For a moment, you could hear a pin drop; the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
A short while later, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps sounded outside the door. The steward rushed in, panting, his face grave. "It's terrible! The Fourth Young Master has been kidnapped by the bandits of Qingfeng Village."
The white paper he was holding was a threatening letter sent by Qingfeng Village.
As soon as she finished speaking, Mother Shen nearly fainted, but fortunately Qiu Yue caught her quickly.
"Those people said that if we can't raise the money, they'll cut off the Fourth Young Master's hand." The steward couldn't hide his worry. Money was what they needed most right now. These bandits had so many other things they wanted, but they had to ask for money. Wasn't this just making things difficult for them?
Madam Chen snatched the letter away, her shrill voice almost piercing the butler's eardrums, "How could this be? Don't they know my son's identity?"
"They said they arrested people from the Marquis of Chengen's mansion." The steward couldn't understand when the Marquis's mansion had become enemies with Qingfeng Village, which would allow them to target him so openly.
This Qingfeng Village is no ordinary bandit group. They have been entrenched in Mingyin Mountain for many years and know the terrain of Mingyin Mountain like the back of their hand. It will be no easy task to wipe them out.
Moreover, the biggest problem lies in the fact that the villagers at the foot of Mingyin Mountain inadvertently provided Qingfeng Village with a hostage shield.
If it weren't for the concerns of these villagers, would the imperial court have tolerated the existence of Qingfeng Village?
They burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities, even robbing the imperial court's grain and silver several times, showing no regard for the government.
Now they have brazenly kidnapped the son of a high-ranking official and even sent a threatening letter, completely disregarding the dignity of the government.
"What should we do? Have you informed the Marquis yet? Steward, hurry up and gather the money, you must rescue Yanxi safely." Madam Shen was so worried about Shen Yanxi's safety that she had no idea that the Marquis's public funds simply couldn't come up with such a large sum of money.
The steward frowned in embarrassment, gave a wry smile, and said, "Madam, you are not in charge of the household, so you don't know that there isn't that much silver left in the manor."
"How could that be? The Marquis's mansion still has several well-run shops. How could they not have the money?"
Madam Shen didn't believe it. Although she could sense that the Marquis's family was no longer living a life of luxury, she couldn't believe they had fallen so low as to not even be able to come up with a few thousand taels of silver.
The steward sighed helplessly, "Madam, most of those shops have closed down. Now, only Shen's Clothing Shop and a few other poorly managed shops are struggling to stay afloat."
To put it bluntly, Shen's Clothing Shop won't last much longer. The Third Young Master has already offended most of the merchants in the capital; nobody is willing to buy from him anymore.
The Shen family clothing store is now just an empty shell.
Several other shops are also declining; it's a miracle they're not in debt.
Back when the Second Miss started her business, she was making a fortune every day, with countless amounts of silver. It's nothing like now, where every penny has to be carefully managed.
Suddenly, the steward had a flash of inspiration and a little scheme came to mind: the Marquis's mansion may be poor, but the Second Miss is.
"Madam, the other shops with better revenue have all been transferred by the Marquis to the Second Miss..." He didn't finish his sentence, but he believed that Madam Shen would understand what he meant.
Mother Shen immediately realized what was going on and started plotting against Song Zhiyu. "You're right. Zhiyu still has those treasures that the Princess gave her. She can just take out one of them and she can raise enough money."
After saying that, she was about to turn her head to look at Song Zhiyu, but found that he was already gone. There was nothing in front of her, and she didn't even know when he had left.
Upon seeing this, Chen's mother's legs went weak, and she collapsed helplessly into Qiuyue's arms.
How could she not know what Song Zhiyu was doing?
With tears welling in her eyes, Chen's mother murmured, "She hates us. She has no intention of helping us at all."
Shen's mother had never resented Song Zhiyu as much as she did now. It was just a small favor, yet Song Zhiyu refused to help with such a small matter, coldly watching her own brother being kidnapped and ultimately having his hands chopped off.
Shen Jinshu's eyes flickered slightly, and she took two steps forward to comfort her mother, "Mother, don't worry. I'm here, I'll find a way."
She remembered that Prince Li seemed to have connections with Qingfeng Village. If Prince Li spoke up, Qingfeng Village might release the person out of respect for him.
But Shen Jinshu hesitated. If she pleaded for him, it would be tantamount to using up the last chance that Prince Li had given her.
Moreover, the current situation is tense. The imperial court has long had its eye on Qingfeng Village, and if Prince Li intervenes, it will likely be detrimental to him.
After much deliberation, Shen Jinshu decided to abandon the idea.
She desperately wanted to climb to the position of Princess Consort of Li, and finally obtained the promise of the Prince of Li, but Song Zhiyu ruined it, which made the Prince of Li even more dissatisfied with her.
If we were to displease the Prince of Li again because of Shen Yanxi's matter, it would clearly be a case of losing more than we gain.
Shen Jinshu was unwilling to use this opportunity on Shen Yanxi, even though Shen Yanxi was devoted to her.
*
Songxiyuan.
"Miss, will the eldest young lady plead with Prince Li for the sake of the fourth young master?" Lu Bai, whose injuries had eased somewhat, sat up, took the pills handed to her by Song Zhiyu, and finally couldn't help but ask.
Without even looking up, Song Zhiyu replied without the slightest hesitation, "No."
Shen Jinshu is selfish and self-serving; how could she possibly make a sacrifice for Shen Yanxi?
She wouldn't have done it in her past life, and she certainly wouldn't in this one.
"Will the Fourth Young Master really have his hands cut off?" Lu Bai blinked her big, watery eyes. She didn't feel sorry for Shen Yanxi; she was just curious.
She simply couldn't bring herself to feel sympathy for someone who had bullied her young mistress.
"Who knows?" Song Zhiyu applied medicine to Lu Bai's wound and neatly tied a simple knot.
Qingfeng Village's actions can be described as a severe provocation to the government. In the past, thanks to Prince Li's mediation, Qingfeng Village was able to remain safe, but now that Prince Li is in dire straits himself, he probably can't care about the fate of Qingfeng Village.
As Song Zhiyu had predicted, the emperor was furious when news of Shen Yanxi's abduction by Qingfeng Village spread.
Seeing this, the ministers also stepped forward, pleading with the emperor to send troops to wipe out Qingfeng Village's stronghold in one fell swoop.
"It's easy to say. Mingyin Mountain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. They also have villagers as hostages. How easy is it for us to take it up?" Some people had considered things more thoroughly.
"Your Majesty, I believe the attack on Qingfeng Village can be postponed. The most important thing now is to resolve the external threat." The minister who received the look from the Prince of Li stepped forward to state his position and expressed his opposition.
Qingfeng Village is a great asset in serving the Prince of Li, and it absolutely cannot be destroyed by the imperial court.
However, given the current situation, if they firmly oppose attacking Qingfeng Village, it will only arouse the emperor's suspicion, so they have no choice but to retreat in order to advance.
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