Tianliangyuan

Chapter 140: We must thwart his scheme!

In Jiang Yanping's view, Deng Xuan cannot die; as long as he is alive, there is still a chance.

So many officials who were demoted, beaten, or even exiled were able to be reinstated, so why couldn't Deng Xuan?

Moreover, the matter of concealing household registrations ultimately only involves taxes. At worst, the Deng family can pay back the taxes of more than 100 people for ten years, and then a scapegoat can be brought out, thus clearing Deng Xuan of any wrongdoing.

Even if you can't become an official now, it doesn't mean you won't have a chance in the future.

After all, there is still Consort Jiang in the palace.

The Jiang family acted swiftly. Deng Xuan's half-brother confessed his crimes in person, and not only that, he also made a point of repeating the names of some people that he had memorized overnight in front of several adults.

Just to prove that it was he who did it.

Zhao Changqing and others were only responsible for the trial. Now that the person has come forward to confess and presented the evidence, what can you do?

Everyone is not stupid. It is actually difficult to determine whether Deng Xuan was involved in the case of hidden accounts, because there is no trace of Deng Xuan's handwriting in those account books, and he was not the one who handled the matter.

Now that the truth has been revealed, the Deng family is not just pushing a steward to take the blame, but has instead pushed forward an entire patriarch of the Deng family, which shows their sincerity.

In this way, Deng Xuan would at most be guilty of failing to properly manage his household.

Jiang Yanping resolved the matter in just a few days, and Deng Xuan was released, but he lost his official position.

Deng Xuan was already content to be able to return home safely.

Jiang Yanping also sent someone to have a private talk with him, after which he stayed at home and did not come out.

The previously shocking case of hidden households in the imperial court has thus come to an end.

Xie Zheng openly and honestly transferred the estate to Xu Zhaozhao's name, and he was not afraid of anyone investigating it.

With Xu Junting's appointment as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, many officials in the court learned why Xie Zheng wanted to buy that estate. It turned out that he wasn't deliberately eyeing the Deng family; he had been planning to buy land for a long time but hadn't found a suitable one yet.

This matter has been made public before the Emperor, so no one will think of retaliating against the Deng family by the Marquis of Anxin's family anymore.

However, the fact that Deng Dalang had bribed a secret agent to smear Xu Erlang's reputation was still widely known.

This round appeared to be a draw, but most people actually guessed that the Marquis of Anxin's mansion had lost out.

After all, Deng Xuan was unharmed, and so was Deng Dalang.

He's just lost his official position, but with the Jiang family as a relative by marriage, who knows when he'll be reinstated.

Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng were playing chess in the pavilion when they mentioned the Deng family during their conversation.

"I don't understand. Since you were able to set up this scheme to cause Deng Xuan to lose his official position, why couldn't you have been quicker and exposed all of the Deng family's dirty deeds? Why give the Jiang family another chance to clean up the mess?"

Xu Zhaozhao smiled and said, "There are two reasons. First, if we do too much, people will only believe that the Marquis's Mansion is targeting the Deng family, which is not good for my father and brothers' reputation in the court. Second, how do you know that I'm not deliberately giving the Jiang family time to clean up the mess?"

The last rhetorical question caused Xie Zheng's expression to change slightly, and then a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Zhaozhao, are you testing the Jiang family?"

"In order to help Deng Xuan this time, Jiang Yanping has used a lot of connections, including the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and local officials. The Jiang family's power is like a big net, and I bet that Jiang Yanping did not use all of his power this time."

Xie Zheng nodded; the Jiang family indeed had a profound history.

"Sanlang, the Jiang family has wronged me more than once. My relationship with the Jiang family is now irreconcilable. If you marry me in the future, it will be the same as bringing trouble home. Have you ever thought about breaking off the engagement?"

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow, propped his forehead up with one hand, and smiled: "Being able to marry you is my greatest blessing, so how could I possibly break off the engagement? But Zhao Zhao, do you perhaps think that I, a mere warrior, am not worthy of your intelligence and talent?"

Xu Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at him; this guy was clearly doing it on purpose!

"Although the Deng family has been saved, I will definitely find a way to ensure that Deng Xuan can never return to officialdom. The Jiang family is destined to fail."

After Xie Zheng understood her arrangement, he wholeheartedly agreed: "The Jiang family went to great lengths to protect Deng Xuan, only to find that they only gave and received nothing in return. The Deng family can no longer be an ally of the Jiang family in the court, and they should regret it deeply!"

“The Deng family shouldn’t have targeted my second brother! Actually, I’d like to know more about which member of the Jiang family persuaded Deng Dalang to harm my second brother.”

Xie Zheng's eyes flickered: "Do you need my help?"

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head: "No need, it's just a small matter, I can handle it myself."

A few days later, Deng Dalang took some people to Furonglou for drinks. When he came out, he was clearly quite drunk.

The servant helped Deng Dalang onto the carriage, and after traveling a short distance, they discovered that the carriage tracks were broken.

Left with no other choice, the servant had to help Deng Dalang down, and the two of them staggered home.

As soon as he turned the corner, the servant felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and then he knew nothing more.

As for Deng Dalang, he was simply stuffed into a sack and sent out of the city.

Xu Zhaozhao stood in an abandoned house, looking at its dilapidated state, and thought that Deng Dalang was quite lucky.

She originally intended to kill Deng Dalang directly, but after receiving news on the way, she changed her mind.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Zhaozhao came out of the house, and Mai Dong went in with a wooden stick in her hand.

As soon as Xu Zhaozhao stepped out of the courtyard, muffled groans came from inside!

Deng Dalang wanted to scream, but unfortunately, his mouth was gagged.

Meanwhile, when the servant of the Deng family woke up and found that the eldest son was missing, he was naturally panicked. He searched everywhere but to no avail, and then returned to the mansion to report to his master.

It wasn't until it was almost dark and the city gates were about to close that someone found the unconscious Deng Dalang at the back gate of the Deng residence.

When the servants saw Deng Dalang, they were all terrified.

Just because of Deng Dalang's two legs in such a strange position, they felt like the sky was about to fall.

Deng Dalang's two legs were broken, and they couldn't be properly reattached.

Deng Xuan consulted countless doctors, but the final result was always the same.

Even if Deng Dalang recovers in the future, he will still need to use a cane to walk.

In other words, Deng Dalang is completely useless!

Not to mention that Deng Dalang will never be able to enter officialdom, he can't even be the head of the Deng family!

This blow was far too heavy for the Deng family.

Mrs. Deng fainted several times from crying, but what could she do?

Deng Xuan's face was grim. The eldest son of the family had been crippled, which was an utter disgrace to the Deng family!

"Master, the Jiang family has sent someone over, saying they are here to visit the eldest son. However, judging from their manner, it seems they are here to check whether the eldest son's leg can still be fully healed."

Deng Xuan replaced the sorrow on his face with a cold laugh: "Are you worried that my Deng family will never be able to rise again?"