She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Seeing everyone's attention focused on her, Shen Qingtan placed the teacup on the coffee table with the saucer in her hand: "Mother, although my eldest brother doesn't seem as upright as my second brother, he never provokes respectable women."

She asked in confusion, "Was that woman named Fangniang? I happened to be there when her family caused trouble at the Marquis's mansion. I vaguely remember them saying, 'Fortunately, we discovered it in time and saved Fangniang's life.' You also dealt with it in time, so how did she die later?"

"I sent Wei Mama to handle it, but she came back saying the person was already dead and there was no way to save them." Madam Shen wiped away her tears with a handkerchief: "A living person, can't just be gone because I say so?"

Shen Qingtan lowered her eyes slightly. Madam Shen was laying the groundwork in advance. If things took a turn for the worse and were not in her favor, she could easily shift the blame onto Wei Mama.

Since Wei's mother is already dead, there's no way to verify the truth.

Madam Shen escaped all blame; at most, she was simply incompetent at managing her subordinates.

Before Shen Qingtan could speak, Shen Shaoheng said first, "Second Aunt, even if this woman dies, it has nothing to do with me. It can only be said that it was her fate."

The elders and Madam Shen's expressions changed.

Shen Shaoheng recounted the whole story: "Last year, during the Lantern Festival, I rented a flower boat to watch people release water lanterns. I inadvertently saw a beautiful woman fall into the water, and no one went in to save her."

"Everyone in the capital knows that I cherish beautiful women. How could I stand by and watch her drown? I immediately jumped into the water and rescued her. Who knew she would cling to me and ask me to give her a proper title?"

He said with annoyance, "I kindly saved her, and now you want me to support her for life? Isn't that going too far? Her life is her own. If she wants to demean herself and try to kill herself to force me to submit, I won't tolerate it."

At this point, Shen Shaoheng spread his hands and said, "If everyone were to follow her example and cling to me, then Second Aunt, you would have to build several more houses to accommodate all the women in my backyard."

After calming down, Madam Shen spoke in a tone that sounded like she was instructing a naive young person: "A woman values ​​her reputation above all else. By rescuing her in front of everyone, you have ruined her reputation. She should be given a proper status."

"Oh? Is that what you're thinking, Second Aunt?" Shen Shaoheng raised an eyebrow and said, "My second brother is having an ambiguous relationship with a woman outside. Shouldn't you pick a day to bring her into the manor?"

Madam Shen's expression changed slightly.

Shen Shaoheng sneered, "If Second Brother doesn't bring the person into the manor and give that girl a proper title, and she commits suicide, wouldn't Second Brother be burdened with the crime of driving a respectable woman to her death? How can he continue as an official then?"

Madam Shen was speechless and unable to refute.

At this moment, one of the clan elders spoke up: "If Shao Huai really has an affair with that woman, and if the woman's family background is clean, he should give her a proper status. If it's just a rumor, then we should quell the rumors as soon as possible and not damage his reputation."

He paused, then continued, "As for Shao Heng... I heard that it was that woman named Fang Niang who stumbled upon something she shouldn't have, and was subsequently silenced?"

There was a moment of silence in the room after he said that.

Madam Shen looked at the clan elder who had spoken. His name was Shen Jizong, and his attitude towards Shen Shaoheng was somewhat subtle.

Shen Qingtan's heart skipped a beat; she was almost certain that Shen Jizong had a problem.

"Are you saying she caught me in my dirty laundry and I killed her?" Shen Shaoheng sneered. "Tell me, which of my dirty laundry did she catch you in? If you can't give a clear answer and just smear my reputation with your words, you are not worthy of being a clan elder."

"Shaoheng!" Marquis Chengen shouted, giving him a warning look before turning to Shen Jizong and saying, "Uncle, this matter could be big or small. Without verbal testimony and evidence, it's hard to convince anyone."

He knew that Madam Shen would not allow Shen Shaoheng to be granted the title of heir smoothly and would definitely take some action. Now it seems that she has bribed Shen Jizong.

Seeing that Shen Jizong spoke with such certainty, Marquis Chengen assumed that he must have solid evidence, and that this evidence would prevent Shen Shaoheng from becoming the heir apparent.

He felt relieved, picked up his teacup, tucked the lid over it, calmly sipped a couple of times, and waited for further developments.

Madam Shen pressed her handkerchief to the tip of her nose, concealing the upturned corners of her lips.

Shen Jizong blushed with embarrassment after Shen Shaoheng's words, and seemed to be provoked, so he stopped covering for him.

"Last year on the Lantern Festival, you had a secret rendezvous with Aunt Mei on a pleasure boat. Fang Niang caught you in the act, so you killed her to silence her." Shen Jizong said sternly and righteously, "Shen Shaoheng, if you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. There are no secrets in this world."

These words struck Chengenhou like a thunderbolt. He looked at Shen Jizong in shock, his eyes sharp, as if trying to discern the truth of the matter.

"Uncle, what did you say?" Madam Shen feigned shock and said incredulously, "How could Shaoheng do such a foolish thing? No matter how scoundrel he is, he wouldn't do something so outrageous!"

Shen Jizong snorted coldly: "If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

"No, impossible!" Madam Shen found it hard to accept. As if to prove Shen Shaoheng's innocence, she made a suggestion: "When Consort Mei was brought into the manor, it was to bring good luck to the Marquis. The Marquis has never stayed in Consort Mei's courtyard..."

Madam Shen stopped there.

The second half of the sentence, without her saying it, was something everyone knew what it meant: a physical examination.

"The night Aunt Mei was brought into the manor, I stayed in her room. What do you want to find Aunt Mei to verify?" Marquis Chengen glared at Madam Shen, then looked at Shen Jizong and said coldly, "Last year on the Lantern Festival, Aunt Mei made a water lantern for me in my study and placed it in the lotus pond of Wanfeng Pavilion. It never left the manor."

Marquis Chengen vehemently denied that Shen Shaoheng had an affair with Consort Mei.

If this scandal were to come to light, it would be a severe slap in his face. How would he face his colleagues in the future?

"I watched Heng'er grow up, he would never be that kind of person." Marquis Chengen suppressed his anger and warned in a deep voice, "Uncle, that's just a rumor, don't mention it again."

Shen Jizong was stunned and subconsciously looked at Madam Shen.

Madam Shen thought that Marquis Chengen would not make a public fuss about this shameful incident in order to maintain the overall situation.

He will definitely investigate quickly and accurately, and then deal with Aunt Mei and Shen Shaoheng decisively.

But to her utter surprise, Marquis Chengen, for the sake of his reputation, actually turned his back on her in public and even lied, saying that he had consummated his marriage with Consort Mei.

At this moment, Jiang Mu took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Qingtan.

Shen Qingtan looked at Jiang Mu with some confusion.

Jiang Mu said in a low voice, "Second Master prepared this for you."

Shen Qingtan raised an eyebrow. Why would Zhao Yi write her a letter all of a sudden?

She suppressed her doubts, deftly opened the envelope, and pulled out a piece of paper. It wasn't a letter from him at all, but an official file.

The dossier detailed Fangniang's cause of death and even estimated the time of her death, which was approximately after Madam Shen sent someone to handle the matter.