The old woman, who had lived in the countryside for many years, had never seen such an imposing presence. Startled, she trembled, wiped away her tears, and blurted out everything like spilled beans: "I have a terrible injustice! My daughter's death was suspicious. Everything was normal before she gave birth, and everything was normal after she gave birth. How could she suddenly start bleeding after drinking a bowl of tonic? Someone must have poisoned my poor daughter, and they're afraid I'll find out, so they'll kill me to silence me!"
Shen Shinan took a deep breath and said angrily, "You believe what she said? The condition of a woman during childbirth is always unclear, and it is not uncommon for women to be unable to recover without proper care. What are you doing here with them today?"
"Does this prove that the tonic was poisonous? Or does it mean that a woman who was supposed to be drowned after being discovered to be pregnant out of wedlock died during childbirth?"
"Don't you find this absurd? Such a woman deserved to be beaten to death back then. Now you're using this as a pretext to frame a deceased court official? This is outrageous, Your Majesty!"
The retired emperor nodded. "That's right, these things can all be forged."
The Emperor laughed heartily after hearing this, "Whether it's forged or not, some people should know the truth." He glanced at Madam Shen and continued...
"The matter of the Zhang family's illegitimate daughter is already against ethics and morality, but! Shen Shinan, do you dare to say that you have a clear conscience about your brother's matter?"
...
"Old man, Shi Nan, you and Huai Yuan are both my children. I am proud of you both."
Shen Shinan clasped his hands in humility and said, "Father, you flatter me. My elder brother is the real pride of Father."
Master Shen laughed heartily, “You child, your brother is too idealistic. The reason I’ve come to you this time is because of your brother’s matter.”
"Father wants to talk about my elder brother's return!"
Shen Shinan said without any reservation, "Now that my brother has returned, the position of heir should rightfully belong to him. I know what to do."
The old man sighed, "Life is hard. Your brother has let you down! Your father has let you down too!"
With just one "I'm sorry," Shen Shinan knew whose choice his father had made. He swallowed the bitterness in his heart and forced a smile, saying, "Father, it's up to you. I have nothing to say."
He bowed respectfully, preparing to leave, but then, after a moment's thought, he bowed again and said, "Father, my brother's matter is easily resolved, but that woman..."
A murderous glint flashed in the old man's eyes. "Since ancient times, the one who is betrothed becomes a wife, and the one who elopes becomes a concubine. She is just an illegitimate daughter; she can be taken into the manor as a lowly concubine!"
After all, the eldest daughter of the Zhang family is also in the mansion. It would be improper for the eldest daughter to marry the illegitimate son, or for the illegitimate daughter to marry the eldest son.
The old man wouldn't allow such a thing to happen in his own home, much less make things difficult for his daughter-in-law.
The Crown Prince's wife will never surpass Lady Zhang in the future.
Shen Shinan hesitated, "But my brother spoke to me privately..."
The old man frowned, sensing something was wrong. Sure enough, the next second he heard Shen Shi say, "My brother said he didn't want that woman to suffer... and he told me... to ask me to leave home. I can only be unfilial."
"You bastard!"
The old man was furious and slammed his hand on the corner of the table. "You bastard! Who does he think he is!"
The old patriarch, who already harbored resentment towards his eldest son, couldn't help but curse even more fiercely upon hearing this.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you with this! Don't worry, your father will give you an explanation."
Shen Shinan's expression became even more respectful, "Son wouldn't dare, son is just worried about his wife."
Shen Shinan left the design office and saw the old man sitting down alone, sighing incessantly.
...
Shen Shi could not recall the past, his eyes filled with sorrow. He kowtowed and could not rise, saying, "Your subject is not ashamed!"
But the clenched teeth beneath his tightly pressed lips betrayed his words.
Seeing this, the Emperor nodded, "And what about Lady Shen?"
Madam Shen kept her head down, her hands clenched tightly in her sleeves, her palms raw from digging, just to maintain a sliver of reason.
Upon hearing His Majesty address her, she immediately kowtowed and said, "This humble woman... is also."
"Great! That's really great!"
The Emperor Emeritus nodded and smiled. "There's nothing more to ask about this matter. It's all ancient history, and the dead can't be consulted for diagnosis. Their words alone are insufficient to prove anything, so let's leave it at that."
The retired emperor raised his hand to leave, but just as he was about to get up, he heard the old woman kneeling on the ground, who turned out to be Zhang's concubine's daughter's personal maid, shout loudly, "This servant reports that Zhang Jingshu poisoned the Shen family's heir!"
The retired emperor abruptly stopped in his tracks, letting out a cold snort. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Now let's see if you can frame me or make baseless accusations."
"Guards! Drag him out and give him thirty strokes of the cane!"
Although the old woman was not old, she had been injured in her youth and was crippled in her leg. Upon hearing that the Emperor Emeritus wanted to punish her, she no longer cared about anything else. She wept bitterly and swore to the heavens, "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Everything I have said is true. If I have uttered even a single lie, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
“I have evidence, I have evidence, and I heard it with my own ears, there is absolutely no falsehood!”
The retired emperor's eyes were fierce; he didn't want to listen and continued to order the men to punish her. But the emperor disagreed, saying, "Father, she dares to make such a vicious oath, why not continue?"
"Besides, we've only interrogated the Zhang family's illegitimate daughter; we haven't even interrogated the Shen family's legitimate son yet!"
Shen Shinan immediately said, "Your Majesty and I absolutely did not poison my brother!"
"You didn't? You dare ask Zhang Jingshu if she didn't! How did she meticulously plot to poison the prince back then!"
Madam Shen looked flustered. "I didn't! I didn't do it!"
"Old woman, do you dare swear to God?!"
Madam Shen swayed precariously, "It was Shen Huaiyuan who broke his promise back then! What do I have to be afraid to swear?"
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