Chapter 12: Something Fishy

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“I don’t dare to do it anymore. I just want you to help me out. My mouth…” You Mei was distressed. “It really doesn’t work when I need it. ”

Tang Li said, “I think your problem is that you can’t tell what’s useful.”

The Cai family had sent the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master to embarrass Xiao Baoshan so that the Xiao family would know how powerful the Cai family was. Even if it was just a daughter of a concubine, the Cai family would still care for her face and would not allow them to act recklessly.

Who knew that they would make a mistake instead. The Second Young Master was filled with hot blood to stand up for his concubine sister, whom he thought had miscarried. After the misunderstanding, he flew into a rage out of humiliation and decided to go all out and fight Xiao Baoshan.

The Madam of the Cai family, Madam Yuan, watched as her son fought with hot blood. Originally, it was just a matter of face, but now, it had changed from standing up for the concubine daughter to standing up for the Cai family. It was as if he was going all out.

Madam Yuan entered and left the mansion, full of righteous indignation. She acted like a victim, not showing any signs of weakness or crying for comfort. Her attitude was always on the moral high ground, as she criticized Xiao Baoshan and the Xiao Family.

A large part of the reason why the aristocratic families were able to survive for several centuries was because of their complicated relationship with their relatives.

Your younger sister is my sister-in-law, and my brother is your family’s son-in-law. Every family had connections, and the longer ago it happened in the past, the closer your relationship.

The news of Madam Yuan going around Jiankang City had already spread among the upper echelons of the city. Originally, Madam Cai had stayed at the Xiao Residence to care for her pregnancy and didn’t follow them back. At that time, the two gentlemen of the Cai family didn’t have any objections, but when the news reached the masses, it became the Xiao family holding her back and not letting them bring her back.

The eldest son of the Cai Family was even more ruthless. He immediately sent a complaint to the imperial court and criticized Xiao Baoshan, making him sound like a scum living in this world who was a waste of food, and he should die to atone for his sins.

With the combination of moves by Madam Yuan and her sons, the news spread everywhere from top to bottom of Jiankang City without any hindrance. The entire Jiankang City was abuzz. Xiao Baoshan became famous because of a single incident, to the extent that everyone knew him—

“Xiao Baoshan? Ah, the bastard who hit a pregnant woman.”

The title of a bastard could never be removed from his head.

No one would care that Madam Cai was still living in the Xiao residence and that the Cai and Xiao families were still in-laws. In any case, the public opinion was one-sided, and all of them were denouncing Xiao Baoshan. On the road, they would throw a stinky fish and two rotten vegetable leaves at him and publicly announce him as their enemy.

What was even more ruthless was that all of this had been recorded by the imperial censor and reported to Emperor Yu Heng.

As a result, Emperor Yu Heng was constantly aware of Xiao Baoshan’s situation, apart from the personal attacks that the aristocratic clans used on him.

“Minister Xie, what do you think about this?”

Xie Xian was about twenty years old. His thick eyebrows were long and slender, and his eyes were like bright stars. He was handsome beyond comparison. Only his face was slightly pale, and his lips were a little pale, making him look a little sickly.

One could tell from Emperor Yu Heng’s tightly knitted brows that he was extremely displeased with Xiao Baoshan.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Xiao Yun had the merit of helping the Emperor and had been loyal all these years, Xie Xian believed that the Emperor wouldn’t even have asked this question and would have directly removed him from his position.

Fortunately, Xiao Baoshan knew that he was attracting too much attention. Afraid that he would be disliked in front of the emperor, he had already applied for leave.

“It’s inevitable that the Cai family will have the upper hand in public opinion. I think we can’t make a hasty judgment on this matter.”

It was obvious that Xie Xian was different from the other members of the aristocratic families. If it was anyone else, they would definitely be siding their own small gang, claiming that it was definitely Xiao Baoshan’s fault and that the case was decided.

Emperor Yu Heng was an emperor who always smiled. He loved to smile when he had nothing to do. This was why his eyes were filled with wrinkles when he smiled even though he was only in his thirties. Fortunately, he was quite handsome. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t be a pleasant sight.

What he needed was such an honest and straightforward man!

The only drawback was that his body was weak and he would take sick leave every other day.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was capable, talented, and beautiful, Emperor Yu Heng would have chased him away a long time ago. Why would he always be around a sickly person?

“Minister, your actions are fair, and you act after making a decision. You truly have the style of your father,” Emperor Yu Heng praised. Unfortunately, his father died when he was placed in an important position, as his body was also weak.

He could not help but sigh.

His father was also capable, talented, and beautiful.

“Minister, you haven’t taken any leave recently. Are you feeling well? You have to take good care of your health and work with me for a few decades. So that you can leave a good name in history, right?”

“I have to thank Your Majesty for the medicinal ingredients you rewarded. After eating them, my body is indeed much stronger than before.”

Xie Xian let out a faint smile. He wasn’t as nonchalant as the other aristocratic families, but he wasn’t as easily shocked as the commoner families. Even being kind to them would frighten them.

The more Emperor Yu Heng looked at him, the more satisfied he became.

“It’s good that your body is healthy. Keep taking the medicine. If it’s not enough, there’s more in the palace.” The emperor gave the order and sent another batch of medicine to the Xie Estate.

This time, Xie Xian was also shocked. When the emperor rewarded someone, there was definitely something he wanted.

As expected, the emperor said in a gentle voice, “I trust you. If we find someone else, they would not even be able to enter the Cai family. You know how arrogant those aristocratic families are. They don’t even care about the commoners and concubine families.”

Xie Xian knew the meaning behind his words. “Your Majesty, please instruct me.”

Indeed, he was only willing to talk to smart people.

“Go and see what’s going on in my place. We can’t let them continue like this.” Emperor Yu Heng was annoyed again. Xiao Baoshan usually looked well-behaved and obedient, but who knew that he would cause such a ruckus!

This was nothing. Xie Xian gladly accepted the order.

After he left, Emperor Yu Heng stroked his short beard and frowned.

His trusted aide, Wei Desheng, who was good at observing people’s expressions and understanding the emperor, said. “With Assistant Minister Xie helping Your Majesty resolve your troubles, what else is Your Majesty worried about?”

He knew how much the emperor valued Xie Xian. If Xie Xian’s father, Xie Zhongzhong, hadn’t died, and Xie Xian did not have to mourn for his father for three years, he wouldn’t have waited until he was 19 years old to obtain an official role.

“This isn’t right.” Emperor Yu Heng clicked his tongue and shook his head. “In the past, when I needed him to do something, he would either have a headache or a sore butt. He never agreed so readily.”

This was not the Xie Xian he knew! There must be something fishy!

Wei Desheng was speechless. Could it be that even if the yellow gatekeeper accepted the task so readily, he was still wrong?

Why didn’t he think about the generous reward he had just given him? Could it be that the emperor’s bribe was effective and he felt guilty for receiving it?

It might be because the emperor was difficult to serve and nothing seemed right to him. He even had a problem when it came to accepting orders.