Chapter 433: 429: Unfit to Act_1

Upon recalling Xiao Chengyu and his mother, Xiao Madame Wang, Yingbao suddenly sighed, “It’s not the Marquis Changshou, but rather his second son, Xiao Chengjun.”

Marquis Changshou, with a twisted mouth and slanted eye, could hardly speak clearly. He could only think about preserving his life every day and hence had no spare time to hire someone to hurt others.

Even Xiao Mo is now turning a deaf ear to everything outside the window and enjoying his half-day of leisure.

In the Xiao Residence, only Xiao Chengjun and Chen Tiantian and her mother harbor hostility towards her. They are her mortal enemies.

“Alright.” In fact, Wei Zhan doesn’t share any blood relation with Xiao Chengjun.

The only one who is his actual cousin is Xiao Chengyu.

The next day, the Ministry of Justice sent many constables. After inquiring about the situation, they ordered people to carry away the three corpses.

Later on, accompanied by an official from the Ministry of Justice, Yingbao went to the Xiao Family.

Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu Huzi also accompanied her.

They ordered the guard to open the gates of the Marquis Residence and barge directly in.

All the servants of the Marquis Residence dare not obstruct them and could only run to the inner courtyard to report to Xiao Madame Wang.

However, Xiao Madame Wang completely disregarded it and was having lunch with her son.

Seeing the situation, the servants stepped aside, out of sight, out of mind.

A group of government officials, under the instruction of the Marquis’s servants, directly approached Xiao Chengjun’s courtyard.

Xiao Chengjun, neatly dressed, was sitting on an arhat couch looking towards the entrance.

A beautiful young girl dressed in simple clothes, coldly scrutinizing him, stepped forward and said, “Xiao Chengjun, you sent assassins to my Jiang Mansion. What was your intention?”

Xiao Chengjun’s face was expressionless. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“There’s no need for you to play dumb.” Jiang Wu pointed at him and said, “An assassin has confessed. They were following your orders to kidnap my sister.”

In spite of his astonishment, Xiao Chengjun responded calmly, “I hold no official rank, and I can’t afford assassins. Do not frame innocent people.”

An officer from the Ministry of Justice stated, “In that case, come with me to the Ministry of Justice. If you are innocent or not, explain it to our benefactor.”

Xiao Chengjun stood up, “Alright, the innocent would clear themselves. I’ll explain everything.”

Yingbao sneered, “What about Chen Tiantian? Take her as well.”

Xiao Chengjun turned towards her, “Jiang Yingbao, are you trying to take personal revenge in the name of justice?”

Yingbao: “You still deny it with all the evidence before your eyes, Xiao Chengjun. I just want to ask, what grievances are there between us that led you to send assassins to kidnap and kill me?”

Xiao Chengjun’s mouth twitched, he was momentarily speechless.

Those assassins indeed were his, he had intended to kidnap Jiang Yingbao to a hidden place, and make her reveal her secret of how she could steal people’s life span. However, they turned out to be useless.

The assassin who escaped yesterday night was already dead, thrown into the incinerator in his secret residence. Nothing could be found.

As for Tiantian and her mother, they are also there. He was originally planning to observe how Tiantian and Jiang Yingbao exchange life spans, but the plan was ruined by those fools.

However, he was in no rush. The Ministry of Justice wouldn’t be able to find any evidence proving he was the employer of those assassins because the assassins were given poison before they carried out the mission. If they didn’t report back in time to take the antidote, they would soon die of poisoning.

It was already dawn, and they should all be dead by now.

A smirk appeared on Xiao Chengjun’s face.

Without a witness, they wouldn’t be able to hold him for long.

His father, after all, was Marquis Changshou; even the Emperor wouldn’t dare to accuse him without any reason.

Wei Zhan and Jiang Wu searched the courtyard with their men but found no trace of Chen Tiantian and her mother. Only the young boy and Xiao Chengyu were together.

“It is possible that Xiao Chengjun hid them somewhere.” said Jiang Wu.

There was no sign of her mother and daughter in the entire Xiao Residence, no one knew anything, it was probable that Xiao Chengjun had sent them away early.

Jiang Wu then interrogated several old servants about the presence of any basements or cellars in the residence, but all replied in the negative.

This was rather strange.

In the room, Yingbao and Xiao Chengjun were sizing each other up, both seeing contempt in each other’s eyes.

“Take him back to the Ministry of Justice for trial.”

The officer from the Ministry of Justice waved his hand, and the constables hoisted Xiao Chengjun away.

Yingbao and Wei Zhan, along with several others, were following the crowd outside when they unexpectedly bumped into Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo was sitting in a wheelchair made of wooden wheels, quietly looking at her.

Yingbao’s gaze passed over his legs, covered in fox fur, before she turned her face away.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Mo had become a crippled man unable to walk properly.

No wonder Master Zhou Wuchang was so relieved in keeping the Xiao Family in Beijing, even granting his father the title of Marquis.

So that’s how it is.

She was wondering why the Xiao Residence would let the fool, Xiao Chengjun, take charge. Turns out his older brother had become disabled; this must be the main reason.

…

On the eighteenth of the first lunar month, Yingbao’s imperial edict of arranged marriage arrived rather late.

However, the edict only mentioned the marriage, but not when she should get married.

No wonder. The Wei Family was not in Beijing, and her parents were both far away. Since their only legitimate son was getting married, they would undoubtedly want to wait till his parents arrived before determining the wedding date.

After receiving the edict, Wei Zhan’s betrothal gifts arrived.

Because the Wei Family owned two or three shops in Beijing, he didn’t lack money for the betrothal gifts.

On seeing the boxes of silk fabrics, gold and silver jewelry, precious stones, pearl-studded jackets, and other gifts being carried into the house, Chunniang was utterly astonished.

Did Wei Zhan give all the merchandise from his shops as gifts?

This… this was too much. Even if they converted all their money into dowry, it probably wouldn’t amount to twenty percent of these gifts.

Yingbao looked at Wei Zhan, who had a triumphant expression on his face, feeling speechless.

Did his parents know about his extravagant spending?

“These two geese, I bought them at a high price, one male, and one female. You can clip their wings and raise them in the yard. Who knows, they might lay a nest of eggs.” Wei Zhan proudly presented the geese to Yingbao.

Yingbao stroked the terrified geese, “Okay, we can just tie them by their legs with rope later; there’s no need to cut their wings.”

Geese tend to migrate; after they lay eggs and hatch their goslings, she will release them.

Next, the Emperor’s rewards also arrived. A whole cartload of silk fabrics and jewelry, as well as various utensils for the wedding.

The most important thing was, the residence of the County Lord was now appropriately renovated and ready for habitation.

The residence of the County Lord consisted of three courtyards and several dozen rooms.

Not only did it have a maid’s quarters and a servant’s quarters, but it also had rooms for guards, a stable, and a large kitchen courtyard.

The kitchen courtyard was expansive, containing a well and a stream that connected to a water pavilion where the maids washed clothes and vegetables.

There were two small vegetable gardens in the kitchen courtyard, a chicken coop, and a sheep pen.

It seemed like this place used to be the residence of some wealthy family.

Yingbao toured around the place with her family and decided to move in.

They would leave the Jiang Mansion for her second cousin and the incoming grandparents to live in.

“Yingbao, we need to heighten the walls of your residence.”

Ever since the incident with the assassin on the Lantern Festival night, Wei Zhan was very worried and wished he could sleep next door to Yingbao.

Yingbao looked at the wall: “Ok, let’s talk about it after the first lunar month.”

She wasn’t too worried about herself, but she had to consider her mother and her younger brother’s safety. The walls were a bit taller than those of the Jiang Mansion, but still, it wasn’t quite enough.

“Alright, I will reserve the bricks and tiles outside the city first. Then we can start the construction directly.” Wei Zhan was secretly contemplating whether he should live in the County Lord’s Residence or his own house after they get married.

Maybe, he should also raise the walls of his house.

Jiang Jie said, “Sister, there are regulations on the height of residential walls. I will inquire from the construction department about the permissible height. Also, I have news for you. Xiao Chengjun has been released.”

Yingbao turned her head to look at her brother, “He was released?”

“Yes.” Jiang Jie replied, “Several people in the court spoke up for him. As the Ministry of Justice couldn’t present any evidence and the boy kept his mouth tightly shut despite being tortured, they had no choice but to release him.”