Chapter 236: Borrowing a Knife to Kill
Shen Qingtan opened the letter and read its contents with surprise.
"Second Aunt is actually making counterfeit goods." Shen Qingtan handed the letter to Zhao Yi. "When she redeemed her dowry, I suspected she was selling counterfeit goods. Mother investigated privately and only found out that Mr. Luo was running a gambling house."
Zhao Yi washed his hands several times and read the letter. "My mother's people couldn't find out, which means Second Aunt is very vigilant and acts very secretly. She probably never had any personal contact, and the shop wouldn't be under her name. There would be no loopholes. How did Boss Qin find out?"
Shen Qingtan understood what Zhao Yi meant. Even if Boss Qin bought a fake, he couldn't trace it back to the Second Madam based on his connections.
"Someone deliberately leaked this information to Uncle Qin?" Shen Qingtan pondered, "Killing someone with a borrowed knife?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Zhao Yi folded the letter and handed it back to Shen Qingtan: "Second Aunt sells fakes, and the prices are not low. Those who can afford it must be from wealthy families. Some of them must have backers."
"Over the years, nothing has ever come to light. It's probably because they're leveraging the power of the Duke's Mansion. Now that we know about this, whether the person behind this is using someone else's knife to kill someone or has other plans, we can't just sit back and watch."
At this point, Zhao Yi's expression darkened: "Instead of waiting for the truth to be exposed, why don't we expose it first?"
Shen Qingtan had no intention of letting the second wife's family go. Now that he had a ready-made handle, he naturally had to make good use of it.
No matter what the intentions of the person behind the scenes are, she and the people from the second house have been fighting to the death for a long time.
"Second Master, please investigate carefully." Shen Qingtan took out a tinderbox and burned the letter. He turned to look at him and said, "If this is true, please don't make it public for now. I have other plans."
Zhao Yi looked at her with a cunning look in his eyes, and a smile unconsciously appeared between his eyebrows: "Okay."
Shen Qingtan looked at the smile in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, and curled the corners of his lips: "Aren't you going to ask me what I want to do?"
She was really curious about the circumstances under which he would not obey her and indulge her.
"What do you want to ask?" Zhao Yi said with a smile, "If there's something you're unsure about, or something that might hinder me, you'll take the initiative to discuss it with me without me having to ask."
Shen Qingtan smiled brightly when she heard this: "I'll tell you when you find out about Second Aunt."
Zhao Yi raised his hand to rub her head, called Jiang Mu in, and told him to check on the Second Madam and Mr. Luo.
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Near noon, Mother Wei from Shi'an Hall came and asked Shen Qingtan to come over.
Shen Qingtan subconsciously thought of Pei Wuyan. The old lady had previously intended for him to meet Zhao Wan from the third house.
Now that Pei Wuyan has moved into the Duke's Mansion and there is nothing else going on there, the old lady called her over, most likely for Zhao Wan's marriage.
Sure enough, when Shen Qingtan arrived at Shi'an Hall, he saw Zhao Wan sitting on a stool next to the old lady, with her head slightly lowered, and the half of her face that was exposed was slightly flushed.
Shen Qingtan glanced at Zhao Wan calmly and bowed to the old lady: "Greetings, Grandmother."
"Tan'er, sit next to Grandma." The old lady waved to Shen Qingtan and said with a kind smile, "Wan'er has reached the age of marriage now."
Zhao Wan's cheeks flushed with shame and she didn't dare to look up at anyone.
Shen Qingtan asked, "Grandma, do you have a favorite candidate?"
"A distant relative of mine has come to the capital and is now staying at the Duke's Mansion. He's my nephew's grandson." The old lady looked at Zhao Wan lovingly. "The Pei family has a clean background and is considered a wealthy and noble family in Jiangnan. Yan'er is well-educated and has a good reputation abroad."
Having said this, the old lady paused for a moment and said to Shen Qingtan, "This person's character can only be clearly seen after a long time of getting to know him. I asked you to come here today to entrust this matter to you and Yi'er."
Shen Qingtan asked in surprise, "Entrust it to me and my husband?"
"You two are about the same age as Yan'er and Wan'er. Yan'er lives in our house. Yi'er usually has nothing to do, so you can hang out with him more often and keep an eye on Wan'er."
The old lady knew the character of the third son and his wife. They were cowardly, but had their own little thoughts and were unwilling to be mediocre.
Instead of working hard to make a future for themselves, they force their children to do the same.
The two children they had were both righteous and clear-headed. They did not listen to the third wife's instigation to take the wrong path and always kept themselves in the right place.
Because of this, the old lady felt pity for Zhao Wan and sincerely wanted to find a good marriage for her.
The old lady said to Zhao Wan, "If you have nothing to do, go to Lanxue Garden more often to accompany your second sister-in-law to relieve her boredom and learn some etiquette."
Zhao Wan said softly, "Grandma, Wan'er knows."
Shen Qingtan's heart moved slightly. The old lady wanted Pei Wuyan and Zhao Wan to have more contact.
From the old lady's attitude, it can be seen that she is very optimistic about this marriage.
If Zhao Yi said that Pei Wuyan had good character, this marriage would be settled.
Shen Qingtan said with a smile: "Grandma, I will tell my husband about this later."
"I'm confident you two can handle this." The old lady patted Zhao Wan's head. "This marriage has been decided. The wedding will be around next spring. Our family must make good arrangements."
Zhao Wan was only fifteen years old, and her heart was full of fantasies about her future husband.
Although she was a daughter of the Duke's Mansion, she was born of a concubine's family, while Mr. Pei was born of a legitimate family, so she felt more or less uneasy.
Zhao Wan didn't expect Pei Wuyan to be as good as her second brother. She would be satisfied if he treated her with more respect.
She followed her second sister-in-law out of Shi'an Hall, clenching the handkerchief in her hand, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Seeing this, Shen Qingtan asked, "Sister Wan, do you have any concerns about this marriage?"
Zhao Wan bit her lips lightly, not knowing whether she should say it or not, fearing that she would not be understood or recognized.
After a while, Zhao Wan raised her eyes and looked at Shen Qingtan. She saw that her eyebrows and eyes were gentle, like the gentle waves of spring water that could tolerate everything.
She seemed to have gained the courage to speak out the thoughts that had been pent up in her heart.
"My parents were born out of wedlock. My father holds a sinecure and does nothing. My younger brother is still young and hasn't passed the imperial examinations. I'm not very talented myself. I don't have the confidence to live a good life if I marry the legitimate son of a wealthy family."
Zhao Wan's eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'd rather marry a man from an ordinary family. He needs the help of the Duke's Mansion to help him get promoted. I'll be valuable to him, so I'll have more confidence."
Shen Qingtan knew that Zhao Wan was a smart person and thought things through, but marriage was not something she could decide on her own.
"The old lady hopes that you will live a good life." Shen Qingtan said softly, "Sister Wan, your second brother will keep a close eye on you."
Zhao Wan smiled bitterly: "Sister-in-law, I don't ask for a rich life, I just want to live an ordinary life."
"Sister Wan, character has nothing to do with family background." Shen Qingtan touched her head with heartache. "There are many men born in humble families who are unfaithful and only willing to share hardships with their wives, but not wealth. There are many men born in wealthy families who are upright and will give their wives enough respect and love."
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