Chapter 827 Another One Dies
"I heard that no one in the Duke's mansion spoke up for the Meng family, especially the eldest son, Gu Qianling. No matter how much Miss Meng begged, he refused to go to the palace to plead with the Emperor."
"Hey, the Duke's Mansion is in dire straits itself right now, how dare they speak up for the Meng family! Haven't you heard? The Duke's Mansion has been supporting all the bad things the Meng family has done!"
"Yes, yes, I've heard that too. It's said that the former Grand Secretary's eldest daughter served both Meng Deguang and the Duke! She doesn't even know whose child she's carrying!"
"Huh? That can't be right! Isn't the Duke supposed to be very virtuous? He wouldn't touch that legitimate daughter, would he?"
"Why is it impossible? You haven't seen the eldest daughter of the Grand Secretary Ren, have you? If you had, you would know that no man in the world can resist her beauty!"
"Tch, you're a lecherous bastard yourself, you can't resist any woman you see. Don't drag us into this. Even if we like beautiful women, we have our bottom line and we won't do anything inappropriate!"
...
Sitting in the carriage, Shen Wantang listened to the murmurs outside and couldn't help but shake her head: "The Meng family really knows how to harm people!"
Du Juan said angrily, "The Meng family did something wrong, so why blame it on our Duke's Mansion? They've made the Duke sound so bad; it's really too much!"
Shen Wantang herself had a pretty good impression of the Duke. When she was summoned to the palace by the Emperor and forced to kneel as punishment, it was the Duke who stepped in and rescued her.
She didn't know what her father-in-law was thinking, but at least on the surface, he never looked down on her background. From the moment she entered the mansion, her father-in-law treated her and Meng Yunlan the same.
"I don't know how this rumor started. Many people don't have the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and they believe whatever they hear."
Shen Wantang said calmly, "They don't even consider that if the Duke really offended Ren Jingqiu, the Emperor wouldn't let it go so easily. How could he possibly let the Duke return to his residence so easily?"
Qin Xin nodded: "That's right. How could the Duke be the same as Meng Deguang? Of course, he wouldn't touch the daughter of the former prime minister, so the Emperor only punished the Meng family and didn't question the Duke's mansion. That Meng Deguang is a beast! He's a dog with a human face and a beast's heart!"
Along the way, Dujuan and Qinxin scolded Meng Deguang quite a bit.
When they arrived at Jinxiu Pavilion, the customers buying fabrics were also cursing Meng Deguang while selecting fabrics.
When they went to Zuixianlou again, the customers there were also drinking and cursing Meng Deguang.
Meng Deguang is now a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone.
Zuixianlou has been doing very well these past two days, and its reputation has been established.
Shen Wantang went upstairs to a private room and chatted with the radiant Li Yao for a while before tasting the dim sum and dishes that the restaurant had developed in the past two days based on her suggestions.
The food was indeed much tastier than before, and the snacks were also more palatable.
After dinner, Shen Wantang met with Fang Xuning again. Knowing that he had gathered all the best lawyers in the capital, Shen Wantang felt relieved.
"Dujuan, give the silver to the lawyer Fang."
Du Juan stepped forward and handed over a money bag.
As soon as Fang Xuning took it in, he knew there was at least a hundred taels of silver inside!
He could hardly contain his joy: "Thank you so much, Second Young Madam! I will definitely do my best to serve you!"
Of course he had to do his job well. It was rare for him to meet someone so generous. As long as he did his job well for Shen Wantang, he wouldn't have to worry about money!
This is much better than him taking on jobs himself!
"Alright, you can go back now. I'll have someone notify you when I have a case that requires your involvement. As for the rest of the people, give them some silver according to their abilities, don't give them all the same amount."
"Yes, yes, I understand!"
Fang Xuning nodded repeatedly, then put his money bag away and left.
Shen Wantang stayed at Zuixianlou until evening before leaving. Because she had brought Qin Xin with her today, she had heard a lot of gossip, which she listened to with great interest.
As soon as she returned to the Duke's mansion, Granny Yan solemnly announced some shocking news: "Young Madam, Liu Nanshi, the daughter of Grand Secretary Liu, is dead!"
Shen Wantang was stunned: "What?! How could she..." How could she die so quickly?
Didn't Liu Nanshi also get reborn? Shouldn't she be more cautious and wary? How come her skills haven't improved at all?
Granny Yan whispered, "It is said that she was killed by a vengeful ghost. Her death was extremely gruesome, and she was completely naked, and her body was arranged in a very indecent position."
"But there were no signs of intrusion in Miss Liu's bedroom. The maids and servants all said they hadn't heard any noise from inside. It had been quiet all along."
"This happened last night. The Liu family has been keeping this news under wraps and refused to let anyone know. It was only because some people from the Ministry of Justice went to investigate the scene that a little bit of the news leaked out in the evening."
Shen Wantang shook her head slightly.
There are no vengeful ghosts, of course; clearly, this is Chu Yanluo's retaliation.
However, Shen Wantang found it strange that although the Grand Secretary's mansion was not as heavily guarded as the Duke's mansion, it was by no means a place that Chu Yanluo could enter and leave at will.
How did she kill Liu Nanshi?
Could it be that they used Huayi, who was close to Liu Nanshi, to kill him? Wasn't Huayi captured?
"Did Liu Nanshi die in the Grand Secretary's residence?"
"No, she died in a villa of the Liu family. A few days ago, Miss Liu somehow angered Elder Liu and was punished by being sent to live in the villa. She didn't have many servants with her."
Shen Wantang nodded: "No wonder..."
Just then, Gu Qianhan returned.
Seeing that Shen Wantang's expression was not right, he immediately asked her, "What's wrong? What happened? Did someone in the manor cause you trouble again?"
Shen Wantang shook her head: "No, not at all. Right now, I'm probably the most carefree person in the whole mansion. Who would dare to cause me any trouble?"
"Then why do you look so serious?"
"It's because I just heard that Liu Nanshi is dead, killed by a vengeful ghost."
Gu Qianhan breathed a sigh of relief: "I've heard about this too. She's dead, so what? As for that so-called vengeful ghost, it's just a scare tactic. You don't need to worry about it. Although your name is on Chu Yanluo's so-called death list, you'll be fine. Trust me."
Now, whenever Shen Wantang goes out, he secretly sends people to protect her.
Once back at the manor, it was perfectly safe. No matter how much Chu Yanluo pretended to be mysterious, it was impossible for her to sneak into the Duke's manor and kill someone.
"Has the Ministry of Justice caught the murderer who killed Liu Nanshi?"
"No, those useless people couldn't find anything. They even suspect it was the work of a vengeful ghost. They're hopelessly stupid."
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