Chapter 35 Do you really hate Shen Yun?

Lin Shutang's ankle had been swollen considerably today, thanks to the massage that Shen Yun had given him the night before to promote blood circulation.

While Lin Shutang was fast asleep, Shen Yun sent the royal physician to check on her again, and he reapplied the medicine to her before she fell asleep and again when she got up the next day.

Therefore, Lin Shutang did not experience much pain while walking today. As long as he did not stand for too long or walk too fast, his walking was no different from usual.

Lin Shutang has not returned to the mansion for many months, and should pay his respects to the old lady today.

After leaving Crane Garden, Lin Shutang unfortunately ran into Shen Xiuyan in the banana grove.

He didn't go to work again today? It's like he's waiting for her here.

Lin Shutang didn't want to get entangled with him any longer, so as usual, she hurried past with her head down, pretending not to have seen him.

Who would have thought that Shen Xiuyan would be so shameless? After what happened yesterday, he could still pretend to be nonchalant and stop her today.

He strode forward and caught up with her in a few steps. "Sister-in-law, it's been so long, why are you still being so formal with me?"

He said sarcastically.

"Even if we're not family, we've at least cooperated before," Shen Xiuyan said with a smile, seemingly forgetting how he had sent people to lock her up in the villa yesterday.

Who would dare to discuss cooperation with such a treacherous and treacherous person?

Lin Shutang turned to look at him, "You know what you're up to."

"What am I thinking?" Shen Xiuyan seemed genuinely unaware, and even laughed. "I just want to kill two birds with one stone. Wouldn't that benefit you too?"

"Benefits? What benefits? Using me to threaten Shen Yun, to prevent him from backing down and to force him to confess?" Lin Shutang raised an eyebrow. "But your plan failed. I didn't fall into your hands. Luckily, I came back alive."

The smile on Shen Xiuyan's lips vanished, and his face turned much uglier, as if he truly harbored some resentment that Lin Shutang had ultimately failed to fall into his hands.

"It's alright." He quickly composed himself and smiled again. "Do you know what it means that Shen Yun transferred all the people on Mount Jiuli yesterday to go find you?"

He bent down slightly, and his voice softened, "It means that my men can easily infiltrate."

-

"Shen Yun, what else do you have to say?" The emperor slammed the account book down, and all the officials and ministers fell silent.

Shen Yun glanced down at the account book, then casually raised his eyes, "Your Majesty, I also have account books to present."

The chief eunuch beside the emperor descended the jade steps and carried the account books of Wangji Timber Company to the emperor.

Shen Yun said, "These are the bank statements of Wang's Timber Shop. Spring is rainy, and a lot of timber has become damp and rotten. Wang's Timber Shop has signed contracts with many merchants but cannot deliver qualified timber, resulting in huge losses. I wonder where Boss Wang got five thousand taels of silver to give to me?"

He glanced down at the person on the ground.

"This...this..." Mr. Wang was speechless for a moment.

"Why is it not recorded in the ledger?" Shen Yun continued to press.

All the officials in the court fell silent; today's show was indeed quite entertaining.

The situation has changed repeatedly, and now it is Shen Yun who has the upper hand again.

Anyone with a discerning eye could immediately see the strangeness in the current situation, and looking at Boss Wang's panicked expression, the filth behind it all was already clear.

Shen Yun continued, her voice seemingly coaxing, "Please, Mr. Wang, truthfully report to His Majesty, otherwise, you will be guilty of deceiving the Emperor..."

"He shall be executed."

He paused, then glanced up at Boss Wang expressionlessly, as if looking at a piece of trash. His tone was light, yet firm.

Mr. Wang was so frightened that he wet himself and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes..."

-

"Is that so?" Lin Shutang said dismissively, stopping in front of him. "What does forged evidence matter?"

Do you think you can bring down Shen Yun like this?

Shen Xiuyan looked at her, blinked slowly, his eyes full of determination, "Then, what if it doesn't count as forgery?"

-

"Your Majesty, I have evidence to present!"

Just as Boss Wang was about to reveal who was behind it all, Lord Sun, who had been standing silently to the side, finally spoke up.

He stepped forward and presented a ledger from his sleeve, saying, "I also have a ledger here concerning Lord Shen's private acceptance of bribes, which bears Lord Shen's seal as proof."

Shen Yun looked up and saw that the account book had been delivered to the emperor's side.

Lord Sun, holding his official robes, bowed and exchanged a subtle smile with Song Ying, who stood among the officials.

The emperor flipped through the account books containing enormous sums of money, his face growing darker with each passing moment.

The officials lowered their heads, their minds racing. It seemed the Shen family was doomed.

Shen Jingshi hurriedly stepped forward, lifted his official robe, and knelt down, "Your Majesty, my son..."

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor raised his hand to stop him, and he was unable to kneel down.

This means that pleas for leniency will not be accepted.

Shen Jingshi turned to look at Shen Yun, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration, for all he did was revolve around one woman all day long.

Now, even such a simple situation has managed to entangle him.

Such an important thing as a private seal was stolen so easily.

useless!

Shen Jingshi was secretly annoyed that Shen Xiuyan had taken leave today out of the blue.

Did they hear rumors yesterday, but now they refuse to consider brotherhood?

The tense atmosphere in the hall finally shattered with the emperor's loud laughter, "Hahaha, Minister Sun, you're getting old, you can even misread handwriting."

The emperor smiled, patted his knee, and handed the account book to the chief eunuch beside him, ordering it to be returned.

“Take a good look and see whether the seal has the character ‘荺’ or ‘筠’ on it.”

Lord Sun took the ledger and hurriedly flipped through it. Sure enough, he saw the character "荺" clearly engraved on it, and his face turned ashen instantly.

Having witnessed such a spectacle, the emperor was well aware of the ulterior motives hidden within.

At this moment, I have no intention of continuing to stir up this mess.

Since Shen Yun had a way to escape unscathed from this trap where he was surrounded by enemies, he was naturally willing to do a favor and cultivate this subject.

He immediately declared, "Wang, I will ask you one more time: who exactly conspired with you to covet the funds and frame Shen Qing!"

-

"You dare to lie to me!" Shen Xiuyan was so angry that his eyes were about to burst.

"Didn't you lie to me first?" Lin Shutang raised her eyes dismissively.

What did I lie to you about?

"You said you wanted the seal to process my identity and travel permit, but you actually used it to frame Shen Yun," Lin Shutang accused.

"So what? What's the difference? Doing these two things doesn't conflict with each other." Shen Xiuyan shrugged, looking puzzled. Now that he had the item, he naturally had to make the most of it.

"The difference is that if I had known you were going to frame Shen Yun, I would not have agreed to cooperate with you," Lin Shutang said angrily. "You asked me to keep Shen Yun occupied in the mansion beforehand, just to inform the soldiers and merchants in Lingyuan City in advance, right?"

Shen Xiuyan raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The matter is settled; Shen Yun has won this time.

No matter how unwilling Shen Xiuyan was, he had no choice but to accept his defeat, but he still harbored a deep resentment in his heart.

Lin Shutang has indeed been raised to resemble his second brother in some ways.

Seeing this crucial link in the chain repeatedly making mistakes and ruining his plans, Shen Xiuyan couldn't help but speak sarcastically, "Lin Shutang, I'm curious, do you really hate Shen Yun?"

"You keep saying you hate him and want to leave him, but your actions are all about protecting him. How can you face your senior brother like this?"

"What's it to you!" Lin Shutang glared at him fiercely, as if she had been stepped on. "Compared to you harming your own brothers, I'm just unwilling to be an accomplice to evil."

"How can this be considered aiding and abetting evil? It should be considered revenge." Shen Xiuyan looked at her disapprovingly.

Senior Brother's injury is something Shen Yun has wronged him with.

She wouldn't stop her senior brother from seeking revenge.

But……

"Lin Shutang, have you noticed that you and my second brother are actually quite similar? You are both deep-seated and don't easily trust others, and you are also cunning."

“I’m nothing like him,” Lin Shutang immediately retorted, seemingly trying her best to distance herself from Shen Yun.

"If there's nothing else, Young Master, I'll be taking my leave now." Lin Shutang didn't want to get entangled with him any further and turned to leave.

Shen Xiuyan stared at her retreating figure, chuckled softly, and raised his voice, "Lin Shutang, I really hope you won't regret it even after you see Song Ying again."

"What do you mean?" Lin Shutang stopped and turned to look at him.

He feigned mystery and said, "Didn't he give you the seal? You can see him at any silk shop in the capital. Why don't you go and ask him?"

"Is he extremely disappointed with what you did today?"

...

Lin Shutang returned to Jingyuan Residence in a daze, somewhat confused by Chen Xiuyan's words.

Remembering what my senior brother said last night, "Has Shutang forgotten how he treated us in the past?"

Lin Shutang had a gut feeling that what they were talking about was not just the sword wound on his senior brother's neck.

"Green Willow, prepare the horse, I'm leaving the manor." Lin Shutang took out the seal from her dressing case, deciding to find Song Ying to ask her what was going on.

Green Willow came in from outside the door and stammered, "Madam's foot injury hasn't healed yet, why don't you go out in a few days? What would Madam like to buy? I'll go and tell the servants to buy it."

"I'm going out myself. You prepare the horses," Lin Shutang ordered without further ado.

-

Boss Wang, being a pampered and delicate man raised in a wealthy country, confessed everything without much torture.

The person who gave him the instructions was a clerk in the Ministry of Works, surnamed Xue.

He was responsible for verifying the qualifications of the timber.

According to Lord Zhang, before he was required to sign, Clerk Xue said that the documents had been verified and put into storage overnight. Lord Zhang had no suspicions and signed to confirm.

The emperor immediately issued an edict to investigate Xue Limu's family and interrogate him about whether there was a mastermind behind it all.

Unexpectedly, when the officials went to arrest him, Xue, the clerk, had already set himself on fire and destroyed all the account books and registers in the mansion.

"My subordinates went to investigate Xue Li's employment records and found that he was recommended for his post five years ago by the eldest son of the Vice Minister of War. And this man is on good terms with the eldest son." In the study, Ying Xiao reported the information he had found to Shen Yun.

“It’s not hard to guess that Shen Xiuyan wants to harm me.” Shen Yun tapped his fingertips on the sandalwood desk, “But he has only just returned to the capital, yet he has already managed to unite the entire Ministry of Works to serve him.”

"Was it the Minister of Construction who brokered this?" Yingxiao followed Shen Yun's words, her brows furrowing slightly. "How could a mere Minister of Construction have such great abilities? So, it's someone behind him?"

"Third Prince!" Yingxiao blurted out, somewhat incredulous.

"His Highness the Third Prince now harbors ambitions to seize power, and he has repeatedly tried to curry favor with the Crown Prince over the past few years. Why would he now turn against the Crown Prince?"

-----------------------

Author's note: *cough* (adjusts tie), to answer everyone's questions: Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this article will be updated at 6 PM tonight.

Regarding the ending of this story, it was previously stated that the main story would be a tragic ending (BE) and the epilogue a happy ending (HE). However, the epilogue actually continues directly from the main story. Therefore, in a true sense, there is no epilogue; this story is a happy ending (HE).

And then there's the matter of extra chapters... *cough*, let me first recite a poem: "Difficult, difficult, difficult." I'll try my best to increase my typing speed [crying emoji]

(Please don't take the above statements too seriously [eating popcorn])