This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Cheng Jun fell silent, seemingly struggling with his thoughts.

Seeing this, Qu Yue mustered her courage and said, "Cheng Sanlang, those people want to ruin your reputation, you can't not fight back! Don't you often argue your case in court? What I'm doing is also arguing my case!"

Cheng Jun looked at her and nodded. "You're right."

Immediately, he stood up, took his small box, and handed it to her, saying:

"As the saying goes, 'An army marches on its stomach,' this is the money I earned from supplying the palace with refined salt. You can use it all; you're short of this right now."

Qu Yue quickly pushed it away, saying, "This is all hard-earned money from Cheng Sanlang. I can't accept it. My family has money."

Cheng Jun hesitated for two seconds, then put away the small box and said, "Alright, then I won't give it to you."

Qu Yue stood up and said, "Cheng Sanlang, I'll go back and prepare now."

Cheng Jun also stood up, walked to her side, gazed at her, and said:

"You must be careful. Remember, if you encounter any troublesome matters, push it onto me. Just say that I sent you. Don't put yourself in any danger, understand?"

Qu Yue sensed his concern, her earlobes turned red, and she became even more determined to help him, nodding and saying:

"Don't worry, Cheng Sanlang!"

After saying that, she bowed slightly and left the main room.

Qu Yue suddenly realized that Cheng Jun had come out with her.

Seeing Qu Yue's confusion, Cheng Jun said gently, "I'll see you off."

Qu Yue pursed her lips, a smile playing on her lips, and nodded emphatically.

Cheng Jun watched her leave in the carriage before turning away. Just as he turned to go back to his residence, he noticed a burly figure in front of him. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Cheng Yaojin and was taken aback. "Father, what are you doing at home?"

Cheng Yaojin stood with his hands behind his back, looked at him and said, "With such a big incident, how could I not come back?"

Cheng Jun asked, "How long have you been back?"

Cheng Yaojin said, "I came back with that young lady."

As he spoke, he said with some dissatisfaction, "How can you ask someone for a favor like this?"

Cheng Jun realized that Qu Yue had heard his entire conversation and said:

"She did it voluntarily."

Cheng Yaojin chuckled and said, "You came up with the idea, and people just followed it. How can that be called voluntary?"

"You should give her that little box of money."

Cheng Jun said, "I gave it to her, but she didn't want it."

"..."

Cheng Yaojin remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed, "This young lady is truly innocent."

Cheng Jun solemnly replied, "Me too."

Cheng Yaojin rolled his eyes and said, "When you cut it open, the whole thing is black."

"I overheard your conversation outside. Did your trick work?"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "Of course it's useful."

Cheng Yaojin asked, "Do you need my help?"

Cheng Jun thought for a moment and said, "Give them some money to help them out."

Cheng Yaojin nodded and said, "It seems I can't be of any help."

"..."

Cheng Jun twitched the corner of his mouth, not surprised at all. He turned to look around and asked, "By the way, where are my older brothers?"

Normally, his older brothers would come over as soon as he returned, but today, even though he's been back for so long, he hasn't seen them.

Cheng Yaojin said, "I'm lying down to recuperate."

Cheng Jun was surprised, "Recuperating? My eldest and second eldest brothers are sick? What illness?"

Cheng Yaojin said, "After they drank Princess Chang Le's tea yesterday, I don't know why, they've been jumping around since yesterday."

No wonder I didn't settle accounts with you... Cheng Jun muttered to himself, then said:

"I'm going to get some medicine for my older brothers."

Cheng Yaojin waved his hand and said, "It's just a stomachache, it's not that serious."

"But if you want to go, go ahead. I'm going back to work first."

"it is good."

Cheng Jun responded, parted ways with him, changed into official robes, and headed towards the palace.

.............

Chongrenfang, Qu family.

After Qu Yue returned, she immediately instructed the steward of the manor to invite someone to visit her.

Fifteen minutes later, four stunningly beautiful women dressed in different outfits walked in.

"Sister Qu Yue, you were looking for us?"

When Qu Yue saw them, her eyes lit up. She stood up and went to greet them, saying, "Four sisters, we've finally waited for you! Come in quickly."

The four women who arrived were Zhao Banyan, the daughter of Zhao Renben, an official in the Ministry of Personnel.

Cen Ling, the niece of Cen Wenben, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Chen Mengqin, granddaughter of Jiang Guogong Chen Shuda.

Tang Qiuyan, daughter of Tang Jiao, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Since their parting at the banquet hosted by Cheng Jun, the four girls have joined Cheng Sanlang's support group.

Since they joined, the number of Cheng Sanlang's fan club members has surged to over a thousand.

The four women contributed a lot to the project, and as a result, Qu Yue's relationship with them grew closer.

Because of Qu Yue's status as the president of Cheng Sanlang's fan club and her fine character, the four girls were happy to befriend her.

On weekdays, he would bring Qu Yue with him whenever he went to a banquet.

This made Qu Yue's father even more willing to give her money.

After entering the room and sitting down, Qu Yue personally poured them a cup of tea, then sat back down and sighed, "Sigh."

Zhao Banyan asked curiously, "Sister Qu Yue, why are you sighing?"

The other three women also looked on with curiosity.

Qu Yue said, "I heard that someone in the capital is spreading rumors about Cheng Sanlang, saying that the earthquakes these past few days were all caused by him."

Zhao Banyan exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"

Chen Mengqin raised an eyebrow. "Who's so bold as to bully Cheng Sanlang?"

Cen Ling asked doubtfully, "I heard that this earthquake was a warning from the heavens, a sign of divine wrath. But that's for the emperor, what does it have to do with Cheng Sanlang?"

Tang Qiuyan said sweetly, "Yes, yes."

Qu Yue pursed her lips and said, "According to reliable sources, someone slandered Cheng Sanlang to the emperor in court. The emperor was furious and dismissed him from his post."

The four women were taken aback. "What?"

They had been either attending banquets or on their way to banquets lately and were unaware of recent events at court. Upon hearing this, they were quite surprised.

Zhao Banyan frowned slightly. "Cheng Sanlang has done so many good things for the people. His Majesty has seen it all. How could he so easily believe slander and dismiss Cheng Sanlang from his post?"

Qu Yue said, "Because those who spread slander are people from the five surnames and seven prominent families."

Five surnames and seven prominent families... Upon hearing this, the four women exchanged glances, understanding the situation.

They knew more than Qu Yue. Cheng Jun had too many grudges with the Five Clans and Seven Families. It was obvious that the Five Clans and Seven Families were trying to ruin Cheng Jun's career by taking advantage of the earthquake.

Chen Mengqin had the same volatile temper as her grandfather, and she slammed her fist on the table, exclaiming, "How awful!"

Qu Yue replied, "Who says otherwise? Not only was I angry when I heard it, but I also heard that many ministers in the court were furious. There was even a senior minister who wrote down the whole process."

As she spoke, Qu Yue took out the papers she had brought back from the Cheng family and handed them to them to look at.