When Liu San heard the words "colluding with foreign thieves," he knew something was wrong. He got up and tried to slip out the back window, but was blocked by the old housekeeper and the guards. Shen Weiwan winked at Chuntao, who immediately picked up the foot basin and slipped with a cry of "Ouch!", spilling the entire basin of rotten water all over Liu San.
"Damn it!" Liu San was soaked and smelled the sour odor on his body. He was so angry that he drew his sword and chopped it, but was pinned to the ground by the quick-eyed and quick-handed servant. Liu looked at the farce in front of her and knew that she was completely finished. She suddenly collapsed to the ground, grabbing her hair and wailing: "I didn't do it! It was Shen Weiwan who framed me! You were all deceived by her!"
"Aunt," Shen Weiwan walked up to her, avoiding the chili powder on the ground with her brocade shoes, her voice as cold as ice, "You led these people here, and you wanted to rob the warehouse. Now there are witnesses and evidence, and you still want to quibble?"
Just then, the sound of hurried horse hooves echoed from outside the courtyard. Seventh Prince Xiao Yu, accompanied by over ten guards, entered, his dark cloak rustling in the night breeze. He surveyed the mess on the ground, raised an eyebrow, and said, "I was passing by the General's Mansion and heard the commotion. So, it seems Auntie is hosting a 'banquet' for distinguished guests?"
Liu, like grabbing a life-saving straw, rolled and crawled to Xiao Yu's feet: "Your Highness! You have to make the decision for me! It was Shen Weiwan who set a trap to harm me!"
Xiao Yu looked at her face covered in chili powder and her skirt stained with sour water. The corners of his mouth twitched and he forced himself to suppress his laughter: "Oh? Auntie and the knife-wielding strongman broke into the warehouse late at night. Were they also framed?"
Shen Weiwan lowered her eyes at the right time, her voice filled with grievance: "Your Highness, maybe my aunt was confused for a moment and was deceived by these people..."
"Confused?" Xiao Yu sneered, his hand on the jade belt buckle at his waist. "You colluded with foreign thieves to rob our property. According to Dasheng law, you should be beaten with eighty sticks and sold into slavery."
Liu's pupils suddenly shrank, and she collapsed on the ground like a puddle of mud. Liu San and others were tied up like dumplings by the guards, still cursing. Shen Weiwan looked at this scene, her heart was full of joy, but she sighed on her face: "Aunt, how could you get to this point..."
The old housekeeper was beside him, his cane thumping against the blue brick floor, and he said, "Second Madam, are you worthy of the general's spirit in heaven?"
Xiao Yu saw the cunning flash in Shen Weiwan's eyes and knew that she was acting again. He coughed deliberately: "Miss Shen, since we have caught them red-handed, send these people to Shuntian Mansion. As for my aunt..." He paused, "She will be confined to the west wing for now. No one is allowed to visit her without my order."
Shen Weiwan bowed and saluted: "It is entirely up to Your Highness to decide."
Seeing Liu being carried away by two maids, her hair dragging on the ground and brushing against the chili powder, Shen Weiwan could no longer hide the smile on her lips. Chun Tao came over quietly and said, "Miss, how did the Seventh Prince come here so coincidentally?"
Shen Weiwan glanced at Xiao Yu, who was looking at her with a half-smile, and whispered, "I'm afraid someone has already sent someone to keep an eye on us."
Xiao Yu walked over, his boots crunching over the rice husks on the ground. "I heard you found the general's 'private money'?"
"Your Highness is really well-informed," Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and took out a piece of sheepskin map corner from her sleeve, "but that 'private money' is a bit special..."
"Oh?" Xiao Yu became interested and bent down to pick up the half-page of "Six Strategies" on the ground. "How special is it? Could it be a box full of military books?"
"Your Highness is wise," Shen Weiwan blinked, "but there is also a map with Langya Mountain on it..."
"Langya Mountain?" Xiao Yu interrupted her, his fingertips tracing the bloodstains on the corner of the map. "I just received news the other day that hunters there have seen unknown individuals."
Shen Weiwan's heart moved, but she smiled and said: "That's perfect, after I finish dealing with the coming-of-age ceremony, I will go hunting myself."
Xiao Yu looked into her lively eyes and suddenly chuckled: "Do you need me to send some 'hunters' to help you?"
"Your Highness, I appreciate your kindness," Shen Weiwan took a step back to avoid his overly scorching gaze, "I can handle it myself."
Watching Xiao Yu leave with his guards, the gold thread on his cloak gleaming in the moonlight, Shen Weiwan turned to the old housekeeper and said, "Clearly sort out the account books of Liu's embezzlement over the years. On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, let everyone see her true face."
The old housekeeper bowed and said, "Don't worry, Miss. I have prepared everything."
As the sky in the east began to turn pale, Shen Weiwan stood at the door of the warehouse, watching the servants clean up the chili powder and rice husks scattered on the floor. Chuntao came over holding a cloak and said, "Miss, you haven't slept all night. Go and rest for a while."
"No rush," Shen Weiwan took the cloak, her fingertips touching the map hidden in the seam inside. "Liu's last ditch effort failed, but the Second Prince and Shen Ruorou won't give up." She looked towards Shen Ruorou's courtyard, where the lights were bright and the sound of a zither could be heard faintly. "The day of the coming-of-age ceremony will be the real highlight."
Chun Tao looked at the cold light in her young lady's eyes and couldn't help but shudder: "Young lady, did you know that Liu would hire ruffians?"
"She's been forced to drink stale porridge, how could she not jump over the wall in desperation?" Shen Weiwan thought of Liu's appearance of gnawing on cold steamed bread, and a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth. "But she didn't expect that I not only moved the real thing, but also scattered half a jar of chili powder in the warehouse - Oh, right," she suddenly remembered something, "ask the kitchen to stew a pot of bird's nest porridge and send it to Liu, and say... just say that for the sake of her being an elder, don't really starve to death."
Chun Tao chuckled: "Miss, do you want to stuff her to death or choke her to death?"
"Neither," Shen Weiwan turned and walked towards Songyun Hall. The morning light stretched her shadow very long. "I want her to live well and see with her own eyes how the coming-of-age ceremony that she carefully planned turned into a joke."
Meanwhile, in the Seventh Prince's study, Xiao Yu spread a map of Langya Mountain on a rosewood table, holding down the corners with a jade paperweight. The guard whispered, "Your Highness, Miss Shen has indeed guessed that the Liu family will take action."
"She," Xiao Yu picked up the cinnabar pen and circled the cenotaph on the map, "is more cunning than a fox." He paused, then added, "Tell the secret guards to send twenty more men to Langya Mountain and not let the Second Prince's men get close. And..." He remembered the lively look on Shen Weiwan's face when she blinked, and a gentle smile rose at the corner of his mouth, "Prepare a generous gift and send it to the General's Mansion. Say it's a coming-of-age gift for Miss Shen Er."
The guards took their orders and left, leaving only the flickering candlelight in the study. Xiao Yu looked at the cinnabar words on the map: "Burial Place, Hidden Gold," and murmured softly, "Chen Weiwan, I want to see how you're going to use a box of military tactics to overturn the capital."
A final showdown centered around the coming-of-age ceremony quietly began in the morning light. Liu, curled up on her cold bed in the west wing, sniffed the aroma of the bird's nest porridge, her eyes ablaze with resentment. Little did she know, this bowl of bird's nest porridge was only the first of many "surprises" Shen Weiwan had prepared for her.
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