Unfortunately, Shen Wan only knew that Consort Chen had committed a crime and angered the Emperor, but she didn't know the specifics of what she had done. She wanted to ask but was afraid of reopening Xie Jingyan's wounds, so she could only endure it, which was truly agonizing. However, judging from Xie Jingyan's attitude towards the Emperor, there might be more to Consort Chen's case than met the eye.
Shen Wan held the teacup, the rising steam blurring her porcelain-white face, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Just as she was lost in thought, Yinshuang called out to her, "Your Highness, what about the matter that Dong'er reported to you about the Fourth Miss?"
Shen Wan then noticed that Dong'er was standing right in front of her. Shen Wan asked, "What's wrong, Fourth Miss?"
Dong'er hurriedly replied, "Today, Fourth Miss was pushed off Qingfeng Bridge by the eldest daughter of General Mingwei's mansion. Fortunately, the heir of the Duke of Wei rescued her and prevented her from falling into the water..."
Shen Wan frowned.
Fourth Sister is gentle and never makes enemies. The eldest daughter of General Mingwei's mansion is targeting her because the position of Military Equipment Supervisor fell into the hands of Fourth Uncle instead of Second Master. Even the Old Madam is dissatisfied, let alone the people of General Mingwei's mansion.
There are so many official positions in the imperial court, and everyone has always relied on their own abilities. To hold a grudge if one fails to get an official position is rather narrow-minded. Besides, even without Xie Jingyan's recommendation of his fourth uncle, the position of Military Equipment Supervisor might not have been given to him by General Mingwei's mansion.
If the Emperor wanted to give it to General Mingwei or the Second Master, he would have done so long ago. He wouldn't have waited for Xie Jingyan's recommendation to let Fourth Uncle get this benefit.
Even she understands this, so the First Prince and Xie Jingyin must understand it too.
Shen Wan's expression was displeased, but her mood quickly improved. She heard Dong'er grin and say, "Miss Zhang from General Mingwei's mansion pushed Fourth Miss into the water. Chunlan was in such a hurry to 'save' Fourth Miss that she accidentally knocked Miss Zhang off the bridge..."
The fourth daughter fell off the bridge and was rescued in time by the heir of the Duke of Wei, but no one rescued the eldest daughter, Zhang. It is said that the splash of water when the eldest daughter fell was several feet high, and when she was rescued, she was in a very disheveled state.
Shen Wei was rescued by the heir of the Duke of Wei, which was already beyond Shen Wan's expectations. She didn't expect such a surprise afterward. Her fourth sister always suffered losses when she encountered people, but this time she didn't. It was truly remarkable.
The next day, Shen Wan met Shen Wei and learned that Shen Wei had gone out of the mansion the day before to choose jewelry for her. Xie Jingyan had helped the Fourth Master get promoted two ranks, which was a huge favor. How could she not thank him properly? She was busy entertaining the guests who came to congratulate her for the first two days and then it rained for three days in a row. As soon as the sky cleared up, Shen Wei quickly took Chunlan out to choose a thank-you gift.
Actually, before Qingfeng Bridge, Shen Wei had already had a dispute with Miss Zhang from General Mingwei's mansion. Shen Wei was in a silk shop and took a fancy to a piece of silk. She liked the color and pattern very much and wanted to buy it as a gift for Shen Wan. However, while she was looking at it, Miss Zhang arrived and directly wanted to buy the silk that Shen Wei had taken a fancy to. Shen Wei said that she had taken a fancy to it first. Miss Zhang said that she had only looked at it and had never said she wanted to buy it. Then she started to grab it.
The silk wasn't very sturdy, and the shopkeeper was worried they would tear it, so he quickly tried to calm them down. There was only one bolt of silk, but the shop had more expensive and better-looking ones. However, both of them only wanted this one bolt. Shen Wei was always gentle and soft-hearted, and she only insisted on buying the silk to give to Shen Wan. But if the silk was torn, she wouldn't be able to give it to her, so she let go.
As she let go, Miss Zhang staggered backward, her elbow hitting the counter. She winced in pain, and her dress accidentally got caught on the counter. In a fit of anger, she yanked hard, tearing the dress.
Zhang Da Niang was already furious that her father hadn't been promoted to the position of Military Equipment Supervisor. She went out of the manor to clear her head, but then she ran into Shen Wei, which made her feel even more unlucky. When she thought about how Shen Wei, the daughter of a fifth-rank official, had actually caught the eye of the Duchess of Wei and was engaged to the Duke of Wei's heir, she was consumed by jealousy. She wanted to vent her anger, but instead of venting her anger, she injured her elbow and tore her favorite dress. Zhang Da Niang was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
Shen Wei ignored her and left the silk shop. Although Miss Zhang had managed to snatch the silk, she was not happy at all. Later, the two met again on the street. Shen Wei did not want to be bothered by her, so she simply changed streets and continued to stroll. She crossed Qingfeng Bridge. Miss Zhang could not stand Shen Wei ignoring her, so she walked faster on the bridge and deliberately bumped into Shen Wei.
Shen Wan knew what happened next, but Shen Wei didn't say anything.
Yinshuang noticed that Chunlan was dressed particularly eye-catching today. She wore silver bracelets on her wrists, silver earrings on her ears, and a silver hairpin in her hair. Her outfit was just as stunning as Yinshuang's.
Seeing Yinshuang looking at her, Chunlan smiled broadly, her eyes disappearing as she shook the silver bracelet on her wrist, saying, "This was a gift from the heir of the Duke of Wei."
Yinshuang exclaimed, "I thought it was a gift from the Fourth Madam!"
Not only Yinshuang, but Chenwan also thought so.
She looked at Shen Wei with a smile.
Shen Wei's face was even more beautiful than that of azaleas.
Chunlan smiled and said, "Madam rewarded me with a gold-inlaid jade hairpin and also gave me twenty taels of silver."
She had been serving the Fourth Miss for several years, and the money she had saved was not even a fraction of the reward she received yesterday. It was like a dream.
Chunlan became happier the more she thought about it, saying, "It's all thanks to my great-aunt..."
Shen Wan chuckled, "How is it thanks to me?"
Chunlan said, "Didn't the eldest aunt tell you to stand up for yourself, and even said that you would back you up if anything happened? Yesterday, the eldest daughter of General Mingwei's mansion bullied you and even tried to kill you. I couldn't stand it, so I pushed her off the bridge to keep you company..."
It's better for two people to lose face than for your daughter to lose face alone.
Chunlan never expected that her daughter would be rescued by the heir of the Duke of Wei after falling into the water, but no one would save Miss Zhang. However, Miss Zhang deserved what she got for her own actions.
Because of her loyalty to her master, the heir of the Duke of Wei rewarded her, and after returning to the mansion, the fourth wife also rewarded her.
Shen Wan helped Shen Wei several times, urging Shen Wei to be stronger. Chunlan kept this in mind. Whenever she found Shen Wei was too soft-hearted, she wouldn't dare to remind her directly, but she would reiterate Shen Wan's words afterward. The more she said it, the bolder she became. In the past, she wouldn't have dared to even think about it. How could a maid like her dare to push a young lady from General Mingwei's mansion into the water? It was already a miracle that she didn't cry.
Shen Wan nodded and looked at Shen Wei, saying, "That's how it should be. We shouldn't bully others, but we must never let others bully us."
Shen Wei nodded repeatedly.
Yesterday was almost the first time she had fought back after being bullied, and she felt incredibly good. Her mother also regretted teaching her to only tolerate things when they happened, because tolerance would only lead to more bullying. She vowed never to be so weak and cowardly again.
From Shen Wei's expression, Shen Wan knew that she had really made progress. With more guidance, Shen Wan believed that her fourth sister could also be transformed and become a capable wife of the Duke's heir.
But when Shen Wan looked at her a few more times, she noticed that Shen Wei seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
Shen Wan asked, "Is there anything I can't say to you?"
Shen Wei said, "It's about Third Brother..."
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