Chapter 989 Dongxing’s Testimony
Wen Xichi was silent for a moment, and then his thin lips slightly separated. “If there is a chance now, do you want to find out the truth?”
“Since there is a chance, I must do it!” Shao Wanru nodded and said with certainty.
“Okay!” Wen Xichi said without hesitation. He looked at her firmly, then lowered his head, and his eyes darkened.
His decisiveness surprised Shao Wanru. She looked up, her watery eyes on him. “Shouldn’t he make any decision by reasons and evidence? How could he agree with me instantly without investigation?”
“Lord Wen, what do you think will happen in the end?” She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and asked, her long eyelashes fluttering.
“Since this involves you and the Madam of Marquis Xing. Someone must bear the severe consequence. Compared with it, the case at the beginning is not a big deal.” Wen Xichi thought for a moment. His position in the Ministry of Justice was high. As a young man who had achieved high status, his future would be promising. Actually, his ranking would have been higher if his father had not been a Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, an old Division Chief in the Ministry of Justice was going to retire soon, and his superior recommended Wen Xichi to take his place. Compared with others, his career journey was smooth and trouble-free. Some people even predicted that he would get a series of speedy promotions after his father retired, which would happen soon.
People like him wouldn’t say anything without proper consideration.
The moment she saw Wen Xichi, the answer came up to her mind. It was not a trivial matter that Wang Shengxue framed Yan Xi, but compared with the case that the Madam of Marquis Xing used Wang Shengxue to frame Princess Chen, it was indeed not a big deal.
“Will the Madam of Marquis Xing be investigated?” Shao Wanru asked tentatively when such a possible result suddenly popped up in her mind.
“Yes, she should be!” Wen Xichi nodded.
“Will it involve Marquis Xing?” Shao Wanru thought fast and put forward another question.
“Unlikely. They’re different!” Wen Xichi thought for a moment and said honestly.
After thinking for a while, Shao Wanru had made up her mind and said, “Lord Wen, please investigate this matter thoroughly. If there is any need, I can send my servant girl to prove it in the court!”
“Well, thank you, Princess Chen!” Wen Xichi stood up. He had finished what he had to say, but he actually did not want to leave so soon.
But even if he wanted to stay, it was not appropriate for him to stay any longer. Therefore, he bowed to Shao Wanru, turned around, and strode away.
If possible, he would rather not figure out so many things!
But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around before the door. He looked at Shao Wanru, who was still sitting on the chair, and who looked stunned by his sudden move.
Wen Xichi took a few steps back and walked up to Shao Wanru. His usual calm look changed a little. “Princess Chen, can you tell me why you would kindly remind me when you came to the capital for the first time?”
Shao Wanru didn’t expect Wen Xichi to turn around suddenly and ask such an unexpected question on impulse. In her view, Wen Xichi had been a steady and reliable man. It seemed that he could treat anything calmly. But now, he looked a little impulsive, like an immature youth who didn’t know how to resist his impulse.
It was utterly unlike him to act on impulse.
“Well… In fact, I didn’t remind you on purpose. I just said a few words casually. Did you mistake them as an alert?” Shao Wanru looked confused.
The things about her last life were too mystic to be explained. It was her biggest secret. If others knew it, they might regard her as something evil.
There was a marked coldness in her watery eyes. Wen Xichi, when gazing into such a pair of clear eyes, felt a spasm of pain crossing his heart. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, holding back all the words which sprang to his lips. Then he bowed to Shao Wanru and said, “Thank you for reminding me that day, Princess Chen!”
“Don’t mention it, Mr. Wen! It’s just a coincidence.” Shao Wanru smiled slightly.
“It’s a coincidence for you, but for me, I owe you a life!” Wen Xichi looked up at Shao Wanru and said in a deep voice, “Anything you want me to do, I will do it!”
“He made such a solemn promise to me.” Shao Wanru blinked, her watery eyes looking at his handsome face. Somehow, an inexplicable strange feeling welled up in her heart. The incident that day was nothing worth mentioning if nothing else happened afterward. However, Wen Xichi looked serious when pledging.
“Does he know something?”
When this thought came to her mind, Shao Wanru immediately denied it. But how could it be possible? Wen Xichi could never remember what had happened in his last life. When Shao Wanru first met Wen Xichi that day, he treated her as a complete stranger. Anyway, he couldn’t have the memory of his last life.
Later, Wen Xichi began to suspect her intention. Not to speak of his gratitude to Shao Wanru, he even helped Chu Liuyue plot against her. If it hadn’t been for Chu Liuchen, she wouldn’t have struggled through the hardship on her own. After all, no woman living in the inner court could think of that trick.
Even though Shao Wanru had the experience she got from her previous life, she lacked the experience needed to deal with those who worked for the imperial court.
When thinking of this, she watched Wen Xichi vigilantly. “What’s his plan this time? Is it Chu Liuyue’s idea or his?”
She wouldn’t have considered him a man with malicious intentions if she had just been reborn with the memory of her last life. But now, when so many things had happened, Shao Wanru could no longer treat Wen Xichi as sincerely as before.
In his last life, Wen Xichi was kind and harmless and had been very nice to Shao Wanru. If he earned a peaceful life at that time, he could provide her with a secure living environment.
In this life, Wen Xichi had a different fate. Once he removed the obstacle, he would acquire enormous power. Who wouldn’t butter up such a talent? Shao Wanru just reminded him out of kindness, so he didn’t have to take it so seriously as if she had saved his life.
“You don’t have to do that, Lord Wen. I happened to say it. If it were useful to you, I would be very happy!” Shao Wanru said politely.
Seeing the faint vigilance in her beautiful eyes, Wen Xichi smiled bitterly. Gradually, the twinkle in his eyes dimmed. He staggered a little and almost fell to the ground. But he quickly regained his footing, bowed to Shao Wanru, and turned to leave.
Looking at Wen Xichi’s lonely back, Yujie asked in confusion, “My Lady, did Lord Wen suffer a blow?”
“He seemed to be in high spirits when he came in. But after a short chat, he fell into a depression! He is indeed a weak and useless scholar!” Yujie thought.
Shao Wanru was also puzzled, looking at his back in confusion. “It looks like he has just suffered a great blow. Did I say anything wrong? Something must be wrong with the last two sentences I said to him. No way. There seems to be nothing in particular…”
Shao Wanru had a very strange feeling. She thought she could figure it out with ease but failed.
“Your Highness, will the Madam of Marquis Xing be punished this time?” Yujie, with a lively mind, shifted their topic from Wen Xichi to Madam Jiang and asked excitedly.
Although she hadn’t fully comprehended the words between Princess Chen and Lord Wen, she still managed to figure out something: the Madam of Marquis Xing was going to get into trouble. Nothing bad had happened to Marquis Xing, but she felt delighted when learning the Madam of Marquis Xing would be punished for her wrongdoings.
Yujie and the other maids who had been serving Shao Wanru by her side knew that the Madam of Marquis Xing had never stopped plotting against Shao Wanru. Ever since they arrived in the capital, she had been scheming against their master. If it weren’t for her master’s intelligence, she would have lost her reputation and died without a burial place.
These maids knew all too well about the viciousness of the Madam of Marquis Xing and Miss Shao.
They would be pleased to see either of them be punished.
Shao Wanru thought for a while and said, “Let’s wait and see. There should be news from the Ministry of Justice, and the Palace!”
Whether it was in her previous life or this life, Madam Jiang had never let her go. After her rebirth, her heart became cold. So, how could she let Madam Jiang off?
Having an austere life in Yuhui Nunnery was not going to be the worst thing that happened to Madam Jiang. Shao Wanru was determined to make her experience the feeling of desperation when being isolated and deserted by all family members and friends. Madam Jiang made her all alone in the world in her last life because all the people who cared about her were dead. Now it was Madam Jiang’s turn to experience this feeling of being left forlorn without a supporter…
The Ministry of Justice acted fast and arrested Dongxing, Wang Shengxue’s concubine, who confessed everything. At the start, she was Ning Xueqing’s maid, who was devoted to helping her. Unexpectedly, she became Wang Shengxue’s concubine like Ning Xueqing.
When she was on equal footing with Ning Xueqing, she became ambitious and wanted to be the favored concubine. However, Dongxing was no match for Ning Xueqing. As a concubine, she lived worse than a maid in the manor. The master-servant relationship between them had long dissipated in their constant fight for Wang Shengxue’s love.
They became enemies familiar with each other. After being bullied by Ning Xueqing for a long time, Dongxing was full of hatred for her. As soon as the officer of the Ministry of Justice asked her, she told him everything Ning Xueqing had told her and what she had done that day.
All the things that she had done at that time were indeed to frame Princess Chen. It was Madam Jiang, the Madam of Marquis Xing, who arranged the same suit, the things she should do, and the schedule. Without Madam Jiang’s secret arrangements, she couldn’t make all the incidents happen at the right time. Moreover, it was a misunderstanding that she had an affair with Wang Shengxue. She was also forced to do so.
When getting her confessional statements, the Ministry of Justice specially sent some officers to verify them in the Marquis Xing’s Mansion. Marquis Xing, furious and annoyed, claimed that he was going to divorce Madam Jiang if she indeed had done these things. He couldn’t stand such a vicious wife and felt sorry for his ancestors, Princess Chen and her parents.
As a result, Marquis Xing even punished himself by kneeling in front of the ancestral tablets for three days and apologizing to his ancestors.