Chapter 263 Shen Guannian Gets Slapped in the Face

Shen Wantang shook her head: "To have a photographic memory is a bit of an exaggeration. I just have a better memory."

Lu Qiying looked at her with a complex expression. For the first time, he respected her not because of her status as the Crown Princess, but because of her own abilities—her exceptional memory, composure, and humility.

Shen Wantang could tell from his expression that he had misunderstood. She really didn't have the ability to remember everything she saw. The only person she had ever met with that ability was Gu Qianhan.

In her previous life, she frequently investigated and solved cases. In order to remember many details and clues, she developed the ability to recall images instantly. This was something she learned later in life, not something she was born with.

Moreover, she had read the book that Lü Qiying had just picked up when she was at the Shen family's house, and she could practically recite it from memory.

However, her move stunned everyone, and they all stared at her in shock.

Shen Guannian's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He blurted out, "This is impossible! When did you become so smart?!"

Gu Qianning had long disliked Shen Guannian. As a father, he not only didn't side with his own daughter, but he also sided with a guard, scolding his daughter in front of so many people. He didn't give her any face at all.

She said coldly, "Lord Shen, the Crown Princess is your own daughter. Isn't it good that she's smart? It sounds to me like you don't want her to be smart. It's rare to see a father like you. Anyone who doesn't know better would think the Crown Princess is your enemy!"

"The Crown Princess is helping Lord Lü find clues to solve the case and recall the differences between Xiang Meng in the past and now. You should be helping her recall, not the other way around. You've been undermining her. Could it be that you have ulterior motives?"

Shen Guannian's face stiffened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but remembering Gu Qianning's identity, he dared not say anything.

This is the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, the future empress. If he offends her, how will he survive in the officialdom?

Lu Qiying didn't actually like Shen Guannian either, but he didn't have time to deal with the Shen family's internal strife right now. He was focused on solving the case: "Princess Consort, how did Xiang Meng get this bruise on his face? When I pressed it just now, it seemed a bit hard, which is strange."

Shen Wantang knew the reason, of course, but she couldn't say it, because that would seem too prescient. In her previous life, she had someone cut open the bruises on Xiang Meng's face to find out the real reason for them.

“Lord Lü, I don’t know how he got the bruise on his face, but he didn’t have this bruise before; it only appeared in the last two years. If you want to know the reason, you can ask the imperial physician, or you can ask Young Master Gu.”

Lu Qiying looked at Shen Wantang with some suspicion. He actually suspected that Shen Wantang knew the reason, but she didn't say it, and he couldn't force her. Moreover, she pointed out a solution to him, so there was nothing wrong with it.

He nodded and had his men take Xiang Meng back to the Ministry of Justice.

Xin Huailin naturally followed along.

The only people left in the room were Shen Wantang, Gu Qianning, and Shen Guannian, whose expression was stiff and whose face was ugly.

Because of the presence of Gu Qianning, the future empress, Shen Guannian dared not vent his anger and could only suppress it, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

His feigned gentle tone carried a hint of reproach and blame: "Tang'er, I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to be so intelligent and capable. You can solve cases and have a photographic memory. You're really amazing!"

"You used to be bad at everything you studied, but it turns out you were just pretending! Why did you do that? We're all family, why do you have to play tricks on your own family? Don't you get tired of it?"

"Don't do that again. I've always taught you to be honest and upright. You have to listen to me. A dishonest person won't go far."

Shen Wantang suddenly laughed, but there was no laughter in her smile, only a chilling coldness.

"Father, have you forgotten who taught me not to be too honest? The year my mother passed away, my sister and I were studying with my brothers. I wrote a poem and showed it to my father, but he refused to believe that I wrote it myself. He insisted that I had copied it and that I was dishonest. Then he punished me according to family rules. I knelt in the ancestral hall for three whole days!"

Shen Wantang hadn't told Shen Guannian these things in her previous life, but in this life, she wanted to seek justice for her younger self.

"A father who doesn't trust his daughter and punishes her honesty with harsh methods, and now you're lecturing me on the importance of honesty? If I were truly honest, I would have died during those three days kneeling in the ancestral hall!"

Shen Guannian stared at her in utter astonishment: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could such a thing happen? When did I say that your poems were plagiarized? And when did I ever hit you? You must be mistaken. I love you so much, I would never hit you!"

"Wait a minute, that's not right. When did you ever write poetry? I only remember your sister writing poetry, you can't write poetry at all!"

"Tang'er, don't make up stories in front of outsiders and falsely accuse your father. That's extremely unfilial, do you understand?"

The expression on Shen Wantang's face disappeared.

It was an excruciatingly painful experience for her, but for Shen Guannian, it was a trivial matter that he had completely forgotten about.

He didn't remember that she could write poetry, but he did remember that Shen Mingxuan could write poetry.

It's self-evident who he truly loves.

Talking to him was like casting pearls before swine, so Shen Wantang didn't want to waste any more breath. She turned and gestured to Gu Gu Qianning, and the two of them walked out together.

But as soon as he stepped out the door, he bumped into Shen Mingxuan and Liao Youhe.

"Where is Lord Lü? Where is General Xin? Have they both left?"

Shen Mingxuan's face darkened as she looked at Shen Wantang: "It's you again! Did you deliberately drive them away? Who allowed you to come back? You jinx, you're not allowed to come back!"

Shen Wantang said coldly, "Shen Mingxuan, you are still the same as always, you like to push the responsibility onto me, you are still so brainless."

"What did you say?!"

Shen Mingxuan was both shocked and furious: "You dare to insult me? You've gone too far! Ever since you married into the Ning Prince's mansion, you've become completely arrogant!"

“Father, look at her! She’s selfish and doesn’t care about the Shen family at all. She drove Lord Lü away as soon as she arrived. I was planning to bring Youhe along to solve the case! Now she’s ruined everything!”

"Father, quickly administer family punishment to her! Give her a beating, then make her kneel in the ancestral hall!"

Shen Wantang scoffed, "Shen Mingxuan, what family rules? What ancestral hall? My father loves me so much, how could he possibly hit me? How could he bear to make me kneel in the ancestral hall? What nonsense are you spouting?"