Chapter 157 Shen Qingtan's Merit
Marquis Cheng'en looked stunned, and for a moment he did not understand what Emperor Jing'an meant.
Since the Guanzhou corruption case ended, he was appointed commander-in-chief, and his head was tied to his belt, and he could be dealt with by Emperor Jing'an at any time.
But who would have thought that he was just dealing with family affairs, but Emperor Jing'an wanted to be a witness for him, which really made him nervous.
The emperor's mind was unfathomable, and he had no way of guessing his intentions.
Marquis Cheng'en even suspected that Shen Qingtan had eloped, and slapped Zhao Yi in the face, angering Emperor Jing'an.
And he broke off his relationship with Shen Qingtan, and thus won the emperor's favor?
Thinking of this, Marquis Cheng'en breathed a sigh of relief.
There is no possibility for Shen Qingtan to turn things around.
——
For half a month since the incident, the Duke's Mansion has been closed to visitors, and the atmosphere in the mansion is extremely solemn.
Only in the second room, everyone had a smile on their face.
Shen Mingzhu endured her physical discomfort and stood beside the second wife, serving her meals.
The second wife does not follow the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping.
"Our Second House is finally coming out on top." She was feeling proud and started talking. "Zhao Yi only relied on the Emperor's favor to be so fearless as to oppose my father-in-law. Now the Emperor has abandoned him and there is no one to back him up. If he doesn't divorce Shen Qingtan, my father-in-law will definitely appoint another heir."
The Second Master agreed and said to Zhao Jue, "At this critical juncture, our Second Branch cannot stir up trouble and anger your grandfather."
At this point, he continued to persuade: "After Zhao Yi left the capital, your grandfather has been bedridden. He hasn't attended the morning court for the past ten days and has taken leave to recuperate at home. You should take this opportunity to spend more time with him and please him."
Zhao Jue put down his bowl and chopsticks with a bang, left without saying a word, and walked out of the house.
During this period of time, he had long since faced the reality that simply trying to please the Duke was completely useless.
The Duke looks down on the Second Wife, so how could he hand over the Duke's Mansion to the Second Wife?
Zhao Jue rode his horse and wandered aimlessly on the long street. When he passed by a teahouse, he heard the storyteller speaking in a rhythmic and fluent voice, reciting a storybook based on Shen Qingtan.
Even though he knew that Shen Qingtan was framed by the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, he still found it offensive to hear that she eloped with another man.
He had to acknowledge her marriage to Zhao Yi, after all, it was he who made it happen.
What's more, Zhao Yi is not humane and cannot touch Shen Qingtan.
Suddenly, Zhao Jue's gaze paused, staring intently at a woman wearing a veil.
Although he couldn't see the face, he recognized who it was at a glance just by the familiar back.
Zhao Jue quickly dismounted, quickly chased after her, stopped her, and reached out to lift her veil.
A round fan hit the back of his hand hard, and with a "pop" sound, a red mark appeared on the back of his hand.
He didn't get angry and withdrew his hand.
"Tan'er, I know it's you." Zhao Jue's heartbeat quickened as he stared at her intently, his eyes gradually becoming intense. "Your reputation is in tatters. My grandfather had my second brother divorce you, and even the Marquis of Cheng'en has severed his father-daughter relationship with you. If you show up, you'll be dead."
Zhao Yi didn't find her when he left Beijing, but he ran into her first, which shows that the fate between them is not over yet.
Ever since he heard Marquis Cheng'en's plan, an idea had arisen in his mind uncontrollably.
The Cheng'en Marquisate didn't want her, and Zhao Yi divorced her, leaving her alone and helpless.
He could take her in, keep her in a villa, and let her serve him.
With her intelligence and talent, she will definitely be able to help him regain the title of Duke.
Shen Qingtan frowned. It was really bad luck that he met Zhao Jue as soon as he returned to Beijing.
"I have a villa in the suburbs of Beijing. You can stay there temporarily." Zhao Jue tried his best to show kindness and gain her trust: "Tan'er, you and I are childhood sweethearts. I won't harm you. I sincerely want to help you."
Shen Qingtan sneered in her heart. As long as she went to the villa, she would never be able to come out again.
His gaze on her made her feel very uncomfortable, as if a cold poisonous snake was coiling around her. She got goosebumps all over her body and felt nauseous in her stomach.
"Don't bother with that."
Shen Qingtan couldn't stay any longer and didn't plan to buy medicine. Turning around, he saw a tall figure walking out of the shop.
The corners of her lips unconsciously rose and she trotted over.
Zhao Jue followed her gaze and saw her running towards Zhao Yi.
Zhao Yi?
How could the two of them be together?
Could it be that Zhao Yi found Shen Qingtan first and took her back to Beijing?
Or maybe Shen Qingtan was not missing, and Zhao Yi always knew where she was.
Did they just use the assassination as an excuse to pretend to be missing?
So what is their purpose in doing this?
Suddenly, Zhao Jue thought of something. The emperor promoted Marquis Cheng'en and was planning to take action against him.
Shen Qingtan is afraid of being implicated, so is he willing to sacrifice his reputation and sever ties with the Cheng'en Marquisate?
No, without his clean reputation, Shen Qingtan would be forced to die.
Zhao Jue always felt that something was strange, but he could not figure it out.
Zhao Yi held Shen Qingtan's arm, looked up at him, and there was a coldness in his eyes.
Zhao Jue looked at the two people walking away together, his fists clenched so hard that they made a crackling sound, and a sinister look in his eyes.
No matter what their purpose is, the current situation is not favorable to Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan. He has learned the whereabouts of the two people and has taken the initiative.
Shen Qingtan, ah Shen Qingtan, I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it.
-
In the imperial palace, inside the imperial study.
Emperor Jing'an summoned his close ministers to discuss matters in the imperial study.
Many officials were executed in the Guanzhou corruption case.
Before this, the people of Guanzhou lived in dire straits, fleeing famine and becoming displaced.
Now that Guanzhou has stabilized, the people have returned to their hometowns.
The farmland is abandoned and there are no houses to live in.
The disaster relief supplies sent to Guanzhou were just a drop in the bucket for the people of Guanzhou.
They had to solve the problem of resettling the disaster victims, but the strategies proposed by the ministers would not be effective in the short term.
At this time, the censor handed over a memorial and a secret letter.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter from Guanzhou. Please take a look."
When Emperor Jing'an heard the memorial and letter from Guanzhou, he felt a headache. He took the memorial and the secret letter, read the memorial first, and then his frown relaxed.
He quickly opened the letter and saw the contents. It turned out that the prefect was praising Shen Qingtan.
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