Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

Cheng Nanzhi nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this: "I trust you to get things done."

Qingdai, however, was somewhat worried.

"Miss, do you think it's possible that the young master and his cousin really did lose some manuscripts, or that they did have manuscripts written a few days ago, and they might just use them as evidence to prove that the poems are theirs, and then find some servant to take the blame?"

That way, they would have avoided this disaster.

Qingdai felt resentful.

Cheng Nanzhi sat down, took a sip of warm water to moisten her throat, and then said, "Regardless of whether they have any so-called manuscripts or not, if they want to get rid of the reputation of plagiarism, they will definitely find someone to take the blame in the end. That's for sure."

"Then what should we do? We can't just let them get away with it like this." Qingdai said angrily, "It's clearly not their stuff, how dare they claim it? If only the original authors of those poems and articles could come out, that would directly expose the shameless true colors of the adults!"

Cheng Nanzhi paused slightly as she put down the cup, then immediately looked up at Qingdai.

Qingdai was cursing angrily when she suddenly noticed Cheng Nanzhi staring at her, which startled her.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

Cheng Nanzhi's eyes lit up slightly, and she suddenly laughed, getting up and hugging Qingdai tightly.

"Qingdai, you are truly my capable assistant, you gave me such a great idea!"

Qingdai was slightly confused: "Miss, what idea did I give you?"

Cheng Nanzhi sat back down and smiled slightly, saying, "Let the owners of these poems and articles come out and see what they do."

"Miss, you know where the master is? That's wonderful! Now the adults can't turn the tables!" Qingdai exclaimed in delight.

Cheng Nanzhi shook her head: "I don't know where he is."

"Huh??" Qingdai was stunned.

Cheng Nanzhi just smiled and didn't explain much. She instructed, "Qingdai, after the mansion is searched, have someone send a message to Chen Wang, telling him not to return to the mansion for the time being, and to do two things for me."

"First, have people spread the word that Zhao Ye and his group, in order to clear their names, not only denied that the entire manuscript was written by Zhao Shize, but also used the excuse of the manuscript being lost to push a servant out to take the blame and be punished. Remember, you must be quick, and spread the word throughout the city before Zhao Ye and his group clarify, so that the people will believe that Zhao Shize plagiarized."

Qingdai immediately understood: "If they spread the news before them, no matter how hard the adults try to clarify, they won't be able to clear their name. There will definitely be more people who doubt than believe them. Unless they can come up with an effective method in a short time."

Cheng Nanzhi understood Zhao Ye and his group; they couldn't think of a second solution in a short time.

Even if she could, she would have known their thoughts first, she was still one step ahead!

Qingdai said, "Miss, but if we do that, Mr. Zhou might believe that the young master's talent is fake. Will he still accept the young master as his disciple then? Didn't you intend to make sure he accepted the young master?"

“I have another way to deal with this,” Cheng Nanzhi said confidently, then continued, “The second thing is to have Chen Wang spread the word that the owner of those poems and articles has appeared at the Zizhu Pavilion, ten miles north of the capital, and is very angry to hear that the Zhao family has misappropriated his articles.”

Qingdai asked, "Should Chen Wang find someone to pretend to be there?"

"Need not."

"Oh? But you've chosen such a specific location. If someone goes there and knows whether the person is there or not, will they still believe that the owner of the poem is there?" Qingdai worried.

Cheng Nanzhi smiled: "Isn't it better to find out he's not here? As everyone knows, he's just an ordinary citizen with nothing to his name. No matter how indignant he is, he can't withstand the power of the Zhao family."

"If this happens, the people will misunderstand that you are abusing your power, and the Zhao family's reputation will be even worse!" Qingdai was delighted.

Cheng Nanzhi slightly curled the corners of her mouth.

Sometimes, the truth of the matter is not important.

What matters is what people think.

Nowadays, truth and falsehood are mixed together, and people are more likely to believe what interests them, while the actual situation is often ignored.

However, that was not her purpose in having the news spread.

Cheng Nanzhi calculated the time and said, "It's about time. Zhao Ye will be leaving the manor soon and won't be back for a while. Qingdai, you go and make the arrangements."

Qingdai accepted the order and quickly left.

Before long, Qian Yidong led his men to Guantang Courtyard.

"Madam, I apologize for the offense. I was only acting on your orders." Qian Yidong bowed respectfully, not daring to be disrespectful to Cheng Nanzhi.

Cheng Nanzhi was very easy to talk to in front of the servants, and nodded in agreement to let him search the courtyard.

Qian Yidong didn't make things difficult for him and was very accommodating, instructing people to search carefully and not to damage anything.

Soon, Qian Yidong's men finished searching, but found nothing.

"How are things in the other courtyards? Have they been searched and questioned about the thieves' whereabouts?" Cheng Nanzhi asked as usual.

"Not yet, but I'm sure we'll find it if we keep searching," Qian Yidong said, inwardly lamenting that he hadn't found any clues at all.

Some time ago, in order to memorize the poems given to him by the master, the young master did write a lot of manuscripts and carried them with him to keep a record, but they have all been lost without a trace, and no servant remembers them.

As for Miss Ye, there was even less of a clue. The manuscripts she wrote for the adults were mostly kept in their study, and the adults cherished them greatly, not losing a single one. But the manuscripts in her own courtyard were vague and unclear. Only Sanmei could vouch for Ye Ruyue's writing, and there were no other clues whatsoever.

There's not even a starting point, how can we investigate?

Qian Yidong even suspected that some manuscripts might have really gone missing? It seems that in the end, they'll have to find someone to take the blame.

Cheng Nanzhi, without changing her expression, demanded that Qian Yidong investigate as soon as possible, and finally asked where Zhao Ye was.

“My lord received a summons from the Ministry of Rites a quarter of an hour ago and left the mansion,” Qian Yidong replied.

Cheng Nanzhi feigned surprise: "Why all of a sudden? Do you know why?"

"Your Majesty, I do not know," Qian Yidong said, his heart pounding with unease.

The official was with him at the time. The official said he wanted to investigate the traitor himself. He didn't expect the Ministry of Rites to send someone to find him, and the person who came had a strange expression and attitude.

It seemed that something was not good, and the adults did not look too good when they arrived.

Cheng Nanzhi didn't ask any further questions and waved him off to continue with his work.

Qingdai hurried to Cheng Nanzhi's side, looking at her with surprise and admiration: "Miss, how did you know that Master would leave the manor?"

"If I remember correctly, the list of promotions and transfers from the Ministry of Rites has been delayed for so long, it should be released in the next few days. At this critical juncture, something happened to Zhao Ye's family, and it's a scandalous affair at that. What do you think will happen?" Cheng Nanzhi said meaningfully.

"Promotion is hopeless. At best, it's just a temporary setback, and once things calm down, at worst, there's no chance at all, and you might even be suspended from your post and left idle at home. It all depends on how things turn out."

Having been by Cheng Nanzhi's side for so long, Qingdai's perspective and knowledge have changed, and she reacts very quickly.

She also thought of another aspect: "If word gets out that the official has abused his power to oppress innocent people, then wouldn't the official be..."

Qingdai's eyes lit up.

Cheng Nanzhi looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Aren't you going yet?"

"Yes!" Qingdai smiled so much her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Also, let Jianlan and Lianruo take their people back to Guantang Courtyard. The cleanup after the banquet in the manor should be handled by the matriarch. After Jianlan returns, have her come to see me alone," Cheng Nanzhi said.

Qingdai should go there.

Cheng Nanzhi returned to her room to rest.

Lan arrived quickly: "Miss, what can I do for you?"

"Go to Shou'an Hall and report the remaining arrangements for the banquet to Zhang Mama, who serves the old lady. My mother-in-law is in charge of the household, so it's her responsibility to handle this," Cheng Nanzhi said unhurriedly. "Don't rush back. Quietly go and do a few things for Sanmei."

"First, we need to determine whether Ye Ruyue has indeed lost any manuscripts."

"Second, have Sanmei find two trustworthy servants to spread the word that the owner of the poem has appeared at the Purple Bamboo Pavilion, ten miles outside the northern suburbs. Make sure this reaches Ye Ruyue's ears, but don't let the old lady and the others know, and the fewer other people who know, the better."

Cheng Nanzhi looked at Jian Lan: "I just want to know how Ye Ruyue reacts. If she can't hold back and leaves the manor immediately, and has Sanmei follow her, she should report back to me what she did."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Take a few bottles of good medicine to Sanmei as well. Tell her that I feel sorry for her because of her injuries, but this matter is really urgent and cannot be delayed, so I can only ask her to make do this once."

Seeing that Lan had carefully written it down, she asked, "Miss, what about the third thing?"