Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

Wang Haiquan used the lives of his entire family to save the lives of those officials with whom he had many conflicts of interest.

However, there was no further news about Wang Hongchang's attempt to commit inappropriate acts against Xiao Jinyu.

The reason for this is, on the one hand, naturally, that the entire Wang family has suffered a devastating disaster, and no one in the family, young or old, has been spared.

Such a tragic ending is undoubtedly the most severe punishment for their crimes.

Even if we continue to investigate, I'm afraid the consequences will be less severe than they are now.

On the other hand, if this matter were to be widely publicized, it would certainly damage Xiao Jinyu's reputation.

Just two days after the Shen family members who came to attend Shen Chuning's coming-of-age ceremony left Jinan, two express letters arrived in succession from the capital.

One of the letters was written by Shen Chengluo’s wife, Liu, who was unable to accompany him this time because she was pregnant and had many difficulties in moving around.

In the letter, she said that Old Madam Shen had taken Shen Jingwan back to her home and specially organized a coming-of-age ceremony for her, inviting many people.

But that day, Shen Jingwan kept the veil covering the lower half of her face. She no longer looked as lively and energetic as before, but rather dull and lifeless.

The invited guests were delighted to think that they were going to attend Miss Shen Jiu's coming-of-age ceremony, but when they arrived at the Shen family's house, they discovered that it was actually held for the illegitimate daughter of the family!

What is even more surprising is that from the master of the Shen family to the young masters, no one showed up here.

As for the female members of the family, only Old Madam Shen and Third Madam Shen came out to entertain them.

Seeing this situation, everyone became dissatisfied and left with various excuses without even having lunch.

As for the lunch that day, Madam Shen had specially instructed her servants to go to Juxian Tower to reserve a table.

But when the banquet was delivered to Juxianlou, the guests in the courtyard had already disappeared. Old Madam Shen could not help but get angry and insisted on returning all the banquet to Juxianlou.

Juxianlou would naturally not easily agree to such an unreasonable request.

After all, the ingredients have been purchased and cooked, so how can they be returned just like that?

As a result, the two sides fell into a stalemate.

Just when the situation was becoming increasingly awkward, Shen Jingwan, who had remained silent, stood up and expressed her willingness to pay for the banquet.

The other letter was sent as a reminder.

In the letter, he mentioned that Shen Jingwan suddenly withdrew all the silver he had deposited in the bank, including the principal and interest, for some unknown reason.

Fearing that she would do something strange again, Cui Shi had already ordered people to secretly monitor Shen Jingwan's every move, and asked Shen Chuning in a letter whether further action was needed.

After receiving the letter, Shen Chuning fell into deep thought.

After careful consideration, she thought to herself: Although this matter allowed Shen Jingwan to take all the money, it might not be entirely a bad thing...

After such a long time, she was able to withdraw all the silver, which gave her peace of mind and eliminated her doubts that Hengfu Money House was a scam.

When I have money in the future, I will think of depositing it in Hengfu Money House first.

Moreover, Shen Chuning had previously learned roughly where the money went through the letters sent by her second sister-in-law - most of it was used in the banquet for Shen Jingwan's own coming-of-age ceremony.

So, Shen Chuning picked up the brush and prepared to write a reply letter to Cui Shi.

After a moment's thought, she wrote elegantly on the letter paper: "Just send someone to secretly monitor. For now, don't act rashly to avoid alerting the enemy. Once the situation becomes clear, we can make further plans."

……

Not long after Wang Haiquan's matter was dealt with, the imperial court suddenly issued an edict.

Order Shen Qinghe to take charge of all related affairs in Shandong.

In short, the imperial court will not send a governor at the moment, but will hand over all power to Shen Qinghe.

……

The day when the examination results are announced.

Although the imperial edict had not yet been officially posted, there was already a crowd of people outside the Imperial Examination Hall.

From time to time, bursts of noise could be heard from the crowd, and everyone was waiting for that moment with great anticipation.

"The list is released! The list is released!"

Suddenly, several people standing at the foot of the wall shouted loudly.

Upon hearing the news, the originally crowded crowd suddenly became agitated, and everyone spontaneously stepped back a few steps to make enough space for the officials responsible for posting the imperial edict.

"My young master has won the first place in the imperial examination!" Immediately, a burst of ecstatic cheers came from the crowd.

At the same time, another excited shout rang out: "My young master is also on the list!"

"Why isn't my name on the list? How could my name be missing? This list must not be complete yet. There must be something wrong with it! No, we have to tear it up and rewrite it!"

The man was shouting with saliva flying and his face flushed. His emotions were out of control to the point of being almost crazy.

While shouting wildly, he rushed towards the place where the list was posted, as if he wanted to tear the list to pieces with his own hands.

However, the guards responsible for maintaining order reacted extremely quickly. They rushed forward, firmly grasped the man who was about to go crazy, and forcibly dragged him away from the scene.

At this moment, there were all kinds of people under the imperial list. Some were filled with joy, their faces filled with irrepressible excitement and happiness; some were sad, looking at the list with sorrowful faces, as if the whole world had lost its color.

Back in General Dingguo's mansion, the entire Zhou family was gathered in the hall, and everyone was anxiously waiting for the return of the servant who had gone to check the list.

Suddenly, a burst of rapid shouting came from far away: "Master! Madam! The second young master has passed!!"

Mrs. Zhou, who was originally sitting upright on the chair, stood up suddenly when she heard the sound. Because she stood up too quickly, her body couldn't help but sway slightly.

Seeing this, Madam Zhou hurried forward and offered her support, saying with equal excitement, "Mother, don't worry! Listen, someone outside is shouting that the second young master has passed away. We're the only family living in this alley, so this second young master must be Lin'er!"

Just at this moment, the servant rushed into the yard and went straight to the door of the hall.

He didn't even have time to catch his breath, and shouted with joy on his face, "Congratulations, Master, Congratulations, Madam! The Second Young Master is on the list, ranked thirteenth!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall suddenly became boiling with cheers and congratulations...

"Great! That's great! Hurry up, call a few quick hands and feet over here to carry those two big baskets of copper coins out and distribute them so that everyone can share in the joy!"

Mrs. Zhou smiled and gave orders loudly with excitement.

Even though she kept saying that the Zhou family had never produced any good students, in fact, she had already prepared these copper coins long ago.

At this moment, Zhou Lin also hurried from the study to the spacious and bright hall with light steps.

Although his handsome face did not reveal much obvious joy, if you looked closely, it was not difficult to find the smile that could not be concealed deep in his eyes.

Zhou Antai, who had been waiting in the hall for a long time, saw Zhou Lin appear and immediately said with a smile: "Although you did well in this examination, the palace examination will be in three days. You must not take it lightly or slack off!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lin nodded respectfully and said, "Yes, I will definitely remember your teachings and will not slack off in the slightest."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly turned his gaze to Madam Zhou beside him and said with a red face, "Grandma, it's time to get ready."