Chapter 445: Waiting

The old man said, "I know that Pan family too. The two lads from their household often come to my stall for wontons. I thought it was a peculiar thing, so I took the chance of delivering wontons to my benefactor to speak up about it."

Yin Song said at once, "This matter is indeed quite peculiar. Thank you for your wontons."

He had no time for pleasantries. He had Feng Yan take the wontons from the old man's hands, pay him, and see him out.

The old man, hearing he was of use, brightened up entirely and did not want to take the money, but Feng Yan, while pressing the coins into his hand, also supported him as he walked out, and said softly, "Old man, if you don't accept it, then when you come to deliver wontons in the future, my family's master won't dare accept them either."

He said softly, "My family's master truly loves your wontons. If he lost even one bite because of this, what a pity that would be."

The old man could only accept the money.

The wrapped wontons were bundled in lotus leaves. Yin Song handed them to Tao Yanbai and patted his head: "Take them to the kitchen. We'll eat wontons tomorrow morning."

He also said to Miao Zhen and Miao He, "You two hurry off and boil water for a bath. It's already dark. Which family's children are like you, still not in bed this late?"

Miao Zhen and Miao He could only leave with drooping heads. In the room, only the adults, one ghost, and one fox remained.

Xiao Hong said, "How about I go find those Embroidered Uniform Guard right now, scare them to death, and take back the confession?"

Pan Yun: "Even if the confession is gone, it can be recorded again. The knives and swords are in their hands—what kind of confession couldn't they produce?"

Hong Yan raised her head, blinked her fox eyes, and said excitedly, "I know! I'll seduce them and make them not report it."

Pan Yun laughed, tapped her forehead, and said, "You're really adorable."

She said with a meaningful smile, "For men, beauty may be important, but power is certainly more important. You might bewitch one or two, but can you bewitch all men?"

"This won't work, that won't work either, so what do we do?" Xiao Hong said, "When you weren't that Pan Yun, they could still make you into her. Now that you really are her, what of it?"

Pan Yun lowered her eyes and said, "It is indeed beyond my expectations. I didn't think it would come this quickly. Still, speed has its advantages."

Yin Song understood at once, sighed, and said, "I can enter the palace on your behalf to beg the Emperor's pardon, confessing your identity one step ahead of them."

Pan Yun looked toward the direction of the imperial palace, the corners of her lips lifting slightly as she said, "It's too late. But I'm not afraid. After all these preparations, they can't be entirely useless."

It was indeed too late. Cao Ye, eager to claim merit, took the confession and immediately reported it to Ma Shun, requesting the immediate arrest of Pan Yun: "I can lead men right now to Yin Zhai to seize the daughter of the guilty minister, Pan Yun."

Ma Shun flipped through the confession page by page. Even with his straw-bag mind, he could see the errors and omissions in it. Anyone could tell how this confession had come about.

His eyes flickered slightly. He said nothing.

Cao Ye's heart was uneasy. He raised his head slightly to look at him. "My lord?"

Ma Shun put away the confession and said, "This matter is not urgent. Wait until I report it to Wang Zhangyin and let him decide."

The matter of Xue Xuan back then was something he had done to claim merit before Wang Zhen, and later it grew bigger and bigger, until Wang Zhen stepped in personally.

But Wang Zhen cleaned up the mess and was very displeased with him. The ministers at court were also displeased with him, often privately cursing him as a treacherous sycophant.

He had done the work but earned no favor. Ma Shun did not want to do it again, so he decided to hand the initiative to Wang Zhen.

Whether to seize her or proceed gradually—leave it to Wang Zhen to decide. That way, if something went wrong later, it wouldn't be his responsibility, would it?

Ma Shun put away the confession and said, "Go back and await orders."

Cao Ye, hearing this, was quite regretful. Arresting people in the dead of night would have been more intimidating—he had already prepared himself to charge into the fray.

No sooner had Cao Ye left than Ma Shun entered the palace that very night.

At this hour, Wang Zhen had just finished attending the young Emperor back to the rear palace to rest. He had barely stepped out of Kunning Palace when he ran into Ma Shun. Wang Zhen looked over the confession, his face dark as water. "A confession like this—do you think it can fool the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate?"

Ma Shun said softly, "Those three departments are nothing more than a single word from you, Steward. The main thing is His Majesty's end… As long as he believes it too, this matter will be foolproof."

Weren't the cases of the Yue woman killing her husband and the He woman killing her husband also full of errors and omissions?

Yet they were made into ironclad cases by them. So judging a case doesn't depend on evidence, but on power.

Ma Shun said meaningfully, "Whether she is Pan Hong's daughter Pan Yun is nothing more than a word from you, Steward. If you say she is, then even if she isn't, she must be; if you say she isn't, then even if she is, she must not be."

Wang Zhen heard this, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He handed the confession back to him and said, "You keep it for now. Find an opportune moment to present it. When the time comes, I will assist you from the side."

Ma Shun was taken aback. "Not strike while the iron is hot? That Shangxi Lane is not far from Yin Zhai. If we delay too long, I'm afraid they'll get wind of it."

Wang Zhen said with a cold smile, "So what if they get wind of it? If she were the Pan Hong's daughter who fled and hid, I might be a bit more anxious—after all, if she runs, there won't be a trace.

But she is a Daoist Priest of the Sanqing Temple. She has senior brothers, senior sisters, junior disciples, and a Daoist temple and a mountain god temple. Even if one runs, can an entire nest run?"

Wang Zhen cast a sidelong glance at Ma Shun and said meaningfully, "Do you know why His Majesty ordained Long Hushan as the orthodox lineage under heaven? Though he controls the number of ordination certificates, he doesn't forbid Long Hushan from taking disciples? Because they are all soft spots~~"

His gaze swept over this stretch of the imperial palace. He patted the white jade pillar before him and said softly, "Whether it is True Person Zhang, or that Daoist Priest Zhang in the palace who never shows his face, they will only, and can only, obey His Majesty."

!. Read

Is their cultivation not high?

Do they not wish to roam freely between heaven and earth?

But imperial power does not permit it, so they cannot leave.

"Didn't you say that Pan Yun seems to be on very good terms with her fellow disciples?" So Wang Zhen was not at all worried about Pan Yun running.

"Yes, they appear to be on very good terms."

"Good terms are enough," Wang Zhen said. "These past two days have not been a good time. His Majesty received news from the Mu family mansion in Yunnan this evening. The eldest son of General Mu is failing."

Ma Shun was startled.

Wang Zhen said, "Although His Majesty has not met this second master often, his son Mu Lin was sent to be raised in the capital from a young age and was on good terms with His Majesty. They studied together as children, ate and lived together. You know His Majesty has always valued affection. His mood is poor at the moment."

Ma Shun was puzzled. "If the man is about to die, then if we delay further, and he passes away in a day or two, won't His Majesty's mood be even worse? How long must this be delayed?"

Wang Zhen glanced at him and said flatly, "Even worse—isn't that better?"

Ma Shun's heart skipped a beat, and he understood at once.

If, when the Emperor was at his most sorrowful and his mood at its worst, they reported that Pan Yun was Pan Hong's daughter and had approached him with ulterior motives, the Emperor would surely be even more furious.

When a person is angry, they always overlook many things.

And they will also mete out harsher punishment.

Wang Zhen's move was brilliant indeed.

Ma Shun was thoroughly convinced. He bowed and left.

Good night

(End of this chapter)