As soon as these words were spoken, Minister Meng trembled so much that he nearly fell to his knees. “Chancellor! What are you saying? How could this involve Liu’s shop?”
Shen Zaiye snorted coldly, looking at him sideways. “So you don’t know yet? The son of Lady Gu in my household and the maid from Zhenzhen’s quarters both died from the preserved fruits from Liu’s Dried Fruit Shop. I wonder what kind of business they’re running, putting Chuanwuzi in their pickled fruits. If I can’t get justice for these two lives lost in the Xiang residence, then I might as well not be Chancellor!”
With that, he left without hesitation, ignoring Minister Meng’s calls and pursuit.
Prince Jing watched from a distance, greatly pleased.
“To think such a thing would happen,” he smiled, speaking to his advisor. “It seems Minister Meng’s daughter in our Chancellor’s household can’t be saved now.”
Not only his daughter, but his official position might also be in jeopardy.
An advisor bowed and said, “Congratulations, Your Highness. Prince Yu has lost another piece to you.”
“Hahaha,” Prince Jing laughed heartily, watching Shen Zaiye’s retreating figure with delight in his eyes.
The Beijing Yamen officials were already waiting at the gates of the Xiang residence. As soon as Shen Zaiye returned, the Prefect of Beijing approached and said, “Chancellor, the people from Liu’s shop have been imprisoned in the Imperial Jail, and the shop has been sealed. We even found evidence of tax evasion.”
“Very good,” Shen Zaiye led him into the mansion, sitting down in the main hall with a serious expression. “Since there are such illegal activities and lives have been lost, you should file a case and decide on the charges.”
The Prefect was perceptive. Observing the Chancellor’s expression, he immediately said, “Taking lives is a serious matter; the owner will certainly have to pay with his life. As for the tax evasion, Chancellor, do you think we should investigate further up the chain?”
“Of course we should,” Shen Zaiye said righteously. “You just investigate. If you encounter any obstacles, feel free to kick them to my Chancellor’s residence!”
“This official obeys!”
As the Prefect left with his orders, Shen Zaiye sat in the room waiting. Sure enough, before long, Meng Zhenzhen came crying.
“My lord!” She entered and knelt, her eyes swollen, looking up at him pitifully. “Please have mercy! The pickling wasn’t done by Liu’s shop owner himself. How can the loss of life be blamed on him?”
Looking down at her, Shen Zaiye’s face was cold. “If you hadn’t come, I might have forgotten. The owner of Liu’s shop has a marriage connection to your family, doesn’t he?”
Meng Zhenzhen was stunned but quickly replied, “Yes, there is a connection, but his sister is only a concubine to my father. The relationship isn’t deep!”
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Shen Zaiye looked at her sharply. “To think there was such a relationship; I didn’t know at first. I couldn’t understand why Liu’s shop would put Chuanwuzi in their preserved fruits, but now it makes sense.”
What did he mean? Meng stiffened, staring blankly at the man before her. After a while, she finally reacted, her eyes widening. “My lord, this has nothing to do with me!”
“Do you think I’ll believe that?” Standing up, Shen Zaiye looked at her. “I know everything you do in this back courtyard. I usually don’t want to dwell on it, but I didn’t expect such a big incident this time. Zhenzhen, do you know the first law of Great Wei is a life for a life?”
Taking a sharp breath, Meng Zhenzhen couldn’t even cry. “I didn’t…”
“Your maid died by your hand,” Shen Zaiye closed his eyes. “And my first child died indirectly by your hand. Tell me, how should I deal with you?”
“No…” Meng Zhenzhen panicked, grabbing Shen Zaiye’s robe, her eyes pleading. “My lord, I’ve served you for so long. Do you think I would kill someone?”
Shaking off her hand, Shen Zaiye stepped towards the door. “Zhanlu, call the Yamen officials…”
“My lord!” Meng cried out, her eyes full of despair. “Do you have no feelings for me at all? After all I’ve done for you, how can you be so heartless!”
Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, turned to look at her, hesitated for a moment, then sighed as if holding back:
“Fine, Zhenzhen, go back to the Meng family yourself. For the sake of our past relationship, I won’t pursue the other matters.”
Meng was stunned, falling to the ground, opening and closing her mouth, not knowing what to say.
What was this? He wanted to drive her out of the mansion, and it became a favor. And she didn’t even know how to refute it.
How did it come to this?
“My lord…” After her heart churned for a while, Meng managed to stand up, looking at him with tears in her eyes. “I can leave the Xiang residence, but can you… can you show leniency and spare my family?”
Shen Zaiye frowned, his gaze falling on her face. After a long while, he nodded slightly.
“Thank you for your grace, my lord!” Meng curtsied, then slowly stood up, leaning on her maid’s hand, stumbling away as if she had lost her soul.
In the afternoon, when the sun was just right, Shen Zaiye opened the door of Jingye Hall.
Jiang Taohua was sighing over the cabbage and tofu on the table when she heard the noise and quickly turned around.
“My lord!”
Seeing who it was, she cheered and flew into Shen Zaiye’s arms like a kite, hugging his waist and starting to act coquettishly. “Can I go out now?”
Shen Zaiye looked at her sideways and said flatly, “No, I just came to take a look.”
“You’re lying!” Wrinkling her nose, Taohua said, “If things weren’t settled, you wouldn’t have time to come here. Since it’s over, how can you bear to keep me here eating carrots and cabbage?”
As she spoke, she wiggled her body, almost making Shen Zaiye lose his composure.
“Jiang Taohua, stand up straight and speak properly!”
“Yes!” Immediately putting her hands behind her back, Taohua looked at him with a smile, her eyes bright. “Congratulations, my lord.”
Stepping into the main hall, Shen Zaiye snorted lightly, closing the door. “What are you congratulating me for now?”
“Congratulations on achieving your goal, my lord,” Taohua followed behind him, sticking to him like glue. “Since things are over, those who should leave the mansion must have left, and the relationships you wanted to sever, you must have severed them all.”
“Oh?” Sitting down on a cushion after lifting his robe, Shen Zaiye glanced at her. “So you know who I wanted to sever ties with?”
“Isn’t it simple? It must be the Meng family,” Taohua said matter-of-factly. “If it wasn’t for the Meng family, why would you have me send plums to Lady Gu?”
It was clearly to help Mei Zhaoxue, luring both Lady Gu and Lady Meng into the trap.
His eyes darkened slightly, and Shen Zaiye felt quite displeased. He looked at her for a good while before finally speaking, “You woman, always saying vague things, blindly trying to guess my thoughts. Today you’ve spoken clearly, so let me see if you’ve truly seen through anything or if you’re just pretending to understand.”
Taohua also sat down beside him, blinking her eyes at him. “Are you giving me a test?”
“Can you answer it?”
“Is there a reward if I answer correctly?”
“Of course.”
“That’s good!” Taohua sat cross-legged, casually picking up a small wooden stick and drawing on the space in front of her.
“I’ve been thinking for two days, and things should be like this — Lady Gu wasn’t sure if she was pregnant, so our First Lady helped confirm it, putting Lady Gu in a difficult position. Then you had me buy plums for her. Those plums, I don’t know if they had a problem, but Lady Gu miscarried, implicating Liu’s shop, which happens to be related to Lady Meng’s family. You then used this to accuse the Meng family and directly send Lady Meng back to her family. This was probably your initial goal.”
Shen Zaiye lowered his eyes as he listened, his gaze falling on the relationship diagram she had drawn on the ground. He stared at the line between himself and Lady Meng, asking softly, “Why do you think I wanted to sever ties with Lady Meng?”
“How would I know that? My lord naturally has his arrangements, and it’s not for me to question,” Taohua smiled, but put a question mark next to Lady Gu’s name.
“However, there are two points I’m unsure about and would like to ask the Chancellor.”
There were things she couldn’t guess. Shen Zaiye finally regained some confidence. “Ask.”
“First, was Lady Gu pregnant?” Taohua tilted her head, staring at him. “I always felt her pregnancy was suspicious, coming and going so quickly, and you weren’t anxious at all.”
His eyebrows twitched slightly, but Shen Zaiye didn’t answer her. Instead, he asked, “And the second?”
“Second, was there Chuanwuzi in Liu’s shop’s preserved fruits?” Tilting her head, Jiang Taohua smiled knowingly. “Chuanwuzi is a bitter medicine. Lady Gu isn’t tongueless. If she ate so many plums, how could she not taste that something was wrong with them?”
She had grasped the key points after all.
Shen Zaiye smiled, reaching out to grasp her chin, and giving her a light kiss. “Since the matter is concluded, you should obediently return to Zhengchun Pavilion. As for the rest, there’s no need to concern yourself.”
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand in disgust, Taohua said, “Is this what you do every time you feel guilty?”
Seeing her action, Shen Zaiye’s face darkened slightly. “Are your hands perhaps a bit superfluous? Maybe…”
“Not superfluous, not at all!” Taohua was startled and quickly reacted, hugging his face and planting a kiss on him.
“See, without hands, I couldn’t hug you!”
Shen Zaiye: “…”
The warm fragrance enveloped his senses, putting him in a good mood. But this audacious girl, why was she always so shameless?
Clearing his throat lightly, he stood up, putting on a stern face. “Stop joking around. Go back and pack up, then go pay your respects to the First Lady.”
“I understand!” Taohua smiled obsequiously. “Will you come to Zhengchun Pavilion tonight, my lord? I can give you a massage!”
Glancing at her sideways, Shen Zaiye didn’t answer, just flicked his sleeve and left.
Taohua watched him leave with a smile, stretched lazily, and called out to Qingtai, “Let’s go, back to eat some meat!”
Qingtai, who had been hiding in the corner with a red face, responded, calculating the time.
It was about the same time they were confined two days ago. Exactly two days had passed.
(End of Chapter)