Chapter Ninety-Four: A Pool of Muddy Water
The King of Jin shook his head and said, "Mao Gong is being reckless, and you're joining in the recklessness."
Master Bailian smiled and put his palms together, saying, "Amitabha. The Buddha said that a person who is obsessed with desire is like someone carrying a torch against the wind, and will surely get burned. Master Mao is just worried that you will burn your hand."
The Prince of Jin lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, a strange feeling rising in his heart. He said, "Mao Gong is overthinking it. Even if he burns his hand, he has still gotten what he sought. What is there to complain about? Besides, in this world, we come alone, we are born alone, and we die alone. We bear our own joys and sorrows. Who can take our place?"
Master Bailian knew that his mind was made up, so he smiled but said nothing.
The Prince of Jin said no more. Thinking of how Ruan Bi had finally revealed her deepest feelings, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. Then he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask her what her wish was, a wish that seemed as difficult as the rising sun. He resolved that next time they met, he would ask her clearly, and no matter how difficult, he would help her fulfill it.
Meanwhile, the cold wind outside cleared Ruan Bi's groggy mind. She remembered that her original plan to meet with Prince Jin was to inquire about the handling of Dongxue and Yuqing's marriage, and also to find out who he had visited at Yuxu Temple. She had been so preoccupied with jealousy that she had forgotten the important matter. She considered asking the head monk in the meditation room, but feared he might already be gone, and besides, the young novice monk was with her, making it inconvenient. Fortunately, she could ask about these two things next time they met.
They were in different places, yet their feelings for each other had blossomed. They both thought about their next meeting, but neither considered when or where it would be, or what their feelings would be.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the guest room became increasingly tense.
Madam Ruan's face tightened, and she said firmly, "Those three conditions are indispensable."
Without hesitation, Madam Shen replied firmly, "That's absolutely impossible."
Madam Ruan suddenly stood up and said, "What else is there to say! Let's not waste any more time. Hong'er, let's go."
Ruan Hong hesitated slightly, then stood up as well.
The three men from the Shen family exchanged glances, and upon thinking of the anonymous letter, their spirits immediately sank.
Master Baiyun said slowly, "Amitabha, Madam Ruan, please calm down and let me say a few words."
Madam Ruan stopped in her tracks and said, “Master Baiyun, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face, but it’s just that they have no sincerity. What’s the point of talking any further? As the saying goes, to catch a thief, you need to catch him red-handed; to catch an adulterer, you need to catch them in the act. They keep saying that my daughter cheated on me, but they can’t say who the adulterer is. Since there is no adulterer, how can they convict my daughter? We can’t just let them talk nonsense without knowing the truth.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Mi coughed lightly and said, "Madam Ruan, as I just said, Duke Wenxiao knew all about this back then..."
Madam Ruan interrupted him with a cold laugh, saying, "Prime Minister Shen knows that my old master is now in the afterlife and cannot speak up, so he pushes everything away from him, doesn't he?"
Shen Mi sighed and said earnestly, "Madam Ruan, we have known each other for decades. You know what kind of person I am, Shen. Why do you always judge me with such a petty mind? On the night of April 28th of the fourteenth year of Qinghe, Duke Wenxiao and I entered the palace together. In front of the late Emperor, I told him the whole story. Out of respect for the deceased, please forgive me for not speaking frankly. Please do not press me further. Firstly, I promised the late Emperor not to tell, and secondly, knowing the truth will only cause you more trouble. That's all I can say. If you still don't believe me, you might as well think about what happened in the fourteenth year of Qinghe."
"That's right, we've known each other for decades, but we can only know a person's face, not their heart. Even ordinary families wouldn't divorce just because a wife hasn't given birth in three years. What face do you have to mention my old master? And don't try to intimidate me by bringing up the late emperor. Even if you talk until the heavens break, I won't believe you." As Madam Ruan spoke, she desperately tried to recall the past. She couldn't quite remember what happened in the fourteenth year of Qinghe. But the events of the night of April 28th were vivid in her mind because they were directly related to her. After midnight that night, someone from the palace suddenly summoned the old master to the emperor. She immediately guessed it was related to the conflict between the Ruan and Shen families, and stayed up all night until she was too tired to sleep. When she woke up, it was still dark. The old master was sitting under the lamp, his chin propped up, looking depressed and exhausted. She quickly got up and asked him how he was. The old master remained silent for a long time before saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore for now. We'll discuss it after Lan'er gives birth."
Could it be that my daughter really has a lover? No, impossible. No one knows a daughter better than her mother.
Shen Mi frowned and said, "Let's leave aside this matter for now. Just take your fifth daughter's recognition of her ancestry as an example. It has already caused a great uproar in the city, and even the emperor has been alarmed. Now, all the civil and military officials and the people of the capital are waiting for us two families to make a fool of ourselves. Madam Ruan, if this continues, it will not do any good for either of us."
Madam Ruan said coldly, "This matter of recognizing one's ancestors was not proposed by me. If you want to see a joke, don't look to our Ruan family."
Madam Shen's expression changed slightly, and she said, "So you never intended to do that at all."
Finally, she had the upper hand. Looking at her, Old Madam Ruan said arrogantly, "Old Madam Shen, you are right. I have never intended to let Fifth Girl be recognized as a member of the family."
The three members of the Shen family all frowned.
Madam Ruan ignored them and put her palms together to Master Baiyun, saying, "Amitabha, thank you, Master. I will come to express my gratitude another day." After saying this, she stood up and left.
The master felt anxious thinking about the charges brought against him by the censor, but dared not say anything more and quickly followed. As he walked out of the guest hall, he couldn't help but call out softly, "Mother."
Old Madam Ruan glanced at him sideways, stopping him from continuing. Seeing Ruan Bi come forward, she said with a smile, "Fifth girl, come on, let's go back to the manor."
Seeing her haughty demeanor, the servants of the Ruan household knew they had gained the upper hand. They also gave the Shen family's servants a smug look, then escorted the old lady out aggressively. Once they reached the outside of Tianqing Temple and boarded the carriage, the eldest master couldn't help but speak again, "Mother..."
He had barely called out when the old lady shot him a glare and impatiently interrupted, "What's your rush! Can't you see the Shen family is much more anxious than us? Just now I said we never intended for Fifth Sister to be recognized by her family, and look at their faces—they're like a kaleidoscope of emotions." She paused, then continued, "I've thought about it carefully, and the whole thing seems a bit sinister. Think about it, in all these years, when have they ever thought of our Fifth Sister? Suddenly, they're bringing up recognizing her, and in such a hurry—it's clearly a conspiracy. And it's definitely for their benefit. Let's stay calm and see what they're up to before making a decision."
"But the Imperial Censor..."
"But what! Useless thing." The old lady said in a bad tone, "If the censor impeaches you, then the censor impeaches that bastard Shen Yun, right? Look at them sending Master Baiyun to persuade us today, they must be very anxious. Let's wait a few days, and the truth will surely come out."
With her being so assertive, how could the master dare to disobey her? Although the thought of the censor's memorial made him feel uneasy, he could only nod in agreement.
As soon as the Ruan family's carriage left, the Shen family members followed, boarded their own carriage, and headed straight back to the Prime Minister's residence on Zhuque Street. After seeing Shen Hua off, Shen Yun, Shen Mi, and Old Madam Shen went into the study together. After closing the door, the three of them sat in silence. After a while, Old Madam Shen slammed her hand heavily on the table and said, "This is outrageous! If she didn't have the intention, why did she ask Master Baiyun to mediate? She's clearly just making a fool of us."
Shen Yun said, "Mother, I'm afraid Master Baiyun wasn't someone she found."
Madam Shen was slightly taken aback and asked, "Then who could have hired them?"
Shen Mi and Shen Yun exchanged a glance but remained silent.
Madam Shen asked again, "Why didn't you tell her the truth just now?"
“Oh dear, Madam, this is something we absolutely cannot say,” Shen Mi said. “This anonymous letter is too strange. What if it’s a trap set by someone? What if someone is seeking revenge? If we say this, wouldn’t we be giving them a handle to use against us?”
Madam Shen was startled and asked with wide eyes, "Master, how is this possible? Aren't they all dead? Who would avenge them?"
Shen Mi shook his head and said, "That's hard to say. There might have been some who escaped back then. Besides, he also recruited many people with extraordinary abilities back then. There might be one or two who are loyal and have always planned to avenge him. Otherwise, I really can't understand why others would force us to acknowledge that girl from the Ruan family?"
"What can we do? We can't admit it, and we can't deny it either." Madam Shen was at her wit's end. She stamped her foot and said, "Are we just going to stand by and watch that old woman swagger around like that?"
“Mother, the Ruan family is nothing but a bunch of clowns. What does it matter if they make a scene? We need to find out who’s behind this and know their intentions so we can take the right approach,” Shen Yun said. “Today, he asked Master Baiyun to mediate, which gave him away. The guest master at Tianqing Temple is a good friend of mine. I’ve already sent someone to ask him. As long as we know who has seen him these past two days, we can follow the trail.”
Madam Shen clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha, please find this person quickly. I really can't stand living in such fear."
At this moment, the mastermind behind the scenes, as described by the three members of the Shen family, was leisurely stepping into the threshold of the Empress Dowager Cining Palace.
The head eunuch stepped forward with a beaming smile and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, you've arrived. The Empress Dowager is waiting for you in the side hall."
Prince Jin nodded and entered the side hall, where he saw the Empress Dowager holding a register, engrossed in reading it. He tiptoed behind her, intending to startle her, but suddenly noticed the four small characters on the register: "Fifth Miss Ruan," and was taken aback. The Empress Dowager had already noticed, turned around to glance at him, smiled, and patted his arm, saying, "You're so grown up, yet still so mischievous."
The Prince of Jin sat down beside her with a smile, and asked casually, "Mother, what are you looking at?"
The Empress Dowager said, "This is the list of young ladies sent by the Empress." Seeing his confusion, she added, "We are preparing to select a few more concubines for your brother so that he can have more children."
The Prince of Jin still wore a smile on his face, but his heart sank.
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