Chapter 200 To destroy them, first make them mad.
After gossiping about Princess Pingyuan, Tan Qingrou then brought up Princess Shanmin:
"With a good mother backing her up, she became increasingly reckless in the capital. At the beginning of the year, she ordered someone to take away a son of an official family on the street. The next day, the son was carried out of the princess's residence horizontally."
Even though she hadn't witnessed it herself, Tan Qingrou's face showed a hint of fear as she spoke of it: "I heard that this young master was tortured so badly that he was covered in wounds, his hands and feet were broken, his teeth were pulled out, and he was unrecognizable."
Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran gasped, their faces showing shock.
Arrogant! Absolutely arrogant!
This Princess Shanmin actually kidnapped the son of an official in broad daylight and tortured him to death without any scruples. How arrogant and cruel she is!
Tan Qingrou sighed, her voice lowering:
"The couple's hair turned white overnight after their only son died tragically. Knowing that they were too weak to avenge their son, they committed suicide together at the palace gate in front of all the civil and military officials during the morning court session."
This scene caused a huge psychological shock to the civil and military officials. Many officials criticized Princess Pingyuan in court for failing to educate her daughter properly and allowing her to commit murder. They requested the current emperor to severely punish her to appease public anger.
However, more than half of the officials pleaded for Princess Pingyuan's family, saying that Princess Shanmin was young and ignorant, and that it was the son of an official who had offended Princess Shanmin first, which led to Princess Shanmin's mistaken killing of him.
Subsequently, Princess Pingyuan personally led Princess Shanmin to plead guilty before the emperor. In the end, Princess Shanmin was flogged twenty times and confined to her quarters for a year.
At the suggestion of Princess Pingyuan, the Emperor showed favor to the married sister of the tragically deceased prince by bestowing upon her the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady and ordering her husband's family to treat her well.
Despite causing the deaths of three people, Princess Shanmin received only a minor punishment, without any serious injury.
However, since the royal family had made their stance clear, no matter how dissatisfied the civil and military officials were, they had no choice but to suppress their dissatisfaction. Otherwise, if they continued to press the issue, they would likely face retaliation from Princess Pingyuan.
Upon hearing this, Sheng An and the other two remained silent for a long time, realizing with absolute clarity that the power of Princess Pingyuan's mansion far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.
They exchanged a glance, and without further ado, they stopped mentioning the Princess Pingyuan's residence and naturally began gossiping about other things.
The four were close in age and could talk about many things, so there was never a dull moment, and tea and snacks were served several times in a row.
The snacks Baoxiu made early in the morning were devoured by the group, and they barely touched the home-cooked meal that the boatwoman prepared at noon.
The passenger ship sailed downstream and arrived at Jinling Wharf just past noon.
With Xu Jinnian's help, Sheng An was the first to disembark. Feeling dizzy, she leaned on Xu Jinnian for a long time before the dizziness subsided, and she could barely walk in a straight line.
Boxes of luggage were loaded onto more than a dozen carriages that came to meet them, and the group rode directly to a house where they could rest.
This house occupies a large area and is only a short walk from the examination hall. It is an unused villa belonging to Ye Yunhua's relatives, and usually only a few servants look after the house.
Now that the servants have temporarily left, the house has been cleaned spotlessly, and bedding and other items are readily available, so there is no need for everyone to go to the trouble of procuring them.
The house has several courtyards, and the courtyards are spaced apart so that they do not disturb each other.
The Tan siblings returned to their own home, and everyone watched them leave in their carriages. They quickly chose their own courtyards and had their servants carry their luggage inside.
The courtyard that Sheng An and Xu Jinnian chose was at the very back, with three main rooms and six side rooms, more than enough for the two of them.
The four guards they brought stayed in two rooms near the courtyard, ensuring that they wouldn't disturb the couple's rest and reading, while also guaranteeing their safety.
Looking at the six boxes piled high on the ground, Sheng An lazily slumped in her chair, not wanting to move, and stared longingly at the energetic man.
Xu Jinnian patted her head and said, "I've had someone boil some water. You can take a bath later. I'll pack your luggage by myself. I'll take you out to eat later."
Sheng An was extremely satisfied with this arrangement. She held his hand, tilted her head, and rubbed his hand as a reward: "Thank you for your hard work, my husband."
Xu Jin smiled and turned around to open the box and start packing.
Sheng An watched intently, occasionally offering a reminder:
"These clothes are hanging on the outside; I'll wear them tomorrow when I go shopping with Sister Liu and the others. Leave the shoes outside; I'll wear them after I shower. Also, put your pajamas separately so they're easy to find at night..."
Xu Jinnian did as she was told, placing all the items in the places she was used to reaching.
One gave the order, and the other carried it out strictly. Before long, the luggage in the six boxes was properly arranged, and the guard brought over freshly boiled water.
The couple took a hot shower together to wash away the fatigue from their long journey.
Having eaten lunch on the boat, neither of them felt hungry, so they lay down together to take a nap.
Perhaps because she was in an unfamiliar room and on an unfamiliar bed, Sheng An couldn't fall asleep for a while, and her thumb and forefinger scratched Xu Jinnian's palm intermittently.
Xu Jinnian clenched his fist, his fingertips gently stroking her slender fingertips: "What are you thinking about?"
Sheng An shook his head, then nodded: "This morning on the ship, Qingrou talked a lot about the Pingyuan Princess's residence."
Then, she recounted how Princess Shanmin had abused and killed the son of an official, driving the couple to despair and causing them to commit suicide by crashing into the palace gate.
Xu Jinnian's expression remained unchanged after hearing this: "An'an thinks Princess Shanmin's punishment was insufficient?"
Sheng An glanced at him: "Three lives for twenty strokes of the cane, what do you say?"
Three precious lives were lost in vain. Not even twenty strokes of the cane, let alone being killed twenty times, would be enough to atone for their sins.
Xu Jinnian sensed the anger in the person in his arms, gently patted her back and whispered to comfort her: "Princess Pingyuan's mansion won't be arrogant for long."
Sheng An hurriedly pressed, "How did you know? Did your teacher tell you?"
Xu Jinnian gently pinched her nose, then couldn't resist leaning in to kiss the corner of her lips:
"The ruler of the world is the one on the dragon throne. Princess Shanmin has committed such a grave mistake, yet more than half of the ministers are pleading for her. The one on the dragon throne must be having trouble sleeping at night."
Although the Master was not in the court, he was well aware of the major events happening there and did not deliberately avoid mentioning them when talking to his four disciples.
Sheng An lowered his eyes in thought, and suddenly remembered a profound saying.
To destroy someone, first make them go mad.
Princess Pingyuan and her daughter acted ostentatiously and recklessly, much like cooking oil over a raging fire. It's hard to say that this wasn't the result of the emperor on the throne deliberately letting them run wild.
Seeing that his wife had realized what was happening, Xu Jinnian's eyes flashed with a deep smile, and he kissed her lips again: "An'an is so smart."
Sheng An was speechless: "You've already thrown the answer in my face. If I still can't figure it out, what's the difference between me and an idiot?"
Xu Jinnian replied in a serious tone, "Yes."
Sheng An asked instinctively, "What?"
Xu Jinnian's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head to deepen the kiss, his deep voice full of seduction: "I would treat An'an like this, but I wouldn't treat a fool like this."
Sheng An: "..."
Ugh, the topic is turning sour again.
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