Shen Wan was furious. "You just listen to Chen Feng?!"
Yinshuang said, "The princess has misunderstood the matter of the jade pendant. What Chen Feng said may have been the prince's intention. This servant dared not disobey."
Shen Wan said, enunciating each word clearly, "You are my dowry maid, so just listen to me."
The princess must have forgotten what she said. Not long ago, when she told her not to touch the prince's jade pendant, she said that when the prince got angry, she couldn't protect him. If she disobeyed the prince, wouldn't that be courting death?
Logically, even a princess should listen to a prince, so as the princess's maid, she should listen even more.
Moreover, she was doing it for the princess's own good. Since the prince's beloved was the princess herself, it would be unfair to the prince to sleep in separate rooms, and it would also hurt their relationship. More importantly, it would affect her ability to hold the young master.
Yinshuang shrank her neck, looking afraid of being scolded. Although Shen Wan was still a little angry, she knew that Yinshuang was doing it for her own good. Moreover, Xie Jingyan was behind this, especially what Xie Jingyan said when he came into the room yesterday, which was simply turning the tables on her.
Yinshuang assured her it wouldn't happen again, so Shenwan didn't pursue the matter further. She got out of bed and then washed and dressed.
At this moment, inside the study, Xie Jingyan tossed a large gold ingot to Chen Feng.
Chen Feng was so happy he couldn't stop smiling.
He knew that if the master moved back into the house, he would be richly rewarded.
Chen Feng said, "Your Highness, the Princess's maid has done a good job; please don't forget to reward her."
At breakfast, Yinshuang served Xie Jingyan porridge, and Xie Jingyan said, "This porridge is just the right amount, so I'll give you ten taels as a reward."
Shen Wan, "..."
Silver Frost, "..."
Yinshuang was stunned for a moment, as if she had been hit by a pie falling from the sky, before she quickly thanked the prince for the reward.
Shen Wan viciously gnawed on her steamed bun, her eyes blazing with fury. This bastard had actually bribed her maid right in front of her. He was so blatant, what excuse did he have?
Xie Jingyan was happily eating shrimp dumplings, which made Shen Wan furious, but when she saw the light blue under his eyes, she immediately felt guilty.
After breakfast, Xie Jingyan went to his study. Shen Wan was about to go to the garden to pick some flowers to arrange when a maid came in and reported, "Your Highness, news has come from the palace that His Majesty has decreed that the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhongguo's family will be betrothed to Prince Jin as his concubine. Her status will be equal to that of the second young lady. Whoever gives birth to a son first will be the heir apparent."
It was expected that Fu Shu would become the Princess Consort of Jin, standing on equal footing with Shen Ying, so Shen Wan was not surprised. However, the timing of the imperial decree for the marriage was undoubtedly a stab to the heart of Shen Ying, the Second Master and Second Madam, and the Old Madam. In order to protect Shen Ying's position as the Princess Consort of Jin, they tried to harm her elder brother but instead lost Shen Li's life. In the end, they lost everything, which was truly satisfying.
Although it was the Emperor who issued the decree to grant the marriage, it must have been Empress Song and Prince Jin who requested it. Their disregard for the feelings of the second wife and Shen Ying must mean they were utterly disappointed in them and unwilling to incur the displeasure of Duke Zhongguo for their sake.
Fu Shu's marriage to Xie Jingyin is undoubtedly aimed at securing the position of heir apparent. Shen Ying has already sacrificed Shen Rong and Shen Li to protect her own position, and she will definitely fight to the end. With these two living under the same roof, the Prince Jin's mansion will be in complete chaos, with endless drama to watch.
Shen Wan is already looking forward to it.
Shen Li died under the trampling of horses' hooves. The old lady was heartbroken and fell ill that day. When she learned that Empress Song and Prince Jin had given Fu Shu the position of a secondary wife, she was even more devastated and fainted again.
When news of the old lady's worsening condition reached the Ling Prince's residence, Shen Wan heard it but pretended not to. She didn't care about the old lady's life or death; no, she cared about whether the old lady had suffered enough.
Shen Li was buried three days after his death. Shen Jing, being discreet, instructed Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan not to go back for the funeral. Shen Wan obediently did not go back, and since she did not go back, Xie Jingyan was even less likely to go.
However, the two did not return. Haitang went back to the Pingyang Marquis's residence and reported to Shen Wan, "I heard from the maids in the residence that the Second Madam has fainted from crying several times in the past few days, the Second Master has also become much more haggard, and the Old Madam has not been able to bear the blow and has not eaten a single grain of rice in the past few days."
She doesn't care about scheming against other people's sons, but when her own son is gone, she feels the pain of the sky falling. Shen Wan has no sympathy for the second wife and the old lady.
Haitang continued, "The young master's ancestral jade pendant was smashed by the second wife."
Shen Wan frowned. "What's going on?"
Haitang said, "Before the Second Young Master's funeral today, Minister Li of the Ministry of War brought his son, the Third Young Master Li, to the mourning hall. He kicked the Third Young Master Li to his knees to apologize to the Marquis's mansion and also returned the Heir Apparent's ancestral jade pendant. When the Heir Apparent reached out to take it, the Second Madam went crazy and snatched the jade pendant from Minister Li's hand, smashing it hard on the ground."
Shen Wan's eyes turned cold as she listened. She knew that the Second Madam didn't want to smash the jade pendant, but rather her eldest brother.
However, Shen Wan hadn't expected Minister Li to send his son to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence to apologize. She had assumed Minister Li was Xie Jingyin's man, and judging from this action, Minister Li seemed to be a very upright person. Moreover, in her previous life, six months later, when war broke out on the border, Minister Li, as the Minister of War, went to the battlefield to fight alongside his father and ultimately died on the battlefield.
As Shen Wan thought of this, she heard Haitang say, "Young Master Li said he didn't do it on purpose. He didn't expect anyone to tamper with the young master's horse. He wanted to compete with the young master in horse racing. A few days ago, he won the horse race against the young master of the Marquis of Anding. The young master of the Marquis of Anding provoked him, saying that winning against him was nothing, and that if he was capable, he should win against the young master of the Marquis of Pingyang."
"Originally, Young Master Li and the young master had a duel. The young master of the Marquis of An Ding provoked him, and Young Master Li asked the young master to race horses. He didn't know that the jade pendant the young master wore at his waist was an heirloom of the Marquis of Pingyang's family. He just casually tore it off to force the young master to race horses with him. If he had known that someone would use him to plot against the young master, he would never have dared to do it."
Shen Wan believed this to be true. Her father only had one son, her eldest brother. If anything happened to her eldest brother, it would be tantamount to making enemies of the Marquis of Pingyang's family. Her father was deeply trusted by the Emperor, and no one in the court dared to easily break ties with him. In particular, the grudge between the Third Young Master Li and her eldest brother over the horse race was not worth mentioning. Horse racing has winners and losers. If the Third Young Master Li made enemies of the Marquis of Pingyang's family over such a trivial matter, he would be beaten to death by Minister Li. It was just that the Third Young Master Li was too competitive, which is why he was manipulated.
Thankfully, my elder brother is alright. Otherwise, even if she knew that Young Master Li was being used, Shen Wan would not forgive him.
Yinshuang said with heartache to Chen Du, "What did the young master do to deserve this? His horse was killed, and the jade pendant that the old master gave him was also smashed."
The second wife was devastated by the loss of her beloved son. Even though the Marquis and the young master were angry, they couldn't do anything to her. The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.
Shen Wan was also angry, but she was optimistic. The more the second wife made a fuss, the more she would pin the blame for Shen Li's death on her eldest brother, making it easier for her to persuade her father to divide the family property later.
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