When she was in the State of Zhao, Jiang Taohua had a weak sense of hierarchy and often played with palace maids. Little did she know that here, even offering a preserved fruit was forbidden. It wasn’t poison, after all!
Shen Zaiye let out a light snort and opened his mouth, intending to spit out the preserved fruit. However, somehow, he accidentally swallowed it!
Jiang Taohua had already obediently cupped her hands in front of him, gesturing for him to spit it out so she could dispose of it.
“My lord?” she asked.
Shen Zaiye stared silently at her hands.
This was truly the first time he had encountered such an awkward situation. He had already swallowed it, so how could he spit it out? But if he didn’t, wouldn’t his earlier scolding be in vain?
“Go and tell them to prepare the evening meal,” he said with a composed face.
Taohua was stunned and gave him a strange look before turning to glance at the sky outside. “It’s barely past noon. Do you want dinner already?”
They had just finished lunch! Was he a bottomless pit?
Shen Zaiye frowned. “If it’s still so early, then go tell them to make some snacks.”
He was a bottomless pit, Taohua thought, pouting. She stood up and looked at him, saying, “Then please spit out the preserved fruit, and I’ll take it out with me.”
Shen Zaiye: “…”
Why did this woman have such a good memory? Couldn’t she just forget about the preserved fruit in his mouth? Feeling irritated, Shen Zaiye said with a dark face, “It has already melted in my mouth. Don’t worry about it.”
What? Melted? Taohua looked at him in shock, then glanced at the remaining preserved fruits. Goodness, these were all made from peach flesh. How could it melt so quickly?
Her mind quickly turned, and she realized something was amiss. She looked at Shen Zaiye teasingly and said with a mischievous smile, “My lord, could it be that while your mouth says you don’t like it, your throat honestly swallowed the preserved fruit?”
The room fell silent. Shen Zaiye looked up at her with a forced smile. “I suddenly feel that perhaps your blood would be more suitable for consecrating the precious sword. Shall we go try it?”
“My lord, please rest well! This humble one will go instruct them to make snacks!” Taohua’s expression immediately turned serious. She curtsied and quickly ran out.
Shen Zaiye coldly watched her retreating figure and snorted. He glanced at the remaining preserved fruits beside him.
It wasn’t… as unpalatable as he had imagined. After the initial sweetness, a lingering fragrance remained in his mouth, truly masking the medicinal taste.
He pursed his lips and pulled out the book from under his pillow, continuing to read.
As darkness fell, Shen Zaiye prepared to go to his study. Before leaving, he called Jiang Taohua over and earnestly emphasized several times, “Rest in the side hall tonight and don’t go out.”
“This humble one understands,” Taohua nodded. “I’m quite tired today, so I was planning to sleep early anyway.”
“Mm, go on then.”
“Yes.”
After obediently retreating from the main room, Taohua rolled her eyes.
If he hadn’t said anything, she might have truly gone to sleep early without suspecting anything. But now that he had warned her so seriously, it was difficult to suppress her curiosity.
“Qing Tai, go and keep watch at the courtyard entrance. Don’t let anyone see you,” she said softly after entering the side hall. “If anyone enters the courtyard at night, you don’t need to do anything. Just come back and report to me.”
“As you command.”
After giving her instructions, Taohua continued to read the household register, waiting as she read.
Just after midnight, Qing Tai returned silently.
“Mistress, someone did come. He was wrapped in a cloak, and judging by his build, it was a man, somewhat fat.”
Taohua listened, her hand supporting her chin as she asked, “Did he go to the study?”
“Yes.”
In the middle of the night, instead of meeting a beauty, Shen Zaiye was meeting a fat man. What kind of taste was this?
In the study.
Shen Zaiye looked at Meng Taipu before him with an expressionless face. The latter kept wiping sweat from his forehead, appearing somewhat uneasy.
Usually, Meng Taipu wouldn’t be so flustered. After all, with the support of Prince Yu and in-laws like Minister Shen, he was used to looking down on others.
But now, he had offended Shen Zaiye, which was even more terrifying than offending Prince Yu. Moreover, if it were just a small issue, it would be fine, but his daughter had nearly taken the Minister’s life in her struggle for favor!
Wasn’t this dragging the entire Meng family to their deaths?
“I’m not unreasonable, but your daughter’s mistake this time was severe. If she remains in the mansion, I fear I might lose my life someday,” Shen Zaiye spoke without a hint of emotion. “When you sent Miss Meng to my household, didn’t you say that if she made mistakes, you would certainly take her back for strict discipline?”
That was just talk! If he took his daughter back from the Minister’s mansion, wouldn’t it be a laughingstock for the entire court? Prince Yu wouldn’t let him off either!
“Minister, this official knows that Zhen’er’s crime is unforgivable, but could you… give this official a chance to make amends?” Meng Taipu rubbed his hands and said, “This official is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty!”
Glancing at him sideways, Shen Zaiye said coolly, “Your loyalty should be to the Emperor. What does it have to do with me?”
“That’s true,” Meng Taipu stepped forward and lowered his voice, “But besides loyalty to the Emperor, this official can do other things. The court recently purchased two thousand horses and plans to build a horse farm. The funds have already been allocated. If you’re willing, this official will send the best stallions, along with thirty percent of the project’s profits, to your mansion.”
“Preposterous!” Shen Zaiye slammed the table, his face extremely displeased. “You’re in charge of horse affairs, and this is how you’ve been lining your own pockets?”
His legs trembling, Meng Taipu quickly knelt and kowtowed, saying, “Minister, please understand. The position of Taipu has always been managed this way throughout history. It’s not just me; from top to bottom, everyone has tacitly agreed to this!”
When one person embezzles, it’s called corruption. When a group embezzles together, it’s called strength in numbers. If everyone from top to bottom is embezzling, then it becomes an unspoken rule.
Shen Zaiye laughed coldly in his heart. He looked at Meng Taipu for a long time before reaching out to help him up. He pursed his lips and said, “I’ve only been in court for two years and am not very clear about some matters. I wrongly accused you. If it’s tacitly agreed upon by everyone, then there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Meng Taipu was delighted and quickly looked up at him, saying, “Is the Minister willing to accept?”
With a face full of hesitation, Shen Zaiye lowered his head and remained silent, as if he was concerned about something.
“This official knows that the Minister has always been clean-handed and doesn’t want to be criticized,” Meng Taipu’s eyes rolled, and he cleverly said, “This official has a way of keeping you completely untainted.”
“What way?”
“Every time we build a horse farm or purchase horses, the bulk of the profits go to those above,” Meng Taipu said. “This time, this official will process the accounts from above and then send the money to your mansion off the books. This way, no one will be able to trace where that money went.”
Shen Zaiye’s eyes flickered slightly, and he gently curled his lips. “You are truly wise.”
Seeing his expression seemed to indicate agreement, Meng Taipu was overjoyed and quickly probed, “Then about Zhen’er’s matter…”
“Since you are so sincere, of course, I’m willing to give her another chance,” Shen Zaiye said. “However, I must be clear upfront: if your daughter makes such a mistake again in the future, even if you were to give me the entire horse farm, I won’t be able to show any leniency.”
“Thank you, Minister!” Meng Taipu quickly bowed. “This official will have my wife come to the mansion to strictly discipline Zhen’er for a few days. She will never cause trouble for the Minister again! The gift will be sent over immediately.”
“Mm.” Shen Zaiye yawned, saying tiredly, “If there’s nothing else, you may leave. I need to rest well for a few more days with this body of mine.”
“Yes… yes…” Meng Taipu responded repeatedly, quickly retreating. His round body nearly bumped into the doorframe in his haste.
Zhan Lu watched, shaking his head. After the man had left, he said in a low voice, “This person seems truly unreliable.”
“There are plenty of unreliable people. It’s not about the person; what matters is his position,” Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, marking a check on the book in front of him. “Zhan Lu, go arrange the next steps.”
“Yes!” Zhan Lu responded.
Hearing the faint voices and footsteps in the courtyard, Taohua knew that Shen Zaiye had likely finished his business. She quickly lay down on the bed, pretending to be asleep.
“Is your mistress resting?” Zhan Lu’s voice sounded outside the door. Qing Tai responded, “She went to sleep long ago.”
The outside fell silent for a moment, then the door was pushed open. Zhan Lu entered, swept a glance at the bulging quilt on the bed, and then retreated, reassured.
They’re cautious, Taohua thought as she opened her eyes and looked at the dark canopy. What kind of mischief did Shen Zaiye get up to today?
The next morning, Mei Zhaoxue and the others were summoned to Linwu Courtyard.
“How do you watch people?” Shen Zaiye pinched a letter, frowning as he looked at Mei. “Didn’t you say you had Lü Ming securely locked up?”
Mei was somewhat confused. “We did lock her up securely, in the woodshed in the back courtyard…”
“Then what is this?” Shen Zaiye threw the letter over, furious. “In the dignified Minister’s mansion, people can come and go as they please. Where am I supposed to put my face if this gets out?”
Mei Zhaoxue was startled and quickly caught the letter to read it.
“This servant Lü Ming, entrusted by others, framed Miss Meng. However, my conscience was uneasy, and after much turmoil, I wish to inform the Minister of the truth: the poisoning was not ordered by Miss Meng, and I am not her person. Today I flee for my life, hoping that the Minister will spare me from pursuit, considering my honesty.”
Her heart skipped a beat, and Mei turned to ask the maid beside her, “Have you checked the woodshed?”
The maid mumbled softly, “This servant doesn’t know.”
“…” Mei frowned and turned to kneel before Shen Zaiye. “It was my negligence. Please punish me, my lord!”
Shen Zaiye rubbed his brow and sighed heavily. “The person has been gone for a long time. Even if we wanted to pursue it, we couldn’t catch up. But this letter…”
The letter said Miss Meng was wronged, so who should apologize and make amends now?
Mei Zhaoxue gritted her teeth. “Although the words in the letter are hard to verify, I am willing to go to Ruanyu Pavilion to question again. If there is no direct evidence of Miss Meng trying to harm you, then I will forfeit a month’s salary and apologize to Miss Meng.”
She had interrogated the person and made the judgment. There was no way she could escape responsibility for this matter.
(End of Chapter)