Chapter 230: Chapter 215: Sharp Tongue (Second Update)

Inside the teahouse by the street, Song Yuanbao witnessed the carriage fall into the water, and then turned to Wen Wan and said, “Mother, it’s done.”

Wen Wan was feeding Jinbao sugar water. Hearing this, she looked up and asked, “Did anyone go down to rescue them?”

Song Yuanbao glanced towards the lakeside not far away and said, “Probably when the horse was startled, someone reported it, and the government office sent people.”

“That’s good.” Wen Wan smiled, finished feeding the last sip of sugar water, held Jinbao, and stood up, “Let’s go!”

“Not going to wait a little longer?”

Song Yuanbao glanced outside again, curious about what would happen next.

He had known Hao Yun since his time in Ningzhou. Initially, he thought he was quite good, as he humbly asked his father for help and advice.

Back then, Song Yuanbao thought he should learn more from such a person because he tended to be impulsive and arrogant.

Little did he know, he was just an animal in human skin.

Song Wei and Wen Wan naturally wouldn’t speak ill of Hao Yun in front of Song Yuanbao. It was after coming to the Capital that he heard some rumors himself.

The reason Hao Yun became Su Family’s son-in-law was sealed from the public by the Su Family, and there were various rumors outside.

However, it was an undeniable fact that he climbed up to the Su Family through unscrupulous means, something that couldn’t be erased.

Furthermore, this time Hao Yun actually bribed a Yao Jie to ruin Song Wei’s reputation, which completely destroyed the little goodwill and expectation Song Yuanbao had for him.

However, Wen Wan didn’t look back and just smiled, saying, “No need to wait. With Su Family’s power, the Lord Governor won’t be able to do anything to Hao Yun, and will only urge him to clear up the misunderstanding with your father and shake hands for reconciliation.

It’s probably the result many people wish to see.”

“So, does that mean it won’t be long before he has to personally come to our house to see my father?”

“Barring any surprises, it’s very likely.”

After Wen Wan finished speaking, she called Song Yuanbao, “Let’s go, I see Jinbao is sleepy.”

The little one in her arms was indeed yawning, and after yawning, he clenched his little fist and rubbed his eyes.

Song Yuanbao responded, quickly stepped up, and followed.

——

At this time by the lakeside, the government officials had already rescued Hao Yun from the lake.

After spitting out several mouthfuls of water, he opened his eyes to see the Shuntian Prefecture officials surrounded him, and his face turned dark immediately.

One of the officials asked him if he was Su Family’s son-in-law Hao Yun, and he didn’t answer, but directly stood up, rubbed the large bump on his forehead that had been hit, and patted his wet robes, heading towards the nearest tailor shop to get a clean set of clothes to change into.

The officers saw him not speaking and chased after him.

Hao Yun felt annoyed, but at this moment, he couldn’t afford not to care for his reputation, so he suppressed his anger and politely said to those who caught up with him, “Thank you all for rescuing me earlier. I have something urgent to handle today. I’ll definitely treat you all to a drink another day.”

“Rescuing you is our duty, however, regarding the matter of the newly ranked third scholar Mr. Song, we also have to follow official procedures, so we ask you to come back with us to the office.” The official’s voice was very stern.

Hao Yun’s frown deepened.

…

No matter how unwilling he was, after the officers brought him a set of clean clothes, Hao Yun still followed them to the Shuntian Prefecture Government.

The Prefect’s surname was Luo, and upon seeing Hao Yun, he greeted him politely.

The location for the conversation was not in the public court but in the back courtyard of the government office, which showed that this Capital’s official didn’t really want to make things big and offend the Su Family but wanted to bring him to negotiate a private settlement.

Hao Yun’s expression looked a little better, “Lord Luo called me here for the matter of Song Wei, right?”

Prefect Luo got straight to the point, “The woman has been temporarily detained by our office, and previously in court, she admitted herself to be a lady from the brothel, impersonating a maid from the broker’s hands to the Song family, with the aim of damaging Mr. Song’s reputation.”

Being someone who had been in government offices for years, he was adept at manipulating the psychology of criminals.

That way of speaking, knowing everything but deliberately not breaking the paper-thin barrier, and making you feel uncomfortable, suddenly made Hao Yun realize that in front of such an old fox, he was still too inexperienced.

After all, he was young and couldn’t hold his temper, feeling a bit annoyed, he slightly frowned, “What’s being asked of me, Lord Luo, just give it to me straight!”

Prefect Luo looked at him and smiled, “As long as you can clear the misunderstanding with the concerned party, then there will be no so-called evidence in our office.”

Indeed, his earlier assumption when entering the door wasn’t wrong, ultimately they wanted him to settle it privately.

…

After leaving the Shuntian Prefecture Government, Hao Yun recalled Prefect Luo’s last words in his mind, “Being new here, young people should handle matters with caution. The waters in the Capital run deep; a careless run-in with a tough nut, and the next time we meet may not be at the Shuntian Prefecture Government but at the Ministry of Justice Prison.”

These words enlightened Hao Yun.

There must be someone behind Song Wei!

No wonder he always felt something was amiss; someone ranked sixth in the examination, without any apparent reason, had been recommended to study at the Imperial College.

The palace examination results were surprisingly high for the third-place scholar, bumping him down despite being at the bottom of the ranking for the metropolitan exam.

To say the palace examination list had no manipulation, he would never believe it!

——

After returning to the estate, Hao Yun casually applied some ointment and changed clothes, immediately seeking out Su Xiang to express his doubts.

He expected Su Xiang to be surprised, but Su Xiang showed no reaction.

Su Xiang was feeding the birds in the cage, casually responded “Oh,” then said, “If you can rely on the Su Family, naturally Song Wei can rely on others, no need for surprise.”

“But doesn’t father-in-law find it concerning that someone who can manipulate the palace examination list might have too strong a backing?”

Su Xiang snorted coldly, “A frog in the well!”

Besides the Empress Dowager and her son, who else could manipulate the list?

Even if Song Wei is this pair’s hidden pawn, he’s merely a growing flea, easy for the Su Family to squash.

If Song Wei’s backing was truly capable, he wouldn’t have been constrained by the maternal family for years.

Su Xiang finished feeding the birds, turned to glance at Hao Yun, “So you still haven’t approached Song Wei?”

“Not yet.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“Do you think, father-in-law, that there is any need to see Song Wei?”

Hao Yun suddenly felt confused.

Earlier he didn’t know Song Wei had backing, but knowing now, he felt a bit cautious.

“Anyway, I’m not the one using vile means like hiring Yao Jie to send her to his bed, do you think there’s still a need?”

“…”

——

Hao Yun chose precisely Song Wei’s day off to visit in person.

Earlier, Song Wei’s wife warned him that Hao Yun might come, so seeing him now was not unexpected. He invited him inside.

Hao Yun glanced around their house, “I heard this courtyard used to be private property of the Dean, it’s impressive how Brother Song managed to acquire it.”

Song Wei smiled, “It’s just private property, not some illegitimate daughter.”

“…”

Su Yu is indeed Su Xiang’s illegitimate daughter, isn’t she?

This slap to the face came too swiftly, catching Hao Yun unprepared.

“Brother Hao, please come inside.”

The front hall door was open, Song Wei stood aside, looking at him kindly.

Hao Yun snapped out of it and started walking in.

Seeing Song Wei personally pouring tea for him, Hao Yun asked, “Does your family not have any servants?”

Song Wei ignored his disparaging tone, “I thought you came personally for something important.”

Of course, there was something important, just that Hao Yun was reluctant to mention it.

He always felt the incident with his frightened horse tied back to Song Wei.

Compared to nearly drowning in a lake due to him, sending Yao Jie to the Song family wasn’t even a concern.

Hao Yun remained silent, and Song Wei continued being quietly composed as always, not like Hao Yun who was restless.

After seemingly pondering words for a while, Hao Yun finally couldn’t resist speaking, “Regarding Yao Jie’s matter, it was a misunderstanding. Brother Song should know my character, we’re friends, I could never harm you, let alone use such despicable means.”

Before Song Wei could speak, he added, “I earlier went to the Shuntian Prefecture Government to investigate. Prefect Luo mentioned that the testimony from that woman only claimed someone hired her to harm you, with no direct evidence proving it was me. I’m just unclear on why it was eventually traced back to me.”

He sighed, “Seems like we both are victims.”

Hearing this, Song Wei understood the implication, “So Brother Hao suspects someone framed you?”

Hao Yun smiled bitterly, “I’m someone who failed the palace examination and can’t even stay in the Capital, now living as a son-in-law, always watching others’ faces, already with no status, posing no threat to anyone. I just don’t get why someone would want to harm me. Brother Song, do you think, like you, I too attract petty villains?”

Song Wei pondered for a moment, “Years ago, the fortune teller said, although I attract petty villains, my misfortunate fate has one advantage; those petty villains who approach me always fare worse. So it seems, Brother Hao and I are not quite the same.”

Hao Yun: “…”

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