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  Huang Pozi was robbed in the western suburbs, but someone rescued her and sent those thieves to justice. Even Yang Shi, who was so foolish, guessed that there must be another plot behind this. She felt uneasy and anxious, so she used the excuse of Yang Youzheng's wife being unwell and returned to her mother's home for a while.

  The Langzhong of the Ministry of War's Arsenal, Yang Dang, was her younger brother born to the same mother. She had been able to get in touch with that group of bandits all because of Yang Dang's connections. At this time, in the study of the Yang residence, she said anxiously, "That yellow-haired woman may have escaped, but those things I made her do, everyone in the household has heard about them. If Master really wants to blame me, he wouldn't wait until today... But those bandits are a bit troublesome..."

  Yang's heart was so angry that she almost bit her gold teeth to pieces. Those thieves were always easy to use, as long as they were given enough money and silk, everything would be handled properly. She had always dispatched trusted people to make contact in disguise, and over the years, thanks to these people, she had been able to handle one annoying thing after another cleanly.

  She originally thought it was simple, just an escaped slave old woman. Those people wanted to get rid of Huang Pozi, which was easier than pinching an ant to death. That silver would serve as compensation, and she would solve a problem without getting her hands dirty.

  But who would have thought that this group of people had actually made a big case last year? Among them, there were even people who had been involved in murder cases, and the Ministry of Punishment had already issued a warrant for their arrest. However, they did not get rid of Zhang, the burden on their back. Now, with this incident, not only did they lose Huang's wife, but also ruined her errand, and there was even a possibility that they would drag her down with them.

  It's nothing serious about robbing the old woman, but if those things she did twenty years ago were to be exposed...

  Yang's face was filled with anxiety, "Younger brother, what should we do now?"

  Yang Dang furrowed his brow, "Does that gang of thieves know our identities?"

  Yang shook his head, "Naturally, I don't know, usually meet with them. They are all Gu's maternal nephew Gu Yuan, changed their appearance, those people do not know his identity. But if we string together the tasks they have received over the years... I'm afraid... it's likely to make people suspect me too."

  She paused, "Guifei gave birth to the eldest princess, Yuhui Fei is pregnant, and that new Shufei from the Gu family who recently entered the palace, I heard that the emperor spends every night with her. The empress's days are difficult in the palace. At this time, how can I still cause trouble for her?"

  Yang Dang was somewhat embarrassed, "As I said to my sister before, don't leave a tail when doing things, but this time it's not good. Now the matter is difficult to handle, and I heard that the group of thieves has already entered the Ministry of Justice. The new Minister of Justice is stubborn and won't listen, so it's probably hard to persuade him."

  He slightly resentfully said, "Huang Pozi is just a slave servant, our family's big madam wants to use her to vent her anger, sister should have directly pushed those things onto her at the time, and directly settled it in the courtyard, why make such a fuss?"

  The criminal entered the Ministry of Justice, and it was certain that he would be tried. Those who took money to do things were disloyal and would say anything, following those clues to investigate Guigui, but it was only a matter of time. Even if there was no real evidence, it would be inevitable to spread many unpleasant rumors.

  The dead won't talk nonsense.

  It's easy to get into the Ministry of Justice, but it's too difficult to shut those people up.

  Yang's eyes rose, "Then I don't care, anyway it was twenty years ago, and I had a share in it. If those people are allowed to speak recklessly, this fire will eventually burn onto my body. As a woman of the inner palace, everything can be pushed away with ignorance, or pretending to be crazy and stupid can also preserve one's life. Anyway, my daughter is the current empress, who can really do anything to me?"

  She glanced at Yang Dang, "Brother is different, father's title is big brother's, no share, it's not easy to climb to this position with his own skills, if he loses his official position due to that matter, it's really not worth it. Besides, the Minister of Justice is not our own person, what's the relationship? That matter doesn't have to disturb him."

  Officialdom's affairs have always been to deceive those above but not those below. As long as the prison guards are bribed, what can't be done? It's just a group of powerful thieves, and there is no one to plead their case. As long as you're ruthless enough, what can't be done?

  Yang Dang's eyes were slightly deep, and after a while, he asked, "Which one collided with Guiyuan?"

  There were many thieves, and he couldn't possibly take them all down in one night. The target was too big. Those who had been eyeing the Yang family for a long time would be restless. For now, he could only take out those who had seen Gu Yuan first, and have others keep an eye on the rest. If nothing went wrong, the gang's crimes would be clear-cut, and they would likely be sentenced to death after autumn. Once the person died, everything would be over.

  Yang let out a sigh of relief and burst into laughter, "I asked Guigui about it, he only made contact with the big guy who was in charge."

  Yang Dang nodded heavily, "After the matter is settled, that thing from back then will be considered even between us. From now on, don't use that to threaten me again. Even though we are siblings born of the same mother, no matter how deep our feelings for each other are, I won't be able to withstand being tormented by my sister like this."

  He paused, "By the way, I heard some news in the yamen this morning that Pei Xiang intends to find a comfortable position for his sickly son in the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue is lucrative, it can be seen that Old Master still values his sickly son, Jing Ye must be careful."

  A fierce glint flashed in Yang's eyes, "You're really getting old and muddled, that little rabbit is treating him as an enemy! No way, I'm going to see Father!"

  On the other side, in Jingyi Courtyard, Ming Xuan carefully read through the list handed over by Chang Geng and said with some incredulity, "Tsk tsk, there are nearly twenty women of all sizes in this courtyard, and except for Yang's informants, every single one of them has more or less connections with other housekeepers?"

  She helplessly sighed, "But the title of eldest son and heir, Yang's family can still make do with it, but the people from the other four houses... even Madame Pei's aunt dared to stretch out her hand, this is simply too absurd."

  On the small booklet, it was clearly recorded which relatives of which people were from which house, and who often walked with which house. There were nearly twenty people, but not a single person had a simple and clean identity. So many people, so many pairs of eyes, living in such circumstances, one can imagine how suffocating Pei Jingxuan's days were.

  Changgeng smiled wryly and said, "Grandfather's days are not easy to pass, but it was also thanks to those people that the rumors of his illness were confirmed. The eldest lady wants to get rid of all those people, which is a good thing, but I think it's better to take it slow and make gradual progress. Otherwise, if we drive them out in one go, it's not just a small matter that there will be no one to do the chores in the house, but also that we will offend everyone in the entire mansion..."

  He slightly paused, "Grandfather's affairs will gradually become busier in the future, and there may not be much time to take care of things in the courtyard. Grandma is alone and a bit weak after all. If those people intentionally want to make things difficult for you, I'm afraid you'll suffer losses."

  Ming Xuan shook her head, "The situation at home is delicate. Even if I sincerely want to get along with them, they will still make things difficult for me. How can I get rid of their spies? Gradually selling off those maids and servants would be no better than driving them away with a stick. Making a big show of it would also let them know that I'm not an easy person to bully. Some of the timid ones might even be scared off."

  She thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Forget it, let's just drop it."

  The rumors and scandals behind the scenes, Ming Xuan had heard some of them. If she knew that the other person was unreliable but still stayed by her side, it was very likely to bring trouble to herself, framing and trapping her in a play that was hard to guard against. She didn't want to fall into anyone else's trap.

  Chang Geng was pleased with her courage and determination in his heart, but he couldn't help showing some difficulty on his face. He asked, "What reason is that? You can't just drive someone away for no reason..."

  The Yang family's mistreatment of the new daughter-in-law can be made public, and Ming Xuan's actions of selling off her subordinates will also be known to others. Nothing can be hidden in the high-ranking households of Shengjing City.

  Ming Xuan smiled lightly, "That's easy to handle. Just say that something is missing from my room and soon have Auntie Yan lead people to search their rooms. One look and it will be clear that they have jewelry and valuable items that they can't afford. Just send someone to ask them where these things came from. If anyone dares to speak, have the person sent to her master's room."

  Her eyes rippled slightly, "If she bites her tongue and doesn't let go, then we don't need to say another word, just call the matchmaker to take her away."

  Those people are not going to stay, this Jingyi Courtyard is just for her and Pei Jingchen, the two masters. What's the point of having so many slaves? The outside affairs are handled by Changgeng, those little servants are trustworthy, and there are also the maids she brought with her dowry to take care of things inside the house. So many people serving just the two of them, managing one courtyard, is more than enough.

  Chang Geng bowed slightly and asked again, "What about Hua Ying and Yue Die?"

  Ming Xuan smiled lightly, "Let her two stay for now, don't bother with them."

  De Chang Gong went out, and Yan Niang came in from outside, smiling at Ming Xuan, "Big Nainai, Old Madame sent Guan Niang to deliver something to you!"

  The old lady came out from behind her, also smiling and bowing, and handed over the box in her hand with great respect. "Just now, good news has been transmitted to the Hou Mansion from the palace, saying that our family's Shu Consort is pregnant. Although it's still early days, the Imperial Hospital has already confirmed that they have felt the joyful pulse. The Emperor was overjoyed and let the Consort report the news to the Hou Mansion."

  "The eunuch has brought over the rewards from the Emperor and Empress, which include gifts for Old Lady and Madame Hou. This particular one was specifically instructed by Consort Shu to be given to you, so Old Lady immediately had me deliver it to you."

  Ming Xuan was slightly stunned, it was only mid-July now, and Shu Fei had just entered the palace on June 11th. It hadn't even been a month yet, so wasn't this news coming out a bit too soon? Unless...it was already planned beforehand...

  She furrowed her brow and asked in a low voice, "Is there anything else Grandmother wants me to do?"

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