Chapter 103 Chapter 103

Yao Niang originally had some suspicion that the Fan family had some intentions, but now seeing how Mrs. Fan looked, she estimated that she was 70% to 80% suspicious.

"Grandma Shen, Ruhui has always heard about your great painting skills and really admires you. I wonder if I could come to your house to seek advice in the future?" Fan Ruhui came up to her with a smile.

Yao Niang said calmly: "The girl is..."

Fan Ruhui said: "My daughter Fan Ruhui, my father is the new Zuodu Yushi."

In fact, Yao Niang already knew about it. Now that she heard her talk about it, she quickly said, "So she is the daughter of the General Constitutional Office. If Miss Fan is interested, I will accompany her anytime she comes to my house."

Fan Ruhui said, "Thank you very much."

The two of them exchanged a few words, and Grandma Qing came over and said, "Sister-in-law, it's time to take your seat."

Yao Niang went over with Grandma Qing, walked up to Madam Fan and looked at her deeply. Madam Fan then realized how ridiculous she was. She was a second-rank official in the court, but she was frightened by the wife of a seventh-rank official.

Originally, Yao Niang also thought that people who have reached a certain level of officialdom or have a high status are definitely better than others. Later, she admitted that some people are like this, but some people may not have their own abilities, they may have someone above them, they may be confused, or the two factions may be competing to elect someone who poses no threat...

These people may not even have high moral standards, they just know how to cover up and deal with things.

Because Yao Niang was pregnant, she couldn't eat many of the dishes on the table, so she ate a few bites and left the table. The Second Madam Shen had a history of harming children, so how could she eat in peace in their house?

But Shen Linfeng was different. Master Shen supported his nephew in every way. His own son only had the title of scholar, unlike Shen Linfeng who was already in the Hanlin Academy and had a bright future.

"In the past, Yun's friendship with Zhou Gongjin was like drinking fine wine, and he was intoxicated without realizing it. Now, his friendship with Shen Gongding is also like this."

Shen Linfeng is indeed a man of broad mind and magnanimity. He speaks fluently and is well versed in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. People love him like a beautiful jade.

But this piece of jade behaves one way when outside and another way when at home. At home, she would immediately lie down on the couch and complain of being tired, yawning: "My second uncle dragged me to a social event, and I can't even stand up straight anymore."

"Don't give me that. I see you are very good at playing stacking and polo." Yao Niang ordered some sobering soup and handed it to him.

Shen Linfeng said: "Those who don't need to use their brains, but have to be very careful when talking to others, can't do it freely."

Yao Niang also talked about what happened to Madam Heping of the Fan family today: "My cousin's mother's father is the deputy governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and we don't have much contact with each other. But now she is trying to interfere in my grandfather's affairs. I am worried that this is a trap, but I don't know the reason."

The officialdom is treacherous and one cannot trust anyone easily.

Shen Linfeng nodded: "Mr. Fan was transferred to the capital from outside. It is precisely because he was transferred directly to the capital at this time and it was also ordered by the emperor that he might not be partial. If you really ask her, it will be thought that you really have some connection with the Duke of Wei's Mansion. It is better to pretend that you don't know."

"I think so too. The situation is unpredictable. What we need to do is trust grandfather. Unless grandfather asks us to do something, we will consider it carefully. Otherwise, if we act rashly, it will ruin the overall situation." Yao Niang said.

After the two of them came together, Yao Niang wrote a letter herself and had someone deliver it to Yan's house in the middle of the night. Yan Mai had just returned from the government office at this time. Although he was so old, he was not the kind of person who could sit idle.

However, due to the impeachment, he will be suspended from work and investigated starting tomorrow.

Just then, Yao Niang's letter arrived. They agreed that if steamed buns were delivered at night, there would be a letter inside. Yan Mai opened the letter and laughed at the woman from the Fan family who was causing trouble. Fan Zongxian was determined to make the Wei case an ironclad case. How could he clear himself? He wanted to implicate all the irrelevant people. Fortunately, Yao Niang did not fall for it.

Now that I am speaking for the Duke of Wei, even though the Emperor may dislike me for the time being, I will be able to live with my conscience by leaving my name in history.

Moreover, it would be better for him to avoid it now. It was a pity that the government was dead and the people were gone. He could not enter the central government. All the ministers did not support his reform. Even if he stayed, he would probably be constrained everywhere and would not be able to make a plan. He would not feel comfortable staying here.

In a moment, Yan Mai had made a decision.

The next day, he asked Li's mother and son to return to Nanjing first: "Your parents-in-law are both in Nanjing now, and I am already half buried in the ground. Now your father-in-law cannot be reinstated, and I am being attacked by others. So you and your son should go to Nanjing first."

Li cried, "Grandfather, is there really no turning back?"

"I, Yan Mai, have lived my life in heaven and earth. Although Duke Wei and I are not acquainted, he has made great contributions to the country. If the emperor cannot preserve the dignity of an old minister, who will dare to risk their lives for the country in the future? Now that I have made up my mind, you and your son should leave quickly." Yan Mai closed his eyes and said no more words.

Li had no choice but to go find Yao Niang, who said, "Sister-in-law, it's not very convenient for you two, a weak mother and a young child. I've talked to Gong Ding and asked him to book a boat. I think it would be better for you to go back to Nanjing. Now is a time of trouble."

"Sister, is there really no chance of recovery?" Li's father was also forced to resign, her father-in-law has not been reinstated, and now her great-grandfather is also going to resign, and her husband is going to be exiled. This is really not what one wants.

Seeing Li like this, Yao Niang felt that the world was unpredictable. She comforted Li and said, "This is how the officialdom is. Now that my sister-in-law is back in Jinling, she can also visit our ancestral home in Jinling."

The matter was naturally handled properly when handed over to Shen Linfeng. Within three days, he asked someone to find a boat, and Li's mother and son had to return home by boat.

Emperor Qianyuan said nothing, but Madam Fan said to her daughter with a proud look on her face, "It's a pity that you were so afraid of her last time. You see, the Yan family is going to be in big trouble now."

Fan Ruhui shook her head: "Mother, since father has chosen the young man from the Zhou family, please stop talking about other people."

"You just don't care."

"It's not that I don't care. On the contrary, I'm worried about father. Now he is helping the emperor to settle accounts with Duke Wei. If he goes too far, his future fate will be no different from that of Grand Marshal Yan. Grand Marshal Yan has still angered the public. In the officialdom, offending colleagues is a big taboo." Fan Ruhui no longer wanted to hear this.

In her eyes, her mother was always greedy and wanted to snatch things away if she couldn't get them. It had almost become a habit.

Because that's how it is in the local area. If you are humble and talk about reason everywhere, you won't be able to move forward today.

Mrs. Fan snorted coldly, "You don't have to worry about this. I just think that Yan, a young lady and the wife of a seventh-rank official, is disrespectful to me. It makes me angry."

"Mom, let's just forget about this. Why do you care so much about it? The Shen family is not like the Yan family. The Shen family is prosperous, with many sons and daughters, most of whom are promising." Fan Ruhui wanted to stop Mrs. Fan.

Mrs. Fan sighed when she saw her daughter like this: "You are becoming more and more indifferent now. Can't you see that Zhou Lingguang wants to marry you just for our family's power? Your marriage is really bumpy. Mother wanted to find this Shen Linfeng because he is first-class in talent, appearance and career."

Fan Ruhui stood up and held her mother's arm: "Mom, I know you are doing this for my own good, but everyone has their own destiny. Although I am not a person who believes in fate, I don't want to ruin other people's marriages."

Mrs. Fan was at home holding a small engagement for her daughter. Qingda Madam and others had gone there, so she naturally would not take Yaoniang with her. Yaoniang had nothing to do with them, so they did not take her seriously. However, when they invited opera and wine for the New Year this year, her family was not in Beijing, and her grandfather was also busy and did not come. Qingda Madam was also afraid of being infected, so she said she was going to Fan's house on the sixth day of the New Year and did not come.

But Yao Niang didn't care. The fewer people around her while she was pregnant, the better.

There was a lot of gossip outside, and Shen Linfeng was afraid that his wife would hear the gossip, so no matter how late he came home, he would bring a doll or a gadget to make Yao Niang happy.

"Madam, look what I bought for you today?" Shen Linfeng walked in briskly.

Yao Niang exclaimed, "It's a Persian doll."

"Yes, I ordered someone to find a foreign merchant to buy it. He said it came from Persia." Shen Linfeng sat next to Yao Niang and stroked his wife's hair with his hand.

Yao Niang was very happy: "Thank you, Gong Ding, for thinking of me like this."

"This is as it should be. The decree will probably be issued at the beginning of next year." Shen Linfeng looked out the window secretly.

As expected, at the beginning of the year, Shen Linfeng was appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy and was directly under the Wenyuan Pavilion.

Before Yao Niang could be happy, the Duke of Wei's eldest son and third son all hanged themselves to death in the Duke of Wei's mansion, and the Duke of Wei's mother jumped into a well because she could not bear the humiliation of being searched. Yan Mai was reluctant and still spoke for justice, thinking that it was really unbearable for the Duke of Wei to die in battle. Although Emperor Qianyuan accepted Yan Mai's opinion and preserved the Wei family's charity fields and mansions to support the widow of the Duke of Wei, Emperor Qianyuan hated Yan Mai deeply.

The Historian and the Censorate accused Yan Mai of shielding the Duke of Wei. Emperor Qianyuan ordered Yan Mai to defend himself. Yan Mai wrote a letter to admit his fault. Emperor Qianyuan was furious and demoted him to a commoner.

Yao Niang and Shen Linfeng saw Yan Mai off from the capital. Yan Mai, on the other hand, looked relaxed. He even said to Shen Linfeng, "Now these so-called censors, officials of the seventh rank, can use their inferiority to suppress the superior. I am old now, and I have the desire to serve my country, but now I am alone. I'll leave my granddaughter in your care. She is about to give birth, but I can't be by her side."

"Don't worry, my grandson-in-law will take good care of her." Shen Linfeng promised.

Yan Mai pulled his granddaughter over to the side and said in a very low voice: "I will step down, and Wen Shoufu will also step down, and Zhao Cifu will be promoted soon. The emperor trusts Zhao Cifu very much, but someone must be restrained. I am afraid your father will soon revolt. What's more, I have fallen out with the Qingliu this time, but your father is a Qingliu faction. We seem to be very different, and the emperor will not equate us."

Yao Niang looked very surprised. She knew that her grandfather told her this because he was afraid that she would be exiled because of her family and that something might happen to the baby in her belly, but her grandfather actually told her the truth.

"Grandfather, your granddaughter knows." Yao Niang said.

At this time, the afterglow of the setting sun was shining on the riverside, and Yan Mai was reciting: "I entered the imperial city at an early age. We met over a cup of wine and enjoyed the wonderful life. The past thirty years have been just a dream, which is worrying. The road of travel has been tiring and my temples have turned gray. I occasionally visit Pengjiao again. I am ashamed to myself without waiting for others to laugh at me. Looking in the mirror and leaning against the building are all over now, and I am in a small boat. The moonlight flute and the raincoat are all over."

When Shen Linfeng saw Yan Mai's back, he sighed, "Yan Mai, a famous minister of his time, has become like this."

As expected, if you want to deceive others, you must deceive yourself first. No matter who you are, Yan Mai has no chance of turning things around. Yao Niang also took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears: "Now that my grandfather has left us, my husband, you and I will have to rely on each other in the future."