Chapter 232:
It was now afternoon, and it would soon be dark. With no one else left in the Li Family, Xie Wanning was uneasy about letting Chen Xi’er go back alone, so she kept her at home.
She promised to accompany her to the yamen the next day to inquire.
That night, the two sisters slept in the same bed, and Chen Xi’er woke up startled several times.
Xie Wanning patted her shoulder and comforted her, “It will definitely be fine. They all say the new Prefect of Bianzhou is upright in his duties, and with the Autumn Imperial Examination upon us, he will personally review it and not tolerate unjust and false cases in his jurisdiction.”
She could understand how at a loss Chen Xi’er felt.
Having finally escaped the Chen Family and started a peaceful, ordinary life, with a kind mother-in-law, a considerate husband, and a child in her belly, it was the happiest time, yet such a major incident occurred.
Once the charge of Li Wenhan murdering students was established, what awaited the Li Family was family ruined and people dead.
What would Chen Xi’er and the child in her belly do then?
In this man-eating world, how much hardship would a widow with a child have to endure.
And the families of those scholars, how could they let her, an orphan and widow, go.
Putting herself in her shoes, Xie Wanning couldn’t help but sigh.
Actually, her Xie Family was flourishing, with many in the collateral branch in officialdom, and her second uncle serving as Libationer at the Imperial Academy, with countless disciples. In the southern region she knew of, there were several officials of no low rank.
Her third uncle was even the Prefect in neighboring Xuanzhou. If Xie Wanning were still the eldest young lady of the Xie Family, she would only need to send a letter, and naturally her third uncle would step in, letting people know the Li Family had backing, and they dare not convict recklessly.
But now she was concealing her identity, unable to think of any way to help.
Everything would have to wait until they went to the yamen tomorrow to clarify the situation.
That night, neither sister slept well.
When they woke the next day, Chen Xi’er had dark circles under her eyes, her facial expression visibly haggard.
Xie Wanning forced her to have breakfast, and then the two took some silver and hurriedly set out.
Meanwhile, at the Prefect’s Mansion, Ji Chengfeng, dressed in plain clothes, stood personally at the door, as if waiting for someone.
Soon, a carriage approached from afar and came to a neat stop.
A fair and slender hand reached out from inside the carriage curtain, slowly lifting it to reveal the man sitting within.
Dressed in a deep blue wide-sleeved brocade robe, his extremely handsome face was aloof and indifferent, his lips somewhat pale, looking as if he was not in very good health.
Ji Chengfeng stepped forward and said, “Cousin, you must be exhausted from the long journey.”
Xie Yanyu gave a soft hum and got out of the carriage.
The two brothers seemed to have no leisure to chat much and directly entered the mansion.
Xie Yanyu’s trip to Bianzhou was personally assigned by His Majesty; he was the chief examiner for this provincial examination, and with only one month left until the provincial examination, he had arrived rather late.
But with such an incident at home, even the Emperor could not say much.
And Ji Chengfeng, the temporary Prefect of Bianzhou, was also forced into the position, not having been in Bianzhou long either.
Normally, with the chief examiner arriving, Ji Chengfeng, as the top official of the province, should at least arrange a welcome banquet with the Bianzhou officials, but they were blood-related cousins.
How could he not know about the matter at his aunt’s family, and he understood even more that Xie Yanyu had no heart for socializing.
Thus, after welcoming Xie Yanyu into the mansion, only a table of what could be called a simple banquet awaited.
The two brothers sat facing each other, both silent.
Since hearing earlier that year about the bright and delicate young lady being kidnapped, Ji Chengfeng had felt as if a large stone was pressing on his chest, with not a single day of happiness.
