Chapter 584 Go and Deliver the Accusation
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Yuwen Chu laid down beside Mingzhu, staring at her intently. He was grateful to Su Jin; if it weren’t for her, he might have lost Mingzhu, and Zhuang Zhuang wouldn’t have a mother. So even without Mingzhu’s instructions, he would do his best to repay Su Jin’s family. Not only out of gratitude but also to encourage those around Mingzhu to protect her as much as possible when he couldn’t be there to watch over her.
There were some things the secret guards couldn’t do. He felt that among the servants attending to Mingzhu, having just Dong Hui wasn’t enough. Mingzhu needed more people like Dong Hui by her side, and the same goes for Zhuang Zhuang. If they weren’t together in his life… just thinking about it made it hard for him to breathe.
He hugged Mingzhu and Zhuang Zhuang together, burying his head in Zhuang Zhuang’s swaddle as well. Mingzhu pushed him away, “What are you doing? Can Zhuang Zhuang bear your weight? You’re so heavy! You’re squishing my baby!”
Yuwen Chu moved aside helplessly and feeling annoyed. It was rare for him not to be proper, wanting to show his true feelings, but she just rebuffed him like this! He wanted to express his dissatisfaction, but now Mingzhu couldn’t hear, and he didn’t know if she would ever hear again. Yuwen Chu felt sad, stroking Mingzhu’s hair as if he were caressing the child. As long as she and Zhuang Zhuang were both well, what else mattered?
His palm was broad and warm, his movements gentle and considerate. Mingzhu felt comfortable, watching Zhuang Zhuang as she laid in his arms, gradually feeling sleepy.
Yuwen Chu saw that she had fallen asleep, so he got up gently, reluctantly looking at the sleeping mother and son duo, then softly called Su Lan and Zheng Momo in to watch over them.
Because Zhuang Zhuang was left at the mansion, Su Lan and Zheng Momo were also left behind by Mingzhu to take care of him, and the two of them had escaped a disaster. But thinking of the innocent Su Jin’s tragic death and Mingzhu’s deafness, they couldn’t feel happy.
Yuwen Chu saw their unhappy expressions and said lightly, “I know you’re feeling uneasy, and Wangfei and I feel the same way. But the more it is like this, the more I hope you can make Wangfei happier, instead of reminding her of sad things just by seeing your faces.”
Good servants should have this ability; they shouldn’t wear their hearts on their sleeves, making their masters feel uneasy just by looking at them. But they also shouldn’t appear too indifferent, lest their smiles appear insensitive. Su Lan and Zheng Momo were scolded and quickly composed themselves, standing quietly by the bed, silently watching over Mingzhu and Zhuang Zhuang.
Yuwen Chu left Yinghui Hall and went straight to the Fu Mansion.
It had been a night since the incident, and now it was dawn. However, due to the citywide curfew, there were basically no people on the streets. Anyone daring to walk on the streets at this hour was either a court official, someone associated with the government, or someone who had urgent matters to attend to at home.
Yuwen Chu walked along, seeing several households hanging white lanterns, with faint cries coming from them. He knew these were the families affected by yesterday’s incident at the Fu Mansion, so he instructed his attendant, Zhou Shuyi, “Send a generous gift to the affected families when we return.”
Accidents were unexpected, and no one hoped for them to happen. But once they did, they had to be actively addressed. The worst thing was if someone incited these people and stirred up their resentment against the Fu Mansion. After all, the incident happened while attending Fu Mingzheng’s wedding, so the Fu family had an undeniable responsibility.
The Fu Mansion would certainly send generous gifts to compensate, but it might not be enough to quell the people’s resentment. In that case, Yuwen Chu would add more. If both sides worked together, there weren’t many in the capital who dared to openly oppose them. Of course, this was the worst-case scenario; the best outcome would be for everyone to unite against Zhongshan Wang.
Yuwen Chu’s worries were completely justified. There were indeed people causing trouble outside the Fu Mansion. The troublemakers were the family members of the Ministry of Works official Mei Lingzhi. Speaking of Mei Lingzhi, he was quite unlucky. He was one of the more active figures in the literati circle, and he shouldn’t have come to the Fu Mansion, a powerful and influential family, to celebrate.
However, he was particularly good at poetry and calligraphy, and he got along well with Third Master Fu, Fu Mingqing. Fu Mingqing insisted on inviting him to Fu Mingzheng’s wedding banquet, threatening to sever ties with him if he refused. Reluctantly, he made this trip. Because he was afraid of being discovered by other literati, he only brought one trusted servant and planned to show his face and leave early. But his luck was bad; he encountered a major incident as soon as he entered, and to make matters worse, his trusted servant was a bad guy who, without hesitation, blew him up.
So, with the instigation and assistance of some literati, Mei’s family demanded compensation and justice. They didn’t care about the circumstances; they only insisted that their perfectly healthy family member died as soon as he entered the Fu Mansion, and the Fu Mansion had to give an explanation and find the culprit. “What? You say the culprit is Mei’s own servant? Sorry, there’s no evidence. You must provide evidence. Who knows if it’s because your Fu Mansion has done too much evil, causing public outrage, leading to the death of a court official? So you must give an explanation!”
Mei Lingzhi’s identity was special, and mishandling it could cause a huge backlash and resentment among the literati, thus affecting the reputation of the Fu family and Ying Wang in the literary world.
Zhou Shuyi listened to the miserable cries of Mei’s old lady and couldn’t help but frown, “These poor people, always causing trouble and disruption instead of doing proper work. They’re being used, and they don’t even realize it. They think they’re upholding justice.”
Yuwen Chu said lightly, “Don’t say it like that. There’s a reason for all kinds of people to exist in this world. There’s a reason for the existence of the literati. It all depends on how the parties involved handle it.” As long as the Mei family wasn’t Zhongshan Wang’s lackeys, he was confident he could turn the tables. “You want to ruin my reputation? I’ll make you a laughingstock.”
It’s better to alleviate than to suppress. Like a boil, instead of constantly preventing it from bursting, allowing it to fester and decay inside, it’s better to completely open it up to the sun, to cut it and scrape it, to eliminate future troubles.
Seeing Yuwen Chu’s carriage, the female members of the Mei family rushed over, kneeling in front of the carriage and crying bitterly, “Your Highness, Your Highness, it’s unfair! You must help us seek justice!”
There are always spectators who, feeling pleased with themselves, contemplate whether to report their son-in-law to their father-in-law. Should they intervene or not? Should they deceive or intimidate? No matter how they handle it, they can’t shake off suspicion.
Yuwen Chu got off the carriage and kindly helped the old lady from the Mei family up, comforting her gently before calmly saying, “Since you feel wronged, then go and deliver the accusation.”
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