Chapter 164
Yan Shujin's invitation was quickly written and handed over to Zhao Zhong's men, who then sent people to deliver it to each person.
Moreover, the banquet was prepared in the villa and was entrusted to Zhao Zhong.
Everyone who received the invitation arrived on time, and the courtyard suddenly became lively. Acquaintances sat together and talked quietly. They didn't know why Princess Yongfu had suddenly invited them here, but thinking of the rumors they had heard that the Qian family had already met with misfortune, they felt a little worried.
After everyone arrived, Yan Shujin brought Aunt Yu in, while Yuzhu and Yurun carried two sets of account books.
After Yan Shujin entered, the door was closed from the outside. Some people noticed that there were still guards outside, which made many people nervous. Could it be that Princess Yongfu was going to do something?
But then I thought about it again and realized that was impossible, unless Princess Yongfu was really stupid to take action against them.
Yu Zhu and Yu Run placed the account book on the table and then put a brazier and a water basin in the middle of the room.
After Yan Shujin sat down, she said, "Please sit down as well, everyone. I have something I'd like to say to you all. After that, we can go eat."
Everyone who comes here is either really looking for a meal or has something on their mind. They can't help but look at the booklet on the table.
Yan Shujin picked up a book, flipped through it casually, and said without waiting for anyone to ask, "These were all found at the Qian family's residence."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed. They looked at the booklet and then at the brazier, unsure of what Princess Yongfu was going to do or whether it was what they thought.
Yan Shujin said, "I won't let you examine this thing closely. I'll just flip through it and give you a quick look. Anyway, they're all pretty much the same, so let's not say anything against each other."
These words were so honest that the officials' wives were momentarily speechless.
Yan Shujin handed the booklet directly to Aunt Yu. Aunt Yu took the booklet and walked around in the direction where the ladies were sitting, flipping through it to help them identify the contents, but she couldn't see everything. She went through several of these booklets before finally putting them down and walking behind Yan Shujin.
"There are a few more copies. Does anyone want to read them?" Yan Shujin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Or should I give each of you a few to look at?"
"No, no need."
"We believe in the princess."
No one knows which volume contains their own information, or how they would let others see it. Even if they know it's not clean, they don't want their backgrounds to be figured out. These people aren't stupid; they naturally know that the people Yan Shujin posted the invitations to are all those involved in these ledgers.
Yan Shujin casually picked up a book and threw it into the brazier: "I'm not interested in these things, and I quite like everything you gave me."
As everyone watched, ledgers were thrown into the fire, and two maids squatted around them, using sticks to ensure that each one was burned completely.
As the account books were thrown into the brazier one by one, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Yan Shujin said, "Of course I've read all of the above content and I know it all."
The officials' wives felt their hearts pounding. They knew, of course, that Princess Yongfu had seen it, and if she said she hadn't, they wouldn't believe her.
“However, the entire Qian family is dead,” Yan Shujin said. “I’ve burned all of these as well, so you can rest assured. Think carefully about how your family will behave in the future, because the world now belongs to the Yan family.”
Yan Shujin glanced at everyone and said, "General Qian defected and took his confidants to join the barbarians. I suppose you all know this. I'm sure you're all curious about what he's after."
The officials' wives were naturally curious: why would someone with a better future in the imperial court choose to side with the barbarians?
Yan Shujin said, "I'm also very curious. If any of you know, please let me know. Maybe General Qian has suddenly gone mad, or maybe he loves beautiful women more."
General Qian's concubine was very famous in the Northwest. When entertaining guests, even the wives of officials would fawn over that concubine, which shows how much General Qian doted on her. If the concubine was arranged by the barbarians, it would be understandable that General Qian would have been confused and led her to surrender to the enemy. However, why did he choose this time to surrender to the enemy? No one would believe there was nothing suspicious about it.
Yan Shujin said without blinking, "My uncle had long ago asked me to come and reward the army. My fiancé came to the Northwest to make arrangements, but I never expected that someone would give him evidence that General Qian had defected to the enemy, embezzled military rations, and colluded with merchants to sell grain to the barbarians."
The officials' wives were unaware of this place, and were shocked. Some were unwilling to listen, but at this point, it was not something they could choose.
"So General Qian sent men to intercept and kill him, but he was lucky enough to be rescued," Yan Shujin said. "I came to Shucheng ahead of schedule because of my fiancé's disappearance."
Many people thought of Princess Yongfu's visit to Liujia Village with her entourage a couple of days ago, and how she had a lot of clothes for young men bought outside. If that's the case, then there's an explanation.
Yan Shujin always remembered that a lie had to be at least 70% true and 30% false for people to believe it: "If I hadn't rescued that person a few days ago, I would have asked my uncle to arrange for someone to help."
As they were talking, the account books had been completely burned. Yu Zhu picked up the basin of water next to her and put out the fire. Then she stirred it with a stick to show everyone that it was completely clean before she put the basin aside.
Yan Shujin said, "Since my fiancé is alive, General Qian will naturally run away. However, this man is quite heartless. Apart from that concubine, he abandoned the rest of the family at home. Shucheng is not my territory. In addition to the guards, there are also many jailers guarding the Qian family. Who wants the Qian family to all die?"
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