Chapter 688 My revenge, I will take it myself
After resting at home for a few more days, Shen Wantang's head injury had healed.
Now that the injury has healed, it's time to settle scores with those responsible.
The first place she went to was a prison.
Because Shen Guannian was involved in an embezzlement case, he had been dismissed from his official post and imprisoned.
When Shen Guannian saw her, it was as if he had seen a savior. He gripped the cell door tightly and said urgently, "Tang'er, you've finally come to see your father! Quickly, get your father out of here! Your father has been wronged!"
"Innocent? But I've heard that there's evidence for all the crimes my father committed!"
"What evidence? They fabricated it all! They're slandering me! I'm an upright and honest official, and I never engage in favoritism or corruption!"
"Oh, speaking of favoritism and corruption, I've also heard that you, Father, were involved in a cheating case during the imperial examinations!"
Shen Guannian's expression changed: "Don't talk nonsense! I have nothing to do with that case. The masterminds behind the imperial examination cheating scandal have all been beheaded!"
Shen Wantang sighed: "Yes, there's no danger if you don't get involved in this kind of case, but if you do, your life will be in danger!"
“I told you, that case has absolutely nothing to do with me! My official rank is only fifth grade, how could I possibly have access to the imperial examination questions! Where would I have the right to cheat?!”
"You didn't even have access to the exam questions, yet you still collected a lot of money from others and provided them with many conveniences, didn't you?"
"Nonsense! Is that what Gu Qianhan told you about me? He's a liar, you can't believe a word he says! I'm your real father, you should believe me, not let love cloud your judgment and make you believe a disloyal and unfilial shameless scoundrel!"
Shen Wantang looked at him calmly: "Why is Father in such a hurry? What does it matter whether I believe it or not? The important thing is that the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review believe it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been dismissed from your post or imprisoned here, would you?"
"I--"
Shen Guannian choked: "They—they're all in cahoots with Gu Qianhan!"
Shen Wantang looked at him mockingly: "Tell me, how could you commit so many deadly crimes and leave behind such huge incriminating evidence? Since you have such a huge incriminating evidence in other people's hands, why don't you just be honest? Why do you have to collude with Xiao Qingyuan and even scheme against your own daughter?"
When this was mentioned, Shen Guannian finally fell silent.
He slumped to the ground, his face filled with endless regret and resentment.
His voice carried a sense of vicissitude and sorrow: "I was wrong to trust Prince Xiao. I thought he could protect me. I thought that play was flawless."
“I thought that even if Gu Qianhan wanted to settle accounts afterward, she would only settle accounts with Xiao Qingyuan. After all, I was so sick at the time that I couldn’t get out of bed, and I could push all the blame away.”
"But I never expected Gu Qianhan to be so ruthless, actually driving me to the brink of despair!"
Shen Wantang's voice turned cold: "You finally admit it, the day I returned to my parents' home, you were faking illness, you were acting!! It was all to give me to Xiao Qingyuan!"
Shen Guannian retorted confidently, "So what if it is? I faked my illness and acted out all because you forced me to. If you had married Xiao Qingyuan willingly, would I have needed to resort to such a desperate measure? Would I have faced such a vicious retaliation from Gu Qianhan? Would I have ended up in jail?"
"It seems you've forgotten that my marriage to Gu Qianhan was arranged by you! Now, you're blaming me for not taking the initiative to marry Xiao Qingyuan?"
"I was engaged to the Duke's family, but I later changed my mind. Is that not allowed? What's wrong with breaking off an engagement? As long as the marriage hasn't taken place, there's always room for reversal!"
"Since you've gone back on your word, you must naturally bear the consequences! The Duke's mansion isn't some insignificant family that would allow you to break off the engagement so easily!"
"What else can I do if I don't break off the engagement? You saw it yourself, Prince Xiao helped me regain my official position, I have no way to repay him!"
"So a father can sacrifice his daughter?"
Shen Guannian jumped up again: "How can this be a sacrifice? The Ning Prince's Mansion and the Young Master Xiao are not wolves or tigers. If you marry into them, you will only enjoy happiness! I'm doing this for your own good! And by the way, I'm just finding myself a good son-in-law who knows how to be filial to me!"
Shen Wantang sneered: "Is that so? Then why isn't your good son-in-law coming to bail you out of jail right now!"
Shen Guannian gritted his teeth: "Of course it's because you disobeyed and refused to go back with Prince Xiao! If you go back to Prince Ning's mansion with him and become his heir apparent, he will naturally come to rescue me!"
"Then I might as well tell Father that I can never be Xiao Qingyuan's heir apparent in this lifetime, because I have already married into the Duke's mansion. A woman cannot marry twice, you still understand this principle, right? You may not care about your reputation, but I do!"
Shen Guannian's expression changed repeatedly, but he understood that it was no longer realistic to ask Shen Wantang and Xiao Qingyuan to be husband and wife at this point.
Not to mention that Shen Wantang herself would not agree, the Duke's Mansion and Gu Qianhan would never allow such a thing to happen.
He changed his tone and said earnestly, "Tang'er, since you are unwilling to marry Prince Xiao, your father will naturally not force you."
"But now that you're married to Gu Qianhan, isn't he the one who loves you the most? I'm your father, after all. Even if he doesn't care about my reputation, he should at least care about yours! If I go to jail, you'll lose face too, won't you?"
"Go and beg Gu Qianhan to release me! Tell him to rest assured that from now on, I will never go against him again, and I will listen to whatever he says!"
Shen Wantang suddenly laughed. Shen Guannian is really flexible and adaptable. He can change his expression in a minute. If you didn't know better, you would think he had the special skill of changing faces!
She smiled, but her tone was somewhat cold: "My father is in jail, which is a disgrace to me, but it's better to be disgraceful than to lose my life. I'm afraid that after my father gets out, he will join forces with Prince Xiao or someone else to ruin me and throw stones at me to death."
Shen Guannian already knew that Qi Shi had deliberately fallen into the secret cave with Shen Wantang, and he also knew that Qi Shi was ruthless and had actually hit Shen Wantang on the head with a stone when she was not paying attention, causing her to bleed profusely.
He secretly resented Qi Shi for being more trouble than she was worth: "Tang'er, that Qi Shi is wicked and evil. I've been deceived by her for many years. I had no idea she hurt you beforehand. This matter has nothing to do with me! But don't worry, as long as I can get out, I will definitely avenge you!"
"No need."
"Tang'er!"
"I will avenge myself!"
"What about me? What am I supposed to do?"
"You will naturally stay in jail obediently."
"No! I won't go to jail! Tang'er, I'm begging you, please ask Gu Qianhan to let me out!"
"After you serve your sentence, the prison will naturally release you. Then, you'll be a commoner, able to return to your old house in the countryside to farm, raise chickens, and never set foot in the capital again!"
Shen Guannian's face was filled with despair: "No!!!"
Shen Wantang didn't look at him again and turned to walk out.
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