News of the assassination attempt at the restaurant reached Granny Qian's brother; the time was ripe.

Qian Qing immediately took Wang Ying and the others back to the Shen residence. When Shao Jinxin saw them, he was completely stunned.

"This...this..."

Didn't Lord Yang say this morning that all the people Shen Jiamu left at the inn had been dealt with?

Qian Qing smiled when he saw him, "It's been almost 20 years since I last saw Master Shao. Today, I see that Master Shao's majesty is as great as ever."

However, Mr. Qian did not expect that upon their reunion, Master Shao would use his authority against the Shen family.

After saying that, Qian Qing waved his hand, signaling for the hired镖局 (security escort agency) personnel to capture Shao Jinxin.

Shao Jinxin remained completely calm, "Chen Fu!"

Shen Fu led a group of men armed with sticks to confront them. When the two sides were deadlocked, Song Ren arrived with his men.

"Stop this at once!"

When he saw that Lord Song had actually arrived, Shao Jinxin was somewhat frightened.

He turned to look at Shen Fu and saw that Shen Fu nodded slightly, which put his mind at ease.

Fortunately, Lord Yang's mission was accomplished. With Shen Jiamu dead, what use are a few lackeys left behind? Their power is already gone.

Song Ren brought all the people to the Shen family's Jiqing Hall. "I've heard that your family has been secretly detaining our savior? Where are those people? Release them immediately and let them go home!"

Shao Jinxin remained silent; this wasn't his home. He glanced at Shao Wenxuan, signaling him to come forward and speak.

"My lord, please forgive me. My daughter did bring her savior home, but not to detain him; rather, to protect him."

What do you mean?

"Qian Qing, you speak." Shao Wenxuan called Qian Qing out.

When Shao Jinxin saw that he was actually in cahoots with Qian Qing, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets and fell to the ground.

"In reply to you, my lady did not fall off a cliff, but was attacked a few days ago."

Fortunately, with the help of the Wang family, the young lady, being weak, had no choice but to take her benefactor home and protect him.

Well, Miss Keying remembered that she still had luggage to pack, so the young lady sent servants to protect her.

After collecting their luggage, they went back to the Shen family to hide for a while. Once they found the real culprit, they confirmed that their benefactor's life and property were not threatened.

I plan to give my benefactor a very respectful send-off when the time comes.

However, after the servants took their luggage, they could not enter the Shen family compound, and the young ladies inside the Shen mansion could not leave either.

Only then did they realize something was wrong; something had happened at home!

After waiting outside for three days, in desperation, just as she was about to report to the authorities, she bumped into the official's sedan chair, which is why Miss Ying stopped the sedan chair to plead her case.

Yesterday, my grandson suddenly fell seriously ill and could not stay at the inn, so I had to take Yezi and Miss Ying back to our house in the city.

Today I heard that someone was assassinated in the room where Miss Ying and Ye Zi were staying at the inn.

That's why we rushed to the Shen residence in a panic, fearing that something bad might have happened to Miss.

To their surprise, once they arrived, they found they still couldn't get into their own home.

Song Ren smiled and looked down, "Who exactly is controlling the flow of people from the Shen family?"

Shao Wenxuan kept his head down and remained silent, while Shen Fu stood casually next to Shao Jinxin.

Helpless, Shao Jinxin took over the conversation, "My lord, please forgive me, how could such a thing be? Miss Shen went out to participate in the Weaving Bureau's gathering yesterday."

I haven't been going out these past few days simply because I injured my shoulder and need to rest.

As for refusing to let his servants in, that's utter nonsense. Perhaps their own gatekeeper mistook him for someone else.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of screams erupted from outside the courtyard: "Murder! Murder! Assassins! Assassins!"

A group of people ran over from Ruixue Tower, the leader of whom was escorting three assassins.

Shen Jiamu followed closely behind, walking over slowly.

The three men being escorted had their jaws dislocated to prevent them from committing suicide, and were then pushed over by a group of guards.

There are female guards inside and outside Ruixue Tower. If they really wanted to assassinate Shen Jiamu, there would definitely be more than just these three people.

But Shen Jiamu gave a strict order: any assassins sent by the government to commit violence should be ignored; if they want to run, they can run.

If you see a stranger, you must catch them; there's a reward of one hundred taels of silver for each one caught.

So, under Granny Qian's direction, three were caught.

These three were wronged. They weren't there to do anything. Yang Lou was afraid that Shao Jinxin, that idiot, would mess things up, so he had them stay here to supervise.

After confirming that Miss Shen was dead, they went back. Who would have thought that among so many guards inside and outside, almost half of them were there for the three of them?

There's no escaping it!

Song Ren was overjoyed. He knew without a doubt who had sent these three people. Shen Jiamu was indeed clever.

Now that we've caught them and have incriminating evidence, what's the point of further investigation? The real focus isn't on the Shen family!

However, "the entire Shen family was taken away!"

Wang Yan had only been at ease for a day when a group of constables rushed in and took them all away.

………………………………………………………………

Yang Lou was sitting in his study waiting for news when suddenly two armed guards rushed in and took him to the jail.

Before long, Yang Lou saw Lord Song arrive and immediately realized that it was Shao Jinxin, that fool, who had messed things up.

But he wasn't afraid. He hadn't directly intervened in any of these matters. He calmed himself and preemptively launched a preemptive questioning.

"I don't know, I don't know why you brought me here, sir?" Yang Lou asked cautiously.

"Lord Yang, are you familiar with this ledger?" Song Ren gestured to his subordinate to hand over a ledger.

Yang Lou picked it up and flipped through it briefly. Looking up, his face was full of grievance.

"Sir, what do these salt mine accounts have to do with me? They show that the Shen family funded the mine!"

Song Ren couldn't help but laugh out loud; it had gone too smoothly. "I hope Lord Yang will examine it carefully again. Salt mine! What salt mine?"

Yang Lou was shocked. He hurriedly grabbed the ledger, his hands trembling uncontrollably. After reading it, his face turned ashen, and his voice trembled.

"My lord, the tea accounts here are fabricated; I have no idea what they are."

"Ha! Alright, let's talk about the salt mine now! And let's take this ledger to Lord Yang for a look."

Yang Lou grabbed the ledger and tossed it aside, saying, "Sir, this salt mine matter has nothing to do with me."

The former head of the Shen family, Shen Wan, colluded with the patriarch of her husband's clan to secretly open a salt mine.

In an attempt to seek protection, they tried to bribe me several times, but I refused each time with strong words.

Furthermore, this account book is utter nonsense; the handwriting on it was all fabricated by Shen Wan herself.

"They tried to bribe you several times? The salt mine matter is so important, how could you have kept it a secret? You failed in your oversight, do you know your crime!"

"Yes, I confess, but they only came to bribe me three months ago. I haven't gathered all the evidence yet, so I haven't reported it."

Yang Lou was trembling uncontrollably, but he managed to speak clearly, having probably rehearsed it thousands of times in his mind.

"Then, Lord Yang, take another look at these people. Do you recognize them?"

Yang Lou looked up and saw three of his bodyguards and seven others who were likely sent that morning to kill Wang Ying and the others.

"This humble official...this humble official does not recognize you."

After saying that, Yang Lou suddenly lost his composure. He realized he had made a mistake and shouldn't have been so impulsive.

The accounts for the tea in Song Ren's possession only showed abnormal losses, so he had no reason to arrest him.

He was very careful about matters concerning the salt mines and never showed his face in person.

Even if Shen Jiamu reports him to Song Ren, Song Ren will have to think twice before arresting him.

However, after he sent people to kill Shen Jiamu, they have now been caught red-handed.

Putting everything else aside, Song Ren can now legitimately keep him in jail for interrogation.

We shouldn't be so panicked. Sending people to eliminate the problem based on mere guesswork is a mistake! A mistake! If Shen Jiamu wants to submit "fake accounts," let her submit them.

He was blinded by greed and thought that Shao Jinxin should kill Shen Jiamu and then frame Shao Jinxin for plotting to seize the family property and for the unfair distribution of the salt mine profits.

That was the plan from the beginning, so why did I suddenly lose my composure?

Sure enough, Song Ren slammed his fist on the table, “Yang Lou! Stop making excuses and talking nonsense. These seven people are assassins you hired to silence them, and these three are your servants and bodyguards!”

Since you have no connection to the salt mines run by the Shen family, why did you send people to silence them?

In reality, Yang Lou's three servants didn't implicate him, but of the ten men he hired, three were dead. The remaining seven were just doing their jobs for money, so when the authorities interrogated them, they had nothing to hide.

Song Ren was deliberately trying to trick Yang Lou here! Fortunately, Yang Lou's psychological defenses had already collapsed. The key thing was that he didn't expect that the matter of the tea would also be discovered.

Moreover, because of his reckless killing, he has ended up in the worst possible situation and is now filled with regret.

Because he was so preoccupied with regret that he didn't have time to think things through, he believed Song Ren's deception without question.

Upon hearing Song Ren's words, Yang Lou's face turned ashen, and he simply stopped speaking.

But it's absolutely impossible for him to confess! We can only hope that the news can reach the capital as soon as possible so that the clan can start planning to rescue him.

Song Ren could tell what he was up to at a glance. Ha!

The laws of this dynasty stipulate that anyone who sells more than three catties of smuggled salt will be beheaded, and anyone who illegally operates a salt mine will have their entire family exterminated.

It's alright if Yang Lou doesn't confess, but what about Shao Jinxin and Shen Jiamu?

Song Ren then interrogated the other people, making three copies of all their testimonies and signatures.

Along with the account book submitted by Shen Jiamu (the real account book in Yang Lou's possession has not yet been found), it was sent back to the capital as quickly as possible and presented to the emperor.

Wang Yan and the others were also interrogated repeatedly, several times, to confirm that they were not with Shen Jiamu and that rescuing her was indeed a coincidence and an accidental act.

After submitting this statement, Wang Yan and the others didn't have anything else to do.

But the family still can't get out and can't meet. Until Song Ren finds the real accounts and can confirm whether the Shen family and the salt mine are truly unrelated, everyone who came in with the Shen family and was questioned must stay here obediently.

Yang Lou, that troublemaker, is keeping his mouth tightly shut. The more he says, the more mistakes he makes, so he's not saying a word now.

The intricacies of the situation are currently unknown to Wang Yan, but she dares not cause any trouble.

They had no choice but to wait patiently. Ten days later, the Shen family and Wang Yan were released together.

Shen Jiamu told Granny Qian to come quickly and help Granny Wang and the others, so that they could go back to the mansion to wash up.

Wang Ying slapped their hands away and took her mother and sister to stay at an inn.

Granny Qian wanted to chase after him to explain and coax him, but Shen Jiamu stopped her, saying, "There's no need to chase after him. Let's go home today to wash up and rest, and we'll personally go to apologize tomorrow."