After Wang Yan and the others returned, the first thing they did was to have the innkeeper light a brazier, and the three of them took turns stepping over it.
Then they ordered nine more buckets of water, and the three of them washed themselves three times in turn.
After they had just finished washing up and getting ready, Wang Ying urged them to hire a horse-drawn carriage.
"Let's go home early," Wang Ying said, genuinely frightened. Wang Yan, by this point, could pretty much guess what was going on.
So it's not as simple as fighting over inheritance; it's not something they can escape by simply leaving. Of course, it's also none of their business anyway, so staying or not doesn't matter.
And by now, it shouldn't be anything else for them. But seeing Wang Ying's frightened expression, she nodded and said, "Let's go."
However, there weren't many carriages departing in the afternoon, and after they paid, the driver said the earliest they could go was tomorrow, when they could share a carriage with others.
Wang Ying felt that carpooling was better. It wasn't that she couldn't afford to charter a car, but she was afraid that it would be just the two of them and the driver on the way.
Didn't the coachman say that the family they were sharing the carriage with was also a family with children? That would make them safer.
So she looked at Wang Yan, who, in order to appease her sister, was now listening to her every opinion.
After thinking it over, Wang Ying decided to wait until tomorrow to leave; one more day wouldn't make a difference.
The family returned to the inn to rest, having originally planned to stay in Lin'an for a couple more days.
In the end, we got here and accomplished nothing; all our plans were completely ruined. Sigh!
Wang Yan sighed softly to the side, and Wang Ying, seeing her younger sister like this, also felt a pang of pity.
"Why don't we stay here for a couple more days? Actually, nothing else is going to happen this time."
And weren't we supposed to be going to buy Jinhua ham? We haven't even been able to buy a single ham yet.
Wang Yan glanced at her sister and said, "It's alright, we can do it next time. We've been out for so long, it's time to go back, otherwise Dad and Brother will worry."
Huh? Mentioning Fatty Wang, Wang Ying suddenly remembered that she had sent him a letter.
No, they're all fine now, but what if Fatty Wang receives the letter and rushes over here?
Wang Ying rushed out to write a second letter, this time sent urgently.
It usually takes about ten days to reach the capital, but judging by the time now, the first letter should have already arrived.
However, their return journey will definitely take longer than the letter, so let's send another one.
What if Fatty Wang actually receives the letter? Then he won't have made a wasted trip.
The next day, as everyone was packing their things at the inn, Shen Jiamu arrived with Granny Qian.
Upon arriving, they first sincerely apologized for startling their benefactors, and then handed them a makeup box.
"I have prepared a small gift, which is of little importance."
Aunt Wang looked at the box, unsure whether she should accept it or not.
"Thank you, Miss Shen." Wang Yan stepped forward and took the box.
Shen Jiamu felt somewhat relieved after seeing that they had accepted the money. Then, everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Wang Yan was genuinely curious, "Miss Shen must have led quite a few people that day, so how could she have been ambushed by the Shao clan patriarch (and why would we need to come to her rescue)?"
Yes, Wang Yan had no right to know even the slightest bit about the inside story of either the salt mine or the tea tax case.
Wang Yan, along with most of the Shen family members who were arrested, such as Ye Zi, could only know that this was nothing more than a case of plotting to seize family property.
At that moment, she only smiled at Wang Yan without offering any further explanation. Wang Yan sensed that she didn't want to talk about it and didn't press the matter further.
Curiosity aside, the fact that they were all caught also illustrates that you shouldn't ask questions if you can't find out the answers.
They returned to the capital, and six months later, they heard that Consort Yang had hanged herself in the palace.
His father and brother were beheaded. It is said that one of his family members and a descendant from a collateral branch was an official in Jiangnan who had privately opened a salt mine.
Moreover, it is said that the Shen family of Jiangnan was almost implicated as well. Coincidentally, their patriarch died suddenly, and after the young patriarch took over, the family business shrank by half in just six months.
Merchants in the capital city who order their fabrics are always running out of stock.
Wang Yan pieced together a complete truth based on their experiences over those days.
The Shen family must have been involved in this case for some reason. Perhaps her relative who came to fight for the family property is in cahoots with the officials in Yang Shuyi's family.
The Shen family is still fine! That means the Shen family wasn't involved.
Why did she bring her mother and herself back to the mansion? It was to have these unrelated outsiders testify that she was not in cahoots with these salt merchants, and that she had even been assassinated in order to confront them.
This explains why she didn't release the medicine after returning home from her shoulder injury.
Shen Jiamu didn't want to drive his patriarch out, nor did he need the sympathy of the entire city.
She had a shoulder injury and was beaten by her father's uncle, yet she cowardly did not resist. All of this was for one purpose: to make the official who came to investigate believe that they were incapable of resisting the mastermind (Yang Lou).
No wonder? When they returned to the manor, although they were careful about what they ate, Shen Jiamu seemed not at all afraid of being assassinated again.
Because her family members would never kill her a second time. Killing her was a small matter, but what if her death was too suspicious and caught the attention of the higher-ups, thus implicating the mastermind behind it?
It must be said that Wang Yan guessed the main truth based on just a few fragments.
She didn't know anything else, but being able to guess this far was enough for Wang Yan to clear up her doubts and satisfy her curiosity.
Shao Jinxin certainly thought so, but now, sitting in prison, he was filled with regret.
At the time, I thought that even if it was to seize family property, it was not normal to actually kill someone twice in front of everyone.
If only I had known that Shen Jiamu, that little bastard, had a backup set of accounts, and that Song Ren would have helped me, I would have been able to set up such a huge scheme.
Even if it costs him his life, he will finish her off. At worst, if he's discovered and dies, only he will; at least he won't suffer the fate of having his entire family wiped out.
Haha! Shao Jinxin was wrong about this. From the very beginning, his fate was to perish along with his three clans!
Yang Lou approached him, intending to make him a scapegoat and a middleman.
Even if he can decisively kill Shen Jiamu this time.
Most people wouldn't suspect anything amiss and would think Shao Jinxin is just obsessed with money. But if someone is clever enough to investigate Shao Jinxin, they'll find something is wrong!
After all, the Shao family has made a lot of money selling smuggled salt in the past two years.
Yang Lou didn't try to cover it up; instead, he tried to pin the blame on the Shao and Shen families in the future.
He also helped publicize how the Shao family had become incredibly wealthy in the past two years, and that it wasn't thanks to the Shen family.
Without the Shen family's connections, people had already begun to doubt it. The only way to accumulate such enormous wealth in such a short time was through maritime transport!
Doing business honestly and steadily within the country will never lead to such rapid wealth!
That being said, it was precisely because of these concerns that Shao Jinxin was able to remain calm and didn't dare to make a move the second time.
However, he overlooked one point: he was ignorant of politics and did not know that Song Ren had arrived.
Otherwise, if they had killed Shen Jiamu decisively, and the real ledger was in Yang Lou's hands, Yang Lou would have only needed to find another opportunity to push Shao Jinxin out as a scapegoat.
Without mentioning the tea tax case, Yang Lou could definitely protect himself in the salt mine case alone.
To be honest, if it weren't for Shen Jiamu's clever plan to send a team away that threw Yang Lou into a panic on the last day, Yang Lou would have been completely absolved of his responsibility.
With that final bucket of dirty water thrown at them, the Shen family was unable to defend themselves, and the outcome was still uncertain!
Moreover, Shen Jiamu was truly lucky; she had all the advantages in terms of timing and location.
One is that the interrogator was Song Ren, another is that Wang Yan and the others were able to get involved, and the third is that Yang Lou, that idiot, didn't have time to destroy the ledgers, and ten days later all the ledger evidence was found in his house.
Not only did Shen Wan record where their salt was sold, but she also investigated how many families paid tribute to them to open the salt mines.
Yang Lou also kept his own accounts, detailing how much profit he made over the past three years, how much he sent to the Yang family in the capital, and how much he sent to Shuyi.
Shen Jia originally intended for two nephews from Qian Mama's brother's family to be the ones to file complaints outside.
But she happened to run into Wang Yan and her group. She had deliberately asked Qian Shitou to take her to the inn that Wang Yan was supposed to go to.
The fact that an outsider, someone they didn't know, went to them made Song Ren more trustworthy. Later, this actually gave them a better chance, and the Shen family thus escaped a major disaster.
Moreover, the officials who came to oversee the matter all knew each other, which is why they were able to resolve everything so readily and decisively.
…………………………………………………………
After arriving home, Shen Jiamu knelt before the memorial tablets of her grandfather and her mother (the old man of the Shen family) and wept bitterly.
With favorable timing, location, and popular support, they won, preserving the reputation of the Shen family and protecting most of their legacy.
Shen Jiamu was sobbing and struggling to breathe inside, while Granny Qian and the female physician stood outside, weeping.
Shen Wan left two letters. The first letter recorded the truth of the matter, and at the end, she was not allowed to open the second letter. She was to wait until the dust settled before opening it.
Shen Jiamu, the young master who was appointed to the position in a time of crisis, fulfilled the last words in his mother's second letter: "My son, do not be afraid. Victory and defeat are unpredictable. This is the test and trial that your mother has left for you."
If you can overcome this obstacle, my son will be a blessing to our clan. If not, we will meet again in the afterlife, and your mother will impart all her knowledge and skills, starting anew with meticulous instruction.
"Grandpa, Mother, I, I held on, I held on."
After choking back sobs, Shen Jiamu could say no more, his tears soaking the prayer mat beneath his feet.
This victory was a narrow one, costing the family head, the chief steward, and most of their wealth.
Yes, Shen Wan was able to die because she herself got involved; otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have believed that the Shen family hadn't interfered in the salt mines.
Shen Fu did not betray the Shen family either; Shen Wan explained all of this in her second letter.
Thinking of Shen Fu, Shen Wan burst into tears. When they came out, Shen Fu was in the cell furthest to the left.
He called out to her, but Shen Jia walked away without turning back. He didn't even glance at her one last time.
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