Chapter 268: Trouble
Besides, the old lady sided with Song Nanyan, and in order to vent Shanhu's anger, Chen Wan asked Chen An to give the old lady a laxative.
The imperial physician examined the old lady and found that she had diarrhea for two whole days before it stopped.
Chen Wan thought that the news that the old lady had been given a laxative would spread, but in the end nothing came out. The imperial physician only said that she had an upset stomach. It was not known whether Chen An's medicine was effective or he had given the imperial physician a gag order.
But even if the imperial physician said so, Shen Wan was not afraid. Catching the adulterers is like catching a thief and taking away the stolen goods. Even if the old lady and the others guessed that it was her, without evidence, they could only endure it.
Shen Wan went to visit the old lady once, but did not see her face. Shen Wan did not really care about the old lady, but just did not want to give people a chance to talk about her and lose his filial piety, so he just went through the motions.
After the old lady recovered from diarrhea, Shen Wan thought the matter was over, but it turned out that she thought too much.
That day, Shen Wan came back from a walk in the garden. Just as she returned to her room, before she had even had a sip of tea, the maidservant came in and said, "Crown Princess, the Queen Mother has given a maid to the Second Young Mistress..."
Giving the palace maid a gift at this critical moment was clearly to support Song Nanyue and to put pressure on the princess and her, the prince's consort.
The maidservants brought as dowry by the Duke of Song's Mansion could be beaten by the prince and princess, but for the palace maids given by the empress dowager, beating them depends on the owner and they cannot be touched casually.
The Queen Mother's move was a blatant act of bullying.
Song Nanyue could use the red jade bottle awarded by the empress dowager to stir up trouble, join hands with the old lady to beat her maid to death, and ask her, the prince's consort, to swallow her anger and not fight back, which would bring shame to Song Nanyue and the Duke of Song's Mansion.
If you have the guts, just beat up the prince and princess directly instead of using such covert tactics.
Shen Wan had no fear of the Queen Mother's support in his heart, only ridicule.
What made Shen Wan despise it even more was that the Queen Mother's support for the palace maids was not enough, and Princess Shouzhen came the next day.
When the maid reported the news that Princess Shouzhen had come to the Jingbei Palace to Chen Wan, Shen Wan was in Shanhu's room. After a few days of care, Shanhu got much better, but she could only stay in bed and could not bear to get out of bed and walk a few more steps.
Shen Wan asked Shanhu to rest in peace, and Chun'er came in quickly and said, "Crown Princess, Princess Shouzhen is here."
Needless to say, he was here to support Song Nanyue.
Those who don’t know would think that the Jingbei Palace had caused Song Nanyue a lot of grievances, with one group after another supporting them.
It can calm others, but it can't scare her.
No matter how powerful or arrogant these people are, they will eventually be defeated by Xie Jingyu and become prisoners.
She is not afraid of Xie Jingyu, so how could she be afraid of them?
Princess Shouzhen came to the Jingbei Palace. As the Crown Prince's Consort, she should have gone to greet and entertain her, but Shen Wan refused to go. She knew that the other person was there to support Song Nanyan, but she still approached them. She was not a mean person.
Last time, the emperor had someone use a broom to beat out Chen Ti, the concubine of Prince Cheng, but she didn't blame him. She was pregnant and couldn't greet Princess Shouzhen. How could the emperor punish her?
Since you don’t know how, just be willful!
But Shen Wan finally went to save Xie Zhiyao.
Since Shen Wan did not show up and the old lady was not fully recovered yet, she did not dare to send someone directly to ask Shen Wan to greet Princess Shouzhen, and the other people in Jingbei Palace were even more afraid.
Princess Shouzhen came here specifically to support Song Nanyan, but Shen Wan avoided her edge. Didn't she come here in vain?
Knowing that Chen Wan and Xie Zhiyao were close in this mansion, and that they couldn't control Chen Wan, bullying Xie Zhiyao would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Xie Zhiyao never thought that someone would target her, but by the time she realized it, it was too late to hide.
Princess Shouzhen and Song Nanyue were flying kites in the garden. When they were tired of flying the kite, Princess Shouzhen casually handed the string to Xie Zhiyao and asked her to fly it for a while.
Xie Zhiyao didn't dare to refuse, but the thread broke soon after it reached her hand.
The kite fell onto the roof.
Princess Shouzhen was furious and asked Xie Zhiyao to climb up and take it down for her.
The maid reported this to Shen Wan. Could Shen Wan still not go and let them bully Xie Zhiyao?
When Chen Wan rushed to the garden, Xie Zhiyao was already on the ladder. She was a little afraid of heights, and her legs were shaking as she stood on the ladder.
Shen Wan helped her hold the ladder, “Come down quickly.”
Xie Zhihuan said, "It was Princess Shouzhen who asked Fourth Sister to go pick up the kite. Is Sister-in-law going to turn a deaf ear to Princess Shouzhen's words?!"
Ignoring her words is a sign of respect for Princess Shouzhen.
Chen Wan didn't even bother to look at Princess Shouzhen. Instead, she said to Xie Zhihuan, "Princess Shouzhen doesn't know that Fourth Sister is afraid of heights. You sisters grew up together in the same house, so you must know. Princess Shouzhen was angry, and you didn't tell her and let Fourth Sister climb the roof. If she's fine, it's fine. But if she accidentally falls and gets hurt, the Emperor will punish Princess Shouzhen, and you won't be able to escape!"
Even if Xie Zhiyao accidentally broke Princess Shouzhen's kite, it was not a big deal. There were so many servants in the Jingbei Palace who could pick up the kite for her. If that didn't work, they could compensate her with another one.
The royal princess should be a role model for women all over the world, but she took advantage of her power to bully others and forced Xie Zhiyao to climb onto the roof to pick up a kite, which eventually led to her falling and injuring herself. She didn't believe that the emperor would not punish such a vicious-hearted princess.
Shen Wan’s voice was sharp, and Xie Zhihuan was suddenly a little scared.
Xie Zhiyao has never been very courageous. If the bridge is a little high, she will feel dizzy and afraid of falling down, so she dare not get too close. If she goes to the roof, she might really be scared and fall down.
Furthermore, their goal was to force Chen Wan to show up, and now their goal has been achieved.
Xie Zhihuan looked at Princess Shouzhen, "My fourth sister is indeed timid..."
Princess Shouzhen said coldly, "Miss Xie Si is timid, but the Crown Prince's wife of Prince Jingbei is very brave. Since you are so worried about her, go up and pick it up for her!"
Xie Zhirou said, "Princess, calm down. My sister-in-law is pregnant and absolutely cannot climb high..."
It’s not that Xie Zhirou still has a conscience, but asking Chen Wan to go up to the roof to pick up the kite is impossible.
Princess Shouzhen was forced to do it, but she couldn't do it. It was not Shen Wan's face that was lost, but Princess Shouzhen's own. It would be better to persuade her a little. If Shen Wan gets into trouble in the future, they can get away with it by helping Shen Wan.
Xie Zhihuan also pleaded for mercy, and Princess Shouzhen said, "Alright! I'll give you a favor, but you don't have to pick up the kite. She has to stand there and let me shoot an arrow at her!"
Only then did Shen Wan notice that there was an arrow target placed in an open space not far away.
They had it planned from the beginning.
Shen Wan looked at Xie Zhiyao and said softly, "Come down."
Xie Zhiyao stood on the ladder, her legs were weak with fear. She held on to the ladder tightly and came down carefully.
Standing on the ground, his pale face regained some vitality, "I dropped the kite. I asked the princess to shoot an arrow..."
Xie Zhihuan pulled Xie Zhiyao and said, "Princess Shouzhen has already taken a step back. Don't provoke her anymore. It's just a fake arrow. It won't really hurt my sister-in-law."
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