Inside the room, Shen Wan listened to Yin Shuang report the Third Madam's anger, and happily picked up a pastry to eat. Yin Shuang said, "The Marquis knew that something happened in the inner courtyard, so he went to Qinghui Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wan immediately put down the pastry she was eating and stood up.

Such a messy affair in the inner courtyard must have infuriated Father, given his temperament. This is a case of the Third Branch bringing this upon themselves, and she wants to see how the Old Madam plans to handle it.

Shen Wan rushed to Qinghui Courtyard, and as soon as she reached the gate, she heard the sound of a board being struck repeatedly.

Shen Wan thought the servants were being punished, but when she entered the courtyard, she saw that it was the second son of the second branch, Shen Li, and the third son of the third branch, Shen Dian, who were being beaten.

To be honest, Shen Wan was completely dumbfounded.

If Shen Ying and Shen Rong were the apple of the old lady's eye, then her two grandsons, Shen Li and Shen Dian, were her lifeblood. Besides their father, no one else would dare to punish them with a cane in Qinghui Courtyard.

Why would their father punish them with a cane? Could it be related to Shen Rong's accident?

Shen Wan asked the maid what had happened, and the maid whispered to Shen Wan, "Young Master Wu was brought into the mansion by the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master. They were talking in the pavilion when the Third Young Master went to relieve himself, and the Second Young Master left the mansion on business. They didn't ask anyone to take care of Young Master Wu and let him run around in the inner courtyard, which is why he harmed the Third Miss. The Marquis was furious and ordered that the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master each be flogged thirty times and be punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall until tomorrow morning."

If they send someone to attend to Young Master Wu, their plan will be impossible to carry out. It has to be said that the plan is truly watertight. Both the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master are at fault, but they can shift the blame to each other. The Second Young Master will not have thought that Young Master Wu would be running around. The Third Young Master will return soon. The Third Young Master thought that with the Second Young Master attending to Young Master Wu, there would be no problem. In addition, they are the only sons of the second and third wives. If she were to fall into the trap, no matter how angry her father was, he could not have them all beaten to death. He could only give them thirty strokes of the cane and then make them kneel in the ancestral hall, just like now.

These people really went to any lengths to help Xie Jingyin.

Inside the main hall, the old lady sat on the daybed, her face extremely pale. The second and third masters also looked similar. Shen Jing was beating their son with a cane, and although they felt sorry for him, they dared not utter a single word.

The howling suddenly stopped, and the old lady's heart jumped into her throat. A maid ran into the room and said, "He has been given twenty-three lashes, and the second young master has fainted."

The old lady was heartbroken, but Chen Jing said coldly, "Splash her with water to wake her up, then continue hitting her!"

The maidservant left.

The old lady's face was gloomy, and she tried to speak several times, but she held back.

The old lady could tolerate it, the second master and the third master could tolerate it, and the second wife had to tolerate it even if she couldn't, but the third wife couldn't tolerate it.

Her daughter's murder was already heartbreaking enough, but her son was also beaten.

The third wife practically stormed in, yelling at the Marquis, "They allowed men to roam freely in the inner courtyard, and I have nothing to say if Your Excellency wants to punish them with a cane. But is Your Excellency completely without fault?!"

"The Marquis's residence is well-guarded, and no one knew that Prince Ling had entered the residence, yet he repeatedly appeared in the inner courtyard. With the Marquis so indulgent towards Prince Ling, how could the younger generation in the residence not let their guard down?!"

If it weren't for Prince Ling's interference today, her daughter would never have suffered such a terrible fate.

Shen Jing frowned deeply.

Shen Wan had only intended to eavesdrop behind the screen, but the Third Madam's words were too much for her to bear. She went in and said, "I sympathize with Third Sister's plight, but Third Aunt's words are not only slandering Prince Ling, but also ruining my reputation. I would like to ask Third Aunt, when did Prince Ling repeatedly appear in the inner courtyard of Prince Ling's mansion? Has anyone seen him?"

When their schemes failed, they became angry with Prince Ling and even tried to blame their father, claiming that everyone was at fault except for the three branches of the family, which were innocent!

Shen Wanxin felt disgusted, but she asked the question with a righteous and resounding tone. The Third Madam's long fingernails snapped under her sleeves, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Could she say that the maid saw Xie Jingyan on the side path? If she did, Shen Du would go to Xie Jingyan to ask, and he would surely find out that Young Master Wu had tried to take liberties with Shen Wan. Shen Jing was furious when Shen Rong had an accident in the inner courtyard. If he knew that Young Master Wu was originally after Shen Wan, no one knew how angry Shen Jing would be.

She could only swallow her pride and bear the pain.

But she was not willing to give up!

Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling the third wife was, it was useless. The deed was done, and there was no going back. Even if there were, as long as she harbored evil intentions, she would inevitably suffer the same fate sooner or later.

The third wife remained silent, but Shen Wan pressed her for an answer, "Why isn't the third aunt speaking?"

The third wife nearly ground her teeth to powder, but the old lady said coldly, "Your third aunt said something wrong in the heat of the moment, why are you so aggressive?"

Shen Wan said, "I just want to get to the bottom of this so I don't wrongly accuse my third aunt."

Before Shen Wan could finish speaking, a maid rushed in from behind the screen, saying urgently, "Third Madam, something terrible has happened! The Third Miss has woken up and is threatening to kill herself. I can't stop her any longer..."

The third wife didn't even sit down; upon hearing this, she turned and left.

The old lady was worried, so she quickly sent Grandma Sun to check on her.

The old lady looked at Chen Jing, her lips pressed into a straight line, "What's done is done. We can only learn from the experience to prevent it from happening again. The Marquis is busy with military affairs, so let the third branch of the family handle the rest."

This matter is indeed difficult for Shen Jing to handle. The one involved is the third wife's daughter, and the eldest young master Wu is the third wife's nephew. Blood is thicker than water. All he can do is issue a gag order to prevent such a shameful thing from spreading outside the mansion, and strengthen the management of the inner courtyard to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Shen Jing got up and left, followed by Shen Wan and Shen Du.

After leaving Qinghui Courtyard, Shen Jing asked Shen Du, "Did Prince Ling enter the inner courtyard today?"

Just as Shen Du was about to nod, Shen Wan gave him a wink, and Shen Du shook his head, saying, "No..."

Shen Jing then said, "Although Prince Ling is of good character, he should not have been allowed to freely enter and leave the inner courtyard. He should not be allowed to climb over the wall again."

The ferry should be scuttled.

Shen Jing then returned to the outer courtyard.

After he left, Shen Du looked at Shen Wan and asked, "Why didn't you let your elder brother tell Father that Prince Ling came to the manor today?"

Shen Wan said, "I'm afraid my father will be angry if he finds out."

Shen Du chuckled, "Father knows that Prince Ling often climbs over the wall into the mansion."

often……

Shen Wan keenly caught the word, and asked with a strange expression, "Does he come often?"

Didn't I only climb over the wall to enter the mansion twice?

Today, I overheard her talking to Shen Ying by accident and even misunderstood that she was using him to marry the Prince of Jin.

Shen Du said, "How could he be so careless as to let his third aunt find out?"

Shen Wan, "..."

Shen Wan found it increasingly strange that her elder brother and father seemed to be particularly indulgent towards Prince Ling.

She knew that Ling Wang's leg could be healed, but her father and elder brother did not. She wanted to marry Ling Wang, and neither her elder brother nor her father stopped her. They were even afraid that she would bring trouble to Ling Wang.

She always felt that her father and older brother were hiding something from her.

Just as Shen Wan was about to ask, Shen Ying walked over, so Shen Wan could only suppress her doubts. Shen Du hadn't expected that Shen Wan's fear of angering her father wasn't about Prince Ling entering the inner courtyard, but about Young Master Wu. He left with peace of mind.