She bit her lower lip tightly, with a redness in her eyes, wishing she could tear Ruan Mian apart on the spot.
Li Shen apologized, "Mr. Xie, the concubine at home has eyes but fails to see, please do not take offense at her, I…"
Xie Huai'an shook his head, interrupting him, "As long as the Princely Heir is fine."
After saying this, he left with Ruan Mian, agreeing to her terms along the way.
"I can arrange for your elder brother to avoid physical punishment. Having done that, shouldn't you also fulfill your promise?"
Seeing this, Ruan Mian handed the already written document to Xie Huai'an.
"Naturally, Mr. Xie, the evidence of the rumors spread by Li Shen and Qi Nanfeng is here." On the document was an address of a child's home and the location where the correspondence between Li Shen and King Yan was hidden.
Li Shen didn't destroy them because he still wanted to leave a way out for himself.
He intended to use those letters to blackmail King Yan's faction and successfully escape during the later confiscation of properties.
However, in this lifetime, there will be no such good luck! Who told them to harbor ill intentions, harming the innocent Ruan Qingsong and leading the Ruan Family to an end without a burial place?
As she was leaving, Ruan Mian tentatively made an unreasonable request.
"Mr. Xie, may I ask… can I go see my elder brother tomorrow?"
Xie Huai'an nodded indifferently, "According to the law, relatives are allowed to visit, but the time is limited."
Ruan Mian politely bowed and expressed her gratitude.
After returning to the Ruan Mansion, she found Mrs. Zhang, who was full of worries: "Mother, I have managed everything today, my elder brother will be safe in the Ministry of Justice's prison for now, and I can visit him again tomorrow."
Mrs. Zhang was shocked, "Mian'er, is what you say true? Who did you go to?"
Her daughter, now separated from Qi Nanfeng, had no connections!
Ruan Mian explained, "Money can turn the devil, I naturally found some ways. Mother, there is another matter we must prepare for."
"Father's health is poor, and now my brother has been thrown into the Ministry of Justice's prison. I think, just in case, we'd better handle the shops and farms and convert them into silver to keep with us."
"What? But…"
"Mother, I know you have many doubts, but you must trust your daughter..."
"Mian'er, do as you say! Wealth is just outside of oneself, having silver on hand is better than having the family's assets seized. But do you have a good place to store the silver?"
Ruan Mian nodded quickly, "I do."
But now, with only one day, they didn't have time to sell the farms and shops temporarily.
She could only have her mother contact some shopkeepers who had previously shown interest in their shops, selling as much as possible.
As for some other small items, Ruan Mian wrote a list overnight and gave it to Cui Zhu.
"Zhu'er, tomorrow you go and buy all the items on the list and put them in the backyard's warehouse."
Cui Zhu was a bit puzzled but didn't ask more questions.
Early the next morning.
Mrs. Zhang handed a basket of desserts she made overnight to Ruan Mian, "Mian'er, these are your brother's favorite, take them to him and tell him not to be afraid."
The truly anxious one was still her as a mother, yet she couldn't help at all. Right now, she could only rely on her daughter.
Ruan Mian arrived at the prison very early, handing the prepared pastries and some silver to the on-duty guards.
"My Lords, thank you for your hard work. My elder brother inside counts on your care."
She gave a substantial bribe, and those people cheerfully led her in.
When she saw Ruan Qingsong, who was sitting upright and stern,
his hands, shackled heavily, were chafed to the point of bleeding. He tightly gripped the prison door, exclaiming in surprise, "Mian'er, why are you here?!"
Ruan Mian looked around and, seeing the guards had left, spoke concisely.
"Brother, this is a long story, and we will talk about it later. Today, I came for a particular purpose."
"What is it?"
Ruan Qingsong was utterly puzzled, only to see Ruan Mian suddenly reach out and tear off the Jade Pendant from his waist!!
"Mian'er, what are you doing?"
"This thing must not be worn, Brother. If anyone comes to interrogate you later, no matter what they say, you must deny it to the end. Just tell them honestly that those poems were merely you reciting to the moon! What conspiracy could there be?"
"That's all I've ever done!! I never had any rebellious thoughts!"
Of course, Ruan Mian knew this. In the original book, Ruan Qingsong was merely a stepping stone for Qi Nanfeng, a scapegoat pushed out by him.
And that Jade Pendant that Ruan Qingsong had worn since childhood was used by Qi Nanfeng and Li Shen to make articles about the prophecy linked with the Observatory's celestial phenomena and the country's demise nursery rhymes.
Now that Ruan Mian has taken it away, let's see how they continue their plots!
To ease Ruan Qingsong's mind, she further said, "Sister-in-law and Rui have been sent to Jizhou by me, everything is well. By the way, I have already divorced Qi Nanfeng."
"What? Why did you divorce? You're a woman! What will you do after you separate?"
Ruan Mian smiled, handing the desserts made by Mrs. Zhang to him, "So what if I divorced? Qi Nanfeng betrayed me and is selfish and self-serving. I don't want to hang myself on this tree for my whole life.
Now that the Ruan Mansion is in trouble, I should stand up. Brother, promise me, as long as you don't plead guilty, you will be freed!"
Ruan Qingsong looked at the resolute woman before him, suddenly feeling a bit unfamiliar.
It seemed that the Mian'er now was not quite like before.
But exactly how was she different, he couldn't pinpoint for the moment.
Their time was short, and after a brief exchange, Ruan Mian was escorted out.
Meanwhile, Ruan Mian had been busy the entire day, while over at the Qi Mansion, turmoil had ensued.
Qi Nanfeng had to coax the Fifth Princess through hard persuasion.
After serving the Princess diligently for a full day and night, he returned to the mansion, exhausted, to prepare a betrothal gift and set a date to propose marriage.
However, upon returning to the mansion, he discovered a major incident had occurred!
The Liu Family was leading a group of people in an uproar throughout the mansion, and the servants were in chaos.
Seeing this commotion, Qi Nanfeng was puzzled, and before he could speak, Liu Family suddenly started crying out.
"Son! You are finally back!"
"What happened?"
The Liu Family's voice was trembling, almost fainting, barely able to stand.
In broken sentences, she couldn't say a full sentence, prompting Qi Nanfeng to angrily pull a maid beside him and roar, "What on earth has happened?"
The maid was so terrified she turned pale, fell to her knees with a thud, and spoke in a panic.
"Young Master! Our mansion was robbed!"
Hearing this, Qi Nanfeng frowned, "What?"
"We've been hit by a major thief! Even the flour and rice were stolen!"
"Ridiculous!"
Qi Nanfeng bellowed angrily, heading straight to the storeroom.
"In such a large mansion, can there still be a major thief? Are you all just freeloaders?!"
He couldn't believe it, yet every room he passed was empty, places once adorned with vases and paintings now bare.