Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of a quiet mansion.
Yu Zixi gave Wei Dongling's lips another gentle suck and kiss in the carriage before reluctantly letting her go. Then he got up, carried her out of the carriage.
Wei Dongling touched her slightly swollen lips, blushing shyly. Cui Huan and Tian Qi were quite tactful and pretended to look elsewhere.
The main gate of the mansion was pitch - black. Tian Qi stepped forward and gently knocked on it. After a long while, a gatekeeper came to open it. When he lifted the lantern and saw Tian Qi, he bowed repeatedly and invited them in.
Yu Zixi carried Wei Dongling into the courtyard. A thin and dark middle - aged man with a goatee stepped forward, clasped his fists and said, "Long time no see. How have you been, Young Master Yu?"
Yu Zixi gently put Wei Dongling down, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Zixi greets Lord Shen."
By the dim light of the lantern in the gatekeeper's hand, Wei Dongling sized up this desolate and simple small courtyard.
The thin and dark Lord Shen quickly stepped forward to welcome the group into the main hall and ordered someone to light the candles.
Yu Zixi introduced Wei Dongling to Lord Shen, "This young lady is Wei Dongling, the daughter of Lord Wei Jiang."
"The daughter of Lord Wei?" Lord Shen was extremely excited upon hearing this. He trembled as he clasped his fists and bowed. Wei Dongling quickly limped forward to support him.
Yu Zixi introduced Lord Shen to Wei Dongling, "This is Lord Shen, the Right - Supervising Censor. He is an old acquaintance of your father."
Wei Dongling limped forward quickly and curtsied, "This little girl greets Lord Shen."
Lord Shen quickly came over to help her up. His eyes were slightly red as he sighed with emotion, "In a blink of an eye, so many years have passed. The daughter of Lord Wei has grown up." Then he quickly greeted them to sit down and called someone to serve tea.
Lord Shen sat in the main seat. His eyes stayed on Wei Dongling as he recalled excitedly, "I feel extremely ashamed to say this. I, Shen, was born into a poor family. When I was young and studying, I met Prime Minister Su by chance. Thanks to the great kindness of Prime Minister Su, who had been using his own salary to support poor students for many years. Every year, it was Lord Wei who personally delivered the support to us. We have never forgotten such great kindness. However, when Prime Minister Su got into trouble back then, we were of low status and far away in a remote area... We couldn't do anything to help."
As Lord Shen was talking, the hot tears in his eyes were about to roll down. Yu Zixi quickly stepped forward to comfort him in a soft voice.
Wei Dongling sighed inwardly. Prime Minister Su was such a good official who cared about the world, yet he ended up in prison and seriously ill.
This Lord Shen in front of her and Yu Zixi's father were both Supervising Censors. Lord Yu supervised all the civil and military officials and advised on national affairs. He was a powerful official with authority that shook the whole court.
Lord Shen, the Right - Supervising Censor, had been traveling around all year round for supervision and managing local affairs large and small. He was simple and practical.
The two were really poles apart.
Yu Zixi whispered to Lord Shen, "In a few days, I will arrange for the witnesses to enter the capital and hand them directly to Lord Shen for disposal."
Lord Shen nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Young Master Yu, for your hard work in obtaining evidence. Leave the rest to me. I will surely clear Prime Minister Su of his false charges. I'm afraid that Prime Minister Su, who is nearly sixty years old, has suffered a lot from these years in prison..." Lord Shen's eyes were red. He didn't want to show his emotions in front of the younger generation, so he quickly turned his head.
Wei Dongling was silent for a moment and sighed gloomily, "Prime Minister Su is sick all over, and his eyes are almost blind."
Lord Shen turned his head and asked in surprise, "How does Miss Wei know this?"
Wei Dongling bit her lips, "Uncle Li secretly went to the dungeon to visit Prime Minister Su."
"Uncle Li?" Lord Shen asked in shock, "Is it Lord Li Lang who was exiled to the borderlands back then? Is he still alive? Has he returned to the capital?"
Wei Dongling was stunned. After thinking for a while, she nodded and said, "It should be."
Lord Shen stood up excitedly, walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, "It's really great that Lord Li Lang has returned!" Then he walked up to Wei Dongling and said, "Could Miss Wei introduce me to him? If Lord Li can help, it will be really wonderful."
Wei Dongling hesitated, "Uncle Li has gone to Liaocheng and hasn't returned yet. When he comes back, this little girl will bring him to see Lord Shen."
Lord Shen nodded repeatedly, "That's very good."
Lord Shen asked the servants to entertain Wei Dongling and the others with tea and snacks, then took Yu Zixi into the inner room to plan secretly.
More than an hour later, Yu Zixi led everyone to get up and say goodbye. Lord Shen bowed deeply to everyone. Everyone was startled and quickly returned the courtesy.
In the carriage on the way back, Yu Zixi still held Wei Dongling in his arms, but their moods were not as light as when they came.
Yu Zixi lowered his eyes, lost in thought. Wei Dongling adjusted to a comfortable position and was drowsy under the jolting of the carriage.
Suddenly, there came the neighing of a horse. Then the carriage braked sharply, shaking Wei Dongling awake.
Tian Qi looked a bit helpless and whispered, "Young Master, it's the Master."
Yu Zixi's master?
Yu Zixi's body stiffened upon hearing this. Wei Dongling quickly let go of Yu Zixi and sat aside properly.
Yu Zixi lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage. He forced a smile on his face and bowed respectfully, calling out, "Master."
Tian Qi and Cui Huan quickly stepped forward and bowed.
Wei Dongling was extremely nervous. She lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. She saw that Yu Zixi's master's face was ashen. He glared at Yu Zixi in front of him and roared, "Now you've grown wings and I can't control you anymore, right?"
Yu Zixi trembled all over and said in a low voice, "Why does Master say so? There's absolutely no such thing!"
His master clenched his finger joints tightly. Out of extreme anger, he roared, "I told you to contact the old troops! I told you to check and balance the Crown Prince! What have you been doing?"
Yu Zixi lowered his head and said nothing.
His master continued to roar, "You've been running around and investigating for that woman in there! You want to clear the false charges of the former Prime Minister Su!"
Yu Zixi closed his eyes and still remained silent.
The master continued to roar, "What about your father? Who will avenge your father's death! Have you forgotten what you should do completely?"
Yu Zixi grabbed his robe tightly, raised his head and said in a low voice, "I haven't forgotten! Are these two things in conflict?"
Without saying a word, the master stepped forward and kicked Yu Zixi in the chest, angrily saying, "So you can argue now, right?"
Yu Zixi was kicked to the ground and gritted his teeth without making a sound.
The master looked at him, extremely angry. He stepped forward and kicked Yu Zixi again, roaring, "If you sit in that position, what old false charges can't be cleared? Why do you have to waste your time on this now?"
Yu Zixi was knocked to the ground. He protected his head with his elbows and still remained silent. The master kicked him several more times, making him look extremely embarrassed. Yu Zixi endured the pain and called out, "I want that person to see with his own eyes that Prime Minister Su's false charges are cleared, and then put him to death."
Upon hearing this, his master became even more furious. Pointing at Wei Dongling in the carriage, he roared, "Sounds good! You're just doing this for this woman!"
Wei Dongling's hand tightly grabbed the curtain of the carriage, her fingertips turning white from the force.