Taking His Sisters and Aunt to See the New House

When Minister Sun arrived at the Imperial Study, there were only three people in the spacious and luxurious room: Emperor Yuanjing, who sat high on the throne; the shrewd and calculating Chief Minister Wang; and the official in blue robes with slightly graying temples.

Minister Sun glanced at his elder brother, the Grand Secretary, as was his habit, and found that the other man's expression was solemn and his eyes were deep. This surprised Minister Sun, who had thought it was just an ordinary small court meeting.

What was Wei Yuan up to now? He instantly turned his head to scrutinize the eunuch in blue, but this exceptionally intelligent eunuch had a gentle, deep, and reserved demeanor, making it impossible to see through his inner thoughts.

Minister Sun had a bad feeling. After bowing, he stood silently in his place.

Time passed slowly, and the ministers arrived one after another, bowing and taking their places. Emperor Yuanjing kept his eyes closed and rested the whole time until he heard the voice of the Minister of Ministry of Works.

Emperor Yuanjing opened his eyes and looked down at his ministers. Those who could attend the small court assembly were all bigwigs; ordinary high-ranking officials were not qualified.

"Minister Wei, please speak with the others."

Wei Yuan stepped forward and said, "Last night, the Nightwatchers discovered a private residence in the inner city that was keeping prostitutes and debauchery. The women were from respectable families, and the boys were children from ordinary households. They were kidnapped by human traffickers and imprisoned here, forced to serve the guests who came to the residence to drink at night."

"Last night, the night Nightwatchers acted swiftly and decisively, wiping out this gang of thieves and capturing thirteen clients, ten of whom held official positions and three were wealthy merchants from the capital. Furthermore, the Nightwatchers retrieved forty skeletons from the well in the backyard; all were innocent women who had been brutally murdered."

Wei Yuan's words stirred up a huge storm in the imperial study. The ministers began to discuss loudly, disregarding the rules of silence in court.

Human trafficking, keeping prostitutes, and exchanging power for sex—any one of these can lead to the utter ruin of an official, especially during the Capital Evaluation period, when it's impossible to cover it up.

But Wei Yuan wasn't finished speaking; he dropped another bombshell. "According to the investigation, the owner of the private residence is involved with sorcerers of the Witch God Cult, and the incantations for raising ghosts carved in the well are evidence of this. The owner confessed that he works for Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works. That private residence served both as a place for forming cliques and seeking pleasure, and as a secret base for contacting the Witch God Cult."

The officials were in uproar.

If they had maintained a certain composure just moments before, they had now turned into a marketplace, with some rebuking Wei Yuan Wei Yuan for his slander and defamation, while others suggested beheading him.

The chief eunuch standing beside Emperor Yuanjing shouted "Silence!" three times, but still could not quell the chaos.

Forming cliques for personal gain, trafficking in people, and forcing women into prostitution all fall under the category of illegal and criminal activities. However, colluding with a cult is different; this constitutes treason.

According to the laws of the Great Feng, those who collude with the enemy and betray the country shall have their entire family (nine generations) exterminated.

"Bang!" Emperor Yuanjing slammed his hand on the table, and the imperial study fell silent instantly. His sharp gaze swept over the ministers and landed on Grand Secretary Wang Zhenwen.

What does Minister Wang think?

The Grand Secretary stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "This matter must be thoroughly investigated and cannot be tolerated."

These words sounded like an attempt to smooth things over, but Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice keenly sensed that his elder brother was favoring Wei Yuan, and he immediately understood what his elder brother meant.

At most, the Minister of Ministry of Works ' words were a huge favor done to him and a blow to Wei Yuan's pride.

If Wei Yuan's words are verified, the Minister of Ministry of Works will be finished. The Qi faction will lose a leader.

In the Sangbo case, the Wang faction attempted to frame the Minister of Ministry of Works, inflicting a heavy blow on the Qi faction. Although they failed, this is indeed an opportunity.

Emperor Yuanjing looked at Wei Yuan: "Where is the criminal?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and sighed, "The criminal was cursed to death by witchcraft last night, and there's no way to prove it."

Emperor Yuanjing frowned.

The imperial study fell into a deathly silence. The ministers looked at Wei Yuan with strange eyes, as if to say, "You're talking nonsense without any evidence."

Grand Secretary Wang Zhenwen, whose composure was unparalleled, turned his head and frowned as he glanced at Wei Yuan.

The Minister of Ministry of Works smirked and stepped forward, shouting, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Wei Yuan has slandered me! Please, Your Majesty, do justice!"

Emperor Yuanjing's face darkened. "Wei Yuan, what do you have to say?"

Wei Yuan remained perfectly calm and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I request that you summon Xu Qi'an, the gong- Xu Qi'an."

The ministers' expressions immediately turned strange upon hearing the name "Xu Qi'an, the gong-wielder." Given the previous incident with Zhou Chixiong, summoning Xu Qi'an at this critical juncture made the ministers realize that there was more to the story, and that Wei Yuan was hiding something.

In particular, members of the Wang faction developed mild PTSD from the phrase "summon Xu Qi'an".

The Minister of Ministry of Works ' expression changed slightly, but he quickly concealed his emotions and remained calm.

Emperor Yuanjing was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Summon."

A dozen minutes later, Xu Qi'an, dressed in a black robe, carrying a bronze gong, and wearing a cloak, entered the imperial study. The black and gold longsword hanging at his waist was confiscated.

Accompanying him were Chu Caiwei and two white-robed Bureau of Astronomy from the Imperial Observatory.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Xu Qi'an bowed respectfully.

Emperor Yuanjing stared unmoved at the small bronze gong. Wei Yuan turned his head and smiled, "Tell His Majesty about your discovery."

Xu Qi'an immediately recounted how he had planned to use the silver bestowed upon him by His Majesty to purchase a property, only to discover that the house was haunted. Through empathy, he then revealed the entire story of how he discovered the haunted house.

The more the Minister of Ministry of Works listened, the uglier his expression became, and his heart sank.

The man has already been killed, Nightwatchers was clearly furious about it last night. They had no evidence and were trying to intimidate me, the Minister of Ministry of Works, to calm myself down, but I sneered inwardly.

Having spent half my life in officialdom, weathering countless storms, is this all the trickery I've got? Ha!

After Xu Qi'an finished speaking, seeing that Emperor Yuanjing remained unmoved and expressionless, he added, "The female ghost is contained in the feng shui compass of Caiwei, a maiden in the Bureau of Astronomy. If Your Majesty wishes to verify this, you can choose a trustworthy person to empathize with the female ghost."

After saying that, he thought darkly to himself: I must find a man to empathize with.

Emperor Yuanjing pondered for a moment, then looked at the chief eunuch beside him. If there was anyone he trusted most at the scene, it would naturally be this chief eunuch who had served him since childhood.

"I am willing to serve Your Majesty with my life," the head eunuch prostrated.

"Don't panic, sir, it's nothing serious." Xu Qi'an saw that the head eunuch was somewhat frightened and, thinking that the other party didn't know what empathy was, he comforted him.

Don't worry, it's like watching a movie; you won't have any specific feelings about it.

Xu Qi'an felt this was a great favor to the eunuchs.

Chu Caiwei took out the feng shui plate and came to the chief eunuch. The feng shui plate emitted a clear light, the tai chi fish spun, and a wisp of black mist was ejected.

She gently flicked the black mist towards the eunuch's brow, and he instinctively leaned back, trying to avoid it. The next moment, the black mist invaded his Primordial Spirit.

Chu Caiwei pointed her jade finger at his brow, helping him merge with the female ghost. Otherwise, with the strength of the Grand Eunuch's Primordial Spirit, he might be assimilated by the vengeful spirit and lose sight of who he was.

Emperor Yuanjing and the ministers in the study observed the chief eunuch, watching his face change from fear to ferocity, from despair to pain.

The process lasted for fifteen minutes. Chu Caiwei withdrew her jade finger and simultaneously pulled out the black mist, then put the feng shui plate back in.

The head eunuch let out a soft moan, opened his eyes, and knelt down, crying loudly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must do justice for this servant!"

As he cried, he suddenly realized that he was a man, at least he used to be. All the experiences he had just had were the female ghost's memories, not his own.

Having grasped this point, the chief eunuch wiped away his tears, his complexion gradually returning to normal, though his tone remained somewhat sorrowful. "Your Majesty, this servant saw everything."

Emperor Yuanjing nodded. "Speak."

He glanced at the three white-robed Bureau of Astronomy from the Imperial Observatory, including Chu Caiwei, and seeing the purity in their eyes, he felt relieved and turned his gaze back to the Grand Eunuch.

"I saw that she had been kidnapped and sent to the capital, where she was forced to serve patrons who didn't pay her."

The ministers exchanged bewildered glances; it seemed Wei Yuan's words were true. This was a private residence where innocent women were abducted and forced into prostitution.

Later, she served a guest named Tamraha, who took a liking to her, and she became his lover.

Tamraha is the name of a foreigner.

Emperor Yuanjing narrowed his eyes, glanced at the Minister of Ministry of Works, and nodded, saying, "And then?"

One night, she overheard a secret conversation and heard words like "cannons" and "weapons." She was then brutally murdered and her body thrown into a well. The servant girl saw the person conversing with Tamraha.

At this point, the chief eunuch turned his head, pointed at the Minister of Ministry of Works, and said in a shrill voice, "It's Minister Liu."

Emperor Yuanjing's face instantly turned ashen.

The Imperial Study erupted in chaos, the tide turned sharply, and the officials shifted their focus to attacking the Minister of Ministry of Works. Among them, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review reacted particularly strongly, delivering a poignant speech and vehemently denouncing Minister Liu for being an inhuman son.

Amidst the outcry, the Minister of Ministry of Works turned ashen-faced, resembling a lifeless puppet.

Leaving the palace, Xu Qi'an rode alongside Wei Yuan's carriage.

"Duke Wei, the Minister of Ministry of Works is one of the leaders of the Qi faction. If we control him, we can uproot the Qi faction," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Inside the carriage, Wei Yuan's chuckled, "Now is not the time to eliminate the Qi faction. Without the Qi faction, we won't be the biggest beneficiaries."

Xu Qi'an, whose political acumen was at a low level, didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, he tentatively asked, "Could I be considered to have redeemed myself through meritorious service?"

Wei Yuan grunted in acknowledgment and said, "The Ministry of Justice will not arrest you anymore. As for the other Nightwatchers, it depends on His Majesty's decision. I will submit a memorial to the palace later."

Well, I'll leave these matters to Wei Yuan. My promotion to Silver Gong should be a sure thing. I'll go home first to reassure my second uncle and aunt.

Xu Qi'an immediately asked for leave, bid farewell to Wei Yuan, patted the little mare's rump, and hurried off to the outer city.

My second uncle was on duty and not at home. Only my aunt and two younger sisters were at home.

The aunt sat on a chair in the front hall, drinking tea and eating snacks, occasionally feeding the little boy who was playing with a wooden toy.

She wore a dark blue silk robe, her hair was styled in a high bun and adorned with a beautiful gold hairpin, and her face was exquisitely made up.

Upon seeing her unlucky nephew return, the aunt's expression changed slightly, and she said in a low, urgent voice:

"What are you doing back here? Your second uncle said there are spies from the Ministry of Justice all over the area. Get out of here."

"Big pot, big pot!" Xu Lingyin greeted him cheerfully, then suddenly stopped in front of him, her small body swaying as she raised her tiny face:

Did you bring back anything good to eat?

"No."

Xu Qi'an coldly shattered his younger sister's earnest expectations.

"Oh."

Xu Lingyin was a pragmatic girl; she immediately abandoned her older brother like trash, wiggled her little bottom, and went off to play by herself.

Xu Qi'an didn't want to talk to his aunt. He walked to the table and reached for some pastries, but the beautiful woman slapped his hand away, glaring at him. "I'm talking to you."

Xu Qi'an said casually, "The matter has been settled. I'm just coming back to let them know."

Hearing that the matter had been resolved, the aunt smiled slightly, but quickly suppressed it, scolding, "All you ever do is cause trouble. Can't you give the family a peaceful period of time?"

Ever since the tax evasion case began, the trouble has never subsided, with incidents occurring every few days. My aunt, who was initially worried and fearful, has now become somewhat accustomed to it.

This is not a good thing.

Xu Qi'an ignored his aunt's nagging and said, "I've already chosen a house and want to take Lingyue and Lingyin to see it. Would you like to come, Auntie?"

Upon hearing that a house had been chosen, her beautiful eyes lit up, and she said demurely, "Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go with you to take a look."

P. S.: I'm going to write Chapter 3 now, it'll be past midnight, so please read it tomorrow. Remember to point out any bugs!