Shengjing

Although Shen Jia's decision to join the Fifth Prince was kept secret, people from the Third Prince's Mansion still found some clues.

In the study, Zhao Yuantan looked at the secret letter sent by his men. The veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly. Thinking of what his concubine had said with such confidence, he couldn't help but chuckle, and his laughter was full of mockery of himself.

This laughter frightened the guard who was delivering the secret letter. Zhao Yuantan picked up the letter and placed it on the candlelight on the table. The letter paper quickly caught fire and lit a beam of light in the study.

Only when the flame was about to touch Zhao Yuantan's index finger, the scorching temperature tingling his nerves, did he let go. Then he said to the guard below, "You go down first."

After the guards left, Zhao Yuantan picked up the teacup beside him and smashed it directly onto the ground. The sound scared the people outside the door so much that they couldn't stop shaking.

After Zhao Yuantan let out the anger in his heart, he relaxed and leaned heavily against the back of the chair, his eyes slightly narrowed, his mind full of the people who had happened recently.

Shen Jia's refusal was indeed beyond his expectation. He had originally thought about the relationship between Shen Jia and Changle Hou Mansion. If she had a little clue and knew what to do, he wouldn't mind extending an olive branch.

But now he has a relationship with his fifth brother. When he knew that the owner of Liuli Pavilion was Shen Jia, he should not have had any good intentions.

Looking at Xu Yuezhen, who was good friends with Shen Jia, the Xu family was clearly in his pocket before, but Xu Yuezhen had to interfere, and the cooked duck flew away.

Like the stones in a toilet, smelly and hard.

A merchant doesn’t even consider whether he has the right to choose!

He would never allow anything beyond his control to happen. The people under him also needed money to support them, so he should find a suitable person to be his chess piece.

At the same time, the situation in Shengjing City became increasingly tense. Ministers were demoted in the court for several consecutive days. A bloody storm was brewing in secret.

Shen Jia didn't see Song Fu looking for him again, and he felt that the storm was coming.

Then her friends came to her to explain the recent problems, which further illustrated the current level of tension inside and outside Shengjing City.

"Jia Niang, you have to be careful recently. Many businesses have been shut down recently, all on the pretext of bribing officials. Even my family has one or two private shops that were shut down by this group of people.

You have to be careful in Shengjing all by yourself. If I had known you were coming back, I should have warned you that now is not a good time to march into Shengjing."

"Since someone is willing to invite me to join, how can I not please them?" Shen Jia smiled brightly.

"So what are you going to do next?"

Shen Jia didn't directly answer Xu Yuezhen's question, but instead asked, "What about you? I heard that you only control part of the Xu family's assets now, and life is not easy. This shop of mine is all thanks to you. If you need me for anything, don't hide it. After all, I am the county lord of the Great Sheng Dynasty."

In fact, Xu Yuezhen really felt the pain of being pressed step by step. Now, apart from talking to Shen Jia, she doesn't trust anyone else.

The reason for coming here today was to make Shen Jia mentally prepared. After all, she had a bad relationship with Song Fu before. If what she thought came true, she was afraid that her life would be even more difficult in the future.

"Of course, you're Jia Niang. If it weren't for you, I might not even have this much wealth. Just think of it as me grumbling to you today. Don't tell anyone else about this."

"I know everything. We can earn more money for our family business. Your own safety is the most important thing right now."

"I understand."

Although Xu Yuezhen understood Shen Jia's meaning, it would be difficult for her to throw away all her ancestral heritage. Now she just hoped that she could hold on for a while longer.

After talking about the matter today, Xu Yuezhen finally let out some of her frustration and felt a lot more relaxed.

After Xu Yuezhen left, Shen Jia repeatedly told the employees working in his shop to be extremely careful during this period and to send someone to find him immediately if anything went wrong.

Especially when it comes to food, this is where problems are most likely to occur.

As expected, the next day, several officials' wives suffered from vomiting and diarrhea after eating at Zhenwei Pavilion. Even though Shen Jia was the title of County Lady, she was still summoned to the Jingzhao Yin Mansion for questioning.

After seeing Shen Jia being asked to leave, Fuqiu immediately disguised herself and secretly ran to the residence of the fifth prince Zhao Yuanyou to ask for help.

“Knock knock knock!”

When someone knocked on the door, Fuqiu was so anxious that she couldn't help but linger in front of the door, but she didn't dare to make too much noise with her footsteps. If she was discovered, it would be a big deal.

After a while, an old man opened the door and asked, "May I know your name? I'll go and tell the master."

"My name is Chen Fuqiu. Because my master has something to do, I have come to look for Wulang. Just introduce your name, Shen."

"Please wait a moment while I ask you something."

Then the old man quickly closed the door and the footsteps gradually faded away. Fuqiu couldn't help but clasping her hands. Now she really didn't know who else could help her.

Just when she was extremely anxious, the door was finally opened and the old man said to Fuqiu, "Come in!"

Then he brought Fuqiu to a hall. She stood straight in the hall, her eyes full of anxiety, but no one showed up and she couldn't do anything.

After a while, a woman appeared in front of the hall and said to Fuqiu, "I work for Wulang. You can call me Yue Niang. I wonder what important matter has brought you here today?"

Looking at the other person's aura, she knew that he was not an ordinary person, so Fuqiu immediately explained the reason for her visit.

"Yes, it's my mistress, the Princess Jiahe, who was asked by the Jingzhao Yinfu to assist with an investigation. They said there was something fishy about the food at Zhenwei Pavilion. Everyone knows what the Jingzhao Yinfu is like, and I was afraid my mistress might never return. The Princess said that if she needed help, she could come here, so I made the hasty decision to come."

Yue Niang naturally knew the position of Shen Jia in the heart of the Fifth Prince, and the nerves in her head immediately tightened, but she still faced Fuqiu's eyes calmly.

"We already know about this matter. Madam Chen, please go back and wait for news. We will definitely go to Jingzhao Yinfu to inquire about the situation soon. The county lady will be fine."

Having said that, Yue Niang was still unsure. After sending Fuqiu away, she immediately reported the news to her superiors.

Zhao Yuanyou soon found out that it was his "good" third brother who was behind this matter. Maybe he didn't care, or he felt that there was no one who could threaten him now, so he didn't try to cover up the matter at all. It was soon discovered that it was his own officials who were making trouble.

Shen Jia was asked to leave by the people from Jingzhao Yinfu. This matter could be a big deal or a small one. The key lies in what the people above are thinking.

There shouldn't be any physical pain for the time being. After all, it's just vomiting and diarrhea, and it's not serious enough for the county lady to pay with her life.

But this incident was a warning to Shen Jia and also to Zhao Yuanyou. It meant that Zhao Yuantan had discovered their relationship. If this continued, Shen Jia's life might be in danger.

“Bang!”

Zhao Yuanyou suddenly heard a noise near his window and immediately turned around to look. He saw a black figure quickly leaping in from the window.

He immediately prepared to dodge and attack, and left his original position, but as soon as the other party showed up, he realized that he had worried too much.

He immediately resumed his casual demeanor and asked nonchalantly, "Why are you here at this hour?"

"We have captured Huyan Yan, the third prince of the Xiongnu, and have reported this to the emperor. I am on my way back to Shengjing."

"You've come just in time. Shen Jia was taken to Jingzhao Yinfu by the King of Chu, and it's been almost a day. I estimate he can be released tomorrow. I haven't thought of any good way to prevent future troubles."

Hearing the bad news about Shen Jia, Yan Xu's eyes narrowed slightly. In fact, when he heard the news that Shen Jia returned to Shengjing, he knew that her trip must be no simple matter, but it was beyond his expectation that something went wrong so soon.

It only means that Zhao Yuantan’s current situation is more serious than they expected, otherwise they would not have taken action so quickly.

At the same time, the situation they are facing is not simple. Yan Xu couldn't help but stand by the window and ponder. The spring rain outside the window drifted onto him with the wind, but he didn't notice it at all.

However, Yan Xu did not believe Zhao Yuanyou's last words and asked:

"Since you already have an idea, why don't you take action? You should understand the principle of heating the fire and cooking the oil best."

Knowing that his friend understood his thoughts, Zhao Yuanyou's smile grew wider, and then he tilted his head and said to Yan Xu:

"I can only say that you are really screwed. It's not just her, I need you to take action too. Shengjing also needs another baptism."

Then he sat crookedly in his armchair, playing with the two jade beads in his hands.

Yan Xu didn't even glance at Zhao Yuanyou. After knowing his arrangement, he immediately turned around and jumped out of the window, and his figure quickly disappeared from the Prince Qi's Mansion.

The window was immediately closed when Yan Xu disappeared. A black figure immediately knelt on the ground and said without a trace of humanity:

"Your Majesty, please spare me. I didn't notice General Yan right away."

Zhao Yuanyou gently raised his hand, motioning the other person to stand up. "If you had discovered Yan Xu's position, would you still be just a mere secret guard? Don't show up again next time."

The next day, just as Zhao Yuanyou said, Shen Jia was sent back to the Shen Mansion by people from the Jingzhao Yin Mansion. Apart from looking a little tired, there was no problem with him.

But from this day on, people with keen senses soon discovered that the city of Shengjing suddenly became quiet, and there was a sense of impending storm.

"Boom!"

Zhao Yuantan slammed the Duan inkstone beside him and roared at the people kneeling below him:

"What did you say? Yan Xu is on his way back and will arrive in Shengjing tomorrow. What's the point of you telling me this news today? Is this how people buried in the army do things? What's the point of me keeping you useless people?"

A series of questions frightened the person kneeling on the ground so much that his body trembled uncontrollably and his voice began to distort.

The chief officer in charge of this matter said, "The military... people in the military say that Yan Xu always brings his close associates with him when he does things, so those on the fringes of his forces have no way of getting to know about some urgent tasks. If Yan Xu hadn't been away for such a long time this time, they might not have noticed."

"Then what about that ship being hijacked on the canal? You know the consequences if the imperial court finds out!"