"Ma'am, you're not going to tell me yet?"
Sheng Xiyan smiled and tapped the tea table rhythmically with her index finger. She raised her head and looked directly at the wife of Yonghou Mansion. Her almond-shaped eyes were dark and bright, as if saying: She actually knew everything.
The wife of Marquis Yongning clenched her teeth, feeling even more uneasy, especially the sound of the tapping on the tea table, which seemed to hit her heart, making it beat fast and she was almost having palpitations.
"It doesn't matter if you don't say anything. I already know everything I want to know. This is nothing more than Zhao Yuanrou's idea. It's a pity that Zhao Yuanrou is already the dignified Princess Zhao, but she still can't see Zhou Jingxun. Madam, I used to think you were a smart person, but now it seems that you are nothing more than that."
The wife of the Marquis of Yongning looked unhappy and said with difficulty: "Sheng Xiyan, you don't need to use provocation."
"Of course not." Sheng Xiyan smiled as if it was a matter of course, "Look, you've already told me everything, haven't you?"
The wife of Marquis Yongning's face froze, she actually didn't quite understand.
I clearly didn't say anything.
From the beginning, Sheng Xiyan thought that she would not respond to him directly. However, "confession" does not mean only speaking with the mouth. Grandfather said that people can lie, but when facing things closely related to themselves, their bodies will not lie.
His eyes, his body, even the sweat on his forehead, could tell her a lot.
Sheng Xiyan said, twisting her white and tender fingers, "The incense was given to Zhou Jingxun by Zhao Yuanrou. She wanted to use it to control me, or perhaps to control me so that the Zhenbei Palace and the East Factory could be used for her own purposes. Am I right?"
The wife of Marquis Yongning unconsciously took half a step back.
Sheng Xiyan clapped her hands and said, "I was right." She gradually suppressed the psychological defenses of the wife of the Yongning Marquis. "You told me all this."
Madam Yongning: "..."
She opened her mouth and wanted to speak, but immediately closed it tightly again, her heart even more tense.
Chu Yuanchen chuckled softly. Even the wife of Marquis Yongning was not enough for Ayan to play with in his hands.
Did she think she could just grit her teeth and say nothing? Unfortunately, all her thoughts were seen through.
Chu Yuanchen rested his chin on his hand and leaned on the armrest of the armchair, looking at Sheng Xiyan with a smile. Her every frown, smile, gesture and movement were all reflected in his eyes. Her already sparkling peach blossom eyes seemed to be flowing with water.
Cheng Chuyu suddenly understood something.
If you truly like someone, you should be like Prince Wang, with your heart and eyes filled with her.
In the past, she thought that Fu Junqing treated her differently from others, was never impatient, spoke softly, and was considerate and caring. However, compared to how the prince treated Sister Yan, in Fu Junqing's eyes, she was never alone, and she could only occupy a small position.
He had told her "stop making trouble" more than once, without even asking what had happened, and just told her to "stop making trouble", as if all his consideration came from her "obedience" and that if she "didn't obey", she was the one making trouble.
Cheng Chuyu suddenly understood everything as if he had been enlightened.
Some things really cannot be delved into.
Cheng Chuyu's mind was clear, fortunately, it was still in time!
Sister Yan said, life is too short, don’t make yourself feel depressed.
She laughed and said, "Sister Yan, since the wife of the Marquis of Yongning doesn't want to say it, why do you have to force her?"
Sheng Xiyan nodded seriously: "You are absolutely right. Anyway, there is no use for it, so I will trouble Shen Qianhu to copy it."
As she spoke, she shook her hands, as if she was not talking about "house raiding" but about visiting.
Captain Shen cupped his hands and replied, "Yes."
The governor had told him to listen to Miss Shengda. If Miss Shengda wanted to confiscate, then of course she had to confiscate. They in the East Factory were the best at confiscation. She told him to confiscate whatever she told him to, without hesitation.
"No!" Lady Yongning Marquis screamed in horror.
She thought that as long as she kept her mouth shut, they would be cautious and not take action rashly. Why...
Whether the people in Yongning Marquis's mansion live or die has nothing to do with her, but Xun'er cannot suffer any more.
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you." The lady of Yongning's mouth was finally pried open. "This was my idea. It was me! It has nothing to do with Xun'er."
She clenched her fists, thinking of Zhou Jingxun's numerous instructions, and without hesitation took everything upon herself.
Chu Yuanchen made a gesture with his hand, and the Chen and Fu families in the main hall hurried out to wait as if they had been pardoned.
The wife of the Marquis of Yongning said with a gloomy face: "I use the incense to discipline my concubines. You have always been disrespectful to me, so I want to make you suffer."
The humble girl in the past has now reached a height that she could never dream of, making her envious and jealous.
And she was being forced towards the cliff step by step.
The second and third wives almost drove them and their son to death for the title. They no longer had the glory they once had in the Marquis's Mansion. The Marquis even considered divorcing his wife and remarrying in order to keep his title.
Yes, a concubine's son cannot inherit the title, only a legitimate son can. Even a legitimate son born to a stepmother is still a legitimate son and can inherit the title.
The wife of Marquis Yongning knew very well that both she and her son had been abandoned.
A wry smile appeared on her face. Xun'er was the only child she gave birth to, so of course she would stand by Xun'er's side.
Xun'er has already told her that Zhao Yuanrou is pregnant with his child, and this child will inherit the throne and rule the world in the future!
Thinking of this, the eyes of Lady Yongning became even more fiery.
"I did it." Lady Yongning said resolutely, "It has nothing to do with anyone else."
"It's all your fault. Because of you, Liu, the head of the family, has an awkward position at home. In order to prepare dowry for you, Sheng Xing'an almost emptied the house. And you let Sheng Xing'an promote the concubine over the legitimate wife. Liu herself has a son and a daughter. How could she tolerate this?"
The wife of the Marquis of Yongning said sarcastically, "She told me all this herself. She hates you so much and wishes you were dead."
"So that's how it is," Sheng Xiyan laughed, "You didn't give the incense to Mrs. Liu, but to Madam Sun."
The pupils of the wife of Marquis Yongning shrank.
Sheng Xiyan clapped her hands lightly and said with a smile, "I was right again."
Liu was a person who cared a lot about her reputation but was timid. When Sheng Xiyan discovered that there might be something wrong with the cigarette, the first people she excluded were Sheng Xingan and Liu.
Liu was too timid. The most she dared to do was embezzle some money. She didn't dare to poison anyone.
She was very concerned about her reputation, so even if she felt unhappy in her heart, she would not complain in public. Instead, she would act like a good stepmother and show off how much dowry she had prepared for her.
Especially to the wife of Marquis Yongning.
This life is different from the previous one. The jade pendant incident had already torn them apart completely. Liu had been watching the excitement with glee about all the big and small things that had happened in the Yongning Marquis' Mansion in recent days. Since she was watching others having fun, how could she tell the object of the excitement about her own dissatisfaction? She was afraid that it would only make her praise herself more about marrying into the Zhenbei Palace, which would bring honor to her and anger the wife of the Yongning Marquis to death.
At first, she mentioned Liu just to break down the psychological defenses of Lady Yongning.
Sheng Xiyan brushed her sleeves and said lightly, "Madam, I don't have time to talk to you. Either you finish what you want to say, or don't say anything at all." Her cold voice pierced the heart of the wife of the Marquis of Yongning.
The wife of Marquis Yongning knew that she could no longer keep the secret.
Anyway, she wanted to take the blame for this matter in the first place, so if she can't hide it, then she can just let it go.
Let the Sheng family be turned upside down, with endless quarrels, and let Sheng Xiyan have no good life!
A malicious smile flashed across the face of the wife of the Marquis of Yongning, and she said, "Okay, I'll tell you."
She held her breath and said, "That day I went to Huangjue Temple to burn incense, and I happened to see Liu coming. Your mother's death memorial is coming soon, and Lord Sheng came to ask Liu to perform a ritual for your mother."
Sheng Xiyan was slightly surprised. She really didn't know about this.
However, she looked calm, as if she had known it for a long time, and just tapped the table lightly and said, "Continue."
There was a slight distortion on the face of the wife of Marquis Yongning.
That day in Huangjue Temple, she overheard Liu complaining to Nanny Sun, saying that they had to come to perform rituals every year even though she had been dead for so many years, and that Sheng Xing'an had let Sheng Xiyan take away all the family property in the mansion as a dowry. There was a lot of dissatisfaction in her words.
She thought this was a good opportunity.
"I just happened to run into Lady Liu." Lady Yongning sneered, "Lady Liu is such a fool!"
She knew that Liu was stupid and greedy, but she didn't expect that she was so timid.
She made various hints, but Liu pretended not to understand. However, whenever she tested her about Sheng Xiyan, Liu praised her and expressed great love for her, as if she was not the one who had just complained about Sheng Xiyan taking away a large amount of the Sheng family's property as a dowry.
"Liu played dumb and refused to respond, so I left." In fact, she was so angry that she left in anger. "Later, Nanny Sun found me and said that she was worried that Liu would be bullied and would not be able to stay in the mansion in the future. She said that Master Sheng did not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children, and let the eldest illegitimate son suppress the legitimate son. She wanted to ask me if there was any way to solve the problem. So I gave her the incense, but I don't know how she used it."
After Lady Yongning finished speaking in one breath, she raised her chin as if she was not afraid at all.
The incense was given to her by Zhou Jingxun some days ago. Zhou Jingxun asked her to find a way to get the thing to Sheng Xiyan. She thought it was poison at the time and was shocked. Later, Zhou Jingxun said it was not, and said it was something that would make people dizzy and crazy.
Zhou Jingxun told her that as long as Sheng Xiyan could not leave the incense, she would obey them in the future, and they could even secretly gain some benefits from Dongchang and Zhenbei Palace through her.
When she mentioned Dongchang, her heart was moved.
In her dreams at midnight, she thought countless times about what would happen if she got the jade pendant.
Later, seeing how Dongchang treated Sheng Xiyan with respect and how arrogant Sheng Xiyan was when she walked around Beijing, she became jealous and hateful. She couldn't help but imagine Sheng Xiyan as herself. All of this should have been hers.
It should be hers!
She agreed.
If she could make Sheng Xiyan obey her, then she would see if the second and third wives would dare to look down on them and their son.
"Anything else?" Sheng Xiyan asked leisurely while lying on the pillow.
"And..." The wife of the Marquis of Yongning curled her lips even higher, "Do you know how your brother was lost?"
Sheng Xiyan: “…”
Her brain was a beat slow, and by the time she reacted, she had already stood up abruptly: "What did you say?!"
The wife of the Marquis of Yongning smiled slightly and said, "Go back and ask your father and you will know. Why bother asking an outsider like me?"
so it is……
Sheng Xiyan suppressed his fluctuating emotions and said, "Captain Shen, please send Madam Yong'an back home."
Lady Yongning Marquis looked up in disbelief. She had never expected that she would let her go.
"you……"
She didn't know whether to say something harsh, saying that she didn't need her to be nice, or to humble herself and say a few nice words. She was struggling with this when she heard Sheng Xiyan say neatly, "Then plunder the Yongning Marquis's Mansion. It's better for this family to be together."
Chu Yuanchen chuckled, his eyes and brows full of smiles.
So, Sheng Xiyan turned her head and looked at him, smiled, and said, "Achen, what do you think?"
In the eyes of the wife of the Marquis of Yongning, this man had hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his control, but he didn't give the emperor any face at all. The arrogant Chu Yuanchen smiled softly at Sheng Xiyan and said tolerantly, "You are right."
The wife of Marquis Yongning felt a chill in her heart all of a sudden. A chill went up from the soles of her feet and went straight up to her head.
Facing the Dongchang man walking towards her, her legs suddenly became weak and almost paralyzed.
"Sheng Xiyan, I can tell you how your brother got lost. I can tell you!"
"No."
Sheng Xiyan waved her hand, and the wife of Marquis Yongning was dragged away without even having a chance to paralyze.
The wife of Marquis Yongning was brought back to the Marquis Yongning's mansion by Dongchang.
At this time, the Dongchang bandits had already surrounded the Yongning Marquis's mansion, and as soon as they received the order, they immediately rushed in.
The whole family of Yongning Marquis's mansion was driven to the main hall in the front yard, and the servants were all driven into the yard. There were cries and panicked cries for mercy everywhere. The guards ignored them and searched the yards from outside to inside.
The dispatch of Dongchang made the whole capital tremble. Seeing that they were targeting the Yongning Marquis' Mansion this time, they did not pay attention to other families for the time being. They were worried and did not dare to ask around. There were rumors in the capital, and many families were keeping an eye on the movements of the Yongning Marquis' Mansion.
Zhou Jingxun hid in a small alley far away from the Yongning Marquis Mansion. Listening to the discussions outside, he secretly poked his head out to look around, then quickened his pace.
He was not at home in the first place, and now that Dongchang had raided his house, he dared not go back.
He walked forward with all his heart, feeling a little confused, not knowing how his life had turned out like this.
At this time last year, he was still a noble young man dressed in fine clothes and riding a horse, leading a job in the imperial army with a bright future. Whenever he went out and called out, he would have three or five good friends around to drink, chat, ride horses and hunt.
Apart from having an unpleasant fiancée, which made Rou'er feel distant from him, his life was almost smooth sailing.
But now, he had lost his position as the crown prince, his father had abandoned him like dirt, and even his family was going to be confiscated. He suddenly didn't know what to do.
"Jing Xun."
A familiar voice pulled him back from his confusion. A carriage stopped in front of him without him noticing. Zhao Yuanrou opened the curtain and called out in surprise, "Jingxun."
Zhou Jingxun's eyes were filled with ecstasy: "Rou'er!"
"Come up first and talk later." Zhao Yuanrou said.
This was definitely not the place to talk, so Zhou Jingxun looked around and quickly jumped onto the carriage.
As soon as he sat down, he asked, "Rou'er, how did you know I was here?"
"Of course I know." Zhao Yuanrou sighed softly, "You have nowhere else to go except here."
At the intersection of this alley, there is an empty shop, which Zhou Jingxun bought under the name of Zhao Yuanrou.
At that time, the Zhao family was very stingy with Zhao Yuanrou in terms of food, clothing and other expenses. Zhou Jingxun felt pity for her and gave her money to open a shop for her, but Zhao Yuanrou refused to accept it.
"I won't accept anything from you. It will make me feel like I am your vassal. No matter how bad the Zhao family is, I can make life better for my mother and me by myself, not by relying on a man."
After saying this, she walked away, leaving a deep impression on Zhou Jingxun's heart.
If he was only somewhat interested in her before, then after this, she became the white moonlight he had always longed for.
"I know something happened in your house, so I came to see if you were here." Zhao Yuanrou sighed, "This shop is only known to you and me. If you were lucky enough not to be trapped in the house, you would probably come here to stay temporarily."
Zhao Yuanrou had never seen anyone as unreasonable and rude as Dongchang, who had no regard for the law and blatantly covered up everything.
How can such a court last long?
"Throughout history, treacherous officials have never died a good death." Zhao Yuanrou said soothingly, "Just bear with it for now."
"I've implicated you this time."
Zhao Yuanrou looked at him affectionately, which warmed Zhou Jingxun's heart and filled him with a surge of ambition and pride.
How could this be Zhao Yuanrou's fault? He is useless!
"I..." Zhao Yuanrou hesitated for a moment, held his hand, and said decisively, "I'll take you to a place."
Zhou Jingxun nodded without asking any questions. He saw the carriage turn a few corners and drive into Prince Zhao's Palace.
Zhou Jingxun: "..."
"This!"
Zhou Jingxun was shocked and couldn't help looking at Zhao Yuanrou. Zhao Yuanrou just smiled faintly and said, "You believe me."
Zhao Yuanrou is now the mistress of Prince Zhao's mansion, so when the princess returns home, there is naturally no need to check the carriage.
Prince Zhao had no concubines. In this huge Prince Zhao's mansion, there were only two masters.
Zhao Yuanrou sent away the maid from the ceremonial gate and drove the carriage directly into the courtyard. She placed Zhou Jingxun in a remote courtyard far away from the main courtyard and asked a dumb servant to serve him in his daily life.
Zhou Jingxun was still very uncomfortable at first, but Zhao Yuanrou advised him with a few words, "Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters", "If he is captured, it will be even more difficult for her to save him", "At least Dongchang doesn't dare to break into Prince Zhao's Mansion now", and so on. Finally, Zhou Jingxun said nothing.
"Don't worry." Zhao Yuanrou said, "I will find out about the Yongning Marquis's Mansion for you and let you know as soon as I have any news. You can stay here for the time being. I will come to see you tomorrow."
After Zhao Yuanrou gave him the instructions, she left and gave him a gentle hug before leaving.
In a trance, Zhou Jingxun had the illusion that he was her mistress.
Zhao Yuanrou left in a hurry.
The incident at the Yongning Marquis' Mansion was not something she had expected. She had to think carefully about what to do next in light of this sudden change.
Zhao Yuanrou said to her personal maid, "Go ahead and see if the prince has returned home. If not, wait for him at the ceremonial gate."
About an hour later, the maid came back, and with her was Prince Zhao.
When King Zhao saw that Zhao Yuanrou had specially sent someone to wait for him, he was so flattered that he hurried back to the inner court and called out, "Rou'er."
Zhao Yuanrou rushed over and hugged his waist with a look of fear on her face.
"What's wrong with you?" Qin Wei asked in panic, "Did anyone bully you?"
"I went out today and saw the Royal Guards. I don't know what they were searching for, but they stopped me and questioned me."
Of course, there was no such thing as stopping him and questioning him, but Zhao Yuanrou knew very well what Qin Wei cared about.
Compared with the raid on the Anping Marquis' Mansion, Zhao Yuanrou was actually more concerned about the sudden increase in the number of Jinyi Guards on the streets of the capital.
Qin Wei was furious when he heard this: "I will go find Uncle Li right away. He sealed the mansion and investigated. Xiao Shuo simply thinks he is the master of Darong."
"Listen to me." Zhao Yuanrou held him back and said softly, "Do you have anyone loyal to you in the palace? Why not try to go and see the emperor quietly, and take Lord Zheng with you."
"Prince Li is only good at smoothing things over. It's useless to go after him." Zhao Yuanrou said patiently, "Now the only way to solve the problem fundamentally is to let the emperor know that Xiao Shuo is the remnant of the Lingnan Marquis's Mansion."
"Don't forget that Chu Yuanchen's 30,000 Zhenbei troops are still on their way to the capital."
Zhao Yuanrou said that on Yuanxiao day, Chu Yuanchen asked the emperor for the right to station 30,000 Northern Frontier troops in Beijing.
The northern border is thousands of miles away from the capital. Even if these 30,000 troops travel quickly, it will take at least a month or two to get there. Moreover, they will need food and supplies along the way, so it is unknown how much time it will take.
Before these 30,000 men arrived in the capital, Chu Yuanchen actually had no soldiers available and dared not to confront the imperial guards.
"Xiao Shuo chose Chu Yuanchen because Chu Yuanchen has military power. Zheng Zhongming has hated Xiao Shuo for a long time and he also has the imperial guards at his disposal. Xiao Shuo needs Chu Yuanchen's military power to protect him."
Zhao Yuanrou said calmly: "Rather than waiting until the 30,000 Zhenbei troops arrive in Beijing, it is better to strike first now."
"Qin Wei, Zheng Zhongming will be willing to help you." She said affirmatively, "He has no choice."
Qin Wei actually knew it very well. He had looked for Zheng Zhongming several times, and Zheng Zhongming was just keeping him hanging in exchange for greater benefits.
Zheng Zhongming's decades of loyalty to the emperor was ultimately not as good as that of Xiao Shuo, who had interfered. He was also afraid that he would end up being abandoned like the emperor.
"Qin Wei, why don't you give him a more substantial exchange condition?" Zhao Yuanrou paused and said, "For example, give him the Northern Frontier."
Qin Wei was stunned. He lowered his eyes and thought, thinking again and again.
If the Northern Frontier is taken from Chu Yuanchen, it will take a lot of time just to regain military power and appease the people. When he gets the supreme position, it will take a lot of energy just to rectify the current spineless court that is servile to Xiao Shuo. He will definitely not be able to take action to govern the Northern Frontier. It is better to give it to Zheng Zhongming. If Zheng Zhongming goes to the Northern Frontier, he will naturally not be able to serve as the governor of the military camp. He can also place his confidants in positions of power and gain the military power of the imperial guards.
"Okay." Qin Wei stood up suddenly, "I'll go find Zheng Zhongming now! Rou'er, I'll be back later, you should rest first."
Zhao Yuanrou stood up with a smile and saw him off.
After Qin Wei left, Zhao Yuanrou sat quietly for a while, and then asked someone to go out and inquire.
After a while, the person who inquired came back and reported that Dongchang had blocked the entire street where the Yongning Marquis's Mansion was located. Everyone in the capital was in danger and the people did not even dare to go out.
Zhao Yuanrou sneered sarcastically, "It's time to be in danger. Just because I offended Sheng Xiyan, Dongchang even wanted to copy the Xunguihou Mansion. How can I not be in danger?"
This is the best time.
Zhao Yuanrou's eyes sparkled.
And the one she called the chief sinner, Sheng Xiyan, was now sitting in the main hall of the Chu Mansion, questioning the kneeling Nanny Sun: "Tell me, where did you take my brother?!"