292: Chapter 290 Family Letter

Ning Wanqing handed the letter to Ah Yuan.

Ah Yuan glanced at her, walked to a chair in the side hall, sat down, and pulled the letter from her sleeve.

The envelope was ordinary kraft paper, sealed with Ning Yuanzhou's private seal. The ink pad was dry and the edges were slightly blurred, clearly stamped in a hurry. Ah Yuan opened the envelope; inside were two letters, one thin and one thick. The thin one was unsealed and addressed to Ning Wanqing. The thick one was tightly sealed, with the five characters "For Mr. Yun Ming's Personal Opening" written on the envelope. The handwriting was neat, but the strokes were so forceful they almost pierced through the paper.

Ah Yuan first handed the thin letter to Ning Wanqing. "This one is for you."

Ning Wanqing took the letter, her hands trembling as she unfolded it. The letter wasn't long, only a single page. The handwriting was scrawled, with several spots blurred by water stains—perhaps sweat, perhaps something else. Ning Wanqing read a few lines, and tears began to fall. She didn't cry aloud, but simply covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her shoulders shaking. Ah Yuan didn't rush her, waiting until she finished reading before asking softly, "Did something happen to your elder brother?"

Ning Wanqing handed the letter to her. Ah Yuan took it and read it from beginning to end.

The letter was from Ning Yuanzhou to his sister. There were no pleasantries or greetings; it went straight to the point. He said he was in trouble, framed and caught in a dead end. Having served as an official in the capital for many years, he considered himself clean and diligent, never forming cliques for personal gain. He supervised Weaponry, horses, and provisions, handling silver in the tens of thousands, with every transaction clear and the accounts audit-ready. But someone wanted to harm him, not because he did anything wrong, but because he was in someone's way. The letter was brief and vague in many places, clearly fearing interception. However, Ah Yuan still picked out several key pieces of information—the Ministry of Works, Horse Administration, Weaponry, embezzlement, and collusion with the enemy. Every single one was a capital offense.

Ning Wanqing finally couldn't hold it back, her voice choked with sobs. "Miss Ah Yuan, my brother... he must be wronged. He has never been able to lie since he was a child; he didn't even dare to steal offerings during the New Year. How could he embezzle military funds or collude with the enemy to betray the country? Someone must have framed him. Miss Ah Yuan, can Mr. Yun... can he help my brother?" As she spoke, she moved to kneel.

Ah Yuan quickly supported her. "Don't be anxious yet. There is another letter, for Master." She looked at the thick letter, which remained unopened. Master was in seclusion and had said no one was to disturb him. She hesitated for a moment before tucking the letter into her sleeve. "In your brother's letter, did he say specifically what happened?"

Ning Wanqing shook her her head and wiped her tears. "He only said he was framed with conclusive evidence and might not survive. He told me to take good care of Mother and not to tell anyone. He also said he had written the full details of the matter in the letter for Mr. Yun Ming to save his life."

Ah Yuan was silent for a moment. She stood up, walked to the window of the side hall, and looked toward the distant Qingzhu Courtyard. Her Master's courtyard was very quiet, the doors and windows tightly shut. The sound-insulating formation had been activated, so not a sound could be heard. She didn't know when Master would emerge from seclusion, but since Master had left everything for her to handle before going in, she couldn't just ignore it.

Ah Yuan turned around and looked at Ning Wanqing. "Handle the matters at home first. You cannot let the Old Madam know. I will find a way regarding your brother's letter." Ning Wanqing bit her lip and nodded vigorously. "Miss Ah Yuan, I... I thank you on behalf of my brother."

Ah Yuan waved her hand, saying no more. She took the thick letter back to her room. Closing the door, she sat at the table and lit a lamp. After hesitating for a long time, she eventually opened the letter. It wasn't a lack of respect for Master; it was because Master was in seclusion, and she had to know what happened before she could decide what to do next.

The letter was very long, spanning seven or eight pages. Ning Yuanzhou's handwriting went from neat to scrawled, and from scrawled to chaotic. Several pages even had multiple corrections. He clearly wrote with great difficulty—not because the writing itself was hard, but because the subject matter was.

At the beginning of the letter, Ning Yuanzhou gave a detailed account of his official career and the government affairs he had handled.

He had been an official in the capital for many years, first serving as a Director in the Court of Imperial Stud, responsible for auditing Horse Administration accounts and inspecting pastures. He was efficient, clean, and self-disciplined, never extorting anyone or accepting local bribes, and thus offended many people.

Three years ago, he was promoted to Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, beginning to fully manage the procurement of imperial horses, the allocation of military horses, and the purchase of wagons and camp tents. These matters involved massive expenditures and were highly lucrative; his predecessors had all lined their pockets to the brim.

After Ning Yuanzhou took office, he cleared out long-standing abuses and strictly audited the accounts. He exposed the misconduct of Left Vice Minister of Works Zhao Xiuyuan, who had cut corners and used inferior materials in Weaponry procurement—because some of the saddlery, vehicles, and tents required by the military horse pastures overlapped with the Ministry of Works' procurement, Ning Yuanzhou discovered the issues during verification and reported them truthfully. From then on, the two became enemies.

A year ago, due to his outstanding performance, Ning Yuanzhou was promoted to Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, becoming the highest official in charge of the Great Liang Kingdom's Horse Administration.

At the beginning of this year, the Grand Secretariat drafted a new list of official promotions.

Due to his outstanding performance in the Court of Imperial Stud, Ning Yuanzhou was designated as the sole candidate for Right Vice Minister of Works. This was the step he had dreamed of for years in his political career—a promotion from the secondary third rank to the primary third rank. Though only half a grade apart, it was the crucial step from a Court Minister into a Ministry. As long as Your Majesty gave the vermilion approval, he could step into the core of the imperial court.

But on the eve of the vermilion approval, he was framed.

The first charge: embezzling Horse Administration funds and Weaponry material funds. Someone forged his signed documents and ledgers, attributing a sum of silver meant for purchasing imperial horses and copper for Weaponry to his private embezzlement. The framers even buried a small amount of stolen silver in a hidden corner of the Court of Imperial Stud's warehouse as physical evidence. A warehouse clerk from the Court of Imperial Stud was bribed to testify, claiming he saw Ning Yuanzhou's steward come to the warehouse to withdraw the silver. With both witnesses and physical evidence, Ning Yuanzhou had no way to defend himself. Horse Administration funds were specialized funds for the Great Liang Kingdom to purchase imperial horses from the Zifu Immortal Dynasty, with every transaction strictly recorded. Once embezzlement was proven, it was a capital offense.

The second charge: treason and leaking secrets. Ning Yuanzhou recently supervised the allocation of wagons and horses for border military horse pastures, visiting the northern border several times for inspections. The framers bribed a border courier to forge letters between Ning Yuanzhou and the Northern Di. Using cryptic wording, the letters claimed Ning Yuanzhou had leaked border horse deployments to the Di people. Although both the Great Liang Kingdom and the Northern Di were under the protection of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty, there were constant frictions between the two countries and frequent small-scale conflicts at the border. The crime of treason was even heavier than embezzlement; once proven, it would mean the execution of nine generations of his family.

Ning Yuanzhou wrote in the letter that he didn't know exactly who wanted him dead, but he could guess. Left Vice Minister of Works Zhao Xiuyuan's cronies had always wanted to take the position of Right Vice Minister. Ning Yuanzhou was in their way, so they had to eliminate him. Furthermore, Zhao Xiuyuan had an even greater backer, a certain powerful figure in the court whom he could not identify and dared not investigate. He was now being held in the cells of the Dali Temple, awaiting trial. He wasn't afraid of death, only of implicating his elderly mother and young sister. He pleaded with Mr. Yun Ming, for the sake of their acquaintance, to save his life.

After Ah Yuan finished the letter, she was silent for a long time. She organized the pages in order, put them back into the envelope, and tucked it under her pillow. Then she got up and went to Ning Wanqing's room.

Ning Wanqing was sitting by the bed in a daze, her eyes red, still clutching that thin letter. Seeing Ah Yuan enter, she quickly stood up.

“Miss Ah Yuan, Mr. Yun...”

“Master is in seclusion,” Ah Yuan interrupted her. “I don't know when he will come out, nor if he can make it in time.”

Ning Wanqing's face instantly turned pale. Ah Yuan looked at her, silent for a moment, before slowly speaking.

“But I can try.”

Ning Wanqing was stunned. “You?”

Ah Yuan nodded. She didn't reveal that she was also a cultivator, because Yun Ming had taught her to keep a low profile.

Thus she said, “I have studied with Master for so long—medicine, Dao of alchemy, and some self-defense skills. Although I cannot compare to Master, I might be able to help. Lord Ning is being held in the Dali Temple. I first need to know if he is dead or alive, if he is injured, and if I can see him. If I can, I can find a way to bring him some medicine or pass a message.” She paused. “More importantly, I need to find out where that forged evidence came from. Who forged the handwriting, who buried the stolen silver, and who bribed the witnesses. Once these are found, his innocence can be restored.”

Ning Wanqing opened her mouth as if to say something but swallowed it back. She looked at Ah Yuan, this girl of fifteen or sixteen, her eyes full of disbelief but even more full of gratitude.

“Miss Ah Yuan, such great kindness, the Ning family will never forget it—”

“Don't be like that. I'm not helping for nothing. Lord Ning is Master's friend after all. Since Master is in seclusion, I can't let his friend just die like this. Wait here, I'll go pack up and set off for the capital first thing tomorrow morning.” She also didn't reveal that Ning Yuanzhou was Yun Ming's servant, instead calling him a friend.

Ning Wanqing nodded vigorously, tears welling up again.