Su Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "Young Master Xu - oh no, Minister Xu, I'm glad you like it."
"Where is she?" Xu Wencang didn't want to waste any words. He got straight to the point and asked about Xiang'er.
Su Mingyu wasn't in a hurry at all. "Don't be so impatient, Minister Xu. Don't you want to know what Zhang Wencai said to me?"
Sure enough, Xu Wencang was still Xu Wencang. He didn't even lift his eyelids. "What does this have to do with me? I just want my younger sister, Xiang'er."
Su Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "According to the information we've obtained, Zhang Wencai is involved in a case of embezzling military grain and silver. So we need to borrow your sister and brother - in - law for a while longer."
"If there's a problem, report it to the court. I didn't know that the Prince Ruixian's Mansion could interrogate people privately. Do you still respect the law and the Ministry of Justice?" There was a sharpness in Xu Wencang's expression.
No wonder he could become a minister at such a young age. Seeing that Xu Wencang remained unmoved, Su Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "As a prince, it shouldn't be too controversial for Gu Ruobai to interrogate a vice - minister of the Ministry of War, right?"
"Really?" Xu Wencang gave her a cold look. "It's okay for you to interrogate Zhang Wencai, but you're not qualified to interrogate my sister."
Saying that, Xu Wencang gave Su Mingyu a sidelong glance. "If my sister really has a problem, show me the evidence. If not, I'll take her away. There's a baby in swaddling clothes waiting for her at home."
There was an obvious threat in his words, and Su Mingyu wasn't stupid. She immediately understood.
"Minister Xu, I didn't say I wouldn't release them. Of course, I'll release them." Before Su Mingyu could finish her sentence, she heard Xu Wencang say coldly, "I want you to release them now. Otherwise, we'll go to see the emperor in person."
He was even threatening to go to the emperor. Su Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead. I'm actually quite curious about one thing. Zhang Wencai has only been a vice - minister of the Ministry of War for less than three years, but he has renovated his mansion again and again. Now the area of the vice - minister's mansion is almost twice the size of the Prince Ruixian's Mansion, right?"
As Su Mingyu said this, she crossed her legs and looked at Xu Wencang. "I also want to ask you one thing. Miss Xiang'er, your sister, only wears clothes made of heavenly silkworm silk or celestial silk. The embroidery on them is done by the imperial embroiderers in the palace.
"The eyebrows Miss Xiang'er draws are made with E Dai, which is specially supplied to the favored concubines in the palace. I won't even mention the hairpins decorated with kingfisher feathers and pearls. With just these things, I think the emperor should allow me to investigate Miss Xiang'er, right?"
As Su Mingyu talked more, Xu Wencang's face became uglier. In the end, his face was as black as coal.
"What do you want?"
Xu Wencang asked Su Mingyu coldly.
Su Mingyu squinted her eyes. "I want to know who ordered Zhang Wencai to kill Gu Ruobai. I want to know who is targeting Gu Ruobai and who caused his leg disability!"
Although Su Mingyu's tone was intense, her expression hardly changed. It looked very strange.
This made Xu Wencang think more highly of Su Mingyu, but soon he adjusted his mood and his tone became much calmer. "Oh, you should ask Zhang Wencai about this. Asking me? Don't you think you've asked the wrong person?"
Seeing Xu Wencang's hypocritical look, Su Mingyu couldn't help but sneer. "I believe Minister Xu knows best who we should ask."
Xu Wencang took a deep breath, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and then said coldly, "Since the princess still needs my sister to cooperate with you, let my sister stay at your mansion for a few more days. I'll come to pick her up later."
After saying that, Xu Wencang turned around and left without any hesitation. Su Mingyu raised her eyebrows. This guy really had something.
After Xu Wencang left, Gu Ruobai walked out of the main hall. "It seems that he also knows that the silver in Zhang Wencai's hands is dirty."
Su Mingyu nodded. "But even so, he's not in a hurry at all. It seems that he knows there's nothing in Zhang Wencai's hands that can be used against him."
"What should we do now?" Su Mingyu frowned. "We can detain Xiang'er for a few days, but not for a lifetime. After all, Xiang'er herself didn't do anything wrong. And Zhang Wencai, as a vice - minister, if he goes missing, someone will definitely suspect something. If it gets to the emperor and we still don't have any evidence, we'll have to release them."
Gu Ruobai grunted. "I know. Don't be impatient. I have a way to deal with Father Emperor."
"So the most urgent thing now is to get something out of Zhang Wencai's mouth." Su Mingyu took a deep breath, then looked at Gu Ruobai. The two of them walked up to Zhang Wencai together.
Seeing it was Su Mingyu, Zhang Wencai let out a sigh of relief. "What else do you want? I've told you everything I can. What on earth do you want?"
"Yes, you've told us, but there's no evidence. How can we believe you?"
As Su Mingyu said this, she sighed. "You should have heard that Xu Wencang came to the Prince Ruixian's Mansion today."
Zhang Wencai nodded. "Yes, I know. But so what?"
"Do you know what he came for?" Su Mingyu looked at Zhang Wencai with pity in her eyes. "He said he came to take his sister back. As for you... we can do whatever we want with you."
As Su Mingyu said this, she clicked her tongue. "I really feel sorry for you. Look at all the things you've done for them, but in the end, this is how Xu Wencang treats you. He won't even save you. It's really ridiculous."
Su Mingyu then told someone to unlock Zhang Wencai's handcuffs and fetters. "You look so pitiful. I don't even want to chain you up. I've also checked the things you mentioned before, but Xu Wencang is a sly fox. Others definitely can't find his things, so we found nothing."
Su Mingyu sighed. Her eyes were full of pity as she looked at Zhang Wencai. "This is a serious matter. We definitely can't hide it in the Prince Ruixian's Mansion. So we'll have to tell the emperor sooner or later. But look, we don't have any evidence about Xu Wencang here. We can only push everything onto you."
As Su Mingyu said this, she pretended to be thinking. "Let me think. Embezzling military funds for personal gain and bribing the guards and concubines in the palace. Any one of these charges is enough to kill you several times, right?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. But the emperor is so kind - hearted. Maybe he'll spare your life because your children are still young and just exile your whole family to the border. Xiang'er has her brother to take care of her. She'll definitely be rescued on the way. But you, you'll have nothing. You'll have to suffer in the borderlands. It's really pitiful for you, a weak scholar. Once you go to the borderlands, won't you become the food and drink for those rough guys?"