After Xingan Marquis died, his head steward vanished, and Mingxi knew many parties were searching for him.
One was Duke Wei, the other was the Crown Prince’s faction.
The Duke wanted to drag the steward out and expose all the dirty deeds the Marquis had committed — ideally finding evidence that the Crown Prince had ordered Xu Heng’s murder back then.
The Crown Prince, naturally, wanted him silenced.
The steward had been clever enough to flee into the deep mountains, living like a wild man.
“Where is he now?” Mingxi asked You Sanping.
“I’ve hidden him at my house. It’s not safe to keep him on the manor.”
After all, Gao Zhan’s manor was right next door — if they discovered anything, it would be a huge problem.
“Go back and keep a close eye on him. I’ll send someone to inform the Wangye immediately,” Mingxi said to You Sanping. “You’ve truly performed a great service this time.”
Seeing how happy Mingxi was, the dark mood You Sanping had been carrying on arrival began to lift.
After all, he wasn’t doing this for Duan Wang — he was doing it for Mingxi.
Even if Duan Wang profited from it, it was because of Mingxi.
When Xiao Muchen received the message, he was utterly shocked — he could hardly believe such good fortune could fall into their laps.
Years of bad luck, overturned in a single stroke — a true rags-to-riches moment!
Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Muchen maintained a calm demeanor at the Dali Temple, not showing a trace of emotion. Only after official business ended for the day did he finally leave, looking casual, and rushed with Qi He straight to You Sanping’s house.
Mingxi waited anxiously in the palace, pacing until it was fully dark before Xiao Muchen and the others returned.
Xiao Muchen strode quickly up the stone steps. Mingxi hurried to meet him, but before she could say a word, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
The few maidservants, including Qiancao, immediately blushed and quietly slipped away, closing the door behind them.
Sensing Xiao Muchen’s abnormal excitement, Mingxi quickly asked, “Is it really him?”
Xiao Muchen, calming down a bit, loosened his embrace but still gripped her hands tightly. He looked into her eyes and said, “Xixi, it’s him!”
All their efforts, all their searching, and here he was delivered effortlessly into their hands!
Mingxi let out a long breath, unable to suppress the brilliant smile blooming on her face.
Such unbelievable fortune — it was like a dream!
Their eyes met, and they both couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
In high spirits, Mingxi pulled Xiao Muchen aside and asked, “Did you interrogate him? Did he confess anything?”
“I did,” Xiao Muchen replied. “He used to have a ledger, spanning many years. Unfortunately, when the Marquis realized trouble was coming, he destroyed it.”
Mingxi’s expression grew complicated. “The Marquis was truly loyal to the Crown Prince. But even so, he was still abandoned when it suited him.”
Xiao Muchen also sighed. “Although the original ledger is gone, the steward remembered parts of it. I had him write it all down from memory.”
He pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Mingxi.
Mingxi flipped through them, her face darkening the more she read.
In her past life, she had known Gao Zhan worked for the Crown Prince and that he had used her dowry for shady dealings. But she hadn’t known the specifics, nor had Gao Zhan ever told her.
Now, seeing this stack of confessions, she finally understood.
The Crown Prince had Xingan Marquis secretly amass silver to buy off officials — many of whom were controlled through blackmail.
As she flipped to the later pages, Mingxi suddenly paused. “The steward even knew about the Qiping Prefecture?”
“An unexpected bonus,” Xiao Muchen said with a smile. “Looks like at the Qixi Festival, we’ll be able to give the Empress and her son another big surprise.”
Mingxi’s eyes shone — it was simply wonderful!
The Empress had been scheming to shove a side consort into the Duan Wang household — now she’d be too busy to manage it!
This unexpected windfall put the couple in excellent spirits. Mingxi even ate an extra bowl of rice at dinner. Just thinking about the Empress’s face when she received the news on Qixi made it hard for her to even fall asleep from excitement.
Seeing Mingxi so lively and cheerful was rare for Xiao Muchen. She was usually calm and steady. Catching her like this, even he couldn’t help but feel more relaxed and happy.
It truly was something worth celebrating.
Neither of them could sleep, and after a whole night of playful “fighting like little demons,” the next morning Xiao Muchen left feeling refreshed, while Mingxi, holding her waist, went back to sleep for a while.
Before long, it was the day of the Qixi Festival.
Mingxi got up early to wash and dress. Xiao Muchen was up even earlier; Qi He had urgent matters and sent Fang Momo to knock on the door.
Mingxi was still sleeping, but Xiao Muchen was startled awake and got up to go out.
Mingxi woke up as soon as he moved and sat up to ask, “What’s going on?”
“Qi He has something urgent. You go back to sleep; I’ll go take a look.”
Mingxi knew that Qi He understood the importance of things — if he was calling for someone at this hour, it must be something big.
She hurriedly got up to help Xiao Muchen dress. After seeing him out the door, she returned to the room. By now, the sky was already faintly bright; dawn was breaking.
Since she couldn’t sleep anymore, she simply freshened up and changed clothes too. Soon, the courtyard was lit up, and the maids were bustling about, making everything lively.
After a quarter of an hour, Xiao Muchen sent word back: he would head out first, and Mingxi should have breakfast before entering the palace; they would meet inside later.
Mingxi didn’t know what had happened and felt a little worried. After breakfast, seeing that it was about time, she got into the carriage and headed for the palace.
At the palace gates, Kang Wangfei had arrived a little earlier. Seeing the carriage from Duan Wang’s manor approaching, she quickly got down to greet them.
Hearing this from Qiancao, Mingxi had the carriage stop and got down as well.
“Fourth Sister-in-law.”
Mingxi greeted Kang Wangfei, “Eighth Sister-in-law, how come you’re here so early?”
Kang Wangfei certainly couldn’t say she was following Mingxi to Consort Shu’s place and didn’t want to make anyone wait. She just smiled and said, “I woke up a little earlier than usual. I didn’t expect Fourth Sister-in-law to be early too.”
Luckily, she had arrived a bit ahead; otherwise, if she had made Fourth Sister-in-law wait, she would have been mortified.
Mingxi didn’t really believe her explanation but could tell that Kang Wangfei was someone who valued propriety. She smiled and said, “Perfect, we can go together. How is Eighth Brother doing with his work at the Dali Temple?”
When Kang Wangfei heard her ask, her expression became hard to describe. She said helplessly, “It’s Wangye’s first time handling official duties, and he was sent straight to the Dali Temple. Now his head is full of case files. Sometimes when he returns to the manor, I even hear him muttering to himself — it’s quite funny.”
Mingxi chuckled, “It shows that Eighth Brother is hardworking. It’s okay not to understand at first; what matters is the willingness to learn.”
“Exactly. I think the same.” Kang Wangfei’s eyes brightened slightly, and she added in a low voice, “Wangye told me that Fourth Brother taught him a lot, and only then did he realize there’s so much to reading case files — truly a skill on its own.”
Mingxi thought to herself that before Xiao Muchen went to the Dali Temple, he had also sought advice from others. Of course, he couldn’t afford to show ignorance.
But these things involved Duan Wang’s reputation, so she naturally said nothing.
After all, who is born knowing everything? It all has to be learned bit by bit.
The two women chatted and laughed as they walked toward the palace. Midway, Mingxi vaguely sensed something was wrong. She turned her head and looked through the flowered walls on either side of the palace path, frowning slightly.
