The old lady, despite her frail health, went to kneel and beg the Yun family to save her nephew from her maternal family; she would never give up easily.
The fact that Madam Wang came to see the old lady in such a hurry made Shen Wan wonder what kind of wicked scheme these two sisters-in-law were up to. If they were just trying to bribe court officials to plead for mercy, that would be one thing, but she was afraid that they wanted to save people but were unwilling to spend money, so they were targeting Shen Jing and the Yun family instead.
Keep an eye on things so you can take timely precautions.
The carriage rolled forward, and Shen Wan was held in Xie Jingyan's arms, his hand covering her lower abdomen, the warmth of his palm constantly radiating from her.
It was already hot outside, and his body was like a furnace. Shen Wan wanted to sit down by herself, but then she heard his hot breath rushing into her ear, "A bit too big."
Shen Wan looked bewildered. "What?"
"An army must be well-fed before its troops arrive."
Shen Wan understood less and less.
But following his gaze, she realized what he was referring to, and her ears turned red.
It has indeed grown a bit in a certain area these days...
But is this jerk implying that she was too small before?!
Shen Wan glared at him, and the man whispered in her ear as if taking credit, "I raised her myself."
Ahhh!
Does this bastard have any shame?
This is a carriage, not inside a house.
Separated only by a curtain, the servant was driving the carriage, and the guards were also there.
How could he be so reckless?!
What Shen Wan fears most now is being clingy with him. It seems that as long as they stick together, this guy has no other serious thoughts on his mind.
Shen Wan was glad she was pregnant, otherwise she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get out of bed every few days.
Noticing the hand resting on her lower abdomen, Shen Wan quickly tried to divert the man's attention, saying, "It's so hot, fan me."
Shen Wan had a few beads of sweat on her nose, so Xie Jingyan took out a folding fan and fanned her.
The carriage soon returned to the Ling Prince's residence.
After Xie Jingyan got off the carriage, he carried Shen Wan down. Knowing that she had walked a lot that day, he didn't put Shen Wan down and carried her directly back to Moyuxuan.
If it were before, when the maids and servants saw Xie Jingyan carrying Chen Wan back, they would have suspected that the princess had sprained her ankle, but now they are used to it.
It was lunchtime. Shen Wan drank half a cup of tea, and then the small kitchen brought the food into the room. Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan sat down to eat lunch.
Halfway through the meal, there was a knock on the window, and Chen Feng's voice came through, "Your Highness."
As Shen Wan was about to get up, Xie Jingyan's mellow voice came:
"Come in."
The window creaked open, and Chen Feng jumped in.
Shen Wan asked impatiently, "Did you find out anything?"
Chen Feng nodded.
He not only heard it, but also a lot of useful information, some of which was even beyond Chen Feng's expectations.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so oblivious as to knock on the window when he knew the prince and princess hadn't finished their lunch.
Chen Feng replied, "The Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang was recommended by the Left Prime Minister. It was Prince Jin who thanked the second branch of the Pingyang Marquis's family for lying for him back then, making the Princess Consort mistakenly believe that it was Prince Jin who rescued you from the lotus pond..."
Although Xie Jingyan already knew about this, his face still darkened when he heard it.
Shen Wan knew that her father's promotion shortly after she fell into the water was not a simple coincidence, and sure enough, it was.
Chen Feng continued, "After Master Wang took office as the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang, he paid the Left Prime Minister 40,000 taels of silver and the Old Madam 6,000 taels of silver annually..."
...No wonder Master Biao would sell salt permits for profit. Just the annual tributes to the Left Prime Minister and the Old Madam amounted to nearly 50,000 taels. Salt administration was a lucrative position, but it wasn't easy to embezzle so much every year. In addition, the Wang family wanted to live a life of luxury, so the amount embezzled each year was probably no less than 100,000 taels.
Chen Feng told Shen Wan everything he had overheard.
Wang Yu used most of the money from selling salt permits to cultivate relationships with various parties, especially the Left Prime Minister and the Prince of Jin. Now that something has happened, Old Madam Wang asked the Left Prime Minister to save her son, but she went to the Left Prime Minister's residence several times, but she was not even able to enter the gate.
Madam Wang was desperate to get her son out of trouble, but one by one they refused to see her. She had nowhere to turn for help. The evidence against the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang for illegally selling salt permits was conclusive. Moreover, the case was handled by Prince Ling. Everyone in the court knew about the relationship between the Wang family and the Marquis of Pingyang. Prince Ling didn't even care about the Marquis of Pingyang's reputation. Who would be so foolish as to take money to plead for the Wang family?
Money is a good thing, but if you have no future, then that money is just for the country's reserves.
After being repeatedly turned away, Madam Wang had no choice but to seek help from the old lady again. However, the old lady had done everything she could, but she could neither persuade Shen Jing to help the Wang family nor obtain the get-out-of-jail-free card from the Yun family.
Madam Wang was already seething with anger, and seeing that the old lady couldn't do anything about it, she felt that the old lady was useless.
The old lady was used to being fawned over, and she was not someone that Old Madam Wang could criticize. Sure enough, the two sisters-in-law had a falling out over a single word.
Shen Wan thought that the old lady and Madam Wang, the two sisters-in-law, would work together to save people, but they ended up fighting amongst themselves.
She was listening intently when Chen Feng stopped, making Shen Wan anxious. "And then, what were they arguing about?"
Chen Feng said, "Old Madam Wang scolded the old lady for being too useless. More than thirty years ago, she helped her devise a plan to obtain the position of the old lady of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, but she couldn't even get rid of the Marquis and still had to live a life dependent on others..."
Swish.
Almost instantly.
The smile on Shen Wan's face vanished, replaced by frost.
The two maids, Yinshuang and Haitang, looked at each other in shock.
Shen Wan was so angry that she trembled all over.
She realized more than once that the old lady was a very selfish person. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would break off her engagement and marry the old master as a second wife just to repay the old lady's life-saving grace. But she had no evidence. Even though she realized it time and time again, she never thought that the old lady was the one who killed the old lady.
The old lady kept saying she married into the family to repay the late madam for saving her life and to take care of her father, but what was the result?!
To secure her position as the matriarch of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, the old lady did not hesitate to kill her cousin who had saved her life. She then used this kindness to her advantage, causing her father to recognize her as his enemy for over thirty years. In fact, her father had been killed by the mother and son in his previous life!
Shen Wan's eyes were red with anger, and her hands were clenched so tightly that she couldn't feel the pain even when her nails dug into her flesh.
Fearing that Shen Wan might hurt herself, Xie Jingyan released her hand and asked, "What do you want to do?"
A murderous intent flashed in Shen Wan's eyes.
She was furious at the old lady's kneeling plea to the Yun family to use a pardon to save her nephew. Fearing that such a thing might happen again, she asked Chen Feng to eavesdrop on her. She never expected to hear such a vicious and cruel truth. The thought of the old lady taking over the position of the late old lady and living a life of luxury for decades made Shen Wan so angry that she couldn't utter a single word.
Shen Wan gritted her teeth, while Yin Shuang couldn't help but say angrily, "We must tell the Marquis about this."
It's not just about telling my father.
She wanted to ruin the old lady's reputation!
If the old lady isn't made to experience what it's like to be worse than dead, if her bones aren't ground to dust, then Shen Wan's hatred will never be quelled.
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