Chapter 595: Chapter 594: Unexpected Gains
On the other hand, Xia Wanqing, seeing his daughter coming to fetch him, was initially quite happy, but when he saw she was accompanied by two men, he couldn’t help but frown.
Young Master Xuan also said he would come to pick them up, seeing this situation later, wouldn’t it cause unnecessary misunderstandings?
Before he could say anything, the crowd outside parted to both sides, as the brocaded and elegant Huangfu Yuxuan appeared.
One must admit, the handsome and charming Huangfu Yuxuan indeed caught everyone’s eye. Moreover, being an Imperial Grandson, he naturally exuded an aura of nobility, dressed in splendid attire, drawing all gazes towards him.
Huangfu Yuxuan strode over to Xia Wanqing’s side and said, "Uncle Xia, I had some matters on hand, so I came late, where are Uncle Hua and Uncle Gu?"
Xia Wanqing replied, "They have been sentenced to ten days in prison; they can’t leave for now."
Huangfu Yuxuan nodded slightly to Wen Yuanting as a greeting. When he saw Xia Wenjin, he flashed a broad smile, but when he glanced over the Xia Brothers, his gaze carried an inquiry.
Xia Wanqing asked, "Wenjin, are these two your friends?"
The word "again" revealed his displeasure.
Xia Wenjin replied, "These two are my brothers, Xia Sichen was busy, so they came with me to pick you up!"
Xia Wanqing frowned, "What are you talking about? Other than Xia Sichen, where do you have brothers?" He only had one son; wouldn’t he know?
Xia Xinxin immediately said, "Wenjin is of course our sister, you are..."
Xiao Ze pulled him back, saluted Xia Wanqing with a cupped fist, and said, "In order to clear Uncle’s name, Sister Wenjin searched everywhere for evidence and sought help. She approached my father. My father found that although Wenjin is young, she acts with propriety and is commendable in her filial piety, so he provided some assistance for the case to be clarified. Therefore, my father sent us two brothers to inquire about the outcome, to see it to completion."
Wen Yuanting thought to himself, so that’s the case. No wonder a little girl like her has so much power; it’s because she got help from the Right Minister.
Huangfu Yuxuan, though wearing a smile on his face, felt gloom in his heart. He was puzzled as to how certain pieces of evidence, which were not so easily obtainable, ended up in Xia Wenjin’s hands. It turned out to be Xia Shi’en’s assistance.
Xia Shi’en, both literate and martial, holding the position of Right Minister, occupied a high status.
It seems that the girl he had set his sights on was not just lucky or perfectly matched with him but also very capable in her own right.
Xia Wenjin was correct in her suspicions; the mastermind behind this matter was indeed Huangfu Yuxuan. Huangfu Yuxuan set up this situation with two objectives.
The Duke of England was a staunch supporter of Prince Zhuang, unchanging, after all, they were an in-law, a bond unbreakable.
The Duke’s son was at the frontier, holding military power he couldn’t yet reach, but his legitimate grandson was infamous for his indulgence, who could be easily trapped to death.
The Duke of England only had one grandson, removing Zhan Baoqing was like taking away the piece of meat that lodged in the hearts of the Duke and his son, heavy blow to Prince Zhuang.
His uncles, Prince Zhuang had the means, the strategy and the manpower, and being in the Capital City, he was more difficult to deal with than Prince Xin or Prince Lu.
This was the first objective.
The second objective was clearly Xia Wenjin.
He had already roped in much of Xia Wanqing and Haotian Village’s entourage, but Xia Wenjin was unimpressed, still stubbornly refusing to marry him.
Xia Wanqing, though committed to his promise, didn’t want to wrong his daughter and sought some compromise to get her consent.
But he was running out of patience to keep waiting?
By involving Gan Jinming to draw Hua Yuanming and Gu Hongxin into this and then ensnaring Xia Wanqing too.
He originally planned to step in at the critical moment of the noon execution, confidently put forth the evidence, and have Gan Jinming recant on the spot, leading to a retrial of the case, thus saving Xia Wanqing and the other two from death, naturally earning their immense gratitude at the key moment of saving their lives.
By then, the entire Haotian Village would be at his disposal, and Xia Wenjin, for the kindness shown in saving her father and uncles, would naturally have a greatly improved view of him, finding it difficult to escape his grasp.
Even if things went awry and Xia Wanqing and the other two had to perish, the gratitude he displayed had already been adequately performed, even if they weren’t saved, Xia Wenjin would still think favorably of him.
Furthermore, without the three former Village Chiefs of Haotian Village, the others would scatter like loose sand, with Xia Wenjin suddenly losing her backing, and he would become her new support, inevitably clinging tightly to him.
In any case, he stood to gain!
However, he had underestimated Xia Wenjin’s ability, not expecting her to have found the related evidence a day earlier and to have struck the Injustice Bell.
This chaos disrupted his plan.
Initially, he wasn’t too concerned, given the amount of time he spent setting up this situation, the chain of evidence was tightly linked. Gan Jinming was also under his control.
No matter how sufficient the evidence, as long as Gan Jinming did not change his testimony, Xia Wenjin would still be powerless.
Yet, he didn’t anticipate Gan Jinming would actually change his testimony, the ungrateful traitor despite years of support for him and his siblings.
Now, the carefully calculated goodwill was left uncollected.
Fortunately, due to Grandfather’s sudden issuance of the Holy Decree, and his well-timed appearance, the three from Haotian Village still attributed this benefit to him, which was an unexpected gain.
It’s just that Xia Wenjin seemed to have found out something, unexpectedly accusing him of being the mastermind in front of the three from Haotian Village.
Luckily, since she manifested such a strong desire to avoid marrying him, those three thought she was merely trying to dismiss him and did not suspect.
He originally thought she was just a mere commoner girl from Jianghu, one he could easily manipulate and play with in the palm of his hand. Now it seemed this young lady was not simple, sparking more of his interest.
If he could gain the support of such a clever woman, what would there be to worry about for the success of his grand plans?
Initially, his interest in Xia Wenjin stemmed merely from Gongyang Puyu’s prediction that she was most useful, with her fate complementing his own.
Afterward, seeing her beauty, a rare enchanting charm not inferior to Zhao Keyan’s, his satisfaction increased threefold.
Later, hearing that Xia Wenjin resolutely did not want to marry him, his dignity as an Imperial Grandson was affronted, developing a psychology of conquest.
But now, this desire for conquest transformed into admiration, and the originally picky Huangfu Yuxuan who was dissatisfied with Xia Wenjin’s background was now eighty percent content.
The remaining twenty percent was only due to her not having the status of a well-bred lady, fearing that Grandfather might not be pleased.
But this was no longer a major concern. Since his father was no longer the Crown Prince, marrying a Jianghu girl could instead reduce his uncles’ vigilance!
