Chapter 70: Doubts grow
It seems that this chess game cannot be played any further.
Chen Yu was shocked and asked in surprise: "Is there any evidence?"
It was a common question, but it sounded strangely harsh to Xie Tingzhou.
Is she questioning him? Or does she trust Jiang Lianzhi more?
"Your Highness?"
Xie Tingzhou suppressed his displeasure and said calmly, "When I arrived in the north, I received a secret letter which mentioned that there was a problem in the battle of Yanliang Pass and asked me to go and provide support."
Chen Yu frowned and said, “But you said before that the reason you came to rescue Yanliang Pass was because you discovered that the Lu family was transporting grain on a large scale.”
Originally, he just thought that someone was trying to get Xie Tingzhou to mobilize troops. Once he mobilized troops without authorization, it would become a handle in the hands of Emperor Tongxu, so he just sent people to investigate.
"Yes," Xie Tingzhou said, "It was not until I found out about Lu's transport of beams that I believed the letter was true."
Chen Yu thought for a moment, "Your Highness means that the letter came from Jiang Lianzhi."
Xie Tingzhou stood up, walked to the desk, and took out a letter from the drawer.
Chen Yu walked over, took the letter and read it. The content was exactly the same as what Xie Tingzhou had just said, except...
"This is not Jiang Lianzhi's handwriting."
After all, they had been husband and wife for several years, so she could still recognize Jiang Lianzhi's handwriting.
Xie Tingzhou's gaze swept towards Shi Yu, with doubts growing in his eyes.
But he did not question him on the spot, instead he said: "It is no accident that Jiang Lianzhi has risen to his current position. He is a cautious person and will not easily reveal his tracks. It took my people three months to find him."
Shen Yu just felt that her mind was in a mess at this moment.
If Jiang Lianzhi was involved in the Yanliangguan case, why did he write that letter to remind Xie Tingzhou?
If it had nothing to do with him, how could he know that there was something wrong with the Yanliangguan case?
The deeper we investigate the case, the more confusing it seems, like a thick fog enveloping us.
…
The Ren'an Marquis's family in Shengjing held a banquet and sent invitations to many dignitaries' homes in the capital.
Three people left General Shen's mansion at once, and the remaining stepmother and second daughter were trapped by rumors. It seemed that the mansion was about to collapse, but they also received an invitation from the Ren'an Marquis family.
Shen Yan arrived late, and the hall was already full of ladies from various families, with only one seat left at the end.
As soon as she arrived, many young ladies began to whisper to each other.
Someone in the hall snorted, "Why is she
Coming?"
"Who knows? Look, she's still wearing mourning clothes. Who is she showing off her grief-stricken face to? She must be very happy in her heart, right?"
"That's right. Her eldest sister is the granddaughter of the Hezhou Lu family. There's no telling how much property her family has. Now it all goes to them mother and daughter."
Those words entered Shen Yan's ears one by one. She had expected this situation to happen and sat down calmly near the door.
The legitimate daughter of Marquis Ren'an was quite favored by the Queen Mother and was given the title of Princess Ruimin. She was superior to all the other young ladies.
Princess Ruimin was originally talking to someone else, but when she saw Shen Yan, she immediately said, "Second Miss Shen is finally here. I was worried that you wouldn't come."
Chen Yan bowed her head and saluted, "The princess thinks highly of Chen Yan, Chen Yan dare not not come."
Seeing that she was sitting at the end, Princess Ruimin called the maid, "Move Miss Shen's seat next to me."
Chen Yan and Princess Ruimin had no friendship, and her enthusiasm now made people feel scared.
Sitting down again, Princess Ruimin took Shen Yan's hand and comforted her, "Don't pay attention to the nonsense others say. Your father, brother and elder sister are gone, and you are the one who has the hardest time."
Shen Yan's eyes were filled with tears, and she choked up and said, "Thank you, Princess."
Princess Ruimin whispered to her, "I'm hosting a banquet today to invite them here to tell everyone that you are someone that Princess Ruimin is protecting. I'm sure they won't dare to give you a hard time in the future."
"Why did the princess..."
"Miss Shen, you don't know," the maid who was making tea beside her continued, "My princess has admired Miss Shen for a long time and wanted to find an opportunity to make friends with her. Unfortunately, Miss Shen is not in the capital all year round and does not attend banquets for noble ladies in the capital."
"Yes," Princess Ruimin held her chin and said, "I have been wondering since I was a child why women can't roam the world like men. Miss Shen is also a woman, and she can still fight in the battlefield."
Shen Yan's eyes became even redder, and her fingers tightly grasped the skirt, "Sister is not an ordinary woman."
"It's a pity that I didn't get to see her." Ruimin grabbed Shen Yan's hand and said, "Tell me about her."
"My elder sister..." Shen Yan said in embarrassment: "She is not in the capital all year round, so we don't have much time to spend together, but she is an extremely straightforward person."
Ruimin looked regretful, "It would be a great pleasure if I could make friends with her."
Chen Yan pursed her lips and smiled with difficulty, "I also regret not being able to spend more time with my elder sister."
The painting that the two wanted to talk about
When other young ladies saw this, some of them acted as if it had nothing to do with them, while others found it extremely irritating.
"I heard that the Jiang family once went to General Shen's mansion to propose marriage for Minister Jiang, but was rejected. There are many different opinions in the capital. Some say that they proposed marriage to Miss Shen, and some say it is Second Miss Shen. It happens that Second Miss Shen is here today. Why don't you help us solve the confusion?"
The one who spoke was the daughter of Lord Luo from the Hanlin Academy. She looked at Chen Yan with a hint of arrogance on her face.
Since ancient times, civil officials and military officials have been incompatible, and some civil officials look down on military officials who lead troops.
Everyone in the hall cast inquiring glances at Chen Yan, even Princess Ruimin was looking at her.
Chen Yan lowered her eyes slightly, "Chen Yan is a weak and frail person, and I feel that I am not worthy of the Minister."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became heated.
This statement is ambiguous. Although it does not explicitly say that Minister Jiang is proposing to her, it sounds like the implication is that she refuses the marriage because she feels she is not worthy of Minister Jiang.
Everyone had different thoughts for a moment.
A lady in emerald clothing asked, "But I heard that Minister Jiang once said that as long as Miss Shen nodded, he could come to ask for her hand in marriage at any time. Since Lord Jiang is so fond of her, Miss Shen must have something extraordinary, right?"
Shen Yan whispered: "Now I am still in the mourning period, and I don't have such thoughts."
In fact, the mourning period for women in the Great Zhou Dynasty was different from that for men. If girls were to observe mourning for three years like men, they would miss the opportunity to discuss marriage. Therefore, the mourning period varied from place to place, with the longest mourning period being one year and the shortest being three months.
One of them sneered, "Since you don't mean that, why not make it clear so as not to waste other people's time?"
Someone in the hall immediately laughed and said sarcastically, "You probably want to take the top spot yourself."
After dealing with all the young ladies, Chen Yan felt exhausted.
Things are different now. In the past, Shen Zhongan and Shen Zhao were still around, and the young ladies in the capital had to give them some face. Whether she can gain a foothold among the noble ladies in the future depends on herself.
Chen Yan returned to the general's mansion. Now it was no different from before. The masters were still her and her daughter, but she always felt that something had changed.
She walked inside and there was not a single servant in the yard.
The maid shouted, "Young lady is back. Where are all the people? You guys are just taking some time off while Young lady is away."
The maid hurried to the front and opened the door for Shen Yan.
The two men stepped into the room and were stunned when they saw the person sitting on the chair.
"Miss!" the maidservant shouted tremblingly.
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