The Ministry of Justice quickly delivered its verdict in the case of the old lady and Madam Wang's plot to murder the late old lady.
He was executed in public at the city gate seven days later.
Shen Wan originally intended to imprison the two until autumn before executing them.
The old lady had enjoyed decades of wealth and luxury, and Shen Wan thought she would linger on like a rat in a sewer for a few months before taking her life.
However, the Ministry of Justice prison was cold and damp, and the old lady, who had lived a life of luxury, could not endure such hardship. In addition, she had suffered a series of blows in the past two months and was already ill. She was half dead after only one day in the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice determined that she would not be able to survive even half a month.
From the Ministry of Justice's perspective, it made no difference whether the old lady died of illness in her cell or was beheaded in public; dying of illness directly would have been easier. However, since Shen Wan wanted the old lady to be executed in front of everyone, she had no choice but to accept the Ministry of Justice's arrangement.
The Lingwang Mansion was peaceful for the next seven days, but the Pingyang Marquis Mansion was quite busy.
Busy dividing the family property.
Shen Jing originally planned to finish her work this month and then have some free time next month before separating the family.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Before the family division, the old lady's vicious deeds were exposed, and Shen Jing could no longer tolerate the second branch of the family staying in the Marquis's mansion.
The Marquis's mansion is large and prosperous, and it would take a long time to inventory all the public property. The most difficult thing to deal with is the things in the old lady's Qinghui Courtyard. The old lady murdered the late old lady and made everyone believe that she was really affectionate towards the late old lady as a sister. She broke off her engagement and married the old Marquis as his second wife, taking good care of the Marquis. The dowry left by the late old lady naturally fell to the old lady to manage.
When Shen Jing married Yun Shi, the old lady gave part of the dowry to Shen Jing. Several gentlemen of the Marquis's mansion also gave some on behalf of the old lady when they got married, but at least half of it was still in the old lady's hands.
In the past, Shen Jing would have turned a blind eye, but now that the old lady's evil deeds have been exposed, not taking back the old lady's dowry would only benefit the second and third wives.
Manager Li and his men thoroughly searched through the dowry list, turning the old lady's entire dowry upside down. They confiscated everything they could find belonging to the old lady, and compensated her for anything she had embezzled or misappropriated.
After careful consideration, the old lady's dowry was almost gone, so she divided it into two parts to prevent the third branch of the family, who had been sent away to work elsewhere, from causing trouble and upsetting the Marquis.
The old lady married the old marquis as his second wife. Normally, when the family property was divided, the second and third branches would be divided according to the legitimate children. However, now the property is being divided according to the illegitimate children.
Of all the property in the communal house, the eldest son's family owned 70%, while the remaining 30% was divided equally among the second, third, and fourth sons.
The second wife disagreed with this way of dividing the family property, but she made a fuss and then backed down. Shen Jing then said, "Either divide it according to the rules for children born out of wedlock, or I will kick your second branch out of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion."
When Shen Jing said this, there was a murderous look on his face.
The second wife was so frightened she was half-dead; she didn't dare utter a single word of dissent.
Shen Jing is a person who does what she says, and she was definitely not trying to scare her.
The division of the family property went smoothly.
Manager Li divided the remaining portion among the three parts, allowing the second and fourth families to choose, while the remaining portion went to the third family, who were assigned to other posts.
The happiest family after the division of the family property was the fourth branch. The fourth master and his wife had been looking forward to the division. The fourth branch's new house was right next to the main gate of the Marquis's mansion. With a side gate, it would be convenient to come and go, not much different from not having divided the family property. However, they would not have to live under the same roof as the old lady and the second branch, and their lives would be much more comfortable.
Previously, only the fourth branch of the family was born out of wedlock. The eldest branch would definitely take half of the share, and the second and third branches would take the majority of the remaining half. The fourth branch probably wouldn't even get half of the share. Now that they can get 10%, they've really gotten a great deal.
Moreover, Shen Jing had always treated the fourth branch of the family well. After the public funds were distributed, Shen Jing gave the fourth branch two shops, a four-courtyard house, two hundred acres of fertile land, and ten thousand taels of silver. He also specifically instructed Steward Li that Shen Wei's dowry would be distributed through the public funds.
Shen Jing treated the fourth branch of the family very well, and the fourth master and his wife felt bad about it. The eldest branch and Prince Ling had helped the fourth branch far too much.
They helped Shen Wei get engaged to the heir of the Duke of Wei, and even helped the Fourth Master get a position in the Military Equipment Bureau. The Fourth Branch of the family has no way to repay them.
Most importantly, after the division of the family property, Shen Jing ordered the second and third branches to move out of the Marquis's mansion within three days. The fourth branch was right next to the Marquis's mansion, so moving would be convenient. Shen Jing even allowed them to stay until the housewarming banquet was held.
The day before the old lady was executed, the Marquis's mansion had already divided its assets. It was known that Shen Jing's share of the second and third branches was less than what was given to the fourth branch. Most of her accumulated dowry had gone into public funds, which almost made her die of anger in prison.
She schemed her whole life, but in the end she got nothing and even suffered a decapitation.
She was unwilling to accept it.
No matter how unwilling you are, it's no use. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded. It's not that they won't be punished, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.
On the day of the execution of the old lady and the old lady Wang, Shen Wan wanted to go to the city gate to watch the execution, but no matter what she said, Xie Jingyan wouldn't let her see such a bloody scene, for fear that she would be frightened, so Shen Wan had to give up the idea.
Yinshuang was bold; she went to witness the execution in Shenwan's place, leaving Haitang to serve Shenwan.
After Shen Wan finished her lunch and read half a book, Yin Shuang returned. She ran back, her face flushed from the heat, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.
She didn't even have time to speak when she entered the room. She poured herself a cup of tea, gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, and was still breathing heavily.
Haitang asked, "Why did you come back in such a hurry?"
Yinshuang grinned and said, "I was just afraid that if I came back late, the princess would be taking a nap."
After a while, Yinshuang said, "Luckily, the prince stopped the princess from going. I was so disgusted by the smell that I threw up."
Shen Wan asked, "Smoke?"
Yinshuang nodded vigorously, "On the way to the execution ground, the old lady and Madam Wang were pelted with countless rotten eggs and vegetable leaves, and stones were thrown at them. The old lady's forehead was broken. If it weren't for the Ministry of Justice's yamen runners who were afraid that the old lady would be killed on the way to the execution, the old lady probably wouldn't have made it to the execution ground alive."
Yinshuang looked extremely pleased.
Shen Wan felt even more regretful that she couldn't see it in person.
Haitang asked, "Did you personally witness the old lady and Madam Wang being beheaded?"
Silver Frost nodded. "Of course, I didn't even blink."
She certainly wouldn't dare watch someone else be beheaded.
But with the old lady and Madam Wang being chopped off, let alone daring to watch, Yinshuang wished she could take the executioner's place.
The old lady was executed in public, and neither of her two most beloved granddaughters, Shen Ying and Shen Rong, went to see her off on her final journey.
The second master collected the old lady's body and set up a mourning hall in the new house, but no one went to pay their respects.
Just kidding. When the old lady of the Chen family, the residence of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, passed away, hardly anyone came to pay their respects. How much less would the old lady who was executed be mourned?
Such a vicious woman is despised by everyone; going to mourn her would be risky, as it would bring bad luck upon one.
Shen Ying was demoted to a concubine. Without the old lady's support, she couldn't make any waves. The second and third masters' careers were also coming to an end. As the sons of their enemy, their father couldn't do anything to them for the sake of the old marquis. But there were plenty of people in the court who wanted to curry favor with their father. As long as they found evidence and impeached them, the second and third masters would be demoted at best, and exiled at worst.
Shen Wan was in a good mood when Chun'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the Third Master Tang of the Duke of Tan's Mansion recommended Lord Luo, who was in charge of investigating the Liangjiang Salt Monopoly Case. He was commended for his meritorious service and the Emperor promoted him to the Dali Temple."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
