Chapter 161 Princess Zhenbei
After the people of Guanzhou were resettled, all the onlookers dispersed, intending to relay what they had seen and heard in the Duke's Mansion to other relatives and friends who had not heard the news.
Eunuch Cao also brought people back to the palace and told Emperor Jing'an about this grand scene.
In an instant, the front of the Duke's Mansion was empty, with only the people inside the mansion left.
For a moment, there was a brief silence.
The people of the second house were shocked by the people of Guanzhou and had to believe that Shen Qingtan had gone to Guanzhou during his disappearance.
Looking back on this period of time, they were gloating and waiting for Shen Qingtan to meet a miserable end.
But what awaited them was Shen Qingtan's grand return to Beijing, which slapped them hard in the face.
The Duke looked at Shen Qingtan with a complicated expression. The rumors outside were getting more and more intense, and he was very worried that they would backfire and really ruin Shen Qingtan's reputation.
I really didn't expect that they would use a trick to cut off the source of the problem and go directly to Guanzhou to perform meritorious service.
The rumors were refuted by the decree of Emperor Jing'an and the praise of their deeds from Guanzhou.
Even if there are still villains criticizing in private, there will also be righteous people to criticize.
I will never slander her so one-sidedly like before.
"I'm glad you're back." The Duke smiled with relief. "You can go back to the courtyard and rest first. Come to my study tomorrow."
Zhao Yi said respectfully, "Grandfather, I am an unfilial grandson. I am sorry for your concern."
"It's good that you know." The Duke snorted softly, "Go away, go away. I get angry just by seeing you."
Zhao Yi bowed and looked at Shen Qingtan who was talking to the old lady.
"You've lost weight, child. You must have suffered a lot outside, right?" The old lady held her hand and said distressedly, "I'll ask the kitchen to cook a black-bone chicken to nourish you."
Shen Qingtan noticed that the old lady's hair had turned completely white, with no trace of gray left. This showed that she had been worried about them these days.
She said with a guilty conscience, "Grandma, I'm sorry for making you worry about your granddaughter-in-law."
"What elder doesn't worry about their children and grandchildren their entire lives?" The old lady said with a kind smile, "Your safe return is my greatest comfort. In the future, whatever you do, remember your loved ones who care about you, and don't put yourself in danger."
Shen Qingtan nodded gently: "Grandma, I'll take note of it."
The old lady sighed, "You have us, the elders, to support you. If you have any questions, you can discuss them with us. The strength of four people is better than that of just two of you."
Shen Qingtan felt a lump in her throat. If a daughter-in-law from an ordinary family encountered such a thing, she would still be blamed even if she managed to calm the situation.
The old lady did not mean to blame them at all. She was just worried that they would be in danger and gave them warm comfort.
"You're too soft-hearted, child. You can't stand soft words. That's not good. You'll be easily deceived." The old lady saw her eyes slowly turn red, and wiped them with a handkerchief. "You and Yi'er, go back to your room and rest. We can talk tomorrow if there's anything."
Shen Qingtan blushed, covered her face with a handkerchief, and returned to Lanxue Garden with Zhao Yi.
The eldest master and the eldest lady said goodbye to the Duke and the old lady, and then went to Lanxue Garden.
The Duke and the old lady walked towards Shi'an Hall.
The second master hurriedly chased after him: "Dad, my niece's wife went to Guanzhou, so why did you force my nephew to divorce her?"
The Duke said coldly, "When did I force Yi'er to divorce his wife?"
The second master was speechless. At that time, the old man asked Zhao Yi to resolve the rumors outside, and did not explicitly ask Zhao Yi to divorce Shen Qingtan.
Then he asked, "Are you aware of the affair between your nephew and his wife? Did you deliberately cooperate with them by taking leave to recuperate at home during this period of time?"
"What? You want to be my master?" The Duke's face darkened. "If you want to be the master, I will separate your family tomorrow."
The second master shut his mouth and dared not say another word.
The Duke snorted coldly and walked away.
The second master looked unhappy. It was obvious that the old man favored Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan. The grandfather and grandson had deceived him with their tricks.
He was unwilling, but he had no choice.
The Second Lady rushed over and saw the Second Master standing alone under a tree. "Master, what did father say?"
"Alas, my skills are inferior to others." The second master sighed heavily and reflected: "In the future, let's eat more lotus roots and be more careful, otherwise I'm afraid we won't be able to compete with the eldest wife."
The Second Madam rolled her eyes and said, "Why don't you go stir up that hornet's nest and get more stings on yourself."
——
Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi placed the imperial edict on the incense table and returned to Lanxue Garden.
The eldest master and the eldest mistress followed soon after.
"Yier, Tan'er, what's going on?" The eldest lady looked haggard. "I haven't had a good night's sleep these days. I'm worried that something might happen to you."
Zhao Yi left a message for the eldest master and the eldest lady, but did not elaborate on the specific matters.
"Tan'er and Boss Qin will use part of the money they earn from selling grain to help the victims of the Guanzhou disaster. I will also arrange for people from Yongkang Trading Company to go and help the victims of the Guanzhou disaster."
Zhao Yi concealed nothing. "After we encountered the assassination attempt in Xishan, we learned that the murderers were Prince Yu and Marquis Cheng'en. I arranged for Tan'er to disappear and went to Guanzhou to provide disaster relief. I let the matter ferment and used it to escape the Marquisate. With the methods of Marquis Cheng'en and Prince Yu, they would definitely use her reputation to make trouble. Only by going to Guanzhou to provide disaster relief can I clear my name, no matter how Marquis Cheng'en and Prince Yu slander her."
The reason why Shen Qingtan went to Guanzhou under the name of Yongkang Trading Company was to protect her reputation.
She is the wife of the grandson of the Duke's Mansion. If she does business with merchants, it will always damage her reputation.
If it were normal, it would be fine.
However, at a time when Shen Qingtan's reputation is controversial, revealing her identity as a businessman might give Marquis Cheng'en a handle and cause even greater controversy.
The eldest master and the eldest lady were shocked: "Marquis Cheng'en wants to kill you?"
They even suspected that they were hallucinating.
Shen Qingtan frankly said, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, I am not the biological daughter of Marquis Cheng'en."
Now that she had found her relatives, Shen Qingtan no longer concealed anything and told them everything about her and the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, from beginning to end.
The eldest master and his wife were shocked again. They never expected that their daughter-in-law's life experience was so complicated.
The eldest master's eyes widened. His son was really lucky. The wife he picked up for free turned out to be the prince's daughter.
If Zhao Jue knew about this, wouldn't he be extremely regretful?
The eldest lady's eyes were red, and she felt particularly sorry for Shen Qingtan, who had to endure so many hardships at such a young age.
Mrs. Shen was so cruel that she separated Shen Qingtan from her biological parents. I wonder how her biological parents could bear the pain of losing their child.
If it were her, Madam Shen would be cut into pieces.
——
Zhenbei Palace.
The doorman got a letter and hurried to the backyard, handing it to the maid guarding the gate: "This is a letter from Master Gu to the princess."
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