Chapter 1168: Unclear

Editor: Henyee Translations

“Guards, take him away and put Qiao Hongxi in the prison. We will decide on his fate later!”

Qiao Hongxi was startled, and he tried to protest, “Officer, you can’t… Officer!”

Qiao Hongxi’s voice faded away as the guards escorted him away.

The governor rubbed his forehead, trying to compose himself and deal with the aftermath of the situation. The matter at hand involved officials from the court, Crown Prince’s followers, and questions of ethics between men and women.

Shao Yunduan had hoped that by capturing Qiao Hongxi, he could uncover the identity of the mastermind. However, the mastermind had manipulated Qiao Hongxi with a letter that was now missing.

The governor of Heavenly Mansion found himself unable to do much in this situation.

Qiao Hongxi seemed to be clueless about the whole affair. He couldn’t recall who gave him the letter, and the letter itself had disappeared.

Shao Yunduan was convinced that the letter must have existed, as it was the reason Qiao Hongxi caused trouble. But now, with no evidence to produce, it seemed the letter was nothing more than a fabrication.

As for Qiao Wei, she was the daughter of an officer and had no connection to the matter – it was all based on Qiao Hongxi’s false claims.

Because of this, she was not summoned to the court. However, the Heavenly Mansion sent someone to interrogate her.

Throughout the interrogation, she maintained her innocence, claiming she was not missing and had been at home the entire night. She had no idea why her brother said such things, and the situation bewildered her.

Qiao Wei was overwhelmed with sadness and anger, tears streaming down her face. Her emotions were genuine, but the situation she found herself in was also painfully real.

Her luck had taken a cruel turn. She had come so close to achieving her goal, only to fail miserably. Shao Yunduan had discovered her and knocked her unconscious. When she finally regained consciousness, she was blindfolded and disoriented, not knowing her whereabouts.

Moments later, she blacked out again.

When she woke up once more, she was in the middle of her own garden.

What could she possibly say? Revealing to the Heavenly Mansion’s authorities that she had sneaked into Shao Yunduan’s home in the dead of night, with someone’s help, to set him up and tarnish his reputation was out of the question.

She couldn’t confess to such a plan!

Instead, she decided to deny everything and maintain her innocence.

All the evidence seemed to point towards Qiao Hongxi lying.

In the end, with Shao Yunduan’s consent, Qiao Hongxi had no choice but to change his statement after facing threats from the governor of Heavenly Mansion. He claimed that there was never any letter, and he had made up the entire story out of jealousy towards Shao Yunduan, intending to cause him trouble. He admitted to fabricating the entire incident.

Qiao Hongxi was left with no choice but to compensate Shao Yunduan with 1,000 liang as a settlement for falsely accusing him and causing trouble without any reason.

In truth, this kind of case did not usually warrant compensation, but due to complaints from the Crown Prince, the Heavenly Mansion decided to offer the sum as a form of consolation for Shao Yunduan.

The compensation served as a gesture of comfort for Shao Yunduan, though it didn’t entirely make up for the damage caused.

For Qiao Hongxi, this outcome was disheartening. It marked the end of any possibility for him to become an officer in the court.

Overwhelmed with embarrassment and shame, Qiao Hongxi decided to seek solace in distractions and indulgence. His remaining days were spent in poverty and misery, unable to afford any further compensation.

He had no money to compensate them.

That was okay. He only needed to spend one year in prison at the Heavenly Mansion to make it up for the failed compensation.

But no, that would be so miserable for him!