flstandardbreds Chapter 168 Forget it, let's just talk to the parents.
Chapter 168 Forget it, let's just talk to the parents.
"He Yunjin went to Zuihualou. Little Mudskipper sneaked in and overheard his conversation with a man," Tie Tou recounted the events of the past few days.
Ever since Yu Ningyao assigned them the task that day.
He then clearly defined the division of labor.
The little mudskipper, who was good at escaping pursuit, and the gray bean with an excellent memory took turns keeping an eye on He Yunjin, switching between night and day.
A-Luo kept an eye on the Duke's mansion during the day, and he took over at night.
Little Crescent Moon stayed at home.
Although she is only five years old, she can already boil water and cook, waiting for her older brothers and sisters to come home.
“That man is the steward of the Duke’s mansion. He told He Yunjin about your father sending someone to Hangzhou Prefecture. He suspects that the Yu family has become suspicious.”
"He Yunjin plans to send people to hunt down the people your father sent, but with double safeguards, the Duke's mansion's account books also need to be dealt with."
Yu Ningyao's eyes lit up as she caught the key words.
Account books.
She rested her chin on her hand and pondered, "Judging from He Yunjin's familiar methods, he must have participated in the imperial examination fraud more than once over the years."
"He probably has one copy, and the Duke of Xingguo's mansion has another one," Tie Tou said, offering his deduction.
"However, they hid the ledgers very well, and we are still investigating."
Yu Ningyao nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll look into this matter."
Yu Ningyao immediately instructed the system to investigate.
The system quickly told him the address of the two families hiding their ledgers.
They indeed interfered in more than just this one imperial examination for your brother.
They have secretly leaked the exam questions several times, amassing over 500,000 taels of silver.
Upon hearing this data, Yu Ningyao's eyes widened.
An ordinary official's annual salary is no more than two or three hundred taels of silver.
With such immense wealth, it's no wonder they were so bold as to take such risks.
Yu Ningyao took out paper and pen and drew a map containing the account book.
It's in an underground secret passage in the rockery of the Xingguo Duke's Mansion garden.
One was hidden beneath the pool in the Drunken Flower Pavilion garden.
The Duke of Xingguo's mansion is easy to deal with; she can go with Princess Ning Le to visit them. Even if the people in the Duke of Xingguo's mansion dislike her, they will have no choice but to receive her.
She simply couldn't be in two places at once.
If the account book was stolen from the Duke of Xingguo's mansion, once they discover it, He Yunjin will definitely take the account book hidden in Zuihualou.
Both locations must be addressed on the same day.
But the fact that she appeared alone at both of the stolen locations on the same day makes it hard not to be suspicious.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Ningyao decided to send Tie Tou and the others to Zuihualou.
"This is where they hide the ledgers. Do you have a way to get them?" She drew a map of the Drunken Flower Pavilion and circled the place where the ledgers were hidden.
"The third blue brick at the bottom of the pond in the garden, once pried open, reveals two palm-sized black wooden boxes wrapped in oilcloth."
Tie Tou and his companions were quite taken aback.
Miss clearly didn't go out, so how can you be so sure the item is here?
Yu Ningyao noticed their confusion and coughed twice, saying, "Actually, I had already sent someone to scout the location beforehand. I just wanted to see if you could handle this matter well. Now, you have passed the first test."
Tie Tou suddenly realized and immediately said, "We will never let Miss down."
"Safety first. If you can get your hands on it, that would be best. If not, I'll think of something else," Yu Ningyao instructed.
These children haven't learned martial arts yet.
They simply have their own set of rules for survival and self-preservation.
This matter is of great importance, and she doesn't want them to lose their lives in vain.
"It's alright. We'll definitely handle it perfectly!" Tie Tou just wanted to prove that they weren't useless, so he agreed very firmly.
“Okay, then I believe you.” Yu Ningyao nodded.
But after returning home, she felt increasingly unsafe.
Forget it, let's just talk to the parents.
She's still a child. What if she messes up something so important?
So she embellished and recounted the whole story before telling her family.
"What???" Yu Kangjing's expression changed.
I thought it was just He Yunjin taking revenge on her sister and nephew, but I never expected that the two families were actually colluding.
They had already accepted bribes and engaged in fraudulent activities.
"That's how it is. I want to train some of my own people and make a name for myself before quietly surprising everyone."
"But I feel this matter is of great importance, and I still need to tell my parents and brothers."
As Yu Ningyao spoke, she secretly glanced at her parents' expressions.
“My dear, you did the right thing. If you hadn’t told us and had acted rashly, it would have been troublesome.” Yu Kangjing patted her head.
"Why don't we skip all that trouble and just tell the Emperor so he can send people to search and confiscate the goods?" Yu Ziying scratched her head, feeling it was too dangerous for her sister to go and search on her own.
"No." Yu Kangjing and Yu Ningyao spoke at the same time.
"Why not?" Yu Ziying hadn't even realized what was happening.
“We have no evidence. The Xingguo Duke’s Mansion is Consort Huo’s maternal family, and He Yunjin is the Emperor’s trusted and favored minister. Do you think it’s possible for the Emperor to investigate and confiscate without any evidence? What if they have spies among the Emperor and the news leaks out? Then our whole family will be the ones losing our heads,” Yu Kangjing explained.
Shen Jinzhu frowned, "The Duke of Xingguo's mansion is the Imperial Concubine's family. If we make a big fuss about this, what will happen to Princess Ning Le?"
Yu Kangjing fell silent immediately.
Yes, they all saw how well Princess Ning Le treated her daughter.
If this matter is exposed, the entire Xingguo Duke's family will likely be executed, or at best, exiled to the border.
Princess Ning Le will be caught in the middle, how difficult that will be!
"So what? Over the years, countless talented students have failed their exams because of their cheating. Princess Ning Le has always been clear about right and wrong, she won't blame Yao Yao." Yu Ziheng's voice was firm and resolute.
“If we didn’t know about this, it would be fine, but now that we know where their incriminating evidence is hidden, if we continue to pretend we don’t know, then we’ve wasted our time studying the classics.”
After a moment of silence, the Yu family members all nodded.
They decided to proceed according to Yu Ningyao's plan.
However, the person who would take Yu Ningyao to the Duke of Xingguo's mansion would be changed from Princess Ningle to Shen Jinzhu.
“You used the princess to go to the Duke of Xingguo’s mansion to find evidence. When the princess finds out that her maternal grandfather’s family was destroyed with her help, how will she face herself?” Shen Jinzhu patted her head.
“Mother’s considerations are indeed very thorough.” Yu Ningyao nodded.
She and her mother will go to the Duke of Xingguo's mansion then.
Meanwhile, the father sent people to act with Little Mudfish and the others to steal the account books from the Drunken Flower Pavilion.
They split into two groups, aiming to obtain the ledgers simultaneously.
In Hangzhou, they also sent people to chase after him, hoping to protect the guard.
They also caught the people He Yunjin sent to hunt them down red-handed.
Shen Jinzhu sent an invitation to the Duke of Xingguo's mansion and awaited their reply.
Once they agree to let Shen Jinzhu and her daughter visit, then we can begin our operation.