Furthermore, those who can afford such valuable items are not ordinary people; they are usually prominent figures who value their reputation highly. Therefore, such a situation would be truly unbearable for them.

How could Xiao Jin's shrewd sister-in-law not know the significant stakes involved? She knew that the only way to minimize her punishment was to expose everyone involved in the purchase without any concealment.

At this moment, Xiao Lan looked at Liu Pengfei and Yue Jiangchuan with gratitude and said slowly, "Today's events are all thanks to the help of Prefect Liu and Commander Yue. You must know that Changzhou is far from the capital, and many matters can only be properly handled with official documents. Therefore, I'm afraid we will have to rely on Prefect Liu to take care of things in the future. As for Commander Yue and me, we will return to the Xiao family first." After speaking, she turned slightly to the side and gave Dangdang a wink, and then together they escorted Xiao Dayi and Xiao Jinshi on their way back, slowly heading towards the Xiao Marquis's residence.

After respectfully seeing Xiao Lan and Yue Jiangchuan off, Liu Pengfei immediately turned back to the inner hall of the government office. He anxiously summoned the clerk and solemnly instructed him, "Quickly draft two documents! Send one to the Prefectural Governor's Office in the capital, and the other to the Prefectural Governor's Office in Changzhou. There must be no delay!" After saying this, he paced back and forth anxiously, glancing out the door from time to time, as if waiting for some important news.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached. It was Li Yuan, who had come running, panting and sweating profusely, clutching a bulging bag and a letter. After catching his breath, Li Yuan quickly bowed and said to Liu Pengfei, “Your Excellency, Prefect, I, Li Yuan, pay my respects! This is a bag of loose silver that my young lady specially sent me to deliver. Because the recent events have been quite troublesome, I hope Your Excellency will take the trouble to separate those people and detain them separately. This silver is both for Your Excellency and the brothers in your household to pay for their meals, and also a small token of appreciation for everyone's hard work during this time.” With that, Li Yuan carefully handed the heavy bag of loose silver to the clerk standing beside Liu Pengfei.

Liu Pengfei narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at the bag of silver. Good heavens! There must be at least two or three hundred taels of loose silver in that bag. Clearly, Xiao Lan had not only paid for the meal but also the labor costs of the prison guards. Although the amount was considerable, since they had brought it so sincerely, it would seem pretentious to refuse. Thinking this, Liu Pengfei pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and gave the clerk a wink, signaling him to accept the silver.

After watching his advisor accept the gleaming silver with a smile, Li Yuan carefully took out an envelope from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Liu Pengfei, saying, "My young lady is deeply grateful for your tireless help these past few days, Prefect Liu! However, His Majesty has specially dispatched my young lady to handle matters related to the Ye family. Judging from the current situation, we will probably have to stay in Xiwu Prefecture for about half a month. Moreover, as my young lady said, with such a momentous event occurring at the Xiao Marquis's residence, it must keep you busy for quite some time, Prefect! I imagine you are too busy with other trivial matters to attend to! Therefore, my young lady thinks that you really don't have the time to receive visitors recently, so as to avoid creating unnecessary trouble."

After saying this, Li Yuan bowed slightly and winked at Prefect Liu, signaling him to quickly check the letter in his hand. Then, he politely took his leave. As soon as Li Yuan left, Liu Pengfei eagerly tore open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper to examine it closely. But to his surprise, the envelope contained not a letter, but merely a silver note with a face value of a thousand taels!

The clerk said with a solemn expression, "In my opinion, this young lady from the Xiao family is no ordinary person! Her actions are clearly a warning to you, sir, not to interfere in the Ye family's affairs." After saying this, he shook his head slightly, seemingly somewhat surprised by the methods of this young lady Xiao.

Upon hearing this, Liu Pengfei couldn't help but sigh, lamenting, "This is clearly a way of silencing me with money, while also warning me not to meddle. But she's overthinking things. Putting aside the immense wealth of the Xiao family, they can now mobilize tens of thousands of troops. Even the imperial army would struggle to handle such a large force, let alone me." His words revealed Liu Pengfei's apprehension about the Xiao family's power.

However, the advisor frowned and asked with doubt, "This Miss Xiao hasn't even officially married into the royal family yet, but she's already making such a big show of things. Isn't she afraid of being impeached by the officials in the court later? After all, such behavior is really too flamboyant and domineering." Clearly, the advisor was quite worried about the risks hidden behind Miss Xiao's actions.

"Didn't you notice? The Imperial Guards escorting her number a whopping forty! You know, when the Imperial Concubine returned to her family home, she only had less than ten Imperial Guards with her! Not only that, even His Majesty personally issued an edict, explicitly demanding that this woman be received with the etiquette due to an Imperial Concubine. In fact, anyone with discerning eyes can see that this crackdown on the Ye family clearly has His Majesty's tacit approval and support. Therefore, we must not underestimate this woman!" Liu Pengfei paused slightly, then continued... "Take the commotion she caused today, for example. From now on, the Xiao family mansion will definitely become her father and brothers' possession. As for Xiao Dayi, he's completely finished this time! Fortunately, we don't have too much or too deep a connection with Xiao Dayi of the Xiao family, otherwise, given her scheming and methods, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to keep my position as prefect today!" As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Pengfei seemed to have lingering fear, subconsciously reaching out to touch his forehead, and then pretending to wipe away non-existent sweat.

“My lord, aren’t you being overly cautious? Even if she’s capable, she’s still just a sixteen-year-old girl! Why go to such lengths?” The clerk standing to the side looked puzzled and confused, clearly doubting his master’s overly cautious attitude. He shook his head, still finding it hard to believe that this seemingly delicate woman could pose any real threat.