0p0 Chapter 571 The Tribulations of Jin Hui!
Chapter 571 The Tribulations of Jin Hui!
Mu Xin Nuan had arranged everything. Mu Qing came in and whispered, "Miss, the Second Miss did indeed go to Chunhui Pavilion during the banquet, taking advantage of the crowd and the chaos."
Mu Xin Nuan's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's the Prince's study. What would Mu Xin Yao, a mere woman, be doing there? She's quite bold. Isn't she afraid of being discovered by the people of the Prince's mansion?"
“Miss, the Second Miss is quite clever. She pretended to be lost because the Prince had instructed that if they wanted to do something, they should be given a chance. Otherwise, how could the charge of stealing the Prince’s secrets be pinned on them?”
"What did they take? Was it about Chang Le Fang, or the border?"
In truth, Mu Xin Nuan had a rough idea of what was going on, but she was unwilling to admit that Mu Xin Yao had been so bold for the sake of Prince Ming. After all, she was also a member of the Mu family.
If she behaved herself, Mu Xin Nuan never intended to kill her, since they both came from the Mu family.
But now it seems that her kindness was worthless in Mu Xinyao's eyes.
Duanmu Chuze had already set up this trap, just waiting for the couple to jump in. And now, they really did jump in without any scruples.
But is Mu Xinyao stupid? She actually chose to do it herself to steal the secrets of the Prince's mansion? Doesn't she know what kind of person Jin Er is?
If Jin Er were to pin all the blame on her, then Duanmu Chuze would likely be the one in a difficult position.
Mu Qing noticed some of Mu Xin Nuan's worries.
“Miss, there’s no need to worry. That night, someone saw Jin Er entering and leaving Chunhui Pavilion. As a mere sixth-rank official, what right did he have to enter and leave the Prince’s study? Moreover, he did it secretly.”
Mu Xin Nuan was taken aback. "The Prince's arrangement?"
"Miss, the Prince said that whoever enters or leaves Chunhui Pavilion will be identified as Jin Er. However, although Mu Xinyao, as his wife, is spared the death penalty, she will likely be implicated."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded; she naturally knew this.
Duanmu Chuze's plan was actually very simple. He just found a few trusted confidants and concluded that Jin Er had stolen the secrets of the Prince's Mansion. Regardless of whether Jin Er entered Chunhui Pavilion or not, the result would be the same.
Duanmu Chuze was incredibly adept at framing and slandering people!
Mu Xin Nuan's lips twitched. How could she not have imagined that such a dignified and upright person could come up with such a method?
However, it was also because the couple should not have harbored such wicked thoughts in the first place; otherwise, they would not have fallen into Duanmu Chuze's trap.
This time, we can finally get it over with once and for all.
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the city patrol officer of Yanzhou noticed a man who looked rather thieving and went up to question him. Unexpectedly, the man was trying to run away out of guilt, so the city patrol officer captured him in one fell swoop and sent him to the Yanzhou government office.
Unexpectedly, this trial uncovered a major case!
The man was a servant in the Jin household, and some strange blueprints were found on his person.
The Yanzhou Prefecture dared not delay and immediately reported it to the Prefect's Office. They then sent someone to the Council of State. Soon, the Prince's entourage was alerted, and they came to inquire.
This inquiry, however, led to the discovery of information about border defense maps.
Everyone in the Yanzhou government office and the prefectural governor's office was terrified, especially Prefect He, whose face turned pale.
How did the defense map from that side end up at the Jin residence?
What troubled Magistrate He was how his subordinates kept making mistakes. First it was the Xue family, and now it was Jin Hui. What was going on?
After the Prince's mansion reported to the Prince, the Prince's personal guards were immediately dispatched to search the Jin residence.
At that time, Jin Hui was completely immersed in the gentle embrace of Haitang, and had not yet come to his senses.
Under the watchful eyes of Prefect He and the officials of Yanzhou Prefecture, a map of Yanzhou's border defenses was found in a hidden compartment in Jin Hui's study. Upon seeing this, Jin Hui was completely dumbfounded!
He pointed at the picture and said, "This is impossible! I clearly had it sent out yesterday morning, how could it still be in my study?"
Before he could finish speaking, he realized that he had essentially confessed, his face turned ashen, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Jin Hui would be punished for stealing crucial military secrets; even ten heads wouldn't be enough to get him chopped off.
Next came the confiscation of their property!
Mu Xinyao never expected that what she thought was a secret would be exposed so quickly. She also never expected that Mu Xinnuan, after learning the whole story, would send someone to inform her that all blame should be placed on Jin Hui, otherwise, she too would face severe punishment.
Mu Xinyao certainly didn't think that Mu Xinnuan was kindly reminding her, but now that things had come to this, it seemed that she had no other choice but to follow Mu Xinnuan's instructions.
She didn't want to die, much less be demoted to a lowly status or exiled.
As Mu Xinyao watched the soldiers ransack her residence, she secretly thought to herself how fortunate she was to have hidden the silver notes she had smuggled away so well. Otherwise…?
Haitang was not as lucky as her.
Haitang was already considered a lowly person, and now that the Jin family mansion has been raided, she naturally has nowhere else to go. Mu Xinyao will not tolerate her; that's for sure.
However, what Haitang didn't expect was that before she could react, Mu Xinyao sent someone to sell her to a brothel.
Haitang struggled desperately, but to her surprise, Mu Xinyao's people presented her with a contract of servitude that she had personally signed.
Haitang suddenly realized that the day she was drugged by the madam was all premeditated. She had been tricked into signing a contract of servitude while she was drunk!
Now that the mistress has sold her husband's concubine, no one can say anything about it. Moreover, she will truly no longer be able to make her own decisions and will have no chance to clear her name.
Haitang only began to regret it now. She shouldn't have just been infatuated with Jin Hui's handsomeness and ease. She should have taken the initiative to tell that lady the truth. That would have been what she should have done. Now, it's too late for regrets.
Mu Xinyao wasn't stupid. At this point, the only person she could rely on was Mu Xinnuan. She couldn't possibly escape to Xingzhou alone, could she? Besides, she couldn't possibly run away in this situation!
The entire Jin mansion is besieged; where can she run to now? Besides, if she really runs to Xingzhou, Duanmu Chuze will likely have a real reason to kill her!
Looking at the Jin residence, which had become so desolate in just a few days, Mu Xinyao felt as if she had lost her soul.
why?
Why am I always so unlucky? What is it about me that I'm worse than Mu Xin Nuan?
She was unwilling to accept it, but what could she do?