Sheng Xi's face was expressionless.

She naturally understood that the words of the wife of the Marquis of Yongning were meant to sow discord and to make her uneasy.

Even so, Sheng Xiyan couldn't remain calm when facing her brother's affairs.

Her brother had been missing for so many years, and in her previous life, she had not been able to find him until her death. Now that she had some news, how could she think calmly and analyze carefully?

The greatest calm she could muster was to judge from the little information revealed by the wife of Marquis Yongning that her brother's disappearance was related to Nanny Sun.

The wife of Marquis Yongning asked her to come back and ask Sheng Xingan, which was obviously intended to make her turn her anger against Sheng Xingan. However, no matter how upset Sheng Xingan was, he would not do such a thing as losing his eldest son. This would not benefit him at all.

He won't do it if there is no benefit.

The Liu family was a poor family, and it was impossible for him to give up his son, especially his legitimate son, just to marry Liu.

Moreover, what has been said just now is that Nanny Sun took away the incense. From a human perspective, at this time, Lady Yongning Hou should be thinking about what else Nanny Sun had done.

She mentioned her younger brother at this time, so it is very likely that her younger brother’s disappearance is related to Grandma Sun.

As for whether Liu is involved, just ask first!

Sheng Xiyan's heart was as clear as a mirror. She met Grandma Sun's panicked gaze and slammed the table: "Speak!"

Nanny Sun shuddered and said with a smile, "Miss, I don't understand..."

Sheng Xiyan didn't want to talk to her any more, so she said directly, "Father, please decide what to do."

The Yongning Marquis's mansion was raided today. Everyone in the court was in danger, so he returned from the court early. As a result, Sheng Xiyan was already waiting for him. Not only her, but also the King of Zhenbei.

He immediately felt that something was wrong. He looked again and saw Nanny Sun kneeling there with an uneasy look on her face. Madam Liu was also rubbing her handkerchief in confusion. After hearing the whole story, Sheng Xingan felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. He just sat there in a daze.

Until now, he shuddered suddenly and said coldly: "Madame Sun, if I remember correctly, you are a child of the Liu family, the dowry nanny of the Liu family. The deeds of your family are all in the Sheng family. The deeds of your father, mother, brothers, nephews and ancestors for eight generations are all in the Liu family. Believe it or not, I will ask the Liu family for it, and the Liu family will definitely give it to me."

The Liu family was not a prominent family, but a family of scholars. Liu's elder brother also held an honorary fifth-rank position in the court. He just asked for a family of servants, and the Liu family would definitely not refuse.

"I heard that the coal kiln in Yizhou is still short of workers." Sheng Xingan said viciously.

He really didn't expect that there would be a thief in the mansion, and this shame happened to happen in front of Chu Yuanchen.

Madam Sun looked panicked. She subconsciously looked at Mrs. Liu. Mrs. Liu's face turned pale with fear. She waved her hands and said, "It's not me. I didn't do it!"

How could she kidnap someone else's child? She was only fifteen years old at the time, how could she dare to do such a thing!

Liu was so frightened that she almost cried. She said in a panic, "Master, I know nothing. Please believe me."

"Madame Sun, what's going on? Tell me now." Mrs. Liu rushed over, grabbed Madame Sun's shoulders and shook them hard, shouting, "Why did you do this?"

First he poisoned Sheng Xiyan's incense, then he kidnapped her child. This...

Her mind was blank and confused like a mess. She didn't know what she was saying. She just focused on asking Nanny Sun to speak quickly. Otherwise, she was afraid that Sheng Xing'an would think that she was the one who was behind it.

Liu's voice was about to burst into tears: "Who ordered you to do this? Tell me now!"

Nanny Sun gritted her teeth, and no matter how much Liu cried and begged, she didn't make a sound.

Sheng Xingan's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Chu Yuanchen's expression. Although Chu Yuanchen hadn't said a word up to now, his gloomy expression made Sheng Xingan's heart almost jump out of his throat.

Sheng Xingan is now betting all his hopes on Chu Yuanchen, waiting for Chu Yuanchen to ascend to the throne so that they can also rise to prominence. If Chu Yuanchen thinks that he is incompetent now, and that he has neglected Sister Yan, and refuses to let them enjoy the glory in the future, wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?

Moreover, Jue Ge'er is his legitimate son! How could he not like the legitimate son he had waited so many years for?

After Jue'er went missing, he searched everywhere day and night, asked many people for help, and spent large sums of money, but he gradually gave up when there was no news.

He used to think of it as an accident, and even though so many years have passed, he still feels heartbroken every time he thinks about it.

Now knowing that Jue'er's disappearance was not an accident, but the work of this wicked slave, Sheng Xing'an's heart felt like a violent storm, surging and beating, and he gnashed his teeth in hatred.

"Isn't that what you said? Come on, drag him away and beat him up!"

Sheng Xingan shouted loudly, and immediately two burly old women came in from outside, dragged Madam Sun downstairs, beat her with a stick, and then threw her back.

Aunt Sun struggled in pain for a while, and then just lay there, motionless, with her back stained red with blood.

The boards used in ordinary people's homes are naturally not as good as the official caning. Twenty beatings would not cause severe injuries or even death. But even so, Nanny Sun was already an elderly person, and such a beating would have taken half her life away.

But she clenched her teeth and said nothing.

Sheng Xingan was filled with resentment at this attitude of not giving in to any soft or hard tactics. If he hadn't wanted to stay to find out about Jue'er's news, he would have wanted to have the man dragged away and beaten to death.

Liu was anxious and frightened, and her forehead was covered with cold sweat.

"Wait, who are you!"

At this time, Amber's panicked cry was heard from outside, and the next moment, a young man in green clothes pushed the door and walked in.

Sheng Xingan was startled by his sudden appearance and was about to question him when Chu Yuanchen said, "Uncle, this is my man. I hope he didn't scare you."

Sheng Xingan waved his hands quickly: "It's okay, it's okay." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He secretly looked at the person who came, thinking: Could this be the legendary secret guard? I heard that secret guards can go high up and down. Did they climb over the wall from somewhere?

"Your Majesty." Mu Bai bowed and said, "I found it."

His face was expressionless, and his voice was as cold as if it contained ice chips.

Chu Yuanchen said calmly: "Go ahead."

"Madame Sun was born in the Liu family. She used to be a personal maid to the Liu family's wife. Later, she was promised to be the manager of the Liu family and married to the Sheng family."

The Liu family's lady that Mu Bai mentioned is Liu's biological mother.

Mu Bai said, "Madame Sun's youngest son was released from slavery eight years ago. Liu Cheng changed his household registration and bought him a position as the county magistrate of Linqing County. The Liu family used their connections to help him."

After Mu Bai finished speaking, he held his breath and stood with his hands hanging down.

"Then capture him." Chu Yuanchen sneered, "How can a family of slaves be officials? Tell the Ministry of Personnel to remove this official."

No matter how low the rank of a county magistrate is, he is still an official of the eighth rank.

In recent years during the Da Rong Dynasty, the phenomenon of buying and selling official positions, just like the imperial guards' large sums of money being taken without working, was well known in the officialdom. However, the emperor allowed it to happen, so naturally, others could not control it.

But even if an official could buy it, it didn't mean he could buy it just by having money. The first and foremost requirement was that all three generations previous had to be free from slavery. So to be precise, Nanny Sun's youngest son did not meet the requirements, and it was only because the Liu family used some connections to turn a blind eye.

If you want to take away this official position, it's easy.

"don't want!"

Madam Sun, who had just been threatened by Sheng Xingan to take her family to the Yizhou coal kiln, had gritted her teeth and now struggled to get up with her elbows, shouting in panic: "No! No! This is none of my son's business."

Chu Yuanchen smiled at Sheng Xiyan and said, "Ask."

Sheng Xiyan had no idea when he had ordered someone to investigate.

Yes, when she came out of Cheng's house, she was a little absent-minded and didn't notice these things.

Sheng Xiyan smiled sweetly at him, her almond eyes seemed to contain faint starlight, and when she turned to Grandma Sun, she asked in a cold tone: "Whose business is this supposed to concern?"

Mrs. Liu was almost crying. At first, she didn't believe that Nanny Sun would do such a thing behind her back, but she didn't expect it to be true.

Madam Sun knelt down and said, "It's my uncle."

Liu covered her mouth and blurted out: "Brother?"

For the sake of her son, Madam Sun risked her life: "The old lady actually wanted Madam to be a concubine."

Liu pinched the handkerchief in embarrassment, while Sheng Xingan looked surprised. How come he didn't know about this?

The Liu family has been in decline for a long time. Although there are some descendants who are talented in reading and can pass the Jinshi examination, such as Liu's brother Liu Cheng, the examination is held every three years. There are so many Jinshis every year. Some people can only be a small seventh-rank official in their whole life, and some people will never be able to fulfill their duties. If the Liu family wants to turn around, it cannot be done by itself. It needs someone to support and help, so the idea of ​​marriage comes to mind. It's a pity that with the Liu family's family background, the Liu family is not very beautiful. Even if she is given to a nobleman as a concubine, the nobleman will not take her.

After much thought, Mr. Liu decided to take a fancy to Sheng Xing'an.

At that time, Sheng Xingan had just been promoted to the position of Minister of Rites. Given his age, he would definitely be promoted to the position of Minister of Rites before he retired. In addition, when the old lady of the Sheng family was alive, she was a righteous person and had many good deeds in the court, making many good friends. Sheng Xingan had a smooth career in the officialdom.

Anyway, the Liu family couldn't find anyone better, and Sheng Xingan was the best they could find.

Even if Sheng Xingan already had a legitimate wife, he would not refuse to be a concubine.

"The old lady said that being a concubine is fine, but my uncle thinks it's not. It's obvious which one is more important, a concubine's family or a legitimate wife's family." Nanny Sun said hesitantly, "Besides, the old man has a legitimate son."

The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is clear. If there is a legitimate son, even if Liu gives birth to a son in the future, he will only be a illegitimate son.

Even if the legitimate wife is kind and allows the illegitimate son to grow up and educate him well, so what? The illegitimate son's in-laws can't benefit from it much.

The old lady of the Liu family just thought that with Sheng Xingan around, the court could take care of him, and it would be even better if there was a chance to help him. Liu Cheng's ambition was far more than that, he wanted to be a real wife of the Sheng family.

Madam Sun said with difficulty, "Uncle, please let me secretly take the child away."

She is the lady's personal nanny and will be included in the dowry in the future. The eldest uncle wants her to do it so that if the Sheng family finds out anything in the future, she can report it in time. Moreover, she is given a temptation that she cannot refuse at all.

That’s the county magistrate!

Sheng Xingan's face turned pale and blue. He could hardly believe that there was a conspiracy hidden around him that had been buried for eight years.

The continuation of one's own string is actually the result of other people's painstaking efforts.

"Slave!"

Sheng Xingan flew into a rage. He picked up the teacup and threw it at Madam Sun.

The teacup hit Grandma Sun's forehead heavily. Grandma Sun didn't dare to dodge and took the blow head-on. Her forehead was covered in blood, it was a horrible sight.

"You bastard, you bastard."

Sheng Xingan was so angry that his face turned red. In addition to the sadness of Sheng Jue being kidnapped, he also felt humiliated after being deceived.

After Xu's death, he observed mourning for his wife for a year. The Liu family came to him and asked about marriage. He saw that Liu came from a scholarly family, was an official, and was also good-looking, so he agreed.

Unexpectedly, all of this was planned by others.

He had been in someone else's trap from the very beginning, and had been completely deceived over the past eight years.

Sheng Xing'an even couldn't help but recall that Liu once said he wanted to settle a distant relative and asked him to help get a county magistrate, and he agreed.

Now that I think about it, could it be Grandma Sun's son? !

Just thinking about it made Sheng Xingan feel disgusted. This kind of disgust that made him hesitate surged from his heart.

Sheng Xingan's chest kept rising and falling. He suppressed the anger that was rising up in his head and asked fiercely, "Where is Jue'er? Where did you take Jue'er?"

Madam Sun knelt there trembling, holding her bleeding forehead: "I gave him to a human trafficker. I don't know where he went afterwards."

On the Lantern Festival, the first lady was holding Sheng Jue, and there were several maids and servants around her, so she had no chance. So, she pretended that a lantern had fallen, quietly set a fire behind the teahouse, and took the child away when the first lady was unconscious, and gave him to the trafficker that day.

Sheng Xingan's eyes went dark and a pool of blood welled up in his throat.

After Sheng Jue went missing, Sheng Xing'an thought the worst possible scenario was that he was kidnapped and sold by a beggar and made into a slave. He could only comfort himself countless times that his son was so cute and might be adopted by a good family and raised.

All his luck was shattered at this moment, and was replaced by hatred that his son was deliberately taken away and sold to human traffickers.

One is accidental and the other is man-made.

Sheng Xingan's face turned pale as he asked loudly, "Which human trafficker are you from? Speak!"

Aunt Sun shrank back.

At first, she didn't admit it because she knew that admitting it would be a dead end.

And now, she knew that only by finding Sheng Jue could she save her son's life.

She didn't dare to hide anything and tried desperately to recall. However, she just randomly found a human broker at that time. Now she could only think of "It was a man with private teeth and a black mole on the wing of his nose. He was only in his thirties at the time. I really don't know his name."

When an official broker buys someone, he has to register the person's full name, origin and background, so she can only sell it to a private broker.

As for the private agent Man Darong, he has been traveling everywhere, and he might not be in the capital anymore, and he might not be doing this business anymore.

From the look on Nanny Sun's face, Sheng Xiyan could tell that she was not lying, but this realization made her feel even more uncomfortable.

It's been eight years. How can we still find a human trafficker whose name is unknown?

"Don't worry, you can find it."

Chu Yuanchen said, his clear and firm voice gradually calmed her restless heart.

She turned to look at him and said "hmm" softly.

She believed him.

Then, she suddenly raised her voice and shouted, "What about my mother? How did she die?"

If it is according to Nanny Sun, if the Liu family does not want Liu to be a concubine, it is far from enough to just get rid of the legitimate son.

Nanny Sun's heart was beating wildly. Her guilty attitude made Sheng Xiyan realize that she was right. Nanny Sun was indeed related to her mother's death.

"No, no." Madam Sun waved her hands hastily, "I didn't push her. She fell into the lake on her own."

After selling the young master of the Sheng family, the eldest uncle felt that it was still not enough. Without a legitimate son, Xu might be able to give birth to a second or third child. The only way to solve the problem was to let Liu become the legal wife.

In the spirit of not bothering two people with one problem, he let Nanny Sun figure out a way to get rid of Xu herself.

"I dare not do murder. Besides, a servant from another mansion cannot enter the Sheng family. My uncle urged me to come, so I bribed a servant of the Sheng family to tell her in the Sheng mansion that there is a Taoist priest in Baiyun Temple who is very effective in finding people with his divination. So the late lady did go there."

She continued, "I followed quietly. After the fortune-telling, the late Madam was a little distraught, so she went to the lake to relax. She slipped and fell into the lake. I saw it, but I didn't call for help..."

That day, she saw from afar Xu crying alone. After she finished crying, she wiped her tears and stood up. Her expression changed from despair to determination.

However, it had rained the day before, and when she turned to leave, she stepped on a mossy stone and slipped.

Sun Mama heaved a sigh of relief. With Xu dead, Liu Cheng would not force her anymore, and her son would be able to become a county magistrate in the future. After all, it was still an official position. So, she was hopeless.

She watched Xu floating up and down in the lake. At first, Xu shouted for help, but later, she sank completely.

"The servant is guilty."

The nanny kowtowed so vigorously that her forehead soon turned blue.

Liu was almost dumbfounded. She had always thought that she was lucky not to have to be a concubine, but she didn't expect that it was her eldest brother who secretly instructed her to do so.

Her body felt as if it was being splashed with cold water over and over again, freezing her to the bone. No matter how dumb she was, she knew that after this matter was revealed, she would never have a good life again.

Everything she has now was "stolen" from the Xu family.

She felt cold all over.

Sheng Xiyan tried to suppress the anger in her heart and asked expressionlessly, "What about burning incense?"

It has come to this, and it is a dead end anyway. Nanny Sun said in despair: "I only let it go once. The things were taken from the wife of the Marquis of Yongning."

This is because Sheng Xiyan is too powerful now. No one expected that a girl who used to be indifferent to the world would suddenly appear and not only compete for the position, but also attract all the attention of the old man. In order for her to marry into the Zhenbei Palace, the old man began to restrict the lady's family. Not only did he refuse to clean up the mess for them, but later he even threatened that if they dared to cause trouble again, he would take away their jobs and drive them back to their hometown to fend for themselves.

How could the uncle tolerate this? He urged her several times to get rid of the eldest girl. He said that since they were in the inner house, it was enough to let the eldest girl fall into the lake like Xu did in the past. There was no need to cause so much trouble.

"My uncle said that the county magistrate of Linqing County is about to retire, and there is a vacancy. He can help my son to get the position. I agreed."

"It's just that the young lady is too hard to approach on weekdays. Later, the wife of the Marquis of Yongning said that there is a kind of fragrance that can make the young lady go crazy and let people do whatever they want. Only then did this servant become moved."

"I think that if the eldest girl becomes crazy, the Zhenbei Palace will definitely not accept her, and the old man will not value her as much as he does now."

Nanny Sun lowered her head even lower.

"After I got the incense, I wanted to give it to the young lady in the name of Madam, but the young lady was too sensitive and suspicious. That day, I just asked someone to add some berries to the tea, but the young lady refused to drink it. I'm afraid the young lady has always believed that Madam would poison her!"

That's not the case. Sheng Xiyan also thought of the flower tea that day: "The tea that day was too sweet, I don't like it." She had just finished breakfast, and the tea should be light. She couldn't drink it if it was too sweet. She really didn't think so much.

indeed.

Sheng Xiyan was always a little wary of this family because of her experience in her previous life, but that was all. If she was always on edge, afraid that someone would harm her, how could she live like this?

The purpose of living a second life is to live a better life, instead of living in tension and anxiety every day, suspicious, wary and hating everyone and everything around you, with a deep sense of resentment...that will drive you crazy.

She didn't want to become someone that even she hated.

Grandma Sun was slightly surprised. At that time, she felt that the eldest girl was too wary of the madam and would not drink it after changing the tea. If the incense was given directly to the eldest girl, she would definitely not be able to use it. Therefore, I settled for the next best thing and thought of coiling incense.

The late lady's funeral was approaching, and the eldest daughter had to go to the small Buddhist temple to chant sutras every day, so she mixed incense into the incense burner. Her idea was good, but in reality, the incense could not be added to the incense burner at all, and at most it could only be put on the surface of the incense burner.

Unexpectedly, even so, the older girl still found out.

"I have not dared to do it again since then." Sun Shi said, hesitatingly, "Until now."

She tried it only once, and was very careful, but still failed.

Sheng Xiyan's eyes gradually turned red.

In her previous life, she had no idea of ​​the truth and died in an unclear manner. Her mother was considered to have committed suicide and there was no news of her brother since then.

Her previous life was a complete mess.

It's a real mess.

Sheng Xiyan covered her face with her hands, trying desperately to suppress the sobs that were leaking from her throat, and was extremely grief-stricken.

Until someone held her gently in his arms and softly told her to cry.

Sheng Xiyan no longer suppressed herself and burst into tears, crying for her own uselessness and powerlessness.

Why couldn't she be reborn earlier? Then, maybe she could save her mother and wouldn't let her brother suffer so much.

"Achen..."

She cried even louder, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances that had been hidden in her heart for two lifetimes.

Chu Yuanchen patted her back gently without saying anything.

Instead of comforting her, it is better to let her cry out all her grievances, so that she will feel truly relieved.

Sheng Xingan hesitated to speak, thinking that they had not yet gotten married, so was it appropriate for him to hold his daughter in front of him?

His lips pursed, then pursed again, and finally pretended he saw nothing.

Slowly, Sheng Xiyan finally stopped crying. Chu Yuanchen took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears on her face. Then, he said to Sheng Xingan: "Uncle, this is ultimately the Sheng family's family affair. I shouldn't interfere."

"No, no." Sheng Xing'an waved his hand and said, "Prince, I'll do whatever you say."

Chu Yuanchen just smiled, but his smile did not reach his eyes: "The master is evil, and the Liu family is not a slave."

Sheng Jue was sold to a human trafficker, and most likely he would be sold into slavery, so let the entire Liu family become slaves as well.