Seeing that he had not said anything, Zhou Shoufu thought that he disagreed, and sneered: "Your Highness must also know that the court has issued a clear order to prohibit lending money at interest. If I expose this matter, the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion will also be over. Your Highness is a man of affection and justice, and he will not watch your wife's family suffer such a great crime, right?"
Wei Junhang stroked his chin and looked thoughtful: "Lending money at high interest rates has harmed the people, so even if he is punished for this, he deserves it..."
Zhou Shoufu's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that he made a wrong move and the person in front of him would really just watch him die without helping?
He didn't believe it, and gritted his teeth and said, "Then, my prince, have you ever thought that if the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion is convicted, will the Yinggong Mansion not be implicated? If the young master walks in the palace, don't you worry about rumors?"
Wei Junhang's expression was clearly hesitant. Zhou Shoufu was certain that his words had worked, so he continued, "Think about it again, my prince. The Jing'an Marquis's Mansion was convicted. If your wife knew that you could have saved them but chose not to save them, there would definitely be a rift between the couple. Even your son and daughter would probably think that your son was heartless in the future."
Wei Junhang's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly. He hesitated for a moment and said calmly, "How do you know that I can protect your mansion? After all, your majesty's thoughts are never guessed by others."
"Others may not have this ability, but I believe the prince will definitely have it. The prince has been fearless of gossip for so many years, and has done so many things for Your Majesty with all his heart. He must have a certain weight in Your Majesty's heart. If the prince comes forward, Your Majesty will always give him some face because of his years of support."
Seeing the other party grit his teeth, as if he had finally made a decision, his heart tightened, and he didn't completely relax until he heard the word "OK".
As long as there is green mountain, even if there is no firewood, he has many students all over the world and has worked hard for so many years. Even if he is dormant for a while, he will always rise again in the future. As long as Your Majesty punishes King Cheng and finds out that he was not involved in King Cheng's rebellious deeds, considering his years of hard work and the efforts of the daughters in the palace, he may show mercy.
He comforted himself in this way in his heart, trying to ignore the emptiness in his heart caused by the impending loss of power.
"I never thought that I was such a capable person in the eyes of the Prime Minister." Wei Junhang nodded, "In that case, then, deal!"
The two of them high-fived, and the deal was done.
After the tall figure left, Zhou Shoufu felt uneasy when thinking of the other party's last meaningful look. He always felt that he seemed to have made a wrong decision.
***
The health of the wife of the Marquis of Jing'an had not improved, and Shen Xinyan was very worried. She would go to the Marquis's house every day when she had time. Fortunately, the eldest princess was a sensible person and did not object to it. She also ordered people to give her some of the precious medicinal materials given by Emperor Yuanyou earlier to the wife of the Marquis of Jing'an.
Knowing that his mother was in low spirits due to his grandmother's illness, Wei Chenglin took the initiative to assume the responsibility of taking care of his sister. It was called taking care, but in fact it was "looking after" her. After all, the little girl was not afraid of anyone except Shen Xinyan and Duke Ying in the mansion.
The Duke of England never took much notice of the matter, and the little girl had only seen a limited number of him, so after all, the one she feared the most was still her mother.
But the little girl would always listen to her brother. Due to his temperament, although Wei Chenglin was much gentler than before, he could easily scare the little girl by putting on a stern face and scolding her, just like an English duke, so that she would not dare to do anything wrong again.
Without any worries, Shen Xinyan focused on taking care of her mother's illness.
That day, she fed the lady medicine as usual, and watched her fall into a deep sleep before she got up and left the inner room.
When they walked to the main hall, they saw the couples from the second and third rooms gathered there. Jing'an Bo's face turned pale, but he finally nodded slightly and said weakly: "In that case, let's split up!"
"It's just that my mother is not in good health right now, so we need to sort out the things first. But we still live together, so I have to keep this a secret from my mother first, so that she won't get upset if she finds out."
"Brother, it's not that we are unfilial or unrighteous. It's just that our ex-sister-in-law caused the trouble, and you took the responsibility for the sake of our old friendship. But my third brother and I... please don't bear a grudge against us." Shen Lao Er hesitated for a while, and finally said with some reluctance.
"Yes, big brother, you shouldn't have let that bitch off so easily that day. You even let her take away all the dowry. In my opinion, you should have divorced her first and then sent her directly to the government. Wouldn't that way you could have cleared our family of any ties? It would be a shame..."
"At worst, we can just give her a bowl of medicine and let her die immediately. That will be the end of it, right?" The sudden female voice interrupted what Shen Lao San was about to say. He turned around and saw Shen Xinyan coming in at some point. She heard what he said clearly, so he shut up awkwardly and said nothing more.
Shen Xinyan was extremely disappointed.
I knew the second and third wives were unreliable, but I never thought they would be so cold and indifferent.
Knowing that their mother is seriously ill and cannot stand the slightest stimulation, they still propose separation at this critical moment. Isn't it because they are afraid of getting themselves implicated?
There is nothing wrong in protecting yourself first when facing danger, but their mother has always treated them well, and they are blood relatives, so such behavior is really chilling.
"Since we're going to break up, let's do it completely. There's no need to keep people around. If their hearts aren't with us anymore, what's the point of keeping them around? It might just cause resentment for no reason." She said coldly.
The Second and Third Shens were speechless, and the Second and Third Madams dared not say anything more.
Jing'an Bo sighed, knowing that he could not keep them, and could only nod helplessly: "In this case, let's separate!"
Perhaps they felt a little guilty, and Earl Jing'an was not too harsh on them, or perhaps they were afraid of offending Shen Xinyan, so the two of them did not have many objections to the division plan proposed by Earl Jing'an, and thus the division was considered smooth.
"Second sister, not second brother..."
"Now that everything has been sorted out, I won't bother you two brothers to go back and pack up. Let's say goodbye now!" Shen Xinyan interrupted him, bowed, and said lightly.
Shen Lao Er wanted to say something but stopped himself, knowing that he might have offended her today. He shook his head helplessly and left with his wife.
Seeing that Shen Lao Er was frustrated, Shen Lao San naturally would not seek trouble. After all, today's goal had been achieved, and there was no point in staying any longer. Maybe one day he would be implicated by the eldest son's family and lose everything!
"I called them here because I wanted to tell them that the loan sharking incident was over. Yesterday, Master Huang came to see me and said that the Prince of Wei had found strong evidence to prove that the incident had nothing to do with our Jing'an Marquis's Mansion. He also returned all the evidence to me."
"No matter what the truth is behind this, at least our Earl's Mansion is saved." Earl Jing'an sighed and said in a muffled voice.
Prince Wei found strong evidence? Shen Xinyan's heart moved.
"My eldest brother has accomplished nothing in his life, but seeing that you have married a good man and that the prince treats you so well, I am finally relieved. The eldest princess and the duke are both kind people, but as a daughter-in-law, you should put your husband's family first in everything. I will take care of mother here, so you can go back with peace of mind!" Jing'an Earl sighed and said again, without noticing her expression.
Which mother-in-law would allow her daughter-in-law to go back to her parents' home every now and then? It is quite rare for the Grand Princess to do this. And Prince Wei has done so many things in private without making a sound, helping the Shen family to overcome the crisis. I am afraid that I will never be able to repay such a great favor in this lifetime!
Shen Xinyan more or less understood his thoughts, but she was more deeply affected by Wei Junhang's actions, so she just nodded in agreement. She then went to check on the old lady out of concern, and seeing that she was still sleeping soundly, she gave a few instructions to the maidservants, and then ordered the servants to prepare the carriage to return home.
Sitting in the carriage heading back home, he had no idea what day it was. The carriage was driving quite slowly. Chunliu asked someone and found out that many people had gathered at the intersection ahead.
"It seems that Yueping County has sent a petition from the people, asking Your Majesty to execute King Cheng to comfort the soul of the deceased. The people are talking about it!" Chunliu replied in a low voice.
A petition from all the people? Shen Xinyan was a little surprised.
"I'm afraid Your Majesty may not agree." She shook her head.
Before the late emperor passed away, he had commanded the current emperor to treat his uncles well. This matter has long been known to everyone. Therefore, even if Prince Cheng has committed heinous crimes, Your Majesty will only imprison him at most under the late emperor's will.
Chunliu was puzzled: "But there are so many people petitioning... and there are relatives of the victims kneeling on the roadside asking passers-by for support!"
Shen Xinyan rubbed her temples and sighed, "Let's see what the palace means first!"
Once this matter was exposed, there would be a lot of debate in the court. Even though she was a woman in the inner house, she could imagine the arguments among the court officials. They were divided into two factions, one of which insisted on sticking to the will of the late emperor, and the other insisted on following the will of the people.
I just don't know which side will win in the end.
Due to traffic congestion, it took us a full quarter of an hour longer than usual to get back to the Duke's Mansion.
As usual, she first went to pay her respects to the Grand Princess and responded to her concerns for the Lady Dowager. Before leaving, she met Fang and they greeted each other politely without saying a word.
A few days ago, Madam Zhou, Zhou Shoufu's biological mother, passed away. According to the rules, Zhou Shoufu had to observe a three-year mourning period. This completely ended Marquis Pingliang's hope of returning to the court with his help.
The hope of returning to the capital was great, but in the end, it was all in vain. The frustration of Pingliang Hou and his wife and Fang Shi can be imagined. What made Fang Shi even more desperate was that Xu Shangshu, who had been rejected by them, was ready to enter the palace by virtue of his prestige and the emperor's attention.
What does it mean to pick up sesame seeds and lose watermelons? This is exactly what happened now!
When Shen Xinyan returned to the main room of Funing Courtyard, she saw Wei Junhang holding Pingfu in his arms, holding his little hand and teaching him how to paint. Wei Chenglin beside him interjected from time to time. Little Yingzhi held her chin and looked at her father for a while, then at her brother, and finally her eyes fell on Pingfu's painting.
The depression caused by the many troubles in my mother's family seemed to disappear in an instant.