If Consort Gao hadn't suddenly come over, he and Jiang Shuwan would definitely have met today.
Hearing this, Li Yuyan became even more displeased, her displeasure evident in her words.
"You value her that much? Besides making some money, she can't do anything else."
I think I've seen her before—
The man's answer, however, was completely irrelevant.
His gaze wandered, fixed on Jiang Shuwan's table.
Her every word and action in the palace kept flashing through my mind.
Looking at people in a dark room is like looking through a black cloth; it's blurry, like looking at flowers through a fog.
But it was this vague feeling that gave him a sense of familiarity, as if deep in his memory, there were still some threads related to her.
"Isn't that obvious? Didn't you see her from afar when General Sun returned to the capital, both in the palace and on the city wall?"
Li Yuyan scoffed, her words firing at the man like a machine gun.
"You're only after her money-making skills, so why all the fuss and excuses? Anyone who didn't know better would think you like her."
Yu Yan muttered to herself, then thought of Liu Yunyan again, and the anger in her heart burned up once more.
"That Liu Yunyan is the same. She has her own courtyard but still lives in the Marquis's mansion, always coming and going with him. How shameless..."
Li Yuyan became increasingly angry as she spoke, her voice growing sharper and sharper, until finally she simply flung her sleeves and ran out.
But the man didn't pay any attention to her at all.
He frowned, his expression solemn and deep, with a hint of confusion and bewilderment in his eyes.
It was as if something had surfaced from the depths of my memory.
"Your Highness, if the princess finds out one day that Liu Yunyan was sent by you, I'm afraid she'll cause a huge uproar."
At that moment, Song Yi entered through the side door, and his voice interrupted his recollection.
What brings you here?
The man glanced at him, his tone indifferent.
Upon recalling the news he had just received, Song Yi's face darkened.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is spreading rumors everywhere that he himself was the instigator of His Majesty's reform of commercial taxes."
"Liu Yunyan failed?"
The man was startled, and his hands involuntarily clenched tighter.
His face was grim, and his well-defined fingers were turning slightly white from the force he was exerting.
The fact that Liu Yunyan was willing to take the blame for Jiang Shuwan shows that she was not a useful pawn.
"It seems not. The latest news is that as soon as the young mistress returned to the Marquis's residence, she went to Madam Pei's courtyard to plead for the young master and let Miss Liu enter the mansion. I wonder if the young mistress and the young master made some kind of deal in private?"
"..."
************
The road to Lotus Village was smooth, and the matter of picking up the Wen family had been arranged in advance.
Therefore, Jiang Shuwan easily received the Wen family.
Wen Shi still looked sickly, as if she had caught a cold while digging lotus roots in the fields and hadn't recovered yet.
After helping Madam Wen into the carriage, the head maid came to greet Jiang Shuwan.
"Young mistress."
The head maid bowed to Jiang Shuwan with an unprecedentedly obedient demeanor, her humility quite different from before.
My wife is dying.
Only by following the young mistress will you have a future.
Jiang Shuwan nodded slightly and gave a soft "hmm." Looking at Madam Wen's carriage, she gave the head maid a meaningful look.
"Go and take good care of your wife." Jiang Shuwan's voice was very calm.
The head maid is now her person.
However, she still wanted the head maid to stay by Wen's side.
In order to return to the Marquis's residence before the imperial examination, Lady Wen went to great lengths.
She wanted to see if the story about Wen framing Pei Yanzhi during the imperial examination in her previous life was true...
With a solemn expression, Jiang Shuwan got into her carriage.
The carriage clattered as it made its way into the city, but the words of Yao Zhijie, the servant, kept replaying in her mind.
"Young Master, something terrible has happened! The whole capital is now spreading rumors that the Crown Prince was the one who started the commercial tax."
It was at her instigation that Eunuch Su suggested the commercial tax issue to the old emperor.
—This matter is known to only a very few people.
She was also prepared to face a storm of criticism once this matter was exposed.
I never expected this to happen.
Pei Yanzhi actually shielded her from a knife attack...
If that's the case, Pei Yanzhi should have known all along that she was the one who proposed the commercial tax.
In her previous life, Eunuch Su was Pei Yanzhi's man, so it was within her expectations that Pei Yanzhi knew about this.
However, she didn't expect the other party to take the blame for her.
After all, the minor official is only glamorous in appearance now. Because of his authority over commercial taxes, there are many people in the court who hate him.
Now that he's taken the blame, it's easy to imagine that even more people will hate him...
I owe this person a huge favor.
Moreover, Pei Yanzhi is too composed. He doesn't know when Eunuch Su started having an affair with him. He knows that she was the one who proposed the commercial tax, but he hasn't said a word about it to her these past few days.
Without revealing any emotion.
They hid it too well.
As she thought about it, Jiang Shuwan's gaze deepened.
Her opinion of Pei Yanzhi became increasingly complicated.
Meanwhile, in Pei Yanzhi's courtyard, Yao Zhijie was so angry that he felt like his lungs were about to explode when he realized that he had guessed correctly.
"Oh, so that was your plan from the beginning."
Yao Zhijie's voice trembled slightly with anger.
"No wonder you never say anything when I ask you! You're afraid that if I find out, you'll leak the information and make your Miss Jiang the target of everyone's criticism, right?"
"She's just a woman, and you...you've completely lost your mind!"
"I even joined forces with Princess Nan'an. I've truly acted like a villain. You've offended everyone in the court—the Crown Prince, the noble families, and everyone else. You're just asking for trouble!"
After speaking angrily, Yao Zhijie couldn't stop his anger from rising.
He pointed at Pei Yanzhi, his eyes burning with anger.
I really misjudged you!
With that, she angrily flung her sleeves and left, forgetting even to take her cloak.
"Young master, wait for me!"
The servant chased after him with a cloak, but he just walked on angrily.
"Beauty is a curse..."
"She really is a femme fatale..."
Then, at the archway around the corner, they met Jiang Shuwan, who had just returned.
Jiang Shuwan: "..."
Yao Zhijie: "..."
Their eyes met, and both of them were a little stunned.
"Who is the femme fatale?" Jiang Shuwan asked curiously, pulling her cloak tighter around her.
Yao Zhijie is destined to be another powerful minister in the future Great Jing Dynasty, besides Pei Yanzhi.
The fact that this troublemaker could anger Yao Zhijie to this extent clearly indicates that she is a formidable figure.
"..."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Shuwan asked him that question, and Yao Zhijie laughed instead of getting angry.
"Sister-in-law is back? She is truly beautiful, and she and Brother Pei are a perfect match. I admire her!"
With his neck stiff and a sarcastic expression, he finished speaking and left without looking up.
Jiang Shuwan: "..."
Qingxing: "..."
"Why is he still so hostile..."
Jiang Shuwan was somewhat confused.
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