Chapter 152 Eloping
To be cautious, Marquis Cheng'en sent someone to deliver a letter to Prince Yu.
He changed into casual clothes and waited for news from Prince Yu.
Unexpectedly, the confidant brought the visiting card back intact: "My Lord, His Highness does not want to see you."
Marquis Cheng'en's face changed. He opened the visiting card but found no reply.
Seeing this, the confidant said, "The gatekeeper didn't send a letter to Your Highness. He just said that Your Highness had instructed them not to see anyone from our mansion."
Marquis Cheng'en felt very disappointed.
When he first heard that Prince Yu assassinated Shen Qingtan because of the Qingzhou incident, he immediately suspected that someone had deliberately leaked the information to him in order to use him to deal with Shen Qingtan.
But Prince Yu's actions now clearly confirmed that the information obtained by his confidant was true.
Qingzhou's false reporting of the disaster has far-reaching implications. Once exposed, it will be difficult for Prince Yu to escape unscathed.
Therefore, Prince Yu was very concerned about the developments in Qingzhou.
Shen Qingtan knew that there was something wrong with the disaster in Qingzhou. If he started to investigate, he would inevitably be noticed by Prince Yu, so it was understandable that he was silenced by Prince Yu.
Otherwise, given the relationship between him and Prince Yu, Prince Yu would not be unwilling to see him.
Sure enough, Prince Yu was taking his anger out on him.
After all, Shen Qingtan is his daughter. Based on this relationship, Prince Yu probably suspected that the matter of Qingzhou was leaked from him.
Even though Prince Yu knew that he and Shen Qingtan had a bad relationship as father and daughter, he would still suspect that Shen Qingtan was looking for evidence against him in order to take revenge on him, and then went to Qingzhou to find out.
If that was the case, he had to do something to appease Prince Yu's anger and regain his attention.
Otherwise, he would be the next person Prince Yu would want to silence.
"Knock knock—" There was a knock on the study door, and Shen Shaohuai said from outside: "Father, I have something important to discuss with you."
"Come in."
Marquis Cheng'en needed someone to discuss things with right now, and Shen Shaohuai came back just in time.
Shen Shaohuai pushed the door open, closed the study door, and bowed to Marquis Cheng'en.
"Father, I heard that Zhao Yi was assassinated and injured." He wondered, "Zhao Yi is deeply favored by the emperor and is not a long-lived person. Why would someone assassinate him?"
"You don't know that the real assassin behind the plot is Shen Qingtan, and Zhao Yi was just implicated."
Marquis Cheng'en told Shen Shaohuai the details and said with a frown, "Shen Qingtan's whereabouts are unknown, and Prince Yu is blaming us for this. We have truly suffered an unprovoked disaster."
"Prince Yu's methods are ruthless. When he found out that Shen Qingtan was planning to attack Qingzhou, he immediately sent people to silence him. If he really was angry with us, he would not have refused to see us by now, but would have taken action long ago."
Shen Shaohuai speculated: "Prince Yu probably wants to see our performance."
"Performance?" Marquis Cheng'en frowned, "Huai'er, Shen Qingtan is missing. Even if I want to show my loyalty, I don't know where to start."
"My son has investigated Shen Qingtan. Mother and sister have attacked her time and again, but instead of hurting her, they've shot themselves in the foot. As for Shen Qingtan, her hands are clean. We can't hold a single handle on her."
Shen Shaohuai said coldly: "This shows that she is very scheming. Mother and sister are no match for her at all. I was too conceited in the past and didn't take her, a woman from the harem, seriously. That's why I suffered a few setbacks."
He suspected, "Judging from Shen Qingtan's previous behavior, she is not only meticulous but also cautious. Now she and Zhao Yi were assassinated in Xishan. Zhao Yi was only slightly injured, but her whereabouts are unknown. I tend to think that she deliberately concealed her whereabouts."
Marquis Cheng'en suddenly looked at Shen Shaohuai.
"Prince Yu's men are not ordinary people. If the assassination of Shen Qingtan succeeds, Prince Yu will vent his anger and will not take it out on you."
Shen Shaohuai analyzed, "I suspect Prince Yu's men failed, so he took his anger out on us. You are either supporting another prince, or you are venting your anger on Prince Yu."
"You and Prince Yu are already on the same boat. If you choose another prince to support you, you will force Prince Yu to take action against you. This is not a wise move."
"If we want to vent Prince Yu's anger, we must solve the problem from its root, and the root lies with Shen Qingtan."
"Based on Prince Yu's understanding of you, he naturally knows that you will choose the latter."
Shen Shaohuai had come to a conclusion when he said this: "Zhao Yi's injury will definitely alarm the emperor and he will order a thorough investigation. Prince Yu can't continue to take action, otherwise he will be trapped. He is trying to use you to eliminate Shen Qingtan."
Marquis Cheng'en fell into deep thought. He and Prince Yu seldom interacted openly. Apart from correspondence, they mostly met in private residences.
There is really no need for Prince Yu to avoid suspicion.
It seems that Shen Shaohuai's guess is almost right.
"Father, I have a plan." Shen Shaohuai said quietly, "Whether Shen Qingtan is truly missing or deliberately hiding her whereabouts, we can make her disappear completely."
Marquis Cheng'en looked at Shen Shaohuai and motioned him to continue.
"Father, we can arrange for someone to spread the news that she eloped with a man. Throughout history, people have been required to follow the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. Married men and women who elope will be severely punished."
A ruthless look flashed in Shen Shaohuai's eyes: "If a woman is caught, she will be put into a pig cage. If a man is found, he will not only be expelled from the clan, but also be executed according to clan rules."
Marquis Cheng'en frowned into the shape of a "川" character, wondering whether this plan was feasible.
After all, Shen Qingtan is the daughter of the Marquis's Mansion. If her reputation is ruined, it will hinder the reputation of other daughters of the Shen family.
Married women cannot hold their heads up high in their husband’s family, and it is difficult for unmarried women to discuss marriage.
When they were getting married, they were planning to frame Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi for having an affair before marriage. That was because they planned to clarify Shen Qingtan's background and distance themselves from them when the matter was exposed.
If he adopted Shen Shaohuai's advice, he could still sever the relationship between them, but this would also give Shen Qingtan a way out.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, with Shen Qingtan's intelligence, once he found his biological parents, he would definitely find an opportunity to make a comeback and continue to take revenge on them.
In the past, they didn't take Shen Qingtan seriously enough, thinking that she couldn't cause much trouble and they could clarify her background without any scruples.
After falling into a few traps at her hands, I no longer dare to underestimate her.
If that were the case, their plan would be in vain.
What he wanted was to beat Shen Qingtan to death with a stick and never give her a chance to turn things around.
So she can only be the daughter of the Shen family until her death.
"Father, we can expel her from our clan and draw a clear line between us, thus showing our loyalty to Prince Yu."
"Whether Shen Qingtan eloped with someone or not is not important. As long as she is indeed missing and not in the Duke's Mansion, even if she comes forward to explain in the future, her reputation will have been ruined."
"Zhao Yi is the grandson of the Duke's family and the future Duke's wife. How can we let a woman with an unclear reputation take on the position?"
"Even if Zhao Yi doesn't mind, given the old Duke's personality and way of doing things, he will never let Shen Qingtan continue to stay in the Duke's Mansion. Then there will be no one to protect her, and she will be at our mercy."
"If Zhao Yi is a love-struck person who wants to sever ties with the Duke's Mansion and protect Shen Qingtan, then that's exactly what we want. The Duke's Mansion needs to choose another heir."
After Shen Shaohuai finished explaining his plan, he waited for Marquis Cheng'en to express his opinion.
People's words are scary, Zeng Shen killed someone.
A woman's reputation is more important than her life. Once she is labeled unclean, she will be despised by everyone.
For Shen Qingtan, this plan was a dead end.
Marquis Cheng'en did not give in for a while, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
After a long while, Shen Shaohuai did not wait for Marquis Cheng'en to express his opinion, and asked: "Father, do you have any other concerns in your mind?"
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