Chapter 1177 The fight behind the scenes!

As if he noticed Song Haibo's dilemma, Zhao Wanxian patted him on the shoulder and said:
“Brother Haibo, I am sincere in my respect for your brother Zhao. As long as you nod your head, I will arrange the rest. In a few days, you, the new prefect, can take office…”

Zhao Wanxian's words were like adding fuel to the fire, making Song Haibo even more entangled. However, after thinking for half a cup of tea, Song Haibo finally made a decision. He first stood up and bowed to Zhao Wanxian sincerely, and then he said:
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhao! But now is not the right time!"

Zhao Wanxian did not seem surprised by Song Haibo's decision. He smiled and nodded and said:

"No problem! No problem! I, Zhao Wanxian, have always been eager to recruit talented people. For talents like Brother Haibo, I have always been waiting for you. If Brother Haibo wants to be transferred out one day, you must come to our Jiyu!"

After hearing this, although Song Haibo still wanted to pretend to be calm, he couldn't help but feel a little overjoyed in his heart. After saying a few words of praise, he took the initiative to tell Zhao Wanxian:
"Brother Zhao, I think the Marshal is very satisfied with your work in Jiyu, but the Marshal thinks that you treated those people too leniently. You should catch a few of the most serious cases and treat them as examples!"

“Besides, the court’s finances are tight. Previously, He Jingyun sent 300,000 taels of silver, but the Marshal immediately returned it to the court in Yijing. Brother Zhao, you have collected a huge amount of 600,000 taels of silver this time. It’s time for me to share your worries…”

After saying this, Song Haibo hesitated for a moment, then spoke to Zhao Wanxian again:
"The Marshal inspected the textile factory in Ji County some time ago and was very dissatisfied with the treatment of the textile workers. He ordered the factory owner to improve the workers' treatment and also sent an order to the Ministry of Justice, requiring the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Dali Temple, etc. to jointly formulate relevant laws to ensure that the rights and interests of the workers are guaranteed!"

"The Marshal seems to be very concerned about this matter. If you are interested, Brother Zhao, you might as well think of a solution for this matter!"

Song Haibo's words brought a lot of inspiration to Zhao Wanxian, and also made Zhao Wanxian think. After Song Haibo finished speaking, Zhao Wanxian said to Song Haibo sincerely:
"Thank you, Brother Haibo, for your advice!"

"Brother Zhao, you are too polite. These are just my personal opinions and they don't count. Besides, you also said that we are all family!"

After he finished speaking, Zhao Wanxian and Song Haibo smiled at each other. Everything was said without words!
Because it was getting late, the two men parted ways after discussing the important matters. Sitting in the carriage on the way home, Zhao Wanxian kept thinking about Song Haibo's words.

After returning home, Zhao Wanxian said to the housekeeper Zhao Wu without saying a word:
"Immediately ask Ji Heng to arrest Sun Yu, Yang Peng, and Wang Zida!"

"Ah? Master, didn't you say you would let them go?"

Zhao Wanxian sighed and said:

"I have underestimated the Marshal's determination. It might be okay for others, but these three people are doomed to die. Go and inform Ji Heng that they must be captured before dawn tomorrow..."

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Yijing, Ye Mansion

It was three quarters past four in the morning when Bai Yuanyuan slowly woke up from her sleep. Ever since she realized that someone was going to attack her family, she had been suffering from insomnia every night. She often tossed and turned until the morning hour before she could barely fall asleep, which made her look a little bad.

Rubbing her eyes, Bai Yuanyuan asked Li Ma, who was serving her:
"Jingheng, where are Xingtong and the others?"

Nanny Li spoke without hesitation:
"Madame Sun is taking care of Master Jingheng. As for Miss Xingtong, she has been sent to the eldest lady's place to study with Master Jingren! Both young masters and young ladies are being well taken care of, please rest assured, Madam!"

Bai Yuanyuan nodded when she heard this, and then began to dress up with the help of Nanny Li and two maids. Since she had no appetite, Bai Yuanyuan just asked the cook in the yard to make some porridge for her and stir-fry two light side dishes!
After a cup of tea, Bai Yuanyuan, who was drinking porridge, seemed to remember something and asked Li Ma:

"Is there any news from the Bai family?"

Upon hearing this, Nanny Li shook her head without hesitation and said:
"no!"

Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help but frowned slightly when she heard this. Seeing this, Nanny Li hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Bai Yuanyuan:
"Madam, I think having no news at this time is actually the best news..."

After hearing this, Bai Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and asked Li Ma:

"Xiao Cui, how is your investigation going?"

In response to Bai Yuanyuan's question, Nanny Li did not answer immediately and looked a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Bai Yuanyuan also put down her chopsticks, picked up the handkerchief beside her and wiped her red lips, then said to Li Ma Ma lightly:

"Tell me whatever you find out!"

Upon hearing this, Nanny Li also spoke up:
"There's nothing much going on at Xiao Cui's house, but I found out that Xiao Cui is in love with a captain named Song Lei from the Imperial Guard. Song Lei is also from a poor family, and his family are all ordinary people. But he recently took out a sum of money and bought a three-story house in his hometown of Liaoyang!"

Bai Yuanyuan heard this and said in a deep voice:

"Are you saying that Song Lei's money was given by Xiao Cui?"

"That's how it should be!"

"Where did Xiao Cui get the money from?"

In response to Bai Yuanyuan's question, Li Ma said respectfully:

"I don't know about this servant!"

Bai Yuanyuan nodded and said nothing more. Seeing this, Nanny Li was also in a state of anxiety. After a while, Bai Yuanyuan finished her meal and found an excuse to send Nanny Li away. Then she called Xiao Cui to her side and asked:

"How is your investigation going on with Nanny Li?" Compared to Nanny Li's hesitation, Xiao Cui was very straightforward and reported directly to Bai Yuanyuan:
“Madam, Nanny Li lied to you. She said that her whole family starved to death in the famine before she entered the mansion. However, according to my investigation, the situation is completely different. Nanny Li has a daughter named Xu Yingying, who is now married to a clerk at the Dadongsheng Company. Nanny Li often goes out of the mansion to meet her daughter under the opportunity of shopping…”

"I found out that Nanny Li lied because her husband Xu Gui didn't die of starvation, but most likely died at her hands!"

Bai Yuanyuan was a little surprised when she heard this, and immediately asked Xiao Cui:
"Why did Madam Li kill her husband Xu Gui?"

Xiao Cui said without hesitation:
"Xu Gui was a drunkard. He would often beat and scold Li Mama when he was drunk. I think Li Mama couldn't stand it, so she killed her husband Xu Gui. After killing Xu Gui, Li Mama abandoned her daughter and ran away for a year. Later, she sneaked back when she saw that everything was calm. But even so, she didn't dare to recognize her daughter Xu Yingying openly, so she could only hide her identity!"

Bai Yuanyuan thought for a while after hearing this, and then asked Xiao Cui:
"Do you have any evidence for what you say?"

Xiao Cui answered confidently:

"Xu Yingying now lives in Jiu Tiao Hutong in the west city of Yijing. Madam, if you arrest her now and let her confront Nanny Li, I guarantee that Nanny Li, the murderer, will reveal her true colors in front of you!"

Seeing Xiao Cui's confident look, Bai Yuanyuan felt even more serious. After a little thought, she asked Xiao Cui:

"Do you know the captain of the Royal Guard Battalion named Song Lei?"

When Xiao Cui heard Bai Yuanyuan mention the name "Song Lei", she was obviously a little flustered, but under Bai Yuanyuan's gaze, she still pretended to be calm and said:
"In reply to my wife, I know Song Dutou, and we are both from Liaoyang..."

"Have you ever lent money to Song Lei?"

Faced with this more sensitive question, Xiao Cui's eyes were obviously a little panicked, but she hesitated for a moment but still said stubbornly:
"Although I am from the same hometown as Song Dutou, we do not have any close contacts, and I have never borrowed money from him!"

Although Bai Yuanyuan had already determined from Xiao Cui's behavior that what Nanny Li said was true, and that Xiao Cui was most likely having an affair with the head of the royal guard battalion named Song Lei, Bai Yuanyuan did not directly expose Xiao Cui's lie. Instead, she nodded and let Xiao Cui go!

After Xiao Cui left, Bai Yuanyuan took out the note with the words "Wan Xinghe! Wei!" written on it from the drawer of her dressing table!
Because the Ye Mansion is heavily guarded, Bai Yuanyuan would rather believe that it was someone close to her who left the note than an outsider breaking into her courtyard and leaving a note!
Although the person who left this note intended to warn her, Bai Yuanyuan still felt a little chilled when she thought that there was such a person hiding next to her. Therefore, she decided to dig this person out and not let him become a threat to her and her child's safety!
After some investigation, Bai Yuanyuan fixed her suspicious eyes on Nanny Li and the maid Xiao Cui. She believed that one of these two people must have ulterior motives!

So Bai Yuanyuan told them privately to investigate each other. Originally, Bai Yuanyuan thought that this would help to catch that person, but what she didn't expect was that the two maids and mothers-in-law around her seemed to be not clean...
The young maid had an affair with a man, and the older maid had killed her husband and abandoned her daughter!
What worries Bai Yuanyuan the most is that she always feels that Nanny Li and Xiao Cui seem to have been bribed and corrupted by others. Otherwise, how could these two people, one a maid and the other a nanny, find out such secret things about the other party?

Thinking of this, Bai Yuanyuan's expression became more and more solemn. Just as Bai Yuanyuan was thinking about how to deal with this matter, Xiaoci, the maid she brought from her mother's home, hurried over and reported:

"Madam, your sister-in-law, Mrs. Hu, is here to see you!"

Bai Yuanyuan felt something was wrong when she heard this. She used to keep in touch with her family through letters, but now her family didn't even need letters and directly sent her sister-in-law, Mrs. Hu, to the mansion to look for her. This was enough to show that the situation was very serious. Thinking of this, she quickly asked:
"Where is my sister-in-law Hu now?"

"The eldest lady has approved her to enter the palace. She should be here soon!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuanyuan immediately tidied her clothes and prepared to welcome Hu's arrival. In front of a group of outsiders, the elder sister-in-law and the younger sister-in-law exchanged a few simple greetings, and then the two of them went into the room alone.

Seeing that there were no strangers in the room, Mrs. Hu no longer hid her feelings. She grabbed Bai Yuanyuan's hand and said anxiously:

"Yuanyuan, you must save our Bai family!"

Feeling the anxiety and panic of her sister-in-law, Bai Yuanyuan also panicked and asked her sister-in-law:

"Sister-in-law, what happened?"

Under Bai Yuanyuan's gaze, Hu whispered:
"The news you sent back last time was very timely. The Youyan Censorate said that there was a problem with the account books of our Wanxinghe Company and wanted to check our account books. Although our family was prepared, they still took away one of our account books. In addition, our two mines in Liaoyang were also sealed..."

Although Bai Yuanyuan had a vague answer in her mind after hearing this, she still asked Hu with a fluke mentality:
“Is there really a problem with the ledger and the mine?”

Facing Bai Yuanyuan's gaze, Hu avoided it but did not speak.

Seeing this, although Bai Yuanyuan already had a positive answer in her heart, she still continued to ask:
"Sister-in-law, tell me the truth! Tell me what the situation is!"

Upon hearing this, Hu could only say reluctantly:

"How can there be no problems in doing business? We did underreport some profits in our account books. As for the mine, Yuanyuan, you know that when mining, there will inevitably be some casualties due to landslides and earthquakes. This is a very normal thing. We have never been investigated before, but this time someone suddenly came to investigate!"

"Dad said that someone might be plotting against us in secret!"

At this point, Mrs. Hu looked at Bai Yuanyuan and hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Dad said that there are not many people in the court who have such great power and can summon the Censors of Youyan and Liaoyang to come forward at the same time!"

"Yuanyuan, aren't you on good terms with the Madam? Can you ask the Madam to come forward and say hello to Youyan and Liaoyang Censorate?"

"Father wanted to invite Youyan Censor Zhuang Shanhe to a banquet at the restaurant yesterday, but Zhuang Shanhe ignored us and didn't even accept our invitation. This is really disrespectful!"

Hearing Hu's complaint, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. Her father Bai Wanhao asked her to find An Miaoyi, but if her guess was correct, it might be An Miaoyi who caused such a thing······················
(End of this chapter)