He fined the father half a year's salary, but punished King Cheng for a year...

Although neither his father nor Prince Cheng cared much about that meager salary, the Emperor's warning was far too obvious.

Is the Emperor dissatisfied with Prince Cheng recommending the Second Master?

If he was dissatisfied, the Emperor could simply ignore Prince Cheng's recommendation. Just like when the Emperor didn't want to give the position of Director of the Arsenal to the Second Master, he asked Xie Jingyan who was more suitable and eventually promoted the Fourth Uncle.

Shen Wan guessed it was because of the Empress Dowager, and in fact it was.

The Empress Dowager was wholeheartedly supporting the eldest prince, a fact known to all the officials. When trouble broke out in Meizhou, the Prince of Jin and the Left Prime Minister took advantage of the situation, requesting that the Fourth Master Song be sent to Meizhou to investigate the case of the flooded granary. The Empress Dowager was already somewhat displeased, but the Fourth Master Song ignored the warnings about the earthquake in Meizhou and went to a brothel to seek pleasure while the people of Meizhou were fleeing their homes at night. He was eventually crushed to death in the brothel, bringing shame upon the court.

The Emperor did not pursue the matter out of consideration for Empress Song and the Left Prime Minister, but the position vacated by the Fourth Master Song was coveted by the First Prince's faction, who were actively plotting to obtain it. Unexpectedly, Prince Cheng stepped forward to recommend the Second Master, and the Emperor immediately agreed, which greatly displeased the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager summoned Prince Cheng and reprimanded him, and the Emperor was also scolded along with her.

King Cheng said that he recommended the Second Master because he couldn't bear to see the Second Master's talents go to waste, and that he had no selfish motives. This infuriated the Empress Dowager.

As soon as the Emperor finished praising the Second Master, news spread that he was keeping a mistress and fathering an illegitimate child. Censors submitted memorials impeaching the Second Master, and the Emperor was furious. He punished Prince Cheng more severely than he had Shen Jing, both to warn Prince Cheng and to silence the Empress Dowager so that she wouldn't drag Prince Cheng into the matter when she reprimanded him.

Although her own father was also implicated, Shen Wan couldn't help but silently praise the Emperor's wisdom.

Especially stripping the old lady of her title was a punishment that struck Shen Wan right to the heart. All the officials knew that the old lady had broken off her engagement and married the old master as his second wife in order to repay the old lady's life-saving grace and to take care of her father. For this reason, her father respected the old lady very much. If they were to separate the family and let the old lady leave the mansion with the second master, her father would definitely be the subject of gossip.

Now the old lady has lost her title, and it was because she helped the second master cover up the scandal of keeping a mistress that she was stripped of her title. She is so biased and protective that she doesn't even care about family rules and etiquette. For her own son, she even fooled her father like a fool and made her move out of the Marquis's mansion with the second master. No one can say anything about it.

In a good mood, Shen Wan ate an extra meat bun for breakfast. She wanted to know how the Second Master would react to being demoted and the Old Madam would be stripped of her title, and the news quickly reached her ears.

When the news reached Shen Wan's ears, she was reclining on a small couch, munching on fruit. Dong'er rushed in and said, "Your Highness, the Old Madam was stripped of her title by the Emperor. Unable to bear the blow, she fainted on the spot..."

The old lady's reaction was within Shen Wan's expectations.

Ever since the old lady married into the Marquis's mansion, the old master and the father respected her. No matter how many legal mothers there were, they did not live as well as the old lady, a stepmother. Unexpectedly, in her old age, she was implicated by her own son and stripped of her title. It's no wonder that the old lady could not bear this blow.

Shen Wan smiled from ear to ear.

Yinshuang clapped her hands inwardly with delight and asked, "Has the Marquis punished the Second Master?"

"Even the Emperor has punished him, how could the Marquis not?" Dong'er nodded repeatedly. "The Marquis gave the Second Master forty strokes of the cane and threw him into the ancestral hall to reflect on his actions."

We can't kill the second master, so this is the only way.

Yinshuang asked again, "What about the second wife?"

Dong'er covered her mouth and laughed, "For the sake of the Second Master's career, the Old Madam insisted on calling his mistress a concubine. No matter how angry the Second Madam was, she didn't dare to go back to her parents' home. Today, the imperial decree of the Old Madam was seized, and the person who went to the Marquis's mansion to deliver the decree left, and the Second Madam went back to her parents' home right after."

The second wife angrily returned to her parents' home, and she couldn't be easily coaxed back.

It's no wonder the second wife was so angry. She was already furious that the second master had laid hands on the maid in her son's room. Just because she scratched the second master's face, the old lady reprimanded her, forced people into the second master's room, and allowed the second master to keep mistresses and illegitimate children. That was bad enough, but she wasn't allowed to be angry. She was forced to acknowledge the mistress as a concubine.

For the sake of the Second Master's career and for Shen Ying, the Second Madam endured it all. Now that the Emperor has punished the Second Master and the Old Madam, and even the Emperor has concluded that she was not a concubine but the Second Master's mistress, shouldn't she, the mistress who has been kept in the dark for more than ten years, be angry?

Even without Shen Wan's further attempts to sow discord, the relationship between the Second Madam and the Second Master, and between the Second Madam and the Old Madam, will never be the same again.

Shen Wan continued to munch on the fruit and read the book in a cheerful mood.

After lunch, Shen Wan went for a walk in the garden for a while. Feeling a bit sleepy, she prepared to go to bed for a nap.

Just as she was about to undress, Qiu'er stood outside the beaded curtain and said, "Your Highness, Princess Jin has arrived."

Why is the Princess Consort of Jin here again?

It's one thing for them to come, but they also had to come at the exact time when their princess was about to take a nap, so they couldn't refuse to greet her.

Yinshuang had a lot of complaints, but Shenwan said, "Go tell her that I've gone to sleep and won't wake up for at least half an hour. If she likes to wait, let her wait."

Shen Wan knew that Shen Ying's visit couldn't be anything good, and she really didn't want to pay any attention to her.

Yinshuang nodded hurriedly, turned and left. Haitang continued to help Shenwan undress. Shenwan lay on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

She slept for almost half an hour before waking up. After waking up, Shen Wan sat on the bed, stretched, rubbed her neck, and asked Haitang, "Shen Ying is gone?"

Haitang shook her head, "They're still waiting to see you, Your Highness, in the main hall."

Shen Ying wasn't a patient person, but this time she actually waited for her for so long...

However, no matter how long she waited, it was all for nothing.

Shen Wan threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Inside the main hall, Shen Ying sat there, waiting and waiting. She, who was never very patient, was so impatient that she wanted to smash her teacup.

Just as she was gritting her teeth in frustration, Shen Wan entered. Shen Ying immediately stood up and said, "When did you develop the habit of taking a nap, eldest sister? Are you deliberately avoiding me?"

Shen Wan's gaze swept towards Zhou Mama, "Was it you who stopped Princess Jin from leaving?"

Shen Ying's face stiffened.

Mrs. Zhou, "..."

Madam Zhou's lips twitched, and she said, "No one stopped Princess Jin from leaving. She waited for you, Princess Jin, of her own free will."

Shen Wan glanced at Shen Ying and said with displeasure, "Since no one is stopping you from leaving, what are you complaining about?"

Shen Ying nearly crushed her silver teeth.

She tried her best to hold back, pretending not to hear anything, and asked angrily, "Does eldest sister know that Grandmother has been stripped of her title?"

She knew that Shen Ying had come to her because the old lady had been stripped of her imperial title.

Shen Wan sat down lazily and said casually, "I'm not that out of touch with the world."

It's something everyone in Kyoto knows, how could she not know?