Chapter 259 The Living Yama, Shen Wantang

Shen Wantang gave a mocking laugh.

Did Xiang Meng offend her? Of course he did.

In the past, whenever she wanted to go out, Xiang Meng would do everything he could to stop her, and he would even deliberately say lewd things and look at her with evil eyes.

Firstly, he was acting under the orders of Madam Qi and Shen Mingxuan to deliberately make things difficult for her; secondly, he genuinely didn't take her, this orphaned illegitimate daughter, seriously.

When she was at home, she lived an extremely difficult life. She was a young lady of the Shen family, while Xiang Meng was just a dog under Qi Shi's command. Yet, he could trample on her without any consequences, which made him even more unscrupulous.

Where was Shen Guannian at that time?

Did he ever say a word for her? Did he ever seek justice for her? Did he ever fulfill even half of his responsibilities as a father?

No, none at all.

From a very young age, she learned to read people's expressions, to speak to people in a human way and to talk to ghosts in a ghost way, to hide her strength, and to play dumb.

At the age of seven, she and Shen Mingxuan studied and learned to write with their brothers. Because her birth mother had taught her many things at a young age, she learned very quickly when she studied with her teacher and her handwriting was also good.

Her birth mother had passed away by then, and she was having a hard time. So she always tried to please her father and stepmother. She once showed them the poems she had written, thinking that she would receive praise and commendation.

But things didn't go as planned. Her father said that her poems were plagiarized, that she was full of crooked ideas and lies at such a young age, and he beat her up.

The stepmother said that she was jealous of her elder sister's talent, so she stole other people's poems and claimed them as her own. She also said that she was vain and that if she was not taught a lesson, she would go astray in the future and bring shame to the entire Shen family.

So her stepmother burned her poems, then locked her in the ancestral hall, making her kneel before the ancestral tablets for three days and three nights to reflect on her actions, during which time no one was allowed to bring her food or drink.

That time, Shen Wantang almost lost her life. It was Du Juan who secretly brought her some food, which allowed her to barely survive.

Later, she stopped showing her talents to anyone. She became taciturn and couldn't learn anything well.

The worse she did in her studies, the happier her elder sister and stepmother were, and the easier her life became.

The more foolish and clumsy she was, the more at ease her stepmother felt about letting her learn everything, and her elder sister also increasingly liked having her by her side.

Because Shen Mingxuan needs someone to highlight her.

However, Shen Wantang wanted to put Xiang Meng to death not because he had offended her, nor because she wanted to take revenge on the Shen family.

It's because Xiang Meng truly deserves to die.

However, Xiang Meng was indeed quite clever. Seeing that things were not going well, he immediately shifted the focus to other matters, trying to make people think that she was maliciously retaliating against him and slandering him.

Shen Wantang naturally wouldn't argue with him over a dog.

She looked at the dog's owner, Shen Guannian.

“Father, just because this matter is not good for the Shen family, does that mean I can’t tell the truth? You know nothing about what kind of person the guard is? If you don’t know, why don’t you call Mother and ask her?”

Shen Guannian's face was extremely ugly. He couldn't control his anger and shouted, "Shen Wantang, shut up! If you can't speak properly, then don't speak!"

"I think you've lost your mind! You've forgotten you also have the surname Chen after marrying into the Ning Prince's mansion! Be careful not to get yourself into trouble by spouting nonsense here!"

"If the Shen family is convicted because of you, you will also be implicated! At that time, even the Prince Ning's Mansion will not be able to protect you, and neither will they!"

Shen Wantang said coldly, "I was just talking about Xiang Meng and Xiu Lu. What does it have to do with the Shen family? Why is Father so nervous? Does our Shen family protect Xiang Meng?"

Shen Guannian was furious: "What cover-up? You're talking nonsense! Utter rubbish! Get out of here!"

Shen Wantang looked at the dog kneeling on the ground: "Guardian Xiang, you tell me, am I talking nonsense or not?"

"Second Miss, you...you have really wronged me."

"Head Nurse, you'd better think this through before you speak. The fact that I'm bringing up your affair with Xiu Lu today means I've come prepared. Do you want to hear more of your incriminating evidence?"

Xiang Meng's heart tightened suddenly.

Could it be that the quiet second young lady from before was actually the most scheming and calculating person in the Shen family? Does she really have evidence?

No, impossible! He handled it cleanly; he left no evidence whatsoever!

Those who knew his secret are all dead!

He knelt even more humbly and devoutly: "Second Miss, I am just the lowest servant of the Shen family. My life and death are in your hands. If you say I am guilty, then I am guilty even if I am innocent."

"You are the master, and you have the final say. If you want me to die at midnight, I would never dare to live past dawn."

After he finished speaking, he respectfully kowtowed three more times, then got up and rammed his head against the pillar.

Xin Huailin reacted quickly and immediately stopped him: "What are you doing? The Crown Princess only asked you a few questions, why are you trying to kill yourself?"

Xiang Meng lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, as if in fear.

Shen Wantang looked at him coldly: "The way you're talking, it's as if I'm some kind of living Yama. When have you ever listened to me like this? Xiang Meng, you're overacting."

Xin Huailin couldn't help but say, "Princess Consort, I don't think he's acting. He seems genuinely afraid of you. Why don't we let it go today? Lord Lü has asked enough questions. It's time to leave. Otherwise, if the reputation of driving a servant to his death gets out, it might be detrimental to you."

Shen Wantang nodded: "That's exactly the effect Xiang Meng wanted. He thought I would be afraid of him and wanted to use that to threaten me, but he miscalculated."

Xin Huailin frowned. He didn't want to let any bad people go unpunished, but he also didn't like to wrongly accuse an innocent person: "Guard Xiang is just a servant. He shouldn't dare to threaten the Princess Consort, right?"

He strongly suspected that Shen Wantang was taking the opportunity to settle personal scores.

However, Lu Qiying, who was standing to the side, had the complete opposite idea to Xin Huailin. He had encountered too many different kinds of criminals in the Ministry of Justice and had personally interrogated Xiang Meng. Xiang Meng had always been very calm before, but today he was acting strangely. His behavior was very similar to that of criminals whose inner secrets had been exposed.

With over a decade of experience in handling cases, Lü Qiying possessed an extraordinary keen sense of smell. He immediately bowed to Shen Wantang, his tone respectful: "Does Your Highness have any evidence or witnesses to prove that Xiang Meng murdered General Xin's sister? This is of utmost importance, and I humbly request Your Highness's guidance!"

Shen Wantang turned to look at Lü Qiying. Sure enough, he was the smart one. No wonder he was able to become the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. As for Xin Huailin... he was also responsible for the fact that the Xin family's case had remained unsolved.