"Where did you hide my wife and children?" Li An looked up, with indescribable helplessness in his eyes.
"Your Excellency, you don't know. Ever since the purple-clothed captain left, secret sentries have been posted around the Shangshu Mansion. For the sake of the safety of my wife and young master, I took the risk of being discovered and sent out the secret sentry in Dongchang.
Lure the lady and the young master away and send them out of the Shangshu Mansion." Wang Wencheng said slowly, still hunched over.
"I just want to know where my wife and children are now?" Li An's eyes were red and his tone was almost pleading.
In this morning's court, perhaps because the emperor had not expressed his position for a long time, the officials in the court criticized Xiao Chen much less. Standing at the forefront of the officials, Li An lowered his head, never daring to look into the emperor's eyes.
He took the lead in pursuing Xiao Chen's responsibility. Every minister knew in his heart that the emperor's failure to express his position meant that he was dissatisfied with the move to hold Xiao Chen accountable. In view of the fact that hundreds of officials signed a letter, he did not express his dissatisfaction in the court.
Go directly to the attack.
Now, the voices of the officials seeking accountability are getting smaller and smaller, and next, you can even think with your toes that your good days have come to an end.
Li An felt extremely bitter in his heart.
A few days ago, he treated Xiao Chen arrogantly and domineeringly, and he could no longer keep the head on his neck. Now, he has to face the emperor to settle accounts again. Li An only hopes to exchange his head for his family's.
Safety.
In Li An's house, apart from the servants, there are his wife Liu Ruyan and his youngest son.
Unlike other ministers in the court, Li An and his wife were childhood sweethearts and had a very good relationship. They had never taken a concubine in their lives. They had a daughter who is now out of the government. The youngest son is thirteen years old, well-behaved and very smart.
Liu Ruyan is at home every day. In addition to cooking for Li An herself, she also teaches her son how to read, read, and interact with others in her free time.
If Xiao Chen hadn't been held accountable, Li An's life would have been enviable.
He is in a high position and has no worries about food and clothing, his wife is virtuous, and his son is sensible.
But after Xiao Chen left that day, Li An no longer had this sense of happiness. His impulsiveness finally brought him death.
Although he felt extremely unwilling in his heart, when he thought about his wife and children being safe, Li An could only face the reality helplessly even though he did not take responsibility.
At the end of this morning's morning session, Li An walked into the Shangshu Mansion with heavy steps.
The food on the dining table was still steaming, and several servants were standing nearby, ready to serve, but Li An always felt something was wrong.
In the past, when he returned home, his youngest son would call his father to greet him at the door, followed by a smiling, dignified and elegant lady.
But today, they were not seen.
"Where are Madam and the others?" Li An took off his official hat and handed it to the servant beside him. He sat weakly on the chair next to the dining table and asked slowly.
Hearing Li An ask, the servant held his official hat in both hands and trembled: "Madam and young master were put on servant clothes by the butler early in the morning and taken away."
"Took him away? Still wearing servant's clothes? Wang Wencheng, come out here." Hearing the servant say this, Li An secretly felt an unpleasant feeling in his heart. He stood up with a bang and turned the man behind him
The chair was pushed open and headed towards the back hall, shouting and yelling.
Hearing the master's shouting, several servants who were busy in the back hall stopped their work and came out one after another, looking at Li An blankly.
"Where is Wang Wencheng? Where is he?" Under the surprised gazes of several servants, Li An rushed into the back hall, looked left and right, turned around and asked.
"Steward Wang took his wife and young master out early in the morning, but they haven't come back yet." A servant held a rag in his hand and said softly with his head slightly lowered.
"Madam never leaves Shangshu Mansion, how come she takes the young master and Wang Wencheng with her?" Li An almost lost his mind, stretched out his hand and grabbed the collar of the servant, and asked loudly with his eyes blazing.
In the Ming Dynasty, women were very particular about staying at home. My wife, since marrying into the Li family, had never left the house at will. How could she go out with a housekeeper and take away her son?
"Steward Wang, he, he..." With his head lowered, the servant stammered and did not dare to speak.
"Tell me, what is going on?" Li An grabbed the servant's collar and shook him vigorously.
He was an official in the court with great care, and his wife and children were everything to him. Now, they were suddenly taken away, and Li An roared loudly as if everything had been emptied from him.
"Steward Wang drugged them, knocked the lady and the young master out, and took them away by force. We stepped forward to stop them first, but Steward Wang held a steel knife in his hand and said that anyone who stopped them would be killed.
"At this point, I don't know if I was frightened by Li An's eyes or because I remembered Wang Wencheng's previous threat. My legs were trembling and I almost collapsed to the ground.
"Drug him? Take him away by force? Why would Wang Wencheng do this? I took him in kindly, but he wants to retaliate like this and add insult to injury?"
Loosening his servant's collar, Li An raised his head and roared loudly.
As the Minister of Punishment of the imperial court, he is also a prominent figure in the court. It is fine to be suppressed by the purple-robed captain. After all, it is the power bestowed by the emperor.
However, a housekeeper took his wife and children away while he was in court. What on earth was he going to do? Who was he?
The door banged, and a figure walked in, followed by a carriage, which was piled with daily necessities of the Shangshu Mansion.
"Take this cart of vegetables to the warehouse at the back." Wang Wencheng's voice came from the yard.
Li An turned around and rushed out quickly. Regardless of the surprised looks of the people on and off the carriage, he grabbed Wang Wencheng's arm with both hands and shook it vigorously.
"Wang Wencheng, where are my wife and children? Where have you taken my wife and children?" As if he had found the culprit, Li An's nails almost tore Wang Wencheng's clothes to pieces.
As if he had expected this kind of scene, Wang Wencheng looked expressionless and shouted to the servant on the carriage: "I asked you to transport the things to the warehouse, didn't you hear me?"
One is his master, and the other is his housekeeper, so how can he dare to get involved in their affairs.
"Drive." The servant shouted, slapped the horse's back with his palm, and hurriedly drove the carriage towards the back of the yard.
At this time, Wang Wencheng looked at Li An with a smile.
"Sir, this is the courtyard. It's inappropriate for you to shout so loudly." Following the words, Wang Wencheng raised his right hand and slowly pushed Li An away.
"I am just acting on the orders of the King of Han. If you want to get angry, you should go and get angry at the King of Han."
Although he was a housekeeper, there was no trace of respect in Wang Wencheng's words at this moment.
