Liu Yingying went to Dali Temple again in the morning, but was still turned away.
This time, the gatekeeper said, "Lord Gu has been transferred to another place on official business and will not be back for some time."
They refused to elaborate on how long it would take.
She has time to wait, but Lord Shen can't!
Well, it seems that even Lord Shen's close friend is unreliable!
Liu Yingying thought to herself, "Then I'll have to resort to other methods."
We can't just hang ourselves on Gu Tao's crooked tree.
But in this vast capital city, who else could she turn to for help?
The first family Liu Yingying thought of was the Shen family.
Although Lord Shen had not told her before she came that she could seek help from the Shen family if she encountered any difficulties.
But at this critical juncture, Lord Shen is, after all, a member of the Shen family. I suppose that no matter what misunderstandings they may have, he wouldn't just abandon his own son to his fate.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Liu Yingying inquired from various sources and finally found the Shen residence.
They also learned some information about the Shen family.
The Shen family could only be considered a third or fourth-rate family in the capital. Although the family had a large number of members, they produced many minor officials of the fourth or fifth rank.
However, their ancestors had a glorious past. It seems that a tutor to an emperor came from the generation of Shen Shangxu's grandfather or great-grandfather.
However, they declined generation after generation.
When it came to Shen Shangxu, he finally managed to become the third-ranked scholar, but because of his low emotional intelligence, he was demoted to the desolate Furong County as its magistrate...
To avoid attracting attention, Liu Yingying told Xue Ye and Xiao Xue to wait for her at the inn, while she went to the outside of the Shen residence alone.
"Knock knock knock!"
After knocking a few times, an elderly servant came out, looked her up and down, and asked in a rather impolite tone,
Who are you?
"Excuse me, is this the home of Lord Shen Shangxu?"
Upon hearing her mention Shen Shangxu, the old servant's expression visibly changed; "What's your name, and what's your relationship with our Seventh Young Master?"
"My name is Liu Yi, and I am from Ningzhou County. Lord Shen is currently imprisoned in Furong County, and I have come to the capital to seek help on his behalf. I wonder if it would be possible for me, Liu, to meet with the head of your Shen family?"
This request may be a bit presumptuous, but it's not unreasonable.
If it were a slightly more normal family, they would immediately invite Liu Yingying in and find out Shen Shangxu's current situation.
But the servant's reaction was clearly unusual. "Leave your address. Our master isn't home today. When he comes back, I'll tell him about this, and then we'll have someone contact you!"
Liu Yingying naturally dared not leave her address rashly, so she said, "Since your family head is not here, I will come to visit again in three days. Farewell!" After saying that, she turned and left.
"Sigh..." The servant watched her retreating figure, wanting to say something, but held back, turned around and closed the door again.
What Liu Yingying didn't know was that the head of the Shen family was actually in the Shen residence.
The current head of the Shen family is Shen Shangxu's grandfather, who is currently sitting in the flower hall drinking tea while listening to the servants' report.
"Master, do you really not intend to get involved in the Seventh Young Master's affairs?"
"Hmph!" Shen Anchang snorted coldly and slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table.
"If that wretched child had listened to me back then, how could he have ended up like this?"
Their Shen family has declined, and in this generation, outstanding descendants are extremely rare.
Although Shen Shangxu was a son born out of wedlock, he stood out from the rest of the family.
Masaya Shigeaki once had high hopes for this grandson!
In the end, Shen Shangxu lived up to expectations and became the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination. He was exceptionally talented in literature and had a handsome appearance, which attracted the hearts of many noble ladies in the capital.
Shen Anchang originally planned to take this opportunity to marry a noblewoman to help his family.
But what did that wretched child do?
When he was in front of the emperor, he actually wrote a poem mocking the emperor's lack of diligence in governing!
Fortunately, the current emperor did not hold it against him, but only demoted him to a local county magistrate.
If he performs well, he can be transferred back in a few years.
Otherwise, if things really come to a head, the entire Shen family will suffer because of him!
What Shen Anchang never expected was...
Even after arriving in the local area, this seventh brother remained restless and offended his superior, ultimately landing himself in jail!
In fact, the Shen family had already received the news shortly after Shen Shangxu was imprisoned.
But what can they do?
He offended not only Lin Shichang, the prefect of Ningzhou County, but also the entire Yong'an Marquis's mansion!
The entire Shen family is now in a state of panic, fearing retaliation from the Marquis's mansion. They have no time to care about Shen Shangxu's life or death.
To put it bluntly, if Marquis Fu of Yong'an only targets Shen Shangxu and does not extend his anger to the Shen family, then Shen Anchang can simply pretend he never had this grandson!
On her way back from the Shen residence, Liu Yingying was in a very depressed mood.
If Gu Tao can't be relied upon, and the Shen family can't be depended on either, what should she do?
Are we just going to leave Lord Shen alone?
Just then, a disheveled woman in front of them suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Soon, several burly men caught up from behind and began punching and kicking the woman.
"You forgetful bastard! I'll teach you to steal! I'll show you what stealing is like!"
The woman was already thin, and now she was like a tattered rag, being kicked and trampled on by the men...
"Stop! If you keep fighting, someone will die!"
The men stopped what they were doing and looked at Liu Yingying. One of them warned fiercely, "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. This woman is a habitual thief on this street. If we don't beat her hard today, she'll dare to come back tomorrow!"
Only then did Liu Yingying get a good look at the person's clothes; they were all vendors on this street. She asked, "What did she steal from you?"
"Three steamed buns and two meat buns!"
"A sesame seed cake..."
Liu Yingying pulled out an ounce of silver from her pocket and threw it over, "Is this enough to pay her bill?"
The men took the money and then left.
Liu Yingying was just about to step forward to check on the woman's injuries when she asked, "Are you alright?"
But the woman pushed her away and stumbled away.
Liu Yingying noticed the bloodstains on the ground where the woman had been, frowned, and quickly followed after her.
She was worried that the other person might have been seriously injured, and that their life would be in danger if the bleeding wasn't stopped quickly.
After following the woman around and around, they arrived at a dilapidated old alley.
With her last bit of strength, the woman walked through the alley and finally pushed open a dilapidated wooden door.
He had only taken one step when he collapsed forward, losing consciousness.
Then a surprised exclamation came from inside: "Oh! Sister Dong, where have you run off to again?"
"Quick! Someone come and help carry Adong inside."
Liu Yingying observed the situation from a distance. Why did she feel that the voice that had just called out sounded so familiar?
She decided to go forward and find out what was going on.
After A-Dong was carried inside, the people inside were about to close the door when they suddenly looked up and saw a handsome man standing outside.
For a moment, both of them were stunned.
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