Although he intended to pledge allegiance to the King of Qin, Cai Wenxuan was unwilling to simply hand over the gold he had painstakingly built. He reasoned that since the marriage was still undecided, rather than eagerly currying favor with the King of Qin, it would be better to spread the word and have the King of Qin actively court him.
After all, the price of something delivered to your door is different from the price of something you have to beg for.
With this in mind, Cai Wenxuan decided to first visit Shen Youying's "sister" the next day to test the Qin King's attitude, then go to the mine to quell the farce there, and then slowly spread the word, waiting for the Qin King to offer the olive beads. He would then take the opportunity to sell them for a good price.
The following morning, Cai Wenxuan indeed came to visit.
This time, he did not bring his wife, but the carriage he was riding in was piled with brocade boxes of all sizes, all of which were "apologies" he brought to apologize for not being invited to visit last time.
Xue Shen, Shen Youying, and Shen Youying's cousin "Shen Liuying" were waiting in the pavilion.
When Cai Wenxuan was led in by a servant, he saw Xue Shen sitting in the main seat, with Shen Youying serving tea to his left, and a girl he had never seen before sitting to his left. She was unaware of his arrival and was playing the zither with her eyes lowered.
The music was melodious, and dancers were dancing in harmony with it.
The young girl had her hair styled in a high bun, her head slightly lowered, revealing a section of her snow-white nape. Although she was not as beautiful as Shen Youying, she possessed a refined and cultured air about her.
Cai Wenxuan had had enough of Xu's rudeness and arrogance, and naturally felt a certain fondness for such a well-educated and reasonable woman. After guessing her identity, his smile deepened.
He straightened his back, lifted the hem of his coat, and quickly walked a few steps forward. He then bowed with elegant manners, trying his best to appear more upright and dashing.
"Greetings, Your Highness and Madam." He glanced at the woman on his right, politely nodding at her briefly, then stepped aside to let the servants behind him carry a dozen or so brocade boxes. He said, "Madam invited Madam Xu to the manor earlier, but at that time my wife and I were going through a divorce, and I was unable to come. Now that the divorce is settled, we can no longer bring Madam Xu. Therefore, I can only come in person to apologize."
Xue Shen and Shen Youying exchanged a glance, then feigned ignorance and asked, "We heard that Lord Cai and Madam Xu were a married couple, so how come they're getting a divorce so easily?"
Shen Youying echoed with a worried expression, "Could it still be about taking a concubine?"
Cai Wenxuan glanced subconsciously at the girl beside Shen Youying, sighed deeply, and said with a helpless expression, "This matter is a family scandal, and it's not something I should say for Your Highness and Madam to laugh at. But there are some things I just have to say. Actually, Xu Shi and I have been incompatible for a long time. We have been married for many years, and she has only given birth to one daughter. In order to continue the family line, I took a concubine, but Xu Shi is jealous and often mistreats her. Later, when the concubine became pregnant, Xu Shi actually sold her off while I was away on official business. Later, after many twists and turns, I finally found her, but I didn't dare to bring her back home and kept her outside. But when Xu Shi found out about this, she was relentless and had her tied up, tortured, and abused. She even didn't spare my two young illegitimate children."
At this point, Cai Wenxuan's eyes reddened and filled with tears: "I am not the kind of person who would favor a concubine over his wife, but Madam Xu's actions were simply too cruel. My poor subordinate's two children were so frightened that they developed a high fever and almost died..."
"After returning, I have deeply regretted my actions and can no longer tolerate a heartless and ruthless person as the mistress of the house. I have no choice but to divorce Xu."
Shen Youying looked startled and touched her belly, saying, "How could this happen? How are the two children?"
Cai Wenxuan said, "Fortunately, I arrived in time and rescued the person. I also asked a doctor to watch over him day and night. Fortunately, he was saved and a major accident was averted."
“I never imagined that Madam Xu would be this kind of person.” Shen Youying clutched her chest, glanced at Shen Liuying, and said, “People like us sisters who love children can’t stand hearing such things. What kind of entanglements do adults have to affect children? How innocent are children! Even if they are illegitimate children, there is no reason to abuse them at will.”
Shen Liuying replied softly, "My mother taught me from a young age that a wife should be dignified and virtuous, manage the household affairs for her husband, and should not be jealous or unvirtuous."
Shen Youying nodded upon hearing this, and looked at Cai Wenxuan meaningfully, saying, "With her family backing her up, Xu's personality inevitably became a bit domineering, unlike my sister who is a person with a hard life. Her parents died early and she lives under the roof of others. She always thinks of others first in everything she does."
Cai Wenxuan quickly replied, "Although Miss Shen has had a difficult life, she is indeed intelligent and kind-hearted."
Shen Youying said, "She's just too kind. I'm always worried that she'll be bullied in the future, which is why I haven't arranged a marriage for her yet. I'm thinking of finding someone who will care for her and protect her."
Cai Wenxuan knew that the topic had come to the point, so he quickly said, "A kind person like Miss Shen, no matter who it is, would not have the heart to mistreat her." He shook his head as he spoke, "If Madam Xu had even a third of Miss Shen's kindness, we wouldn't have ended up getting a divorce."
When Shen Youying saw that he had taken the bait, she exchanged a glance with Xue Shen and knew that the play was about to succeed.
After that, she stopped talking about the topic and simply ordered food to be served. They ate, drank, chatted, and enjoyed the singing and dancing. Midway through the banquet, Shen Youying excused herself by saying that she was feeling unwell and asked Xue Shen to help her back to her room to rest, leaving Shen Liuying and Cai Wenxuan in the pavilion.
The girl disguised as "Shen Liuying" was Xue Shen's subordinate. Although she looked young, she was actually five years older than Shen Youying. In her early years, she had mingled with all sorts of people and was good at reading people and dealing with them accordingly. She was more than capable of handling Cai Wenxuan.
After leaving the pavilion, Shen Youying looked back and asked, "Cai Wenxuan has taken the bait. What's the next step?"
Xue Shen supported her waist as the two strolled among the flowers: "Yesterday, a scout reported that the Xu brothers had visited the governor's mansion, where the three of them drank and chatted amiably. After that, Cai Wenxuan's divorce from his wife turned into a peaceful separation."
Shen Youying understood: "What deal did they reach?" But then she was a little puzzled: "Did the Xu family just settle things like that?"
Even though she had only been in Xizhou City for a short time, she knew that the Xu family was a powerful force in the city, and neither the Xu clan nor the Xu family were people who would tolerate being bullied.
Xue Shen gave her an approving look and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Xu family is preparing to strike first."
Shen Youying stared at his gesture, her eyes widening in astonishment: "How dare the Xu family be so audacious? We're still in the city, and they dare to kill an official of the imperial court?"
Xue Shen explained, "The Xu family has been in power for a long time, and concealing the illegal mining of gold is a serious crime that can implicate nine generations of one's family. It's not surprising that they would take such a risk. I've read about Xu Qiao's life; he was a valiant general in his early years, decisive and ruthless in his actions. It's not unreasonable that he chose to kill Cai Wenxuan. After all, with Cai Wenxuan dead, only the Xu family would know the secret of Tata Mountain, and there would be no one else to share the gold mine."
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