"You mean," Tang Zhuyun said, her eyes widening in disbelief after hearing Tang Baixin out, "you don't know where things went wrong either, but the evidence is conclusive?"
Tang Baixin nodded.
Tang Baixin said that someone had used his official seal to withdraw silver under various pretexts, taking as much as several thousand taels.
This was plainly a plot, but the evidence was conclusive and irrefutable.
"Then how on earth did you keep your seal safe?!" Tang Mingfan thundered. "I've told you since you were little that it was as important as your life!"
Tang Baixin lowered his head. "Your son is slow-witted. Even now, I don't know where things went wrong. But I do know that the evidence as it stands is more than enough to convict me."
He was a very clever man, but he had no leads at all, so he did not think anyone else could get to the bottom of it either.
He did not want to drag down his father's official career, so he begged him to cast him out of the family.
Tang Zhuyun wanted to curse. What the hell was this mess?!
"Father is the minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Big brother, if you didn't do it, what are you afraid of?"
"Precisely because I am the minister of the Court of Judicial Review," Tang Mingfan said, resting his head against the back of his chair, "this case cannot be reopened when the evidence is conclusive. Otherwise, people will accuse me of abusing my power."
Tang Zhuyun thought, What kind of logic is that?!
That's utterly unreasonable!
She was furious.
"Baixin, get up." Tang Mingfan gestured for Tang Zhuyun to help Tang Baixin up and smiled faintly, resolve already showing on his face.
"No!" Tang Baixin had already seen through his father's intentions. "I would rather die than let you give up your position as minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"
Even if he spent his whole life trying, he might never reach his father's position; his father had sacrificed too much to get where he was today.
"Besides, even if you gave it up, what good would it do? Those people came prepared, so they won't let me off. Father, be reasonable. We can't both go down! A-Yun and Linlin still need someone to look after them! As long as you cut me loose and put justice before family, His Majesty will still trust you as he always has!"
Tang Zhuyun could bear it no longer. "Big brother, what a brilliant idea! Just shut up already!"
She was so angry she was about to explode on the spot.
What was there that the family couldn't discuss together? Even if the sky fell, they would die together.
Now he was a dead duck with a stubborn beak, thinking he could shoulder everything himself while leaving his family disappointed and tormented. What kind of idea was that?
Doing something stupid in the name of "I'm doing this for your own good, I'll sacrifice myself, I'm a saint" was stupidity to the extreme.
That was what she thought, and she let loose and scolded him for it.
Tang Baixin stared at her blankly, feeling as though her spittle had nearly landed on his face.
He had never seen this side of his sister, so fierce and yet so heartwarming.
"Father," Tang Zhuyun asked Tang Mingfan after she had finished scolding, "this isn't about who sacrifices what for whom. Given how things stand, what do you think is best for our family? Just say the word. As for getting it done, you have me and my hidebound big brother!"
Tang Baixin started to speak, but she silenced him with a fierce glare.
"Aren't you already a dead man? What does a dead man have to say?"
Tang Baixin really did find himself at a loss for words.
His sister had changed. The sister he had known would never have taken responsibility like this.
His eyes brimmed with tears. Everything had clearly been getting better, yet now he had made a mess big enough to poke a hole in the sky.
Tang Mingfan's heart was heavy, but he still gave it careful thought before saying, "I still have a little standing with His Majesty. I'll swallow my old pride and beg him to sentence your big brother to exile. At least then there'll be room to turn things around. I refuse to believe that I, Tang Mingfan, have handled cases all my life, only to be unable to clear my own son's name in the end!"
In other words, they still needed time to reopen the case.
Tang Zhuyun said, "What about the Prince of Jin?"
She also told them how the Prince of Jin had "warned" her in advance. "He said he wanted my help with something, and he used this to pressure me."
Though she did not want to bargain with a tiger for its skin, for her family's sake, she would brave even a mountain of blades and a sea of fire.
"Absolutely not!" Tang Baixin said anxiously. "If the Prince of Jin has improper intentions toward you, I, I..."
He would rather be sliced to death by a thousand cuts than let his sister endure humiliation for his sake.
Tang Zhuyun laughed in exasperation and pointed at her face. "Big brother, do you think this face of mine could topple kingdoms and cities?"
To be fair, her predecessor had been a budding beauty.
But the capital had never lacked beautiful women of every shape and size. What kind of woman could the Prince of Jin not have? Why would he want a fading flower like her, a woman who had already borne a child?
The Prince of Jin had to have another purpose in seeking her out.
Tang Baixin fell silent.
Indeed, he was also curious about what the Prince of Jin wanted with his sister.
Tang Mingfan let out a long sigh. "The Prince of Jin came from among the common people. His thoughts run deep, and no one can see through him. Nor do we know what His Majesty's attitude toward him really is..."
Everyone else said the emperor did not care about the Prince of Jin, but Tang Mingfan did not think that was the case.
Yet he had no real evidence that the emperor did care, either.
The emperor's heart was hard to fathom. Even after serving him for decades, Tang Mingfan could not guess what he was thinking.
"I'll sound him out and find out," Tang Zhuyun said, her fighting spirit roused. "I don't believe he'd dare make a move against me now."
The emperor clearly would not readily believe that Tang Baixin had embezzled funds. At a time like this, anyone who dropped stones on the Tang family while they were down would likely draw the emperor's attention and become a suspect in the scheme to frame them.
Looking at his daughter's face, which resembled his wife's more and more, Tang Mingfan wept openly. "Good, good, good. Then it's settled. I'll speak to His Majesty in person after court tomorrow. Baixin, keep going to the Ministry of Personnel and don't let anything show. It would be good if you could find something, but if you can't, there's no need to force it. A-Yun will try sounding out the Prince of Jin. Perhaps that will help too..."
He had saved Tang Zhuyun's visit to the Prince of Jin for last because he did not hold out much hope for it.
Although his daughter's character had changed, she was no match for the Prince of Jin.
Even so, Tang Mingfan was already deeply moved that she cared enough to try.
Tang Zhuyun thought, What do you mean, perhaps it will help? I have to make it help!
The Prince of Jin... Yes, I know he's despicable and devious, but he isn't entirely without a weak spot.
The next morning, Tang Zhuyun made a hearty breakfast as usual for Tang Mingfan to take to court.
Meeting his surprised, emotional gaze, Tang Zhuyun smiled like a flower. "Heaven and earth may be vast, but eating matters most."
"Good, good, good," Tang Mingfan said repeatedly.
Tang Baixin looked somewhat haggard. Clearly, he had barely slept all night, and he was distracted even as he ate breakfast.
Even Linlin noticed. "Father," he asked cautiously, "are you ill?"
Tang Baixin's heart ached.
A moment of carelessness had left him vulnerable to someone's scheme, yet it was his family who had been dragged into it. With a father like him, even Linlin's future prospects would be affected... Where had things gone wrong?
"Your father is fine." Tang Zhuyun handed Linlin a meat bun.
He was just a little brain-dead, that was all.
Does this count as the mountain I relied on collapsing?
"Today..." Tang Baixin said, "be careful."
Tang Zhuyun kept her head down and ate, ignoring him.
She had never imagined that she and her brother would switch roles so quickly. Now she was the cold and aloof one.
After breakfast, Tang Baixin went to the Ministry of Personnel. Tang Zhuyun told Xiu'er to take good care of Linlin, then went to the Prince of Jin's Residence.
"His Highness will see you-" The lackey regarded her with evident wariness. After all, Tang Zhuyun was the first woman who had ever made the prince miss court to wait for her.
Song Jingyang could almost see a bright green hat about to be placed on the prince's head...