The sedan stopped outside the gate of the government office.

Ever since the fire broke out last time and the magistrate of the Capital City somehow went missing, the Emperor had appointed a new magistrate, who was from a noble family, scrupulous in separating public from private interests and not afraid of influential officials.

The Emperor kept Lin Mengya’s brother locked up here on purpose. If it were not for this, the Shangguan Family would have taken action to hurt her brother secretly.

Lin Kui, who had been waiting in order outside the government office, said, “Your Highness, please come with me.”

Prince Yu had ordered them to do all they could to protect Princess Yu. Although they did not know why the Emperor issued an imperial edict to relegate Lin Mengya to a vice Princess, it seemed that the imperial edict had no influence on the relationship between Prince Yu and Princess Yu.

“Okay. Thank you,” Lin Mengya said.

Seeing Lin Kui, Lin Mengya felt a little relieved.

Given Long Tianyu’s formidable connections and the Emperor’s intention to cultivate him, it was reasonable for the magistrate, who was scrupulous in separating public from private interests, to do him a favor.

Besides, Long Tianyu just asked him for a favor rather than bribe him to reverse the verdict. What was there against it?

Lin Mengya nodded and walked towards the prison behind the government office.

In fact, Lin Mengya had been confused by a doubt.

Normally speaking, her brother was accused of attempted murder, which was not serious. The serious thing was that some evidence on his committing treason was found in his study.

The former accusation was not serious enough to sentence him to death, but the latter was a grave crime, which would lead to the extermination of all the members of the nine generations of his family.

She didn’t know if the Emperor intentionally kept her brother locked up here instead of the prison of the Ministry of War nor if it meant that the Emperor just intended to convict her brother of attempted murder.

Moreover, given that her brother had fought on the battlefield over the years and killed countless enemies, generally false evidence was unlikely to convince the civilian and military officers at court, not to mention the Emperor.

She couldn’t help wondering what on earth the Shangguan Family had done so that her brother and she were trapped.

With her mind occupied with these doubts, Lin Mengya and Qinghu followed Lin Kui to the gate of the prison behind the government office.

Although the prison of the government office was not as ghastly as the prison for felons, there were strict rules.

Even with Lin Kui leading the way, the warden would not let them in without the autograph letter from the magistrate.

Lin Mengya brought the warden some wine and dishes she had instructed the kitchen to prepare rather than money.

The wine and dishes could be counted as a token of her sincerity, but they were not a bribe. So she probably would not put the warden in a difficult situation by bringing him these things.

Seeing Lin Mengya’s thoughtful deed, the warden said to her with a kind look, “Thank you for bringing me these, Madam. General Lin is inside. Please make a quick visit. The magistrate has done you a favor.”

Lin Mengya nodded and led Qinghu into the prison without hesitation.

The prison was not as ghastly as the prison in the TV series. Although it was a little shabby inside, it could be considered bright and clean.

In rows of prison cells, there were very clean beds made of straw.

It seemed that the burning of the stone prison was not a bad thing.

Soon, Lin Mengya saw the cell, where her brother was detained, and asked, “Brother, are you okay?”

Compared with the cells she had just seen, the cell equipped with a bed and a quilt was better.

Seeing his sister come here in person, Lin Nansheng did not stand up to greet her and just said with a bitter smile, “Ya’er, why are you here? Did you get involved in my case?”

Lin Mengya shook her head hard, thinking it had only been a few days since they last met, but why her brother became so dispirited.

His handsome face was sunken, and there was no sparkle of wisdom in his eyes. He looked gloomy, giving the impression that he had lost all his confidence.

Dressed in white prison clothes, which were a little dirty, he just sat on the bed, no longer as radiant as before.

“Brother, I will get you out of here. I don’t believe that you intended to commit treason nor kill that person,” Lin Mengya said.

Seeing his sister support him so firmly, Lin Nansheng finally managed to force a smile after a long while.

He got up, walked up to his sister, and stretched out his rough big hand to stroke her delicate face.

He said, “Silly girl, you just need to stay out of this. Alas, it’s all my fault. If I had known what would happen, I definitely wouldn’t have been deceived by the villain. Ya’er, remember not to trust anyone easily. Even your close friend will probably stab you in the back one day.”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her brother’s words, Lin Mengya smelled something fishy.

She held her brother’s hand tightly, stared at him in confusion, and asked, “Brother, do you mean that you were set up by someone around you? Who is it? What on earth has happened?”

Lin Nansheng looked at his sister reluctantly. This matter was serious, and he really didn’t want his sister to worry about it.

Moreover, with conclusive evidence, he believed it would be very difficult to reverse the verdict.

“Alas, Ya’er, you’d better go back. You can’t get me out of here. If you get involved in this, it will be a bad thing for the Lin Family. Don’t forget although I’m your brother, there are still other members of our family. If you pursue this matter, the whole Lin Family will probably be exterminated,” he said.

At this time, her brother still put the interest of the Lin Family in the first place.

Lin Mengya got so exasperated that she stared at her brother and said with a determined look, “Brother! You’re muddle-headed! Do you think you can bear all the blame if you die quietly? The Lin Family is no longer greatly favored by the Emperor. To tell you the truth, the Emperor has deprived me of my position as Princess Yu. It’s not that you implicated me, but that the Emperor plans to sacrifice our family.”

In fact, the Emperor didn’t mean to sacrifice the Lin Family. Otherwise, the Emperor would not have detained Lin Nansheng in the prison of the government office on the charge of attempted murder.

If Lin Mengya told the truth, Lin Nansheng would definitely advise her not to act rashly for the sake of the Emperor.

Nevertheless, she knew that her brother cared about her almost more than his life.

The members of the Lin Family could put up with almost everything with a smile, but they cared about their family members more than the Emperor.

As she expected, when Lin Nansheng heard this, there was a flash of anger in his eyes, which was as lifeless as a pool of stagnant water.

He said, “Why did His Majesty do this? What I’ve done has nothing to do with you. It’s unreasonable to get you involved in this!”

Seeing that it worked, Lin Mengya immediately feigned an aggrieved look.

She secretly pinched her thigh so that her eyes turned red, and she said, “Brother, if something happens to you, who can protect me? You don’t know that Long Tianyu has dumped me. I heard that he is going to marry someone else as Princess Yu soon. Now, he has already sent me back to our mansion. Besides, His Majesty is going to deprive our father’s position as the general. In the future, who can protect me from being bullied by others?”

Seeing his sister’s red eyes, Lin Nansheng was heartbroken.

He had thought that if he bore all the blame, at least his sister would not suffer any grievance.

He didn’t expect that the Emperor and Long Tianyu dared to do this to his sister.

Immediately, he grabbed his sister’s hand and comforted her cautiously, “Stop crying. Don’t be afraid. I will be fine. Now I have no scruples. Ya’er, remember if you want to save me, go to the Ziwei Alley to find a man named Gou San. When you meet him, tell him that Mao Yi betrayed me, and he will naturally understand what has happened. As long as you find him, half of my problem could be solved.”

Lin Mengya kept it in mind patiently. Her brother could not blame her for deceiving him.

Given her brother’s character, if she didn’t add some inflammatory details, her brother would probably insist on taking the blame and she would be unable to save him.

Lin Mengya nodded and promised that she would definitely find Gou San and clear her brother’s name.

Lin Nansheng stared at his sister, who was increasingly thin and fragile, and said in distress, “Ya’er, you must take good care of yourself. It doesn’t matter that you’re dumped by Long Tianyu. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life and never let you suffer any more grievances.”

Lin Mengya stared at her brother, who looked worried, and said with a lump in her throat without pinching herself, “Brother, you must be safe and sound. I’ll wait for you at home.”

Since her brother returned to the Capital City, he had sent her plenty of nice presents almost every month, including food, articles for use, and a large amount of money.

They usually couldn’t meet each other, but her brother had always been concerned about her health and afraid that she would suffer any grievance. As such, every day after the morning meeting, he took a detour to pass by Prince Yu’s Mansion just in order to ask the gatekeeper if she was fine these days.

This was how her brother did all he could to care for and protect her.

Therefore, Lin Mengya decided to get her brother out of here at all costs.

“There, there, stop crying. I’m fine. Go back early and take care of yourself. If the Shangguan Family sends another batch of people to our mansion, just avoid confronting them. After our father comes back, he will seek justice for you.”

Lin Nansheng looked at his sister and could only give her these instructions despite his mind laden with worry.

Nodding her head, Lin Mengya left the prison with her brother’s instructions.

Turning around and taking a deep look at her brother, she felt a little depressed.

Why were good people always wronged, while bad people could stir up trouble and get away unpunished?

Her brother and father were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the country, but the Emperor just considered them as a tool to balance power.

As she thought, she was gradually overwhelmed by the evil fury she had suppressed for a long time.

Just as Lin Mengya was about to be manipulated by her evil thought, she suddenly felt that someone knocked hard on her delicate and white forehead.