Chapter 276 Eliminating Shen Qingyuan
"Why would His Majesty suddenly want to eliminate Lord Shen?"
Lan Shu asked curiously while refilling Prince Ying's tea. Prince Ying sneered, "Of course, it's because he's blocking my path to wealth."
Lan Shu wanted to ask more, but Li Huaijing interrupted, "Master Lan Shu, do you know what leverage this Lord Shen has?"
Li Huaijing asked politely, but there was obvious wariness in his eyes.
Lan Shu didn't ask any further questions. After a moment's reflection, he said, "This Lord Shen won the top spot in the imperial examination at the age of seventeen, then remained inactive for ten years in Jingzhao Prefecture. He was only recently promoted to the Censorate. From what I understand, although his relationship with his colleagues in Jingzhao Prefecture has been average over the past decade, he has solved countless cases. He doesn't indulge in alcohol or women, and he never accepts bribes. His character and ability are impeccable."
This was similar to what Li Huaijing had inquired about. Li Huaijing immediately asked, "Hasn't there been a single case he's handled that went wrong in all these years?"
"Probably not," Lan Shu shook his head and poured himself a cup of tea. "He has no friends in Jingzhao Prefecture. Many people dislike him. If he does something wrong, even if no one finds out, there will be gossip."
If there is not even any gossip, then it is truly impeccable.
Li Huaijing was very disappointed with Lan Shu's answer and quickly asked, "What about the Marquis' Mansion? Is there any secret?"
"There are so many things going on in the Marquis's Mansion that I could probably not finish talking about them even if I talked about them for three days and three nights. However, Lord Shen rarely interferes in the affairs of the harem. Even when he was treated harshly by his stepmother, he never said anything. He married a new wife at the beginning of this year. Although there was an incident of dividing the mansion, it was done in full view of the public, so there is nothing wrong with it."
Prince Ying was very impressed by Chunxi. He nodded and said, "This Madam Shen is indeed quite capable."
Li Huaijing seemed lost in thought. Lan Shu took in their expressions and continued, "There's been a recent incident at the Marquis' Mansion. Marquis Qingyuan is planning to remarry after the New Year and has asked Madam Shen to help with the wedding. However, the child was born unexpectedly, and Madam Shen suspects the child isn't Marquis Qingyuan's biological child. She's asking Wuyou Pavilion to investigate the matter."
Li Huaijing didn't care whether the Marquis of Qingyuan would remarry or not. When he heard that Chunxi had asked Wuyou Pavilion to do something for him, he immediately asked, "Does Madam Shen come to Wuyou Pavilion often? Are you on good terms?"
"Not often, only twice. I don't have a very good relationship with her, but we can talk a few words."
Lan Shu answered truthfully, and Prince Ying immediately said, "With your ability, you can manipulate any woman you want. You can use this opportunity to interact with her more."
Since there is no flaw to be found in Shen Qingyuan, it would be the same to look for it in his wife.
As long as they can make him make a mistake and stop interfering in trade with Yuexi, their goal will be achieved.
Hearing Prince Ying's words, Lan Shu frowned slightly: "This Madam Shen is not an ordinary woman. She and Lord Shen have a good relationship, and she is pregnant now. I'm afraid it won't be easy to take her."
Prince Ying didn't like what he heard. He put his teacup on the table and said solemnly, "It's up to you to decide how to proceed. I only want the result!"
Prince Ying was obviously angry. Lan Shu no longer refused and said respectfully, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Lan Shu will take care of this matter."
Lan Shu's obedience calmed King Ying down a little, and after a while he asked someone to bring two boxes of spices to Lan Shu.
"This is called Ecstasy Incense. It's even more potent than Worry-Free Incense in terms of aphrodisiac effects. Take it home and use it for a while. If a distinguished guest wishes to buy it, tell them this incense is extremely rare, costing ten ounces of gold for one coin."
Wuyou Pavilion only receives high-ranking officials and dignitaries, who are not short of money, but it is too outrageous to buy one ounce of spices for ten taels of gold.
But King Ying was already angry, so Lan Shu didn't dare to question him and left with the spices.
After he left, Li Huaijing immediately said, "Although Lan Shu is the prince's man, Wuyou Pavilion is after all someone else's power. If the prince just gives the spices to him, will it cause any trouble?"
Prince Ying laughed out loud: "Don't worry, no one in Hanjing dares to investigate Wuyou Pavilion. Besides, Wuyou Pavilion only receives lonely women who have nothing to do. All they think about all day is how to spend money and have fun. We just need to wait to collect the money. Nothing will happen."
Prince Ying was very confident, but Li Huaijing was still a little worried. "Shen Qingyuan has discovered that the amount of food and cloth the Yuexi envoys exchanged is a bit too little. He may investigate this matter soon. If he finds out that we are secretly dealing with the envoys, His Majesty will surely be furious. I still think it's better to be cautious."
Li Huaijing had previously thought that there would be no problem with this matter, but he did not expect that as soon as the envoys left, Shen Qingyuan discovered the trick through the list submitted by the envoys.
This made him very uneasy.
Prince Ying disliked Li Huaijing's timid nature. He said coldly, "These spices won't kill anyone, and they'll just be exchanged for some hard-to-swallow corn and buckwheat. I secretly procured these from various places and shipped them directly to Wengzhou. You've been in Wengzhou for nearly ten years, and everyone there is your confidant. Shen Qingyuan isn't a god, so how can he investigate?"
Without waiting for Li Huaijing to persuade him, Prince Ying continued, "Don't worry, I will soon find a way to get rid of Shen Qingyuan. No one can stop me. You just need to perform well in front of the emperor and have the emperor appoint you as the Maritime Envoy as soon as possible."
Prince Ying was very firm in his attitude, so Li Huaijing couldn't say much and could only respond, "Yes."
**
After leaving Wuyou Pavilion, Chunxi went back to Cao's house.
She didn't go into the house. The carriage stopped at the entrance of the alley. A Li went to knock on the door, and Cao Wu quickly followed A Li.
Cao Wu was very happy to see Chunxi: "The New Year is coming soon. I was thinking of coming to see you before the New Year. Why did you come back so suddenly?"
"I went out to do some errands and bought some things, so I brought them to Big Brother on the way."
Chunxi lifted the carriage curtain and handed the new clothes prepared for Zheng'er to Cao Wu. A Li also brought some brand new cloth and smoked bacon from the back.
These cloths were not particularly expensive, but were just the right size to make new clothes for them.
In addition to Cao Wu, the Qian and Wang families also had a share.
Cao Wu subconsciously refused: "The family already owes Ah Xi a lot. Now that you are pregnant, your parents should buy things for you and the child. How can they ask for your things?"
"It's just a small token of my appreciation. If you still consider me one of your own, just accept it," Chunxi advised, then changed the subject and asked, "Where's your sister-in-law? How are she and Zheng'er doing lately?"
"It's pretty good. She found a good family to be a wet nurse, and she can bring Zheng'er with her. The other family's young wife hasn't given birth yet, so she doesn't have much to do. She just needs to learn some etiquette, eat well, drink well and take care of herself. On Laba, she brought Zheng'er back, and both of them have gained a lot of weight."
Cao Wu did not hide anything and his face was full of joy.
Chunxi didn't say much, just nodded and said, "That's good."
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