Chapter 11 Leaving the Prince's Palace!
Shen Lanxi had just stepped out of the backyard when she ran into Wang Bao.
Wang Bao unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that, effective today, the title of Princess Lanxi is revoked. Furthermore, she is permitted to divorce Prince Zhou Ruyuan of Zhennan. The divorce papers will be drafted by the royal family. From this day forward, Prince Zhou Ruyuan of Zhennan and Shen Lanxi shall have no further relationship. So be it!"
Shen Lanxi knelt down and accepted the imperial edict with both hands.
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"
Wang Bao rolled up the imperial edict and handed it to Shen Lanxi.
"His Majesty has issued another decree, ordering Shen Lanxi to leave the Zhennan Prince's Mansion immediately!"
Shen Lanxi respectfully replied, "This humble woman obeys!"
Bai Qingling knelt on the ground along with everyone from the Prince's Mansion, overjoyed.
His Majesty stripped Shen Lanxi of her title and even issued an edict ordering her to divorce the prince? The thing she had longed for for so long had actually come true so quickly.
I knew His Majesty wouldn't be so foolish as to let anyone from the Shen family go. It's just a bit of a pity that Shen Lanxi, that bitch, didn't have to go into exile with her whole family.
Bai Qingling's eyes flashed with a cold light, and she sneered inwardly.
"Miss Chen, do you have any valuables to pack?" Wang Bao asked casually.
Shen Lanxi understood: "This commoner has something she wishes to ask you to convey to His Majesty's uncle!"
Wang Bao raised his voice: "His Majesty cares about you, otherwise he wouldn't have sent me personally to deliver the decree!"
Shen Lanxi: "My dowry was arranged by the Shen family. In principle, a woman can take her dowry with her after a divorce!"
Wang Bao nodded.
"Although the matter of the Wei family army in the Northwest was not done by my Shen family, my father was involved in it. Now I am willing to distribute all my dowry to the families of the Wei family army members in order to settle their future lives!"
Wang Bao smiled and said, "You are very righteous, young lady. This old servant will convey these words to His Majesty word for word!"
As they spoke, the two went out the door.
Wang Bao: "Please go first, young lady. I have an imperial edict to announce!"
Shen Lanxi bowed to Wang Baofu, then turned and left!
As Shen Lanxi's figure merged into the crowd, Wang Bao stepped back into the palace.
"Where's the incense table? These servants of the Prince's mansion have absolutely no manners..."
...
After Shen Lanxi walked away and made sure no one was following her, she immediately turned into the alley.
Unfolding the imperial edict, one finds a thick stack of silver notes, amounting to seventy or eighty thousand taels.
After putting the item into her spatial storage, Shen Lanxi changed her clothes and disguised herself. When she came out of the alley again, she was now an unremarkable middle-aged man!
First, I rented an empty house from a brokerage firm, and then I went to rice shops, butcher shops, grain and oil shops, general stores, and cloth shops. I ordered several hundred taels from each shop. After visiting hundreds of shops in the capital, I spent nearly 60,000 taels.
We scheduled deliveries at different times, and once one merchant arrived, we'd collect the remaining balance and store the items in our storage space. We were busy until late at night, and since only a few delivery companies met at the same time, it didn't arouse suspicion!
After I'm done with my work, I'll go straight to Fulai Inn to find Chunxue Qiushuang!
Upon seeing the two men, she offered no explanation and simply showed them the imperial edict!
"How's the procurement of the items I asked you to do?"
Chunxue snapped out of her daze and quickly replied, "Everything is ready!"
"You're being exiled to Dongchuan, where the winters are bitterly cold. Go and buy some more winter clothes and furs tomorrow!"
"yes!"
She told the two of them her plan: "I am going to exile with the Shen family. If you are unwilling to go, I will give you indentures and two thousand taels of silver each to settle down!"
Qiu Shuang hurriedly said, "Miss, we are from the Shen family, and the Shen family is our home."
Chunxue: "Yes, yes, wherever Miss goes, we'll go!"
She returned the indenture to the two men.
"You can come with me, and you can take this too. From now on, you'll be free!"
Spring Snow and Autumn Frost, their faces filled with emotion, held up the indenture: "Miss, we will always be your servants!"
Shen Lanxi: "Get some rest. We'll set off from the city gate early the day after tomorrow!"
The next day, she gave some silver notes to Chunxiao and Qiushuang to buy things. After the two left, she also changed her identity to buy goods.
~
"It's terrible, Your Highness! Everything in the storeroom is gone..."
Upon returning to the palace, Wang Bao immediately relayed the message to Emperor Renxiao, who was worried about the empty treasury and lack of funds to provide pensions to the families of the Wei family army. Hearing that Shen Lanxi was willing to offer her dowry, the emperor immediately ordered someone to retrieve it from the Wang residence.
If it weren't for this opening of the warehouse, the people of Zhennan Prince's Mansion would still be unaware that the warehouse had been robbed.
Zhou Ruyuan was ordered to stay home and reflect on his mistakes, and was punished one after another. He was racking his brains trying to figure out how to get out of this predicament when he was hit with a blow.
"What happened?"
The steward was sweating profusely with anxiety: "The palace guards came to collect the king's...dowry, but when I opened the storeroom door, everything inside was gone!"
Zhou Ruyuan couldn't sit still any longer.
What about the other warehouses?
Manager: "We haven't checked the other warehouses yet."
"Go and see!"
A moment later, the steward came in with a pale face and reported: "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The items in the other storerooms are also missing!"
Zhou Ruyuan rushed up to the warehouse.
All the warehouses were so clean that not even a needle was left!
Bai Qingling rushed over after receiving the news, and almost fainted when she saw the empty warehouse!
"Your Highness, why is the storeroom all empty?"
Zhou Ruyuan's temples throbbed with anxiety. The storeroom contained all the spoils of war and rewards he had won over the years, representing his entire fortune.
They're all gone now!
"Who usually guards the warehouse? Why are all the things inside gone? If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll beat you all to death!" Zhou Ruyuan was furious.
All those responsible for guarding the warehouse, whether on duty or not, were taken to the warehouse door.
The warehouse was robbed; even if they sold their entire clan, they couldn't afford to pay for it!
At this point, all they could do was kneel on the ground, weeping and desperately trying to explain!
Zhou Ruyuan, holding a long sword, personally interrogated the suspect.
When was the last time the warehouse was opened?
The steward quickly replied, "It was on your wedding day; everything was still there then."
Bai Qingling clenched her fists, her eyes burning with rage: "It's Shen Lanxi, it must be Shen Lanxi! Otherwise, why would she say she would offer her dowry to His Majesty? She was waiting for this moment to frame the Prince."
The steward wiped his sweat and asked tremblingly, "Your Highness, the people His Majesty sent are still waiting outside. How are we going to explain this to His Majesty?"
Bai Qingling said impatiently, "What else can we say but the truth!"
"No way!" Zhou Ruyuan immediately rejected the idea.
My father is very suspicious. He definitely won't believe that the dowry was stolen. He will suspect that I am hiding it and will not give it up.
"Bring out all the valuables in our mansion. If that's not enough, take my invitation and borrow some!"
Bai Qingling exclaimed in surprise, "How can that be!"
"No need for further discussion, this matter is settled. Steward Sun, Commander Wang, you two take men and investigate. No matter what method you use, you must find what you've found!"
"yes!"
Bai Qingling quickly called Commander Wang to a stop.
"Commander Wang, take your men and find out where Shen Lanxi is now. Once you find out, report back to the Prince and me immediately!"
Commander Wang looked at Zhou Ruyuan, who gritted his teeth and roared, "Investigate!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
