"Why?"
Jiang Shouzhong looked at her curiously, then he understood sothing and shook his head with a smile, "It doesn’t matter how they play chess. If they think I am a useful piece, then I am. Besides, tonight I guess I used those gentlen as much as they used ."
"Of course, I also hope that through this event, those people can understand that even a chess piece can topple the board. If they want to pin down Jiang Mo, they better weigh themselves first!"
Under the night sky, the man’s face exuded an air of resolution, his eyes like polished obsidian, gleaming brightly.
Ran Qingchen gazed intently at the man before her, her beautiful eyes brimming with extraordinary splendor.
"Qingchen..."
Jiang Shouzhong gazed earnestly at the woman’s beautiful features, expressing heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you for helping ."
Although he had orchestrated everything that night, it wouldn’t have been so smooth without Ran Qingchen’s assistance.
The woman tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled sweetly, like a beautiful peony, "There’s no need for formality between husband and wife. In any case, you are my husband. And after listening to Mr. Yuan earlier, it seems I am also using you."
Jiang Shouzhong, his mood sowhat lightened, joked, "To be used by Miss Ran is also worth it. As the saying goes, ’To die under the peony, even as a ghost, I’d be in good company.’"
Ran Qingchen rolled her eyes at him coquettishly and retorted lightly, "You’ve provoked such powerful enemies, and still you flirt."
The playful banter, akin to that of a couple, suddenly rendered both of them sowhat awkwardly silent. Their shadows, imprinted on the ground by the moonlight, seed frozen like a silhouette.
"I’ll go first."
Jiang Shouzhong coughed and began to walk away.
"Jiang Mo!"
The woman suddenly called out.
Having taken a few steps, Jiang Shouzhong turned back to look at the woman, whose hair danced in the wind, his face puzzled.
Ran Qingchen, not even sure herself why she had stopped him, her cheeks tinged with a blush—thankfully concealed by the darkness—forced calmness and said, "Nothing, just... be careful."
"Mm."
Jiang Shouzhong smiled and nodded.
Watching his figure gradually vanish from her sight, Ran Qingchen took a deep breath, looked up at the sparse stars in the night sky, her lips curving into a bright and enchanting smile, "Pretty good..."
—
As the incident of demon energy hidden in the Xichu Pavilion fernted, by the next day rumors of all sizes and shapes had spread throughout the city. That very night of the demon energy search, Xichu Pavilion had been sealed off.
Oddly, the following day at court, not a single official ntioned the matter.
Only the Liushan Division arranged the case files and passed them to the Ministry of Justice, which after review, placed them on the case desk in the Emperor’s study.
By the morning of the third day, a couple of mid-level officials began to report on the Xichu Pavilion incident at court, subtly hinting that the Luo Family was behind it. Yet after hearing this, Emperor Zhou Chang did not issue any directives.
That afternoon, with the Vice Minister of Works leading, several officials began submitting morials to impeach the Luo Family using the Xichu Pavilion incident.
The Emperor simply gave a brief directive for the Ministry of Justice to continue the investigation, still with little reaction. This made so officials, who had been ready to make a move, hesitate, and by the fourth day’s court session, not a soul spoke of it again.
Just when everyone thought the matter would be suppressed, on the fifth day’s court session, the Minister of War, among others, began to impeach the Luo Family. This ti it was not limited to Xichu Pavilion; all sorts of other illegal activities by the Luo Family were brought to light, even producing evidence.
The impeachnt grew more intense, and eventually almost half of the officials at court joined in. There were those who kicked a man while he was down, those seeking revenge on old enemies, those who switched sides for their own benefit... The court turned into a market.
Of course, the Luo faction did not sit idly by and retaliated.
The most sensational was an official who accused Mr. Luo of having an affair with his own daughter-in-law and penned nearly two hundred thousand words detailing the case, including explicit details of actions and duration, as if he witnessed them firsthand. His vivid writing left even so of his colleagues in shock.
Afterward, morials flooded towards the Emperor’s study like snowflakes.
The result was, as the Ministry of Justice settled on the case facts, the enraged Emperor ordered imprisonnts for those from the Luo Family and their associated officials, as well as demotions and exiles... For a ti, Luo Mansion was desolate, a stark contrast to the once bustling household.
Offended officials who had been close to the Luo Family trembled in fear, daring not to even step outside their hos.
And when many thought the Luo Family was done for, the Emperor suddenly issued a decree, appointing General Luo from the distant frontier as the Crown Prince’s Great Teacher. Although a title without actual power, it sent a certain signal.
Thus, the number of officials impeaching the Luo Family dwindled, as did the morials.
Until two foolish officials, trying to capitalize on the montum, impeached the Luo Family again, resulting in them being dragged outside the palace and beaten with dozens of rods. After that, no voice dared question the Luo Family again.
In this storm, the Luo Family’s main roots and foundations were preserved, but at a heavy and grieving cost.
What was intriguing was that Jiang Shouzhong, the greatest contributor to the case, seed to have been forgotten, as no one ntioned him.
Except for a few ntions in the Ministry of Justice’s records and Yuan Anjiang naming him several tis, no other officials included even a word in their morials. Even the Luo faction’s officials deliberately overlooked him.
This was both good and bad.
The good part was that he wouldn’t attract too much attention and beco a pawn in soone’s ga.
The downside was, as the uproar gradually settled, Jiang Shouzhong would be forgotten, and the amulet he had fought hard for that night would slowly lose its effect. When the amulet completely vanished, danger would follow.
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