The servant drove the carriage back to the palace.
After Xie Jingyan got off the carriage, he helped Shen Wan down.
Upon entering the Prince's residence, Xie Jingyan picked Shen Wan up in his arms. This time, Shen Wan didn't struggle; she was truly exhausted. Moreover, at this hour, most of the maids and servants in the residence were still out admiring the lanterns and hadn't returned yet.
Throughout the day, except for a short nap, she barely rested. Yinshuang and Haitang prepared the hot water, and Shenwan soaked in the bathtub and fell asleep leaning against it.
When she woke up, it was already late at night. She was held in Xie Jingyan's arms, and she settled into a comfortable position in his embrace before falling back asleep. When she woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Shen Wan sat on the bed and stretched. Yin Shuang carried a copper basin into the room and said, "Your Highness has finally woken up."
Shen Wan asked, "Is there something you need to report?"
Yinshuang put down the copper basin and walked over, saying, "Your Highness, guess who that girl was yesterday that Chen Feng sent someone to keep an eye on?"
We've found the information.
As expected of Xie Jingyan's people, they have never let her down.
Seeing Yinshuang's gossipy expression, Shen Wan knew what was going on. She asked, "Is she the Second Master's illegitimate daughter?"
Yinshuang's eyes widened instantly. "How did the Princess know?"
Thinking that his princess could dream about things that never happened, the princess saw the girl's wishing plaque and asked Chen Feng to send someone to investigate. The princess probably already knew about it.
The princess's dream was truly amazing.
Yinshuang helped Chenwan off the bed, fetched a dress and helped her put it on, saying, "This servant really thought that after the Second Young Master died, the Second Master's line ended. I didn't expect that he not only had an illegitimate daughter, but also an illegitimate son who is already seven years old. That mistress isn't from a respectable family; the Second Master redeemed her from a brothel and placed her on the road he always takes from the government office back to the Marquis's mansion. The Old Madam knows that the Second Master has a mistress, and she only allows him to visit her twice a month. But recently, she's loosened her control, and the Second Master goes almost every day..."
In her previous life, Shen Wan had never seen the mistress that the Second Master kept, and she really didn't know that the mistress's identity was so despicable. However, she had Chen Feng send someone to investigate, and unexpectedly, they found so much useful information.
Last night, Shen Wan asked Chen Feng to send someone to follow that girl. Chen Feng sent a bodyguard to do so. The bodyguard followed the girl around the streets for several days and only returned home when he was exhausted.
The mistress lived in a three-courtyard house. There were servants in the outer courtyard and maids and servants in the inner courtyard. The mistress was quite content with such a life, but the girl was dissatisfied. After visiting the lantern festival, she told her mistress mother about meeting Shen Wan at the festival. Her words were full of envy and jealousy, and she wanted to be recognized by her ancestors as soon as possible.
The maidservant said, "Wait patiently a little longer. Your father's legitimate son died unexpectedly, and he has no other sons. The old lady has softened her stance, and it's estimated that you and your brother will be able to be taken back soon. There are many rules in high-ranking families. Once you enter the Marquis's mansion, you must be careful with your words and actions, and you must not be spoiled or willful..."
The maidservant began to give instructions, but the girl was impatient to listen. "I don't even know when Father will send someone to pick us up. You're already giving me instructions now. It's not too late for Mother to give me instructions after we enter the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion."
The mistress said with a bitter smile, "My mother's status is lowly, and she will make your father a target of criticism. The old lady will not allow my mother to enter the house..."
The bodyguard, hiding outside the window, heard every word of the intimate conversation between the mother and daughter.
With the second master having a legitimate son, the old lady wouldn't care about an illegitimate child. But now that Chen Li is gone, the second branch of the family doesn't even have a son born out of wedlock, so an illegitimate child is extremely precious to them.
The second wife is jealous and keeps a tight rein on the second master. The second master is also subject to her control. Even when he occasionally complains, the old lady always sides with the second wife. The second wife thinks that the old lady is genuinely good to her and respects her greatly. She is convinced that she has the skill to manage her husband. However, she was first humiliated when Hongkui became pregnant. If the second wife knew that the second master had been keeping a mistress for more than ten years, and that the mistress had even given birth to a son and a daughter for him, one wonders how the second wife would feel.
Shen Wan had been wondering why the old lady and the second wife would think of having Shen Ying learn bedroom arts from brothel girls to win Xie Jingyin's heart. It turns out that the second master had already experienced the power of bedroom arts and knew that men couldn't resist them. If the second wife knew, she would be furious.
Shen Wan was already anticipating the Second Madam's reaction after she found out about this.
After washing up, the maid brought in the food. Xie Jingyan returned from his morning exercise, and the two sat down to eat breakfast together.
After dinner, Xie Jingyan went to the study. Shen Wan had walked too much yesterday, and her calves were a little sore, so she didn't go out and instead lay on the small couch reading.
Yinshuang took the tea out and ran back a moment later, looking at Chen Wan and saying, "I have good news, bad news, and some neither good nor bad news. Which would you like to hear first, Your Highness?"
This maid can even come up with all sorts of tricks when reporting things.
Shen Wan casually turned the page and said, "Let's hear the good news first."
Yinshuang quickly said, "Last night at the Lantern Festival, Young Master Wu got into a fight at the Wan Hua Lou and had his nose broken. When the censor found out about this, he impeached Young Master Wu for failing to properly discipline his son. As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he couldn't even control his own son and allowed him to do such a disgraceful thing. When the Emperor found out, he was very angry and demoted Young Master Wu, and promoted him to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites..."
Hearing this news made Shen Wan feel completely relieved. Even though Master Wu and Madam Wu's son, Su Liumianhua, had been cheated on, it had finally backfired on them.
Shen Wan asked, "What's the bad news?"
Yinshuang said, "The Fourth Master Song of the Left Prime Minister's Office held the rank of Third Grade. He died in the earthquake in Meizhou, leaving his position vacant. Prince Cheng recommended the Second Master, and the Emperor approved it."
That is to say, the second master was promoted one rank.
Last time, Prince Cheng recommended the Second Master to be the Director of the Arsenal, but Xie Jingyan ruined it. This time, he recommended the Second Master again.
It seems her intuition was correct; Prince Cheng was indeed on Xie Jingyin's side.
The Empress Dowager wholeheartedly supported the eldest prince, yet Prince Cheng was not of the same mind as her. No wonder that in her previous life, after Xie Jingyin ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager even disliked Prince Cheng.
Shen Wan was lost in thought when Haitang asked, "What other news is there, neither good nor bad?"
Yinshuang said, "On the way back to the Prince's mansion last night, someone attempted to assassinate the Prince and Princess. When the Emperor learned of this, he was furious and immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the assassination. He also said that if they could not find out the truth, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review would be dismissed from their posts."
It was expected that the Emperor would be angry. During the day, at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, in front of all the civil and military officials, Fu Shu lost her child. At night, during the lantern festival, he attempted to assassinate Xie Jingyan and her. Under the Emperor's nose, someone was acting so recklessly. How could the Emperor tolerate it?
But the assassins either escaped or died, and not a single one was caught alive. Trying to find the real culprit based on just a few assassin corpses is probably as difficult as climbing to heaven.
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