Chapter 90 Moving House: She wanted to sever ties with the Prince's Mansion, but this fool hadn't...
Shen Yan gave a bitter smile and turned to look at Qi Jingxuan: "I always thought I was just unlucky to be chosen, but it turns out that's not the case. Prince Ning was angry that my father was involved in the Liu Yuan case, which almost led to the discovery of the Yingzhou iron mine, so he chose me."
"So... it's not that you, Your Highness, have implicated me, but rather that it was destined to be me."
But this kind of predestination is truly disgusting.
Qi Jingxuan quickly shook his head: "That's not how it is!"
“If it weren’t for my involvement, the fourth brother wouldn’t necessarily have retaliated against you. Look at your father-in-law and Lord Gao,” he said, pointing to Gao Zheng, “and him too, aren’t they all fine?”
"It is clear that although the fourth prince harbors resentment towards you, he is very clear-headed. He knows that if you people who are involved in the Liu Yuan case were to encounter any accidents for no reason, it might arouse the emperor's suspicion."
“Yingzhou is a remote place where Father Emperor’s influence cannot reach, but the capital is right under his nose, so the fourth prince does not dare to cause trouble easily. If I hadn’t discovered his affair with the Liu family, he would have had to get rid of me for safety reasons and would not have made a move against you. So it is I who have implicated you.”
Qi Jingxuan sensed a strange, unpleasant emotion in Shen Yan's eyes. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt very bad, so he subconsciously denied what she was saying.
But Shen Yan didn't seem to listen much; the bitter smile remained on her lips.
Qi Jingxuan hurriedly reached out to take her hand: "Besides, whether it was a coincidence or intentional, it's not our fault!"
"Liu Yuan's embezzlement has caused widespread suffering in Yueming Prefecture. The commander of Yingzhou Garrison not only embezzles funds but also resells military rations and weapons. The fourth prince and the Xie family are illegally mining iron ore and plotting a coup. They are the ones at fault; they are the ones who have committed heinous and unforgivable crimes. It has nothing to do with us!"
Seeing his anxiety, Shen Yan suppressed her thoughts and forced a smile: "Yes, I know."
Qi Jingxuan looked her over for a moment, still uneasy, and tightened his grip on her hand: "Aci, don't think so much. It's all over now, everything will be alright from now on, believe me!"
Shen Yan didn't reply, but simply nodded again.
Gao Zheng watched the two holding hands, his eyes darkening for a moment, but he quickly regained his spirits and advised, "Yes, Sister Chen, it's all over now. There's no point in dwelling on these things anymore. Let's look forward."
He continued, "Before I came here, I visited my uncle and aunt in Yangliu Hutong. They were packing up to move and were quite busy, but they seemed to be in good spirits. Knowing that I was coming to the Prince's Mansion, they asked me to pass on a message to you, telling you to take good care of yourself and not to worry about them. They said they would send someone to tell you once you have settled into the new house."
Lady Su was pregnant, and she was frightened on the day Prince Ning forced her to abdicate. So the emperor gave Shen Mingshan a ten-day leave so that he could stay home and spend time with his wife.
Just then, Shen Yan made a contribution by exposing Prince Ning's rebellion, and the emperor bestowed a new house upon the Shen family. After a little hesitation, Shen Mingshan decided to move there as soon as possible.
Firstly, the house in Yangliu Hutong was indeed too small. It was fine for the three of them to live there, but now that they had added a few maids, it felt very cramped.
Secondly, it's too far from the capital, and there aren't many good doctors around. If Madam Su were to go into labor one day, they would have to find a midwife nearby, and he, as her husband, wouldn't be able to get back immediately.
So after much deliberation, Shen Mingshan decided to move to the new house before Su Shi went into labor. That way, when she gave birth, they could hire a good midwife, and if anything went wrong, they could call Physician Zhou nearby to come and take a look.
Their new house was on the same street as Physician Zhou's house, just a few steps away.
Actually, long before Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan got married, the emperor had intended to bestow this house upon the Shen family. However, the bestowal at that time was compensation for Shen Yan, giving people the feeling that once the gift was received, the matter was settled.
As the victim, they deserve compensation, but Shen Mingshan and his wife were worried that it would affect their daughter's future divorce, so they did not accept it.
But this time was different. This time it was a reward for Shen Yan's meritorious service, and they accepted it without any guilt.
Although the house had been uninhabited for a long time, it was still in good condition because the emperor had ordered it to be cleaned up when he wanted to bestow it upon them. They only needed to do some simple tidying up and move their belongings from Yangliu Hutong into the house to move in.
Gao Zheng had no idea they were moving beforehand. Today, he went to the Shen family's house first because he was on his way to the Prince of Jin's residence. He wanted to ask if Shen Mingshan and his wife had anything to bring to Shen Yan, so he could take it along the way. When he arrived at Yangliu Hutong, he discovered that the Shen family was moving.
However, the couple were concerned that Shen Yan was already married and it would be inconvenient for her to have contact with other men. Even though they knew he was coming to the Prince's Mansion, they did not ask him to bring anything. These few words were just made up by Gao Zheng to divert Shen Yan's attention.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yan indeed disregarded the matter of Prince Ning and asked in surprise, "Moving now? I haven't heard them mention it."
He knew the emperor had bestowed upon him a new house, but he didn't know his parents were preparing to move there.
My mother is still pregnant; wouldn't moving now be too much of a hassle?
Qi Jingxuan was also surprised: "Yes, why didn't you say anything about something so important?"
He then said he was about to call for help.
“No need, Your Highness,” Shen Yan quickly interrupted, “I… I’ll find some people to go.”
Qi Jingxuan frowned, puzzled: "Isn't that the same thing?"
Then it dawned on you: "You're worried that your mother-in-law is pregnant, and since most of the people in the Prince's mansion are men, she might offend her, right?"
"Don't worry, I'll have Chidou take some people to bring my mother-in-law to the new house and find a quiet place to settle her in. That way, she can rest at the new house while our people move at the old one, and we can do both at the same time!"
After saying that, he quickly made the arrangements.
Shen Yan originally wanted to hire some helpers herself, but seeing that he had already arranged everything, she didn't want to call the servants back, so she could only say, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"We're husband and wife, why are you being so polite with me?"
Qi Jingxuan said, raising his chin at Gao Zheng in a provocative manner.
Gao Zheng was surprised that Shen Yan didn't know about Shen Mingshan and his wife's plans to move. He felt a little embarrassed because he had let it slip, but seeing Qi Jingxuan's smug expression, he felt a little disdainful.
Just now, it was obvious that Aci didn't want to use the Prince's manpower, which meant she wanted to distance herself from the Prince's mansion. This fool still hasn't figured it out.
He then recalled what he had overheard at the Shen family earlier that day, pursed his lips, and did not argue with Qi Jingxuan about the difference in their words. He simply comforted Shen Yan gently, saying, "You've finally managed to get out of the Ning Prince's affair and can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Uncle Shen and the others wanted you to rest properly, which is why they didn't tell you."
"Don't worry, I arranged for people to help before I came, so it won't be tiring for you, Auntie."
Shen Yan nodded and thanked him in return.
Gao Zheng had said almost everything he wanted to say and was preparing to take his leave. Before leaving, he added a few more words: "It's best that you keep the matter between Lady Liu and Prince Ning to yourselves and don't spread it around. After all, it's not a glorious matter. If others find out, it will affect the royal family's reputation and the harmony between the emperor and his subjects. His Majesty has already ordered all the evidence to be destroyed and hasn't told the Fan family anything. He only said that Lady Liu and Princess Ning were secretly colluding and participating in a treasonous plot."
"Lord Fan was demoted, but because His Majesty did not pursue the matter further, he was deeply grateful and had no complaints. He is preparing to resign and go to his eldest son's post to rekindle their father-son relationship."
Because this involved royal secrets and the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, the emperor did not entrust the matter to anyone else to investigate, but instead specifically sought out Gao Zheng.
Firstly, Gao Zheng comes from a family with a strong academic background, so he is indeed quite capable in investigating cases. Secondly, he was already investigating this matter and had identified clear suspects, knowing that the person having an affair with Prince Ning was either Madam Zhuang or Madam Fan.
Letting him investigate would minimize the spread of the incident and prevent him from being constantly wary of the Zhuang family in the future, thus avoiding suspicion that his neighbor might have stolen the axe. After all, he and Zhuang Cheng both served in the Dali Temple, with Zhuang Cheng being the Dali Temple Minister, his direct superior, and the two would see each other frequently.
The same reason they agreed to tell Qi Jingxuan the truth was to prevent him from continuing his investigation without knowing the facts, which could lead to unnecessary trouble.
"His Majesty means that this matter is over, that he has cleaned up everything that needed to be cleaned up, and that we can rest assured."
Gao Zheng said.
Qi Jingxuan nodded, while Shen Yan pondered for a moment before asking, "Did Princess Ning... really participate?"
In her memory, Princess Ning was a person with a very low profile. She was plain-looking, aloof, and didn't like to socialize much. Even when invited to palace banquets or by the ladies of various households, she rarely attended.
Shen Yan once suspected that the reason she acted this way was because she knew the true nature of Prince Ning and that he was secretly having illicit affairs with women from other households. Because she knew this but could not stop it, and dared not report it, she stayed away from the Prince's residence.
Another point is that this princess was not chosen by Consort Jia or Prince Ning themselves, but rather by the Emperor for Prince Ning. Therefore… there is a high possibility that Prince Ning and she will not get along.
Would a princess like this be involved in Prince Ning's rebellion? In other words, would Prince Ning allow her to participate?
Gao Zheng was slightly taken aback, unsure how to answer for a moment. After a long while, he said, "The Prince of Ning plotted a rebellion. As the princess, whether she participated or not... the outcome would be the same."
Therefore, the emperor "made the most of everything," concealing the relationship between Lady Liu and Prince Ning, accusing her of conspiring with the Princess of Ning, and thus executing her as a matter of course.
Shen Yan had already considered this possibility, but when it was confirmed, she still felt particularly heavy-hearted.
She suppressed her thoughts and nodded slightly, saying, "I understand. Thank you for making this special trip, Brother Gao."
"No, it's my duty."
Gao Zheng said, then got up to take his leave, intending to go to Yangliu Hutong to see how the Shen family's move was going and if there was anything he could do to help.
In the past, when he left the Prince of Jin's residence, he always felt more and more reluctant to leave, as if he were getting further and further away from Shen Yan. But today, his steps were unusually light, and he even skipped a step when he stepped out of the gate of the Prince's residence, with a smile on his lips.
When he went to the Shen family today, they were busy moving and quite flustered.
Because the Gao and Chen families were old friends, and he would visit Shen Mingshan and his wife from time to time, the servants were already quite familiar with him. When he entered the room and saw that everyone was busy, he waved his hand and said, "You all go ahead and do your work. I'll go knock on the door myself."
The servants were too busy to attend to it, so they nodded and let him go.
Gao Zheng walked to the front of the main house and was about to knock when he heard faint voices coming from inside. The voices were not loud, and he only caught a few words: "Fortunately... Your Majesty... the divorce papers..."
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