Chapter 55

  When Golden Wind returned to the inn, Immortal Clothes had already let the wet nurse carry Yu Ge'er onto the carriage, and she was standing beside it, waiting for Golden Wind's return. She only heard that Golden Wind had something to do with a friend, so she thought he was just bidding farewell to his fellow students from the capital city, and didn't ask much more. Seeing Golden Wind return, she simply went forward and handed over a few words, then followed Golden Wind onto the carriage. Because Golden Wind disliked having anyone else in the carriage besides Immortal Clothes, the wet nurse and the maid sat with Yu Ge'er in the rear carriage, while Immortal Clothes sat with Golden Wind inside the front carriage. The small servant girls sat separately at the front of each carriage.

  The carriage had just left the city, and Xian Yi was already being held in Jin Fenghua's arms. At this time, the weather had gradually warmed up, and her clothes were not as thick as they were on winter days. Xian Yi felt the warmth emanating from Jin Fenghua's body, which made her face flush slightly. She didn't dare move recklessly because she knew that Jin Fenghua was absolutely not a person who followed etiquette, and might take advantage of the situation in broad daylight, on top of the carriage, to get intimate with her. Although she wasn't shy, she also didn't want to give the coachman outside a free show, after all, the carriage wasn't soundproof, and voices might leak out.

  "Xian Xian?" Jin Fenghua didn't know what Xian Yi was thinking, he had indeed thought about indulging himself, but after all, his heart ached for Xian Yi, feeling that last night was a bit too much, so he suppressed the flames in his abdomen and looked for something to say.

  Xian Yi saw Jin Fenghua and only spoke without crossing any boundaries, so she let out a sigh of relief and smiled in response: "Husband, are you tired?"

  "You said, if something happens to the Jin family in the capital and it affects my imperial examination, would you still be willing to follow me?" Jin Fenghua originally just wanted to say something, but as he spoke, his chest felt a lump, and his eyes also dimmed. If Xianyi really had such thoughts...

  Xian Yi heard this and instead became happy, saying: "I've already married my husband, where else can I go? Besides, you're not unaware of me. If you don't take the imperial examination, I'll actually live even more freely."

  Jin Fenghua suddenly remembered that when he was at the Jin family, Xianyi only thought of marrying a shopkeeper from outside and living a plain life. If she really couldn't pass the imperial examination, she would turn to business, who knows if this girl would be more comfortable? Where would she climb high branches? Jin Fenghua slightly covered his eyes, his Xian was indeed different from those women in his past life, even compared to that person's wife, she was not inferior. After thinking again, Jin Fenghua clenched his fist, he really didn't like Xian being engaged to someone, later finding an opportunity to erase this engagement would be good, anyway it's just a shopkeeper, maybe after a while, not even a shopkeeper anymore.

  "Jin's family, is it really over?" Xianyi sighed and hesitated.

  "Well, it's just these few months." I guess there will be a conclusion after his hospitalization.

  Just as Jin Fenghua said, just as Jin Fenghua was about to go home and prepare for the exam, someone suddenly attacked Chen's family in the imperial court, not only bringing out evidence of his previous buying and selling of official positions, forming cliques and seeking private gains, but also implicating Chen's family in many dirty and unspeakable things they had done for the deceased Cui Gonggong over the years. Even several old ministers on the imperial court were implicated, and not even the Grand Secretariat was spared.

  Later, Chen Shangshu's son was exposed for bribery and corruption, colluding with the Minister of Justice and others to replace dead prisoners, cover up criminals, and release them early, among other crimes. This also implicated the Minister of Justice, the Right Assistant Minister of Justice, Langzhong, and Yuanwailang, who were all exposed to have taken bribes, privately released prisoners, and committed serious errors. As a result, in nearly ten years, there were over 1,000 people who had been wrongly convicted and imprisoned in the capital alone, with over 50 dead prisoners replaced, and over 100 people released early.

  What's even more outrageous is that because Cui Gonggong's faction wanted to eliminate dissenting voices, high-ranking officials naturally went to prison, but those implicated were sent to the Ministry of Justice. Many innocent officials and their families were killed, with extremely cruel methods and a large number of victims, almost the entire imperial court was shocked by these bloody evidences.

  Originally, the old master of the Jin family would not have been implicated, because although he was a boastful person, he was timid and not capable of handling important tasks. Although he had been promoted by his father-in-law, he had no connection with Director Cui's household, and the tasks assigned to him by his father-in-law were only trivial matters that did not attract attention. Otherwise, given the relationship between the Chen family and Director Cui, the old master of the Jin family would not have risen to the fifth rank in just two years.

  However, this time he was really unlucky. The emperor knew his character and had planned to scold him and then let him remain in his original position. Even if he did not plan to continue promoting him, he would not have taken action against him. But unfortunately, the old master helped his brother-in-law to get a prisoner out, and if it were an ordinary prisoner, this matter would have been settled with just a fine and demotion. After all, who wouldn't take some advantage of their position as an official? The problem was that this person was one of the emperor's trusted confidants, suspected of being a spy for another country, and they did not dare to alarm him.

  The prisoner had been placed in the Ministry of Justice on purpose, waiting to be caught. At that time, the official had specifically instructed that the prisoner could not be released. But who knew that wealth and glory would blind people's eyes? A large sum of money not only corrupted the soul of the Chen family but also the soul of the Minister of Justice, as well as the old master of the Jin family.

  One stroke is not enough, add another stroke. Since the Jin and Chen families have lost power, the young master will never have a chance to rise again. The young master was sentenced to beheading early on, if it weren't for the protection of the Jin and Chen families, he would have been executed long ago. Now that the Chen family has been exiled and destroyed, the Jin family is also about to be sent to the border, who knows whether they are afraid of being investigated again by their superiors, almost as soon as the order to exile the Chen family was given, the young master was taken away to Caishi Street, with a single stroke, his soul returned to the Western Heaven.

  Jin Fenghua held the letter and sat in the study for a long time before saying to Guan Qi outside the door, "Ask Young Madam if she is free, and have her come to the study."

  Xian Yi knew that Jin Fenghua hadn't eaten dinner, so she took the food box into the study, but saw Jin Fenghua standing by the window, looking at the dark garden outside, wondering what he was thinking.

  "Xian Xian, Young Master has been beheaded." Jin Fenghua said suddenly.

  Xian Yi had long been prepared, but still trembled slightly. When he was young, his elder brother had also brought him to his mother, and he didn't know if his mother would be sad if she knew about it.

  "The Chen family's daughter in the palace was banished to the cold palace, and before the letter arrived, the Chen family was arrested and exterminated. Fortunately, no one else was harmed. The entire family of over a hundred people was beheaded. Jin's nanny was also taken away for investigation because of her relationship with the Chen family. Except for Madame Jin, everyone who had been close to the Chen family was taken away. The Chen family... is finished." Jin Fenghua's voice was very calm, as if telling a story, without hatred or emotion.

  "What about the Jin family?" Biting her lip, Xian Yi thought of Qiu Jing and Xue Shuang, as well as Xiuzhu and the other maidservants with whom she had a good relationship.

  "It was originally intended for men to be exiled and women to be enslaved...” Jin Fenghua slowly turned around, walked to Xianyi's side, and hugged her into his arms. His voice was very soft as he said: “However, the Huang family of Heng City guaranteed it, the emperor only removed the official position of the old master, confiscated their property, sold off their slaves, and ordered them to return to their hometown. The second young master's honors were also abolished."

  "Is the Jin family finished too?" Xian Yi raised her head from within Jin Fenghua's arms, saying in disbelief.

  "It's all over, I'm afraid it won't be long before they can come back." Jin Fenghua said, kissing the corner of Xianyi's eye.

  "Are the Hengcheng Jin family and the old master related?" Since it's already happened, it can't be avoided. She wouldn't go ask Jin Fenghua to do something about it. Firstly, being a nun doesn't suit her. Everyone has their own fate. Distant water can't put out a nearby fire. Moreover, she and Jin Fenghua are both from the Jin Manor. Who knows what will happen in the future? Even if they're rescued, it's not necessarily for their own good.

  Jin Fenghua held Xianyi in his arms, feeling his emotions calm down. He had just looked outside and suddenly felt a sense of returning to his previous life. At that time, the Jin family was also in trouble, so his father sent him to Cui Gonggong. Even though he later dominated the court, he couldn't forget the confusion and despair he felt when he left home. Fortunately, it was just an illusion before. Now, he was holding his own woman, standing in his own home, coldly watching the Jin family decline. The only thing that remained unchanged was that the Jin family had sold him out again, even if it was within his expectations.

  "The Heng City Jin family and the old master are somewhat related by blood, but the Heng City Jin family came from the border town and was originally a famous military family in the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, during the previous dynasty, they were suspected by the previous emperor and had to hand over their military power and hide. However, in this dynasty, the Heng City Jin family has a daughter who is highly favored in the palace, and with the recent unrest at the border, it's likely that they will rise again." As Jin Fenghua spoke, his hands began to misbehave, just like someone on the verge of freezing to death craving warmth. He slowly undid the buttons of her robe, absorbing the warmth from her skin.

  Xian Yi struggled for a moment, then found she couldn't break free. She looked at Jin Fenghua, whose face was expressionless, but she could sense his emotions. She gave up resisting and leaned against him, continuing, "What kind of transaction?"

  "In the city of Heng, there were three old gentlemen of the Jin family. The brothers had a very good relationship, but unfortunately, the first and second brothers died in battle during the previous dynasty. The first brother was fortunate to have a son to continue his lineage, but the second brother did not even get married before he passed away early, leaving only the third brother who was then guarding the capital city. Due to their close relationship, the three old gentlemen were always sad that the second brother did not have any descendants. Unfortunately, neither the first nor the third brothers had many offspring, almost all of them being single heirs. The first brother had two grandsons, but unfortunately, the elder grandson was in poor health, and only the younger grandson could carry on the family line. The third brother also only had one son and one grandson. As he grew older, he feared that after his death, his descendants would not be filial, so he searched for the closest relatives of the Jin family by blood ties. After tracing back to their roots, they were barely able to establish a connection with the Linqing Jin family, which is our family."

  She gasped slightly, shook her head and tried to regain some clarity: "That should be adopted by the Fourth Young Master instead, he's still young."

  "They couldn't wait any longer, and as soon as the Third Elder passed away, it's hard to say what would happen to the younger generation. Moreover, since the Heng City Jin family was going to serve in office, they had to choose a civil official to assist them. They had originally set their sights on Second Young Master, but unfortunately, he was too proud and Madame didn't allow it, so they turned their attention to me. After observing for a while, they took advantage of the Jin family's misfortune this time and proposed a deal."

  The time in front was very short, when Xian Yi was probed by Jin Fenghua, she slightly furrowed her brow. Today, Jin Fenghua seemed to lack his usual patience and was almost brutal, stirring up a fierce passion. At that moment, Xian Yi couldn't help but cling to his shoulders, softly crying out, but Jin Fenghua was completely immersed in the tolerance Xian Yi gave him, unable to stop himself.

  "You are the only one for me... Only you... Xianxian, give your heart to me... Give everything of yours to me..."