Prince Hengguang’s face darkened immediately.

He no longer had the composure to argue further with Wen Yuesheng and hurriedly left the hunting grounds in haste.

That evening’s palace banquet was destined to proceed uneventfully.

Before Prince Hengguang could even leave the palace, he received word that someone had filed a complaint against Sun Mingyuan, the Vice Minister of Works, at the Dali Temple.

The news soon reached the Emperor, who was infuriated and ordered a thorough investigation.

The banquet was abruptly interrupted.

By evening, Wen Yuesheng had already returned to the Princess Residence.

The matter involving Sun Mingyuan wasn’t directly related to Prince Hengguang, but since Sun Mingyuan was involved, it inevitably implicated the prince.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Prince Hengguang’s for choosing this time to collide with trouble.

The main courtyard of the Princess Residence was particularly lively that evening.

The Lu siblings had returned at the same time as Wen Yuesheng.

Zhou Manniang was also present. In addition to the three of them, there was another woman seated in the hall.

The woman was Jiang Lu, Sun Mingyuan’s wife and the second Madam of the Sun family.

She was the one who had secretly sent news to Wen Yuesheng when Zhou Manniang was in danger.

Jiang Lu, a woman of delicate beauty and fair complexion, sat quietly with her head slightly lowered. Zhou Manniang was carefully applying medicine to her wounds.

She wore a pale green dress, but beneath its fabric, her once-fair and tender arm was covered in overlapping scars. Some were old, while others were fresh.

Lu Hongying turned her head away, unable to bear the sight, and said angrily, “For beating you like this, merely going to the Dali Temple is far too lenient a punishment for him!”

Zhou Manniang’s hands moved gently as she applied the medicine.

Jiang Lu, still calm, spoke to them softly, “At least from now on, I’ll have no further ties with him.”

Hearing this, Lu Hongying looked at her with a complicated expression.

A few nights ago, Jiang Lu had secretly sought out Wen Yuesheng.

When Wen Yuesheng visited the royal hunting grounds earlier, Jiang Lu couldn’t meet her because Sun Mingyuan’s mother had suddenly passed away.

As Sun Mingyuan’s wife, Jiang Lu was responsible for managing the funeral arrangements, which delayed her.

It was only when Sun Mingyuan went out for social engagements and wouldn’t return that Jiang Lu dared to sneak out to see Wen Yuesheng in the middle of the night.

Jiang Lu was the one who had sent people to warn Wen Yuesheng about Sun Mingyuan’s plot against Zhou Manniang and her daughter.

When she asked to meet Wen Yuesheng later, Wen Yuesheng didn’t refuse.

But no one expected that Jiang Lu’s reason for seeking out Wen Yuesheng wasn’t merely for help—it was to orchestrate her husband Sun Mingyuan’s downfall.

When Lu Hongying first heard this gentle-looking woman say such a thing, she was stunned for quite a while before she could process it.

After learning the truth, not only did she understand Jiang Lu’s resolve, but she also wanted to see Sun Mingyuan dead herself.

Jiang Lu, only twenty-eight years old, was Sun Mingyuan’s second wife and came from a merchant family.

Sun Mingyuan married her for her family’s immense wealth.

Jiang Lu’s parents had passed away early, and she was raised by her strict and elderly grandfather.

Without any male heirs in the family, her grandfather, being a traditionalist, refused to let Jiang Lu take charge of the family business.

As a result, the family’s external dealings were handled entirely by him.

Sun Mingyuan, with malicious intent from the start, set a trap to bring down her grandfather and forced Jiang Lu into marriage.

In the societal hierarchy, merchants were at the bottom.

Many viewed her marriage to someone of Sun Mingyuan’s status as her fortune.

People said she was “marrying up” into the Sun family.

After entering the Sun household, Jiang Lu faced scorn from her domineering sister-in-law, contempt from aristocrats who disdained her background, and constant abuse from her mother-in-law. Life was a torment.

Not long after her grandfather’s death, Sun Mingyuan revealed his true colors.

He seized the Jiang family’s fortune, which paved the way for his rapid ascent in the imperial court.

His treatment of Jiang Lu worsened—he berated her for her humble origins, criticized everything about her, and resorted to physical violence whenever he was dissatisfied.

All the scars on Jiang Lu’s body were marks of his abuse.

Initially, Jiang Lu thought of ending her life or begged him to divorce her.

Her repeated pleas for mercy only emboldened Sun Mingyuan, making him even more brutal. Realizing this, Jiang Lu changed her approach.

She began to endure in silence. Under the pretext of helping Sun Mingyuan manage household affairs, she uncovered all the dirty dealings he was involved in behind the scenes.

For years, she meticulously documented all the bribes Sun Mingyuan had taken and the deeds he had committed, compiling them into thick volumes.

By the time she handed them over to Wen Yuesheng, the records filled several hefty tomes.

Over these years, Sun Mingyuan had an extremely favored mistress.

The mistress was of noble birth but had encountered misfortune, which led her to become Sun Mingyuan’s concubine.

She bore him children and even attempted to replace Jiang Lu’s position as his wife.

However, Jiang Lu, always showing patience and resilience, coupled with her exceptional talent for managing finances, had earned Sun Mingyuan vast amounts of wealth.

Because of this, he never formally dismissed her.

After meeting with Wen Yuesheng, Jiang Lu, accompanied by two servants, stormed into the mistress’s courtyard and ordered her beaten.

When Sun Mingyuan learned of the incident, he was furious.

That very night, at the mistress’s instigation, he wrote a divorce letter to Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu took the divorce letter, along with the records she had compiled over the years and all the money she had saved, and knocked on the door of the Princess’s residence once again.

She was born into a merchant family, with no one in her clan capable of assisting her.

To take on Sun Mingyuan alone was impossible.

But knowing about Zhou Manniang’s situation and sympathizing with her plight, Jiang Lu made up her mind after learning that Zhou Manniang was now serving by the Princess’s side.

She resolved to seek the Princess’s help, willing to give up everything she had as long as Sun Mingyuan was destroyed.

Over the years, Jiang Lu’s patience and ability to generate wealth had earned Sun Mingyuan’s trust.

As a result, Sun Mingyuan had no idea how much money she had secretly saved.

That fortune, along with some of her private assets, was managed by a loyal servant by her side.

In total, it amounted to two million taels of silver—money intended to buy Sun Mingyuan’s life.

She wanted Sun Mingyuan dead. Moreover, she wanted the Sun family ruined and everyone associated with them to face retribution.

At the time, Lu Hongying exclaimed, “Two million taels of silver—for that scoundrel?!”

But Jiang Lu remained resolute.

Her life had been ruined by Sun Mingyuan. Even her grandfather’s death was inseparably tied to him.

Sun Mingyuan loved power and wealth more than anything.

She intended to bury him with his ambitions, leaving him to die disgraced and destitute!

The person accusing Sun Mingyuan in court that day was a destitute scholar.

This scholar, who held an official title, had once been a teacher at a prominent academy in the capital.

Years ago, he had passed the imperial examination, but his exam papers were swapped by Sun Mingyuan, who gave the scholar’s rightful success to someone else.

This was not the only such case; Sun Mingyuan had done this many times.

Sun Mingyuan’s position in the Ministry of Works, his ability to recommend Sun Qi to the barracks in the northern district—these were all benefits he reaped through similar unscrupulous actions.

Those he had recommended, those who had paid him bribes for official positions, and those who colluded with him—all of them were complicit.

Moreover, he had always followed Prince Hengguang.

These connections allowed him to further his schemes and consolidate his influence.

It was precisely for this reason that Zhou Yuandu had always been cautious about dealing with the Sun family.

However, Sun Mingyuan was a treacherous man. After Zhou Yuandu’s demotion, Sun had no intention of allowing him to return to court and only planned to bring back Zhou’s sister and Zhou Yujie.

Perhaps Zhou Yuandu had guessed his intentions, so before leaving, he left Zhou Manniang and Concubine Yang with Wen Yuesheng as his fallback.

Lu Qinghuai paced in the main hall, furrowing his brows after hearing these details.

He remarked, “With just one scholar bringing accusations, it’ll be difficult to bring him down.”

What he left unsaid was that Sun Mingyuan had too many allies who would protect him to avoid exposing themselves.

Even though the scholar had an official title, he could hardly compete with Sun Mingyuan’s powerful network.

“If you ask me, we might as well kidnap him and be done with it. Why go through all this trouble?” Lu Qinghuai added. “Now that things have escalated, he might not even face punishment.”

The Great Hui Dynasty had been established for many years. Though the surface appeared calm, corruption ran deep beneath.

With noble titles shielding him and the emperor turning a blind eye to certain matters, Sun Mingyuan had managed to remain in his position as Vice Minister of Works despite his crimes.

This position, in theory, should have required genuine talent.

It was only thanks to Wen Xun, the capable Minister of Works, that major incidents hadn’t occurred.

“But with these ledgers and lists…” Lu Hongying frowned.

“They’re useless if the scholar is convicted of false accusations. All this evidence would be dismissed as worthless paper, and not only would Sun Mingyuan go free, but the scholar would likely face severe punishment.” Lu Qinghuai sneered. “False accusations against a court official? That’s a death sentence.”

“What should we do?” Lu Hongying was at a loss.

Zhou Manniang, after applying medicine to Jiang Lu’s wounds, looked into the main hall and asked, “Does the Princess have a plan?”

Wen Yuesheng, who had been silently fingering her prayer beads, opened her eyes and said, “One person bringing accusations is a small matter. Let ten people accuse him instead.”

Lu Qinghuai was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, “That would blow things up beyond repair!”

“Your Highness,” he said seriously, “some of the civil officials in court are like mad dogs—cunning and full of malicious tricks.”

As a military general, he, Zhang Yulin, and even the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage had always been at odds with the civil officials in court.

Zhou Manniang understood and added, “The northern barracks fall under the jurisdiction of military officials, and the Princess currently holds military power. Among the civil officials, there doesn’t seem to be anyone we can rely on.”

Just as she finished speaking, Wen Yuesheng said calmly, “There is one person we can use.”

Lu Qinghuai immediately asked, “Who?”

When had Wen Yuesheng gained the support of a civil official without him knowing?

With an expressionless face, Wen Yuesheng replied, “Yan Ling.”

Lu Qinghuai: “???”