Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi both became slightly vigilant. Wen Xiuzhi, seeing their expressions, thought they didn't believe his words, so he patiently explained, "You two know that the Emperor has always doted on the Crown Prince the most, so you think this matter is false."
"However, the Emperor did punish the Crown Prince that day. It is said that the scene was extremely embarrassing."
"No news spread from the palace, but after the Crown Prince returned to his mansion, two or three servants died in the mansion." Wen Xiuzhi frowned involuntarily as he recalled the tragic state of those people. "It seems they died from flogging. Their deaths were extremely miserable. It's a pity that my informant didn't dare to get close and only took a glance from afar."
Hearing this, Meng Ruyi remained calm on the surface and asked Wen Xiuzhi, "An informant? So Young Master Wen also has an informant in the Crown Prince's mansion."
A trace of uneasiness flashed across Wen Xiuzhi's face quickly, but he still lowered his eyes slightly and said, "I was still worried about her after all, so I found someone to keep an eye on the Crown Prince."
Really...
There was a bit of a serendipitous feeling to this.
Meng Ruyi looked at him for a long time and found that Wen Xiuzhi was really very polite, even a bit rigid.
He was in love with Shangguan Xue and respected her choice. But because he was worried, he arranged an informant in the Crown Prince's mansion. Unexpectedly, he discovered this matter. Combined with Shangguan Xue being humiliated in the Gu Mansion, he then chose to join them.
It seemed that she and Song Huaizhi were quite lucky this time?
The corners of Meng Ruyi's lips curled slightly. Looking at Wen Xiuzhi, she said calmly, "Young Master Wen knows part of the truth, but he doesn't know the cause of the matter."
"Why do you say that, Miss Meng?" Wen Xiuzhi realized that the words Meng Ruyi was about to say might be very important. Immediately, his expression became more solemn. He looked at her and pursed his lips.
"The people of the Crown Prince's faction have embezzled funds from the dike. In a few days, the rainy season will come. I'm afraid..."
"What!"
Wen Xiuzhi slapped the table and stood up. His face suddenly flushed red, and he stared at her in disbelief and said, "This..."
"That's a matter related to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of common people! The Crown Prince! How could the Crown Prince be so stupid!"
Wen Xiuzhi could no longer control his volume. He took a few deep breaths heavily. He felt his heart pounding wildly, and his face turned pale again. "Then..."
He thought of the approaching heavy rain. In previous years, there was still a dike to block it, but this year...
The wails of the refugees seemed to ring in his ears. Wen Xiuzhi's legs went weak, and he fell heavily back into the chair. His face was filled with deep bitterness.
The Emperor is stupid! The Emperor is so stupid! The Crown Prince has committed such a great mistake, yet he still covers it up for him. He even ended his short and meaningless confinement before the banquet in the Gu Mansion began.
Wen Xiuzhi raised his hand and placed it on the table. He trembled as he picked up the teacup, but most of the water spilled.
"Sorry," he said in a low voice. "Please give me some time."
On Wen Xiuzhi's face, sadness, hatred, and collapse were intertwined, making his expression extremely distorted.
Meng Ruyi watched him quietly.
[Hey hey hey, Wen Xiuzhi's character design really fits the plot. He's a good official who cares about the common people.]
[It's a pity. In the plot, he never knew that the Crown Prince had committed such a great mistake and always helped him plan.]
[???? I haven't read the original plot, but just listening to your discussion, I already think the original plot is crap. Oh my god. If Wen Xiuzhi in the original plot knew everything, he would probably collapse directly.]
[I'm speechless. When will this stupid Crown Prince be out of the picture? I'm so annoyed!]
Wen Xiuzhi was indeed the most collapsed person after hearing this matter.
"Miss Meng."
After a long time, Wen Xiuzhi raised his head. His face was expressionless, his lips were trembling, but he said solemnly word by word, "I'm willing to represent the Wen family and join you."
"I just don't know what the situation is now?" After Wen Xiuzhi finished speaking, he said painfully, "It's only been a few days! What should we do?"
"Don't worry, Young Master Wen."
Meng Ruyi opened her mouth to explain, "When we found out about this matter, we've already tried to take action. Now, Mr. Lin's faction and the Tang family have all tried to make up for the losses. After the Emperor knew about the matter, he also sent people to inspect it immediately."
"I think this can minimize the losses."
Wen Xiuzhi didn't know what to say. He trembled as he said, "Thank you, thank you..."
"Don't worry, the Wen family faction will also do our best," Wen Xiuzhi promised.
"The Crown Prince is heartless, putting the common people of the world in dire straits. Naturally, our Wen family can't just watch him ascend to the throne."
Anger burned in Wen Xiuzhi's eyes.
...
After seeing Wen Xiuzhi off, the matter was finally over.
Meng Ruyi heaved a long sigh of relief and said to Song Huaizhi, "It's really not easy. The mess caused by the Crown Prince alone can't be fixed by so many people."
"Indeed," Song Huaizhi also heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing Meng Ruyi's slightly angry look, he couldn't help but reach out and poke her cheek. He sighed, "We'll be able to go back soon. Yu Yu has lost a lot of weight."
"Really?"
Hearing this, Meng Ruyi was stunned. She reached out and pinched her face and said suspiciously, "You're not lying to me, are you?"
"Forget it."
Before Song Huaizhi could speak, Meng Ruyi asked, "Why are you so eager to go back, Brother Song?"
Meng Ruyi noticed that in the past few days, Song Huaizhi had been a bit impatient. He would mention that he wanted to go back from time to time. He was even more eager than Meng Ruyi, whose parents were still waiting for her at home.
She glanced at Song Huaizhi suspiciously, but saw that his expression remained unchanged.
"Don't you want to go back, Yu Yu?"
Song Huaizhi evaded the question and changed the topic, throwing the question back to Meng Ruyi.
"Of course I do."
What's going on? What on earth is Song Huaizhi thinking?
[I guess it's because Yu Yu is about to reach the age of adulthood, so Brother Song is eager to go back to propose marriage.]
[Yes, yes. And there are too many men in the capital. I suspect Brother Song is jealous!]
[Hahaha, Sister upstairs, are you a psychology major? How do you know everything!]
Meng Ruyi: ???
No way. Is it really what the bullet screen guessed?
At this moment, night was approaching. The light around them was dim, adding a bit of ambiguity for no reason.
Meng Ruyi was not convinced. She opened her mouth to test him and said, "Anyway, I'm about to reach the age of adulthood. It will be good to go home then."
Hearing this, Song Huaizhi paused slightly before saying, "Yes. If Uncle and Aunt weren't there, Yu Yu would be so regretful."
Meng Ruyi paid attention to every fluctuation on the face of the person in front of her, but found that Song Huaizhi showed no flaws at all.
Well, it was probably the bullet screen that was overthinking.
She stood up and straightened her skirt. Then she said, "I'll go back first to check on the Fifth Princess. If you have something to do, Brother Song, just come and find me."
She turned around, but suddenly her wrist was grabbed.
Meng Ruyi turned around in surprise and met Song Huaizhi's deep, ink-like eyes.
The hand on her wrist was cold, with a bit of chill, but Meng Ruyi felt that a flame was ignited where their skins touched.
"Yu Yu, go back quickly. I really want to marry you."