Anzhi Hall.
Meng Anzhi thought her aunt would come up with a solution, but after waiting all day, she didn't see her aunt make any move. She hadn't slept a wink last night and now sat anxiously in front of Jin Shanyao with dark circles under her eyes.
"Auntie... are you sure you don't need to worry about Anci?"
" Anzhi... Anci has already entered the court as an official; he must learn to solve problems on his own..."
From the day the incident occurred, Jin Shanyao's Spiritual Power never left Meng Anci. Through the ginkgo leaf necklace, she could clearly see Meng Anci's every move.
At the same time, she also investigated everything that happened at the Pure Joy Pavilion. If Meng Anci couldn't resolve it on his own, she would project everything he saw at the Pure Joy Pavilion.
But Meng Anzhi didn't know this. She was so anxious she couldn't sit still, and even considered investigating herself... Jin Shanyao saw through her intention and stopped her, saying, " Anzhi... Anci was able to pass the imperial examination with top honors, so he must not be stupid. Don't cause any unnecessary trouble."
Meng Anzhi could only nod stiffly, her mind already a complete mess.
The atmosphere inside the Anzhi Hall was terribly oppressive. The usual laughter and chatter had vanished instantly, and even the doctor sitting in the shop was unusually quiet.
As night fell, just as Zhou Xiaosi closed the window, Meng Anci walked back from a distance.
" Xiaosi..."
Zhou Xiaosi turned around abruptly, and the window panel in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. "Young Master, you're back..." he said, turning his head to shout excitedly towards the backyard.
"Young Master is back! Young Master is back!"
Meng Anci and said, "Alright, stop shouting... I'm going in now." He then walked inside.
Zhou Xiaosi quickly fixed the window panel, closed the shop door, and hurriedly ran to the backyard. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw Meng Anci surrounded by a crowd.
"Sister... I'm fine... I am an official of the imperial court, after all. They can't torture me without solid evidence."
Meng Anzhi breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're back... What's the situation with the case?"
Meng Anci and said, "The investigation is still ongoing, but during the process they discovered I was innocent, so they released me."
Meng Anzhi said angrily, "I don't know which damned bastard did this head-grabbing thing... If I find out, I'll poison him to death."
Meng Anci chuckled, "It's alright, don't worry." Then she looked at Jin Shanyao, "Auntie, I'm back."
Jin Shanyao with relief, "I knew it... my little one is the best, how could he not get out?"
Meng Anci blushed with embarrassment at the praise, and pulled Meng Anzhi and her aunt into the study, where she recounted everything about Zhao Zhiyuan.
While praising Zhao Zhiyuan and righteousness, Jin Shanyao secretly cursed the corruption of officialdom.
Meng Anci never expected that the first thing he learned upon entering officialdom would be to leave a trace of his work. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes... This matter could not be left unresolved.
He will make those who framed him pay with their lives.
The next day, Meng Anci went to the Hanlin Academy to work as usual. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he felt that the atmosphere was strange. Everyone was secretly looking at him. Meng Anci sat behind the desk as if no one was there. His colleagues, who usually asked him to do this and that, were unusually quiet today.
Zhen Shiqing found him and asked, "How did it go? Did you suffer any injustice at the Court of Judicial Review?" He had gone to the Court of Judicial Review to inquire, but the Lord Pang refused to see anyone from the Hanlin Academy, so he could only worry helplessly.
Meng Anci to him, "Thank you for your concern, sir. The Court of Judicial Review has not made things difficult for me..."
Zhen Shiqing nodded, "This matter has caused quite a stir, and it could potentially implicate the entire Hanlin Academy. Don't worry too much about what others think..."
"I understand everyone's situation and won't take it to heart."
Zhen Shiqing patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and turned to attend to his own business.
When Zhao Zhiyuan arrived, everyone turned their backs without giving him a second glance. The Hanlin Academy had such a huge loophole that could have been solved simply by pushing Meng Anci out, but he interfered and made the entire Hanlin Academy uneasy.
Most importantly, nobody knew he was secretly keeping a notebook. Having such a cunning colleague, constantly watching you from behind, is truly the worst kind of bad luck...
Zhao Zhiyuan nodded to Meng Anci and sat down to begin copying the book.
Just as he began to write, he heard the official opposite him chuckle, "Oh... Lord Zhao is secretly writing again. Is he perhaps not noting down a colleague's schedule this time?"
He had barely finished speaking when someone immediately chimed in, "What are you saying? If Lord Zhao wanted to write it down, would he let you see it? Everyone writes it down secretly. You... be careful in the future, lest Lord Zhao write it down in his notebook."
Zhao Zhiyuan said calmly, "You two are joking. I remember it was just part of my job. As for you..." He dipped his hand in ink, looked at the person opposite him with a half-smile, "So worried? You haven't done anything wrong and are afraid I'll see you, have you?"
"You..." The official opposite was about to reprimand him when he saw Lord Yan enter for inspection, and he quickly swallowed his words.
Time flew by and it was noon.
Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan got up and walked towards the main hall.
Inside the dining hall, colleagues were eating their meals. A young eunuch was tidying up the food boxes Meng Anci quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Excuse me, sir, I've come to collect today's meal."
The young eunuch glanced at the two of them and said, "Your meals have already been taken by your colleagues." With that, he picked up his carrying pole and left.
Zhao Zhiyuan turned to look at his colleagues who were engrossed in their meals. None of them were looking in his direction, and there was no extra food on the table.
So he asked, "Excuse me, which gentleman helped us collect our meals?"
No one answered from inside the dining room, only the soft sounds of chewing could be heard. Meng Anci's gaze swept across everyone's faces, and if there was anything he didn't understand, he pulled Zhao Zhiyuan out of the room.
The two returned to their office, starving, and sat down in silence.
Meng Anci looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this..."
"Why are you saying this... Let's think about how to fill our stomachs."
The two newly arrived officials, both struggling in their official careers, sat in their chairs sighing. A young eunuch entered and bowed to them, saying, " Lord Meng, your family has brought you food; you'll need to go to the palace gate to fetch it."
Meng Anci was overjoyed and took out five taels of silver from his sleeve, stuffing it into the eunuch's hand. "Please inform him, sir."
The young eunuch smiled demurely. Ever since Lord Meng was taken away by the Court of Judicial Review, everyone had been avoiding him like the plague. Even for something as simple as delivering messages or running errands, no one wanted to get involved, for fear of getting into trouble.
Fortune favors the bold, and he was determined to take this trip. If Lord Meng were wise, he would naturally remember this favor and reward him with some silver; even if he were stubborn, he wouldn't bother to go the extra mile.
The young eunuch clutched the silver reward in his hand, secretly delighted... It seemed he had won his gamble.
As soon as Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan arrived at the palace gate, they saw his aunt and sister unloading food boxes one after another from the oxcart, quickly lining up a long row of them along the roadside.