Chapter 460
Upon hearing that his parents' deaths were at the hands of the Jin family, and that he had not only hated the wrong person all these years but had also recognized a thief as his father, Yuan Kangping completely lost control of his emotions. He roared hysterically at Prefect Yuan, "Enough! The Jin family had no enmity with us, why would they kill my parents? It was clearly you who murdered my parents for the family fortune!"
Prefect Yuan's face showed shame. Looking at his nephew, who was acting like a madman, he sighed deeply, "Yes, your father had no feud with the Jin family. Jin Zhang was after me. Attacking your father was merely a warning to others."
Jin Jiuye was cautious. He would not directly kill a fourth-rank prefect of the imperial court. Even if he did it flawlessly, it would have crossed Lord Yao's bottom line, and the Provincial Administration Commission would surely investigate. For Jin Jiuye, it would have been a loss outweighing the gain.
However, Prefect Yuan, in order to consolidate power in Minhe Prefecture, inevitably clashed with the local power, the Jin family.
It was then that Jin Jiuye attacked Yuan Kangping's parents. For years, Prefect Yuan, burdened by his concerns, found his governance hampered. Jin Jiuye's objective was thus achieved.
"This is retribution! Yuan Kangping, you gave me the medicine to prevent offspring, and now it's come back to haunt you!" Yao Zhenyi grabbed a teacup and hurled it, laughing maniacally.
Especially seeing Yuan Kangping's pained and twisted face, Yao Zhenyi felt even more triumphant. "You beast who recognizes a thief as your father, you still want to achieve success in the imperial examinations? I heard Official Qiao is famously filial. Yuan Kangping, you're finished! You'll be a coward your whole life!"
This time, Yuan Kangping, who was being mocked, did not retort. His eyes were vacant. Perhaps the truth had come too suddenly, or perhaps he had long sensed the clues over the years but was unwilling to admit them or investigate the truth.
After all, by hating Prefect Yuan, his uncle, he could live a life of pampered ease with a clear conscience, gain the favor of the Old Madam, and benefit from the concessions of the main branch of the Yuan family.
Even if his academic achievements were inferior to his cousin's, he could tell himself again and again that it was his uncle deliberately suppressing him, preventing him from rising.
As for his affair with Jin Xu's wife, Wang Yanyue, Yuan Kangping even felt a secret pleasure. By humiliating Jin Xu, he was humiliating all the men of the Jin family.
Seeing Yuan Kangping standing there in a daze, Yao Zhenyi suddenly felt less satisfied and turned her anger towards Prefect Yuan, questioning him furiously, "So you married me to Yuan Kangping to make the Jin family hesitate? Even if the Jin family acted again, they would only target me?"
The second branch of the Yuan family had only Yuan Kangping as a sole male heir. If Jin Jiuye were to take Yuan Kangping's life and leave the second branch without descendants, Prefect Yuan would likely retaliate against the Jin family without regard for the consequences, leading to a mutually destructive outcome.
But after Yao Zhenyi married into the family, the Jin family would have to consider it. After all, she came from the Yao family in the capital. Who knew if the Yao family had powerful relatives or connections?
Yao Zhenyi's deceased maternal grandmother was also enfeoffed as a county princess by the late emperor and had some blood relation to the imperial Yin family.
Furthermore, Prefect Yuan did harbor a dark calculation. If Jin Jiuye were to strike again, and Yao Zhenyi were to die, it would protect Yuan Kangping.
If Yuan Kangping were to be harmed, Yao Zhenyi, as his wife, would surely seek revenge for her husband. Prefect Yuan could then seize the opportunity to join forces with the Yao family from the capital to retaliate.
He felt guilty towards his nephew and thus indulged him, but Prefect Yuan was not as magnanimous towards his niece-in-law, Yao Zhenyi.
Perhaps it was because Yao Zhenyi's constant troublemaking and self-destructive behavior over the past two years had exhausted Prefect Yuan's lingering guilt. He spoke coldly, "There's no need for you to shout here. If you wish to leave, I will have Kangping write a letter of divorce, and you can return to the capital with your dowry."
The Yuan family's scandals were all exposed, and they wanted to cast her aside? Yao Zhenyi's face twisted in anger. Just as she was about to retort, she was interrupted by Prefect Yuan's next words.
"You don't need to think that our Yuan family used you. Your father and the others knew about this. It was merely mutual utilization." Although Prefect Yuan did not explicitly state anything at the time, he did not conceal it either.
The Yuan family intended to seek a marriage alliance, and the Yao family had personally sent people to Minhe Prefecture to inquire about the situation. As for agreeing to the marriage later, firstly, they were optimistic about Prefect Yuan and the younger generation like Yuan Kangwang and Yuan Kangping. Once they achieved success in the imperial examinations, the Yuan family would prosper in the future, and the Yao family, as in-laws, would gain an additional advantage.
Secondly, Prefect Yuan had also made amends at the time, securing the position of county magistrate of Sanhu for Yao Zhenyi's cousin. This was a large and prosperous county in the Jiangnan Province. As long as he performed well, his promotion would be assured after three years in the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation.
Moreover, Prefect Zhao, the superior of Yao's cousin, and Prefect Yuan were classmates. With this connection, as long as Yao's cousin did not court disaster, his official career would be smooth.
"You're talking nonsense! This is clearly a fraudulent marriage by your Yuan family!" Yao Zhenyi's angry eyes were about to pop out.
Just as Yuan Kangping was unwilling to believe the truth, she too was unwilling to believe that her Yao family had married her off to Minhe Prefecture like a commodity to secure a better future for her cousin.
Yuan夫人 only learned of the internal circumstances today. However, as Prefect Yuan's wife, Yuan夫人 could see that Prefect Yuan was not lying.
"You don't need to doubt anything. When you return to the capital, you can ask your Yao family directly," Yuan夫人 interjected, preventing the uncle and niece-in-law from arguing. She looked coldly at Yao Zhenyi, who was about to go mad again. "You have been married into our Yuan family for two years, Yao Zhenyi. You know your own temperament. Not to mention whether any noble sons in the capital would be willing to marry you, even if there were, would the Yao family dare to agree? No matter who you marry, you will make enemies!"
Unable to hold back, Zhan Feiyu let out a chuckle. She could truly see Yuan夫人's resentment towards her niece-in-law, Yao Zhenyi. It was likely that she had endured her unreasonable behavior for the past two years.
"Please excuse my impropriety, Miss Zhan." Yuan夫人, as an elder, knew that her words were out of line at this moment, but she felt truly relieved. Having endured the two of them from the second branch for two years, it had truly been suffocating.
"Madam is too kind," Zhan Feiyu shook her head, greatly agreeing with Yuan夫人's statement.
The heads of the Yao and Yuan families were aware of the truth of this marriage. No matter how much Yao Zhenyi caused trouble, Prefect Yuan could only endure it. Furthermore, the more Yao Zhenyi caused trouble, the more the Jin family would be wary, and Yuan Kangping would be safer.
For the Yao family, Yao Zhenyi's marriage was not smooth. If she remained unmarried or married poorly, or even caused incidents after marriage, it would ultimately affect all the young ladies of the Yao family.
With this distant marriage, the Yao family was safe, and Yao Zhenyi lived comfortably. Otherwise, with her temperament in the capital, either her in-laws would have secretly killed her, or Yao Zhenyi would have caused a death at her husband's home.
When Zhan Feiyu left the Yuan residence, it was already half an hour later. Prefect Yuan had indeed acted with strict justice this time. Yuan Kangping, along with the more than ten people who had broken into the residence, had been escorted to the prefectural office by Guard Fang, and everything was handed over to Lord Yao for handling.
Glancing back at the gradually receding Yuan residence, Zhan Feiyu couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother, do you think Prefect Yuan truly had no prior knowledge of Yuan Kangping's defection to Jin Jiuye?"
The reason Jin Jiuye attacked Yuan Kangping's parents was also out of fear of Prefect Yuan, hence the warning to others. The Jin family was powerful, but Prefect Yuan was an official of one side, and he was not to be underestimated.
He Nuan, who was sitting beside her and about to pick up the teapot to pour tea, trembled, spilling the tea. She was truly shocked by Zhan Feiyu's words.
Sighing, Zhan Feiyu continued, "It's a bit far-fetched to say that Prefect Yuan knew nothing of the affairs within the Yuan residence. But if he knew and allowed Yuan Kangping to recognize a thief as his father, it would be too cold-blooded and heartless."
Yin Wuyan looked at the little girl sitting obediently beside him, waiting for his answer, and said in a deep voice, "Even if he didn't know at the very beginning, he must have known later."
If Yuan Kangping were a shrewd person, he wouldn't have committed the foolish act of recognizing a thief as his father. Therefore, no one would believe that Prefect Yuan knew nothing of the things Yuan Kangping did under his nose.
"Heaven can be measured, earth can be quantified, only the human heart cannot be guarded," Zhan Feiyu took the cup handed by He Nuan and slowly drank water. "The Yao family dared not marry Yao Zhenyi in the capital for fear of implicating the family. Similarly, after Yuan Kangping committed these foolish acts, Prefect Yuan had to guard against Yuan Kangping's future misconduct and eventual harm to the entire Yuan family."
Therefore, he decided to go all the way. Using Yuan Kangping as bait, the Jin family used Yuan Kangping to gather information, while Prefect Yuan also wanted to use Yuan Kangping to catch Jin Jiuye's handle, depending on who played their cards better.
It seemed that Prefect Yuan had won. Yuan Kangping was imprisoned, and the entire Minhe Prefecture would only sympathize with Prefect Yuan. Yuan Kangping was merely a wolf-hearted scoundrel. In the future, he would not be able to implicate the Yuan family or harm the reputation of Yuan Kangwang and his brother.