Chapter 55 Another Switching Tactic

"Someone come here!"

Xie Hanyu summoned his trusted confidants to his residence in the palace.

"Summon Shenqiu Mountain to me!"

"yes!"

Xie Hanyu hadn't thought much of the second young lady of the Shen family, but Wen Lanting's actions had stirred up his rebellious spirit.

After the imperial physician finished bandaging Xie Hanyu's wound, Shen Qiushan entered with trepidation.

Xie Hanyu gave a sinister smile: "Lord Bo, your wife has quite the trick of switching the baby, she really put me in a terrible situation."

Looking back now, I realize that the woman last night must have been sent by Wen Lanting.

Then, he falsely claimed that the woman was Shen Shu and secretly spread the news that he had slept with Lin Wei's woman, causing a great uproar in the city.

His real purpose was to kill Shen Shu.

Although Xie Hanyu had been indulging in wine and women for many years, he had still grown up in the palace and was not stupid. How could he not guess Wen Lanting's plan?

Shen Qiushan broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that Cheng Wang had probably seen through Wen Lanting's plan, but at this critical juncture, he could not admit it even if it meant death.

“Your Highness…this has already been clarified…Shu’er has never been to your room, so how can there be any talk of switching her baby?”

Xie Hanyu had someone help him up, walked up to Shen Qiushan, kicked him over, and twisted Shen Qiushan's face with the sole of his shoe.

"Don't try to fool me with these words. I know perfectly well what's going on. Since your family has come up with such a clever switcheroo scheme, why don't you try it again on the day I marry your eldest daughter, Shen Xiao?"

"Didn't that bitch Wen Lanting say that they are twins and can't tell them apart? So it's not surprising that they would carry the wrong bride on their wedding day."

He wants an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Since Wen Lanting dared to use this matter to scheme against him, he shouldn't blame Wen Lanting for being ruthless.

When King Cheng recalled Shen Shu's slender back in the main hall, his body couldn't help but react.

Xie Hanyu always thought that the person he spent the night with was Shen Shu.

Lin Wei's woman.

After that forbidden feeling welled up in his heart, even though he knew that it wasn't Shen Shu who was spending the night with him, that feeling just wouldn't go away.

It's making him incredibly eager to get back to work.

“The dike in the outskirts of the capital collapsed a few days ago and we are short of people to repair it. If you agree to my plan to switch the goods, I will recommend you to be the supervisor.”

Xie Hanyu tossed out a letter of recommendation, which landed on Shen Qiushan's face.

One moment on Shenqiu Mountain, he felt humiliated, and the next moment his eyes lit up.

This is a lucrative job, but it's a bad one!

If the dam is repaired, not only will he be promoted and given a higher rank, but he will also be praised by the people. That would be a great achievement for generations to come!

This opportunity can be obtained by sacrificing one daughter.

Shen Qiushan was envious, his mind filled with thoughts of future wealth and glory.

He thought to himself that since his two daughters looked exactly alike, it wouldn't matter which one he married.

Before Shen Qiushan could even get up, he nodded eagerly.

"Your subject... will obey Your Highness."

Xie Hanyu then put her feet down.

"Then I, Your Majesty, would also like to thank my future father-in-law."

He looked contemptuously at Chen Qiushan, who was sprawled on the ground like a dog, and said, "If you don't handle it well..."

Shen Qiushan naturally knew what the King Cheng had left unsaid, and hurriedly pledged his loyalty, saying, "Your subject will certainly handle it properly. If all else fails, I will even tie you up and bring you here."

Either way, if something goes wrong, it'll be King Cheng, this big shot, who will shield us.

Even if Marquis Dingyuan Lin Wei wanted to cause trouble, he would have to get past King Cheng first.

With this thought, Shen Qiushan was completely relieved.

So the little girl picked up the letter of recommendation and left.

Little did they know that Shen Qiushan's every move had reached Lin Wei's ears.

Since returning from Qiyun Temple, he has been keeping a close eye on the movements of the Bogong Mansion.

This includes Wen Lanting sending people to spread rumors, the Shen family being summoned to the palace overnight, and everything that happened in the palace being under Lin Wei's surveillance.

If Shen Shu hadn't said she didn't want him to get involved, how could he have just stood by and watched those people scheme against her like that?

Inside the study of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence, candlelight flickered on the bronze lampstand, casting a long shadow of Lin Wei.

He held the slip of paper presented by the secret agent between his fingers, rubbing it repeatedly as he examined it.

“Chenqiu Mountain…King Cheng…” he murmured the two names, a cold smile curving his lips.

"You dare to scheme against my wife? You have some nerve."

The guard standing to the side bowed his head and said, "My lord, shall I intercept Shenqiu Mountain now?"

Lin Wei slowly shook his head, holding the note up to the candlelight, watching it curl into ashes: "No need. Since they want to put on a show, I might as well play along. Besides..."

He recalled Shen Shu's glassy eyes: "Perhaps she hasn't had enough fun yet."

He walked to the window, gazing at the waning moon in the sky, his voice as cold as ice.

"Investigate the dike construction project in the suburbs of Beijing. Keep a close eye on it for me. If there's even the slightest hint of wrongdoing, report it immediately. I want to see how many dirty tricks are hidden behind this."

"Also, we don't need to stop the rumors circulating on the streets, but we need to change the main characters."

Since Shen Xiao was betrothed to Prince Cheng, the leading lady for that night at Qiyun Temple naturally had to be Shen Xiao.

The guards withdrew, and the study returned to silence.

As a result, new rumors quickly spread throughout the capital, claiming that Shen Xiao and Prince Cheng were having an affair before marriage.

The fact that the emperor personally bestowed the marriage upon the two further corroborated this story.

But that's a story for another time.

...

That night, the mansion was brightly lit, and no one slept.

Shen Xiao was slapped eighty times, his mouth was crooked from the slaps.

I called a doctor, and he said that this crooked mouth is probably incurable.

Shen Xiao took the bronze mirror and looked at herself. Her face was swollen like a pig's head, and her crooked mouth added to the effect.

The image reflected in the mirror made her let out a shrill scream, and the bronze mirror crashed to the ground and shattered into several pieces.

She threw herself into Madam Shen's arms, crying and shouting, her voice indistinct: "Mother! I won't marry! How can I face anyone with this crooked mouth! Prince Cheng will never want me!"

Shen Xiao only knew that he was finished.

When the Emperor bestowed the marriage upon her, she still held a sliver of hope that she might win Prince Cheng's favor.

But now that her face is like this, forget about pampering her; even Prince Cheng would probably be terrified to death if he saw her face.

Looking at Shen Xiao's disfigured face, Wen Lanting's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible irritation.

Xiao'er is now in this state, useless and without any value whatsoever.

Even if you treat her well now, it will be in vain.

But she suppressed her irritation and softened her voice.

“Xiao’er, royal marriages are not child’s play. Once you marry into the royal family, we can go to the palace to invite the imperial physician in the name of Prince Cheng. They might be able to cure you.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiao cried even harder, her voice filled with resentment and despair.

"It was clearly your decision, Mother, to scheme against Shen Shu, so why should I pay the price now? Why must I marry Prince Cheng?"

"Mother, don't you know who Prince Cheng is? How can you bear to let me marry him? Is your heart made of stone?!"

Wen Lanting's face darkened, and his eyes instantly turned cold.

She shoved Shen Xiao away abruptly, her voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of sternness, as if she felt embarrassed by having her truth exposed:

"Shut up! For the sake of the Shen family, you must marry! Do you think it's too late to regret it now? This is the Emperor's decree. Can you bear the consequences of disobeying the decree? If you don't marry, your father's and your brother's future will be ruined."

"Xiao'er, your mother raised you all these years, you can't be so selfish and only think of yourself!"

Shen Xiao stared blankly at Wen Lanting, as if she were seeing her mother for the first time.

My eyes were filled with disbelief and despair.

She had always thought her mother loved her, but now she realized that in her mother's eyes, she and Shen Shu were nothing more than pawns that could be discarded at any time, bargaining chips used to exchange for the Shen family's wealth and glory.

"Enough!"

Shen Qiushan pushed open the door, interrupting the arguing mother and daughter.

"There's no need to argue or shout. Even if Xiao'er wanted to marry Prince Cheng, he wouldn't want you!"