Chapter 258 It turns out she was his death warrant!
The Shen family.
The gate was wide open.
There were officers from the Ministry of Justice guarding the outside of the gate, and officers from the Ministry of Justice searching the inside as well.
This wasn't the first time the Ministry of Justice had sent people to search the area, but the Shen family remained silent and uneasy.
The person who led the search of the Shen family was Lü Qiying, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
The rest of the Shen family members were interrogated by their subordinates, while Lü Qiying personally interrogated Xiang Meng, who was the most suspicious.
When Shen Wantang arrived, Lü Qiying's interrogation was at a stalemate. As before, he hadn't gotten anything out of him. He wanted to torture Xiang Meng, but Xin Huailin stopped him because Xin Huailin wanted the truth and evidence, not a confession obtained through torture.
Upon seeing Shen Wantang, Lü Qiying frowned slightly: "And who is this?"
Shen Guannian, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Lord Lü, this is my daughter. She has married into the Ning Prince's mansion and is now the Crown Princess! She must have heard the news that the house had been searched again, so she rushed back!"
Upon hearing that she was Xiao Qingyuan's Crown Princess, Lü Qiying immediately became more polite: "So it's the Crown Princess who has returned. Please come in, Crown Princess. I was only ordered to search the Shen family. I didn't mean to target anyone, so please don't take offense, Crown Princess."
Shen Wantang was also very polite to him: "Lord Lü is busy with official duties, how could I be offended? You've worked hard, sir."
Seeing how polite Lü Qiying was to Shen Wantang, a stark contrast to his attitude towards him, Shen Guannian felt both distressed and somewhat smug.
Taking advantage of Shen Wantang's influence, he was finally able to speak with a little more confidence: "Lord Lü, my Shen family has always been honest and upright. We are completely innocent and have absolutely no connection with the Xin family's case. We are already preparing to expel Xiang Meng from the manor. Please take your men and leave, Lord Lü! If you continue to search, we will not be able to live like this."
Lu Qiying certainly didn't take Shen Guannian seriously, but with Shen Wantang, the heir apparent of the Ning Prince's mansion, present, he couldn't refuse to give her face.
He was merely a newly promoted third-rank official, far inferior to imperial relatives like the Prince of Ning's family. Shen Wantang was someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"This search is indeed almost complete. We have asked everything that needed to be asked. I will now take my men to search other residences. Lord Shen, Princess Consort, I will take my leave."
Upon hearing that he was leaving, Shen Guannian's face lit up with joy. Finally, he could get rid of this plague! This was truly wonderful!
Shen Wantang's return came at just the right time!
He walked up to Lü Qiying, about to personally see the plague god out, when he heard Shen Wantang say:
"Lord Lü, please wait a moment. I feel there are some things I can ask you further."
Shen Guannian's joy froze instantly, and he immediately reprimanded Shen Wantang: "Don't talk nonsense! Didn't you see that Lord Lü was going to search other houses? If you delay Lord Lü's official duties, can you take responsibility?!"
Shen Wantang ignored him. She glanced at Xiang Meng kneeling on the ground and asked Lü Qiying, "Does Your Excellency suspect Xiang Meng? Have you found out anything?"
Lu Qiying looked at Shen Wantang in surprise. He didn't know what Shen Wantang meant. However, he did know that Xiao Qingyuan had also been investigating this case recently. In fact, he had even gone to Dali Temple to serve as an official in order to investigate the case.
However, according to Xin Huailin, Xiao Qingyuan has been working non-stop these past few days, searching for evidence and clues day and night, and is exhausted. He is resting at home today.
Could it be that Xiao Qingyuan sent her to gather information?
Lu Qiying cupped his hands in greeting to Shen Wantang: "I dare not deceive the Crown Princess. I do suspect Xiang Meng, but I have not been able to find out anything."
Shen Wantang nodded and looked at Xiang Meng: "Guard Xiang, do you have anything to say?"
Xiang Meng immediately kowtowed to her: "Second Miss, please save me! I'm innocent! I've always done my job properly in the Shen family and have never had a single crooked thought!"
"I have indeed met General Xin's sister, but only on the day she entered the manor. As guards, we must recognize everyone in the manor; that's the rule!"
"But I haven't seen her since! I don't know where she went!"
His voice was extremely hoarse, his appearance was emaciated, and his face and hands were covered in wounds, making him look quite pitiful.
Clearly, he was the prime suspect and had already been tortured after being taken to the Ministry of Justice.
However, the Ministry of Justice had no evidence, and Xiang Meng refused to confess, so they had no choice but to release him in the end.
Xiang Meng was quite clever. When he saw how polite Lü Qiying was to Shen Wantang, he knew that Shen Wantang's words were much more effective than Shen Guannian's.
He felt that his savior had arrived, so he quickly asked Shen Wantang for help.
Unfortunately, Shen Wantang's next words shattered his hopes instantly.
“Guard Xiang, you’re not telling the truth. You’ve seen Xiu Lu more than once. You’ve had your eye on her since she entered the manor, haven’t you?”
Shen Wantang's voice is very pleasant, even gentle.
But Xiang Meng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar after hearing this!
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him: "Second Miss, what are you saying? I have absolutely no connection with Xiu Lu!"
"Is it not related? Then tell me, who else entered the manor with Xiu Lu back then?"
"And...and..."
Xiang Meng stammered, but he couldn't remember who else had entered the manor with Xiu Lu!
"Guardian, you can't remember anyone else, but you remember Xiu Lu the only one. Why is that?"
Xiang Meng broke out in a cold sweat. His mind raced, and he quickly said, "Second Miss, we have many maids in our household. Many have come and gone in the past two years. How could I possibly remember them all? I don't remember Xiu Lu very well either. It's just that Xiu Lu was singled out because of the Xin family's case, so I can barely remember a few things."
Shen Wantang looked at him calmly: "But I have a deep impression of Xiu Lu, do you know why?"
Xiang Meng looked completely honest and simple: "I don't know."
"Because Xiu Lu is the only maid in the Shen family who dares to resist your bullying and harassment."
Xiang Meng's heart sank to the bottom.
He originally thought that Shen Wantang was his savior, but it turns out she wasn't at all!
She was actually his death warrant!
But he was capable of killing thirteen members of the Xin family and withstanding severe torture by the Ministry of Justice, so he was certainly no pushover.
He harbors a ruthless streak within him.
He frantically kowtowed to Shen Wantang: "Second Miss, spare my life! I was blind and ignorant before, flattering the powerful and belittling the weak, and offended you. You can punish me however you wish!"
"Please, Second Miss, don't wrongly accuse me of being a criminal in the Xin family case! Please, Second Miss, have mercy! I will never dare to do it again!"
Shen Wantang looked at the bloodstains on Xiang Meng's forehead, but remained expressionless and unmoved.
Shen Guannian was both shocked and furious: "Tang'er, just because the guard offended you, you want to kill him?"
"He has nothing to do with the Xin family's case. That Xiu Lu ran away from the Shen family on her own. Don't make false accusations and frame the guard!"
"This matter is of no benefit to our Shen family. Wake up! Don't talk nonsense!"
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