Fang showed no sign of anxiety, and her hands were tightly clenched in her sleeves. She only felt relieved when she heard the Grand Princess slowly assigning tasks.
Well, this account has finally been covered up!
Since Shen Xinyan didn't step forward, Yang was naturally helpless. She watched helplessly as the opportunity to save the eldest son's family slipped away right before her eyes. She was filled with hatred in her heart. Apart from secretly cursing the eldest princess for her partiality and Shen Xinyan for her stupidity, she couldn't do anything else.
At this point, it was officially decided that the three branches would jointly manage the affairs of the mansion.
"Congratulations, sister-in-law. Now you finally have more time to teach Qi Ge'er and cultivate the mother-son relationship!" After leaving the Grand Princess, Yang couldn't help but said with a fake smile.
"Congratulations to my third brother and his wife on the birth of their son. When my nephew turns one month old, I will definitely give him a generous gift." Fang smiled sincerely and replied slowly.
Yang's face froze, and she stared angrily at the other person's receding back, her eyes filled with hatred as if they were about to spit fire.
Shen Xinyan coughed lightly: "Third sister-in-law, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now!"
Afraid that Yang would pull her aside to talk about something nonsense, she quickly found an excuse and took Chunliu away in a hurry without waiting for Yang's reaction.
"This time it's not you, Madam, who is confronting the Third Madam. I feel a little uncomfortable." Chunliu suddenly sighed until she could no longer see Yang's figure.
Shen Xinyan staggered and almost lost her balance, so she quickly grabbed her arm to steady herself.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" She pinched Chunliu's mouth with a helpless look.
Chunliu giggled a few times and ran away in a flash.
After the three daughters-in-law left, the eldest princess leaned weakly on the couch, sighed deeply, and her face was full of disappointment: "Everyone thinks I'm an old fool now!"
Aunt Xu beside her didn't dare to say anything. She lowered her head and massaged her legs considerately.
Thinking of that flawless account book, the Grand Princess sighed again.
Aunt Xu didn't want to see her like this, so she quickly changed the subject and said, "Today, the eldest young master will come to the palace to study with me. I don't know what will happen, but with his intelligence, I think he will be no less talented than anyone else."
Hearing her mention the most outstanding grandson, the eldest princess's expression finally brightened up: "Lin'er has always been a very sensible child, and he has lived up to his grandfather's teachings over the years."
Speaking of the eldest grandson, she naturally thought of his father who had not been seen for many days. She frowned, "What on earth has Junhang been doing these days? He is away from home all day. I said a few days ago that he had finally calmed down and lived a peaceful life, but it has only been a few days and he is back to his old ways again."
"The prince is not a three-year-old child. He must be in trouble outside. Your Highness, why worry about him?"
The eldest princess shook her head and suddenly said angrily: "In a few days, I will risk my old face to ask for a job for him from His Majesty, so that he won't have to run around all day. If he gets another mistress, even if his father forgives him, I will never let him go!"
Madam Xu smiled but didn't know what to say.
The Prince of Wei, who had returned to his old ways, was now reading the files of the old battle in a house somewhere in the city. After a long while, he sighed and said, "The late emperor really went against his conscience for the sake of Prince Cheng. Three hundred and forty lives were lost, plus the Zhao family."
No one would have thought that the real culprit in the Yue Pingshan case that shocked the court and the country was not the then prefect Zhao Quanzhong, but Prince Cheng, the eldest son of the previous emperor, Emperor Renzong.
Zhao Quanzhong was merely a scapegoat chosen by Emperor Renzong as a result of Prince Cheng's misfortune.
A sudden rainstorm that year caused a large-scale landslide on Yueping Mountain. All the people living at the foot of the mountain were killed. Three hundred and forty lives were lost in one day, shocking the government and the public.
Originally thought to be a natural disaster, but unexpectedly, someone reported that the landslide in Yueping Mountain was not caused by a natural disaster, but by human beings. It was because someone believed the rumor that Yueping Mountain was hidden with gold, secretly sent people to mine, and hollowed out the mountain, which led to this disaster.
The court was furious and sent out imperial officials to investigate. They found out that the case was brought to the attention of the then prefect Zhao Quanzhong. Unfortunately, Zhao Quanzhong did not even have a chance to explain himself. Under the heavy evidence, he was eventually ordered to be executed by the late emperor.
Later, Zhao Quanzhong's wife and children met with an accident on the way to the capital. When the people sent by King Rui went to pick them up, they only found the bloody bodies of Mrs. Zhao and some servants at the foot of the mountain. To this day, the remains of many people are still missing, including Zhao Quanzhong's only son.
"You're naturally heartbroken for your own bloodline. Who made Zhao Quanzhong unlucky? Why did he become the prefect there?" Qiao Liu sneered.
When the previous emperor was in power, Prince Cheng repeatedly committed serious and unforgivable mistakes. It was the previous emperor's repeated indulgence that eventually led to the Yue Pingshan disaster. However, he still wanted to protect Prince Cheng until his death, and made the successor, Prince Rui, swear to treat his uncles well.
Qiao Liu felt that the word "Ren" given to him by King Rui after he ascended the throne was absolutely appropriate!
"I already have some ideas about this matter. You will go to the palace with me later to see what His Majesty means and then carefully consider whether there are any omissions. I have lived for so many years, it is time to settle accounts!" Wei Junhang closed the file and said lightly.
Such a kind and gentle man was a perfect person, but in the end he ended up being despised by the world. How innocent he was!
***
"Mom, where is Dad? Why hasn't he come for several days?" Xiao Yingzhi was disappointed after not being able to see Dad at her mother's place again. She hugged Shen Xinyan's arm unhappily.
Shen Xinyan touched her head and said, "Daddy is busy. He will be back when he is done."
Even so, she had no idea in her heart. No one could tell what Wei Junhang was doing outside. She believed that even the Duke of England and the Grand Princess probably didn't know that their son was hiding a lot from them.
Shen Xinyan had a vague guess in her mind that maybe he was working for an important person, but as for who this important person was, she didn't dare to think about it subconsciously.
"Alas...it's really a horse without a dragon!" The little girl sighed like a little adult, imitating the tone of the eldest princess.
Shen Xinyan was amused by her and pinched her cheeks: "I told you to be talkative, have you finished embroidering the handkerchief? Your cousin Hui is still waiting for you to embroider a handkerchief for her!"
Shen Huiran was picked up by Jing'an Earl's men a few days ago. Before she left, Xiao Yingzhi vowed to her that she would embroider a handkerchief for her personally, which is why Shen Xinyan said this.
The little girl sighed again: "Alas... this flower is not that easy to embroider!"
Shen Xinyan couldn't help but burst out laughing, and simply hugged her and tickled her, making the little girl giggle non-stop. The mother and daughter were in a mess for a while.
"Madam, Madam..." Xia He's hurried footsteps could be heard along with her calls, causing Shen Xinyan to stop teasing her daughter.
"What happened?" she asked quickly.
"Nothing happened. Well, there is something wrong, but it's not our business." Xia He waved her hands and shook her head, making Shen Xinyan even more confused.
"What's that?" Qiu Tang asked unhappily.
Xia He panted and said, "Someone, someone came to propose marriage to the Madam!"
"ah?!"
"What?!"
"No way?!"
Everyone in the room was surprised. Little Yingzhi poked her head out from behind her mother and asked, "What does it mean to propose marriage?"
Shen Xinyan helped her to fix the bud on her head and told Madam Sun to take her out. The little girl was reluctant, but she did not dare to disobey her mother's wishes, so she could only pout and let Madam Sun lead her out.
"Tell me, what's going on? How come someone proposed to the eldest lady?" Shen Xinyan asked hurriedly after her daughter left.
Xia He released her hand that was covering her mouth: "No, no, I'm not proposing to the Madam. No, I'm proposing to Miss Fang. It's just that the Madam is Miss Fang's elder sister, so Bing Ren came to our house."
Oh, so he is proposing to Fang Birong!
Shen Xinyan and the others suddenly realized what was going on. Chun Liu patted his chest and said, "I was scared by you. I thought you were proposing to the eldest lady!"
"Are you referring to the young master of the Xu family?" Shen Xinyan asked.
"No, no, guess which family is proposing marriage?" Xia He looked mysterious.
"Tell me quickly!" Chunliu was impatient and didn't have the patience to guess with her, so he pulled her and asked.
"It's the son of Chief Zhou's family!" Xia He was helpless and gave the answer directly.
The son of Zhou Shoufu's family? Shen Xinyan was really surprised.
What was going on? Why wasn't he the son of Minister Xu? She had seen with her own eyes how the Prime Minister's wife treated Fang Birong. How could she possibly agree to let her son marry Fang Birong?
"Is it really Prime Minister Zhou's family? Did you hear it correctly?" Chun Liu looked doubtful.
She clearly remembered how Mrs. Zhou Er humiliated Miss Fang on Princess Qiongshu's birthday. Although Mrs. Zhou Er was only the sister-in-law of Mr. Zhou, it was said that the Prime Minister's wife valued her very much, so she would probably listen to her opinion on her son's marriage.
"How can you talk nonsense about such a thing?" Xia He glared at her unhappily.
Shen Xinyan naturally believed that Xia He would not joke about such a thing, but she was puzzled about the origin of this marriage.
Logically, this girl should be engaged to the son of Minister Xu's mansion, so how come she is involved with Prime Minister Zhou's mansion in this life?
***
People are in high spirits when good things happen to them. Having got such a good marriage, Fang's complexion improved a lot. She got rid of the depression in her heart some time ago. Even if she occasionally heard Yang's sour words, she didn't care at all. She just wrote a letter to her parents to report this great news, and at the same time actively prepared for the marriage.
After all, the ages of both parties are right, and the marriage cannot be delayed.
After all, Fang Birong was not a member of the Duke's Mansion. She was just a guest there. After exchanging engagement letters with the Zhou Mansion, she returned to the Pingliang Marquis Mansion, which had been without a master for a long time, to wait for her marriage.