Chapter 121: Blood Feud, Betrayal
In the backyard of Baixiangzhai, Shen Qingtan had a secret conversation with Boss Qin.
"Your eldest brother raised the price of grain to two taels of silver per stone, and I told him to stop raising it." Boss Qin always felt that Shen Shaoheng was a little strange: "Does he think there is something wrong with Marquis Cheng'en and go to Guanzhou specifically to find evidence of his crime?"
"That way, if he gets evidence and reports it, he can avoid being implicated." Boss Qin said this, then felt something was wrong. "But doesn't the Great Zhou law strictly forbid younger generations from accusing their elders? Even if the charges are true, if a younger generation files a complaint, they will be severely punished."
Shen Qingtan also thought of this at first, but finally considered that he was planning to give the evidence to Old Madam Shen to accuse him.
Although younger generations cannot sue their elders, elders can sue their children.
The only thing that made her doubt was that since Shen Shaoheng had obtained the position of the prince, why did he still have to look for evidence of Marquis Cheng'en's guilt?
After all, for the crime committed by Marquis Cheng'en, the least he should have done was the execution of his entire family, which was very disadvantageous to him.
Madam Shen had abandoned him and maliciously framed him for an affair with the Marquis's concubine, and then exposed and destroyed him. He could have taken revenge elsewhere.
Shen Shaoheng's current actions always made her feel that he seemed to be determined to destroy the Marquis' Mansion at all costs, even if it cost him his life.
Such an action seems like there is some deep blood feud.
Suddenly, Shen Qingtan thought of Shen Shaoheng's deceased parents, and a thought flashed through his mind - could it be that they were killed by Marquis Cheng'en?
If that's the case, then Shen Shaoheng's actions make perfect sense.
"I'm not sure what he's thinking. I need to investigate further." Shen Qingtan instructed Boss Qin, "Sell the grain to the Marquis' Mansion at a high price. After you get the money, use the extra money to provide porridge to the victims."
"After all, it's the people's blood and sweat that they've plundered, so it's only right that we use it for the common people." Boss Qin said with a smile, "We only take the portion that we deserve, and that gives us peace of mind."
Shen Qingtan was thinking about the fact that Boss Qin had a bad ending in his previous life, which was certainly because of her, but she couldn't help but worry that he would make a wrong step and fall into the hands of others.
"Marquis Yongyi was arrested. It is said that he used the title of Marquis Cheng'en to force officials to sell grain to him. There is irrefutable evidence." Boss Qin learned some inside information from Shen Qingtan and knew that Marquis Yongyi was a scapegoat.
He sighed and said, "You still have to follow the right master, otherwise you will become a discarded pawn and end up in a miserable end."
Shen Qingtan was not surprised at all. She had extended an olive branch to the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion, but they were still bewitched by Cheng'en Marquis and went to Guanzhou to be scapegoats.
At that time, even if she told the truth to Lady Yongyi, Lady Yongyi might not believe it, and might even sell her to Marquis Cheng'en.
She did not interfere, but waited for Yongyi Bo to fall.
By that time, Lady Yongyi would realize that she had fallen into Marquis Cheng'en's scheme.
Given the temperament of the wife of the Earl of Yongyi, she will definitely turn against the Marquis of Cheng'en and try to take over the Marquis's Mansion.
Besides, she had another guess.
She guessed that the wife of the Marquis Yongyi already knew that she was not the biological daughter of the Marquis.
Before Shen Mingzhu returned to her ancestral home, the wife of the Yongyi Earl treated her with exceptional warmth. However, two months before her wedding, her attitude changed, and she became more affectionate towards Shen Mingzhu.
The most obvious change was that of Liu Ruojiao, who went from trying to please her to trying to please Shen Mingzhu.
Guessing this, she wanted to take advantage of the conflict between Lady Yongyi and Marquis Cheng'en to persuade Lady Yongyi to prove that she was not the daughter of Marquis Cheng'en, and take the opportunity to sever ties with the Marquisate.
Even if the Cheng'en Marquisate was held accountable and all nine clans were executed, she would not be implicated.
Shen Qingtan realized a problem. Boss Qin knew about the situation in Guanzhou, but did Lady Yongyi also know about it?
"Uncle Qin, I have some things to take care of, so I'll leave first."
Shen Qingtan gave Boss Qin some instructions on the follow-up matters, and then took Liu Yue away from Baixiangzhai.
When she came to the carriage, she saw Jiang Mu.
Jiang Mu said respectfully, "Second Madam, when the wife of the Earl of Yongyi learned that the Earl of Yongyi had been arrested, she went to the Marquis' Mansion in a rage."
Shen Qingtan's heart sank. He knew without thinking that the wife of the Earl of Yongyi was going to threaten the Marquis of Cheng'en.
Lady Yongyi's actions are very likely to have the opposite effect and accelerate her death.
Shen Qingtan naturally did not want to see the wife of the Earl of Yongyi being killed, so he immediately took out the visiting box from the car cabinet, wrote a temporary visiting card and asked Jiang Mu to deliver it to the Earl of Yongyi's mansion.
——
The Mansion of the Earl of Yongyi.
When Lady Yongyi returned from Marquis Cheng'en's residence, she immediately arranged for someone to keep an eye on Marquis Cheng'en's movements, and then she couldn't bear it any longer and lay down on the bed.
"Runiang, don't tell Jiaojiao about the uncle's affairs." The wife of the Earl of Yongyi had a migraine attack, and the left side of her head was throbbing with pain.
She was worried about Earl Yong Yi and regretted it, "I should have stopped him earlier. If I had gone to Tan Er, how could I have become someone else's scapegoat?"
Runiang was the maidservant who came with the wife of the Earl of Yongyi. It turned out that the Earl of Yongyi wanted to marry her to the steward of the mansion.
It's a pity that Runiang fell in love with Yongyi Bo's follower, and with the permission of Yongyi Bo's wife, the two got married.
As a result, the man died of illness early, leaving only the orphan and the widow to depend on each other.
Over the years, Runiang has been serving the wife of the Earl of Yongyi loyally and responsibly.
Lady Yongyi trusted her very much.
"Don't worry, I won't reveal a single word." Ru Niang looked at the sickly appearance of the wife of the Yongyi Earl and pursed her lips. "Your old illness has come back. I'll go and make you some medicine to drink."
The wife of the Earl of Yongyi closed her eyes uncomfortably and said, "Go ahead."
Runiang responded and went down.
After a while, someone outside came with a message that Lady Yongyi asked someone to come in.
The maid entered the inner room and whispered in the ear of the wife of the Marquis of Yongyi, "The person you sent out to investigate has reported that the Marquis of Cheng'en has made some moves and seems to be working hard on behalf of the Marquis."
"I understand. You can go down." Lady Yongyi planned to give Marquis Cheng'en three days. If there was no progress, she would go find Shen Qingtan.
"I have something else to report," the maid continued, "Second Madam Zhao from Duke Zhao's mansion wishes to see you."
The wife of the Earl of Yongyi was startled, thought for a moment, and declined, "Not for the time being."
She was worried that Marquis Cheng'en would misunderstand that she was colluding with Shen Qingtan, and was unwilling to save Earl Yongyi again.
The maid retreated.
A quarter of an hour later, Runiang brought a bowl of medicine and helped the wife of the Earl of Yongyi drink it.
The wife of the Earl of Yongyi frowned bitterly.
Seeing this, Runiang turned around and brought a bowl of nectar water. She paused for a moment, but finally handed it over.
"Miss, if you drink the sugar water, it won't be bitter anymore."
She used the title of Lady Yongyi, which was her title before she got married.
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