Chapter 153：Negotiation

Ye Jiayao was so angry that when she went back to the yard, she almost missed the laughter ringing across the place.

Little Ji and Little Rui were chasing Little Jing at the yard while Da Bao and Er Bao's rabbit babies watched them with big eyes. Jiang Yue was also at the sides, cheering for Little Ji and Little Rui.

"Little Ji, bite him! Oh, come on, Little Rui, you're too slow."

Little Jing dodged the two ball of furs frantically. "How dare you two? I held you when you were born and now you want to bite me?"

Woof! Woof!

"You're bad boys."

Woof!

The silly scene quenched Ye Jiayao's anger.

"Don't be ridiculous, little boys," Ye Jiayao called.

When the Little Ji and Little Rui heard her voice, they left Little Jing alone and sprinted to her, circling her and begging for a hug.

Da Bao and Er Bao, not to be outdone, also took their children and hopped to where Ye Jiayao was standing.

She alternated petting her pets and cuddling them, her heart gradually warming up with love for her wards.

Helian Jing walked over to her laughingly and said, "Yaoyao, your rabbits are very lovely."

Little Ji and Little Rui bared their teeth at him when he tried to come closer.

"Hey! Biting is not cute!" Helian Jing reprimanded the puppies.

Jiang Yue herded the dogs and picked them up in her arms. "I'll take them to the backyard."

When it was finally quiet, Ye Jiayao asked, "What are you doing here, Little Jing?"

"I came to see you. I went to the camp with my brother these past few days so I wasn't able to visit you," he lied. He didn't want to damage his ego further by confessing that he was hiding out to recuperate from her rejection.

"Oh..." Honestly, Ye Jiayao thought that he'd never see Little Jing again.

"What about you? How have you been? Did Liu Li messed with you again"

"No, no, everything was fine."

"That's good," Helian Jing commented and they moved on to talk about other things as if his confession never happened.

Wei Yannian finally arrived at Jin Ling to help his son clean up his mess.

Qie finally found an in with the Heir-Son Lord through his older brother Xia Chunli. She found out that Xia Chunli and his wife needed a lot of money for their tailoring shop so she offered them some in exchange for Xia Chunli arranging a meeting with Xia Chunyu.

Assistant Minister Mu, Wei Yannian, Ye Binghuai, and Wei Liujiang met with Xia Chunyu, Old Master Fang, and Fang Wen at Lan Ting to talk things through.

Wei Yannian began, "It is my fault as a father that I haven't taught my child very well. When I heard what happened, I got so angry that my son could be that stupid. I admit that he made a mistake. Please, Mr. Xia and Old Master Fang, give him the chance to correct it."

"A mistake? I don't think so. Planning to kill someone is not a mistake," Fang Wen said coldly.

"Tell me, what mistakes are you apologizing for?" Old Master Fang demanded.

Wei Yannian and the others exchanged glances. Before they arrived, they have discussed that they would only talk about compensation, and never confess any sin.

Old Master Fang sneered. "You can't even admit what you've done. How can you throw out apologies if you don't even acknowledge the vileness you've committed? We have nothing more to talk about. I'll see you in court."

"Please calm down, Old Master Fang, we have a sincere desire to apologize to you," Assistant Minister Mu said with a smile.

"Yes, so sincere that you're not even willing to admit your own crimes," Fang Wen satirized.

Wei Liujiang replied, "I admit that we shouldn't have hidden the truth that Ye Jinxuan was kidnapped. However, if it were known, it would be disgraceful to Ye Jinxuan's reputation as well as the Ye and Wei families."

Old Master Fang barked out a menacing laugh. "If that's the case, you don't have to apologize. It appears we should even thank you for your consideration for Jinxuan. Wen, we should go."

The couple got up to leave.

"My lord, please wait," Ye Binghuai called out humbly. "Let's talk this through."

The anger that Old Master Fang was reigning in busted out. "I have nothing to say to you, you ungrateful bastard. We gave you my sister, the only daughter of my mother and father, to support you. Don't you think we know that it's your fault that she died? That as she was ready to give birth, you told her you're marrying that slut Ning? Now, your new wife and your own daughter plotted Jinxuan's death and yet here you are, 'apologizing'?

"No, we won't talk anything through, Binghuai. You're done. Our family will do everything to make sure that you're placed in a pig cage and riding a wooden donkey in the streets. People will just how horrible and pathetic you are."

"Yes, it's all my fault. I'm sorry. I am really sorry. I didn't take care of Jinxuan well and it's my fault that this happened. But we can't do anything now. Even if you kill them, it won't help..." Ye Binghuai pleaded desperately.

"That may be so, but it would still please me to make the people responsible for my niece's suffering pay," said Old Master Fang.

Wei Yannian's turned pale. "No one wished for her to encounter that kind of accident.

"An accident? Ha! You mean no one wished for her to actually still be alive?" Old Master Fang retorted angrily.

Xia Chunyu calmly put his teacup down.

Everyone quietened and turned to look at him.

"Wei went to a man known to have thousands of hands. He's a famous thief and actually served the Second-In-Charge. He's looking for Li. He was paid 3000 to steal the bride and to leave the other treasures and property in the carriage alone. I don't need to hear any of your explanations because I already know the full story. I have Li and his accomplice, Cui, and I am going to the court. There's no need to waste time here," Xia Chunyu said.

Wei Liujiang thought that he was going to crap his pants. He was so confident that Xia Chunyu wouldn't be able to tie any evidence back to him, but now that the Heir-Son Lord and Cui and Li...

Wei Yannian got down on his knees in front of Xia Chunyu. "My lord, I wish you be kind."

He knew that they had no upper hand in this. He just wished that the Heir-Son Lord would soften his heart and hear their pleas.

Xia Chunyu gave him a blank stare and said, "Then, indulge Old Master Fang and be honest."

Wei Liujiang confessed the whole story.

The Old Master Fang was so angry that he kicked the young man. "I will kill you, you f*cking prick!"

"My lord," Fang Wen said, "we can't get our hands dirty."

Assistant Minister Mu said, "The child is guilty of the crime. The Lord knows that he is young and insensible, please just forgive him.

Xia Chunyu snorted. "Forgive him? You, Mister Wei, and Mister Ye are all officers. Do you grant your subjects forgiveness when they commit a crime like this?"

"First Lady Ye is safe. I will try my best to help you find her," Wei Liujiang offered.

"I will do the same. I will personally drag my wife and my Jinrong to Yang Zhou so that we could all ask for her grandmother's forgiveness as well," Ye Binghuai said.

"That will be unnecessary," Xia Chunyu said, his tone cold. "I will find Ye Jinxuan myself. Forgive me if I don't trust you one bit around my wife. And you don't have to go to Yang Zhou, they won't want to see you."

"So... that's it?" Assistant Minister Mu asked, hopeful.

Xia Chunyu smiled, looking like a predator that just cornered his prey. "Wei Liujiang, you are banned from taking the imperial examination. You will never be an officer. From the way you acted, you are more likely to do harm than protect the people."

Wei Yannian's heart sank. Liujiang was a talented young scholar and was the hope of the Weis. If he wouldn't be allowed to take the imperial exam, he wouldn't amount to anything.

"My Lord, my son knows that he was wrong and he has vowed to correct it. I assure you that if he steps a toe out of line again, I will be the first one to punish him. However, I wish that you be kind this time."

"It's too late. Lord Su and Prince Helian, you can come out now," Xia Chunyu called.

The door of the compartment opened, and Su Xiang and Helian Xuan stepped out.

Wei Yannian looked at the two officers, despairing. Xia Chunyu tricked them and forced Liujiang to admit his guilt.

Su Xiang was the main invigilator and Liujiang had no chance.

Su glanced at Wei Liujiang contemptuously and said, "I will let His Majesty know about this. The imperial exam is for people with both knowledge and morality, not for some scheming evil man.

The words confirmed Wei Liujiang's doom.