Chapter 49: Exactly Two Days

At these words, Minister Meng was so frightened that his legs trembled, nearly dropping to his knees on the spot. “Your Excellency! What are you saying? How is the Liu Family involved?”

Shen Zaiye snorted coldly, giving him a sidelong glance. “So it seems the Minister doesn’t yet know that the son of the Gu family in my mansion and the maid from Zhenzhen’s courtyard both died from the preserved fruits sold at Liu’s Dried Fruit Shop. I have no idea what kind of business they run, but they actually added motherwort seeds in their preserved fruits. If I cannot seek justice for these two lives from the Chancellor’s residence, then I might as well not serve as Chancellor anymore!”

Having said that, without the slightest hesitation, he turned and left, ignoring Grand Minister Meng’s calls and pursuits from behind.

Prince Jing watched from a distance, feeling quite pleased.

“Such a thing actually happened,” he remarked with a smile to his advisor beside him. “It seems the daughter Grand Minister Meng placed in the Chancellor’s inner court will not be spared.”

Not only his daughter might not be saved, but even his official position was in jeopardy.

An advisor cupped his hands and said, “Congratulations, Your Highness. The Prince of Yu has lost another fortress to you.”

“Hahaha.” Prince Jing laughed heartily, gazing at Shen Zaiye’s departing figure, his eyes brimming with delight.

The officials from the capital’s yamen were already waiting at the Prime Minister’s residence. As soon as Shen Zaiye returned, the city magistrate approached and said, “Prime Minister, the people from Liu Ji have been imprisoned in the imperial dungeon, the shop has been sealed, and there were even many instances of tax evasion inside.”

“Excellent.” Shen Zaije led him into the mansion, seating him in the main courtyard with a stern expression, saying: “Since such illegal acts still exist, and they have cost lives, then, Your Excellency, please file a case and decide on a suitable charge.”

This Governor of the Capital was astute; after glancing at the Prime Minister’s expression, he immediately said: “Taking a life is a grave matter—the shopkeeper must surely pay with his own. As for the tax evasion, Prime Minister, do you think we should continue investigating further?”

“Of course, we must investigate.” Shen Zaije, with an air of righteousness, declared: “You just go ahead and investigate; if there are any obstacles in your way, feel free to send them all to my Prime Minister’s residence!”

“As you command!”

The Prefect of Jingzhao accepted the order and left, while Shen Zaiye remained seated in the room, waiting. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Meng Zhenzhen arrived, weeping.

“Master!” she cried as she entered, immediately falling to her knees. Her eyes were swollen, and she looked up at him pitifully, saying, “Please have mercy! It wasn’t the owner of Liu’s store who was responsible for the preserved fruit, so how can we hold him accountable for a life?”

Shen Zaiye looked down at her, his face icy cold. “If you hadn’t come, I might have almost forgotten—the owner of Liu’s store is related to your family by marriage, isn’t he?”

Meng Zhenzhen was taken aback and hurriedly replied, “Yes, that’s true, but his sister is just a concubine to my father—the relationship isn’t close at all!”

Squinting slightly, Shen Zaiye looked at her with a piercing gaze. “So that’s the connection. I had no idea at first. I couldn’t figure out why Liu Ji would put motherwort in the dried fruits, but now it all makes sense.”

What did he mean? Meng’s body stiffened, and she stared at the man before her in a daze. It took her a long moment to react, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, “Master, this matter has nothing to do with me at all!”

“Do you really think I’d believe that?” Standing up, Shen Zaiye looked down at her and said, “I am fully aware of everything that goes on in this backyard. Usually, I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but I never expected something this serious to happen. Zhenzhen, the first law of Dawei is that those who kill must pay with their lives. Did you know that?”

Gasping sharply, Meng Zhenzhen couldn’t even cry anymore. “I didn’t…”

“Your maid died by your own hand,” Shen Zaiye closed his eyes, “and my first child also died indirectly at your hands. Tell me, how should I deal with you?”

“No…” Meng Zhenzhen panicked, grabbing Shen Zaïye’s robe hem, her eyes pleading earnestly: “Master, your servant has been attending to you for so long now. Do you really believe I could kill someone?”

Brushing his sleeve to shake her off, Shen Zaïye strode out the door: “Zhan Lu, summon the officials from the magistrate’s office…”

“Master!” Lady Meng cried out in despair, her eyes filled with hopelessness. “Do you have no affection for me whatsoever? After all I have served you, how can you be so heartless!”

Shen Zaiye pursed his lips, turned to look at her, hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh that seemed restrained

“Forget it, Zhenzhen, you should return to the Meng family on your own. Considering our past affection, I won’t pursue the other matters any further.”

Meng was stunned, sitting dazedly on the ground, her mouth agape as she found herself at a loss for words.

What was this? He wanted to drive her out of the estate, and it was even considered a favor now? And she, for her part, didn’t know what words to use to refute him.

How had things come to this?

“Master…” After a surge of turmoil in her heart, Lady Meng struggled to stand up, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at him. “Your servant can leave the Prime Minister’s residence, but could you… could you be merciful and spare my family?”

Shen Zaiye frowned, his gaze fixed on her face. Only after a long pause did he give a slight nod.

“Thank you for your mercy, Master!” Lady Meng curtsied in gratitude, then slowly rose to her feet. Leaning on her maid’s hand for support, she staggered away as if her soul had left her body.

In the afternoon, the sun shone brightly as Shen Zaiye opened the door to the Hall of Silent Night.

Jiang Taohua was sighing over the cabbage and tofu on the table when she heard the noise and swiftly turned her head.

“Master!”

Upon recognizing who it was, she let out a cheer and flew into Shen Zaiye’s arms like a kite, wrapping her arms around his waist and beginning to coo, “May your concubine go out now?”

Shen Zaiye glanced at her coolly and said, “No, I’m just here to take a look.”

“You’re lying!” Taohua wrinkled her nose. “If the matter weren’t settled, you wouldn’t have had the time to come. Since it’s resolved, how can you bear to keep me locked up here gnawing on radishes and cabbage?”

She twisted her body as she spoke, making Shen Zaiye nearly lose his composure.

“Jiang Taohua, stand up straight and speak properly!”

“Yes!” She immediately withdrew her hands and placed them behind her back, Taohua looked at him with a beaming smile, her eyes full of brightness. “I congratulate you, my lord.”

Stepping into the main hall, Shen Zaiye snorted lightly as he closed the door, “What are you congratulating me for again?”

“Congratulations on achieving your wish, Master.” Peach Blossom followed closely behind him, sticking to him like a piece of sticky candy. “Now that the matter is settled, those who should leave the manor will surely leave, and the connections that should be severed, Master can also sever them all.”

“Oh?” Lifting his robe as he sat down on the cushion, Shen Zaiye gave her a sidelong glance. “And how do you know who I want to sever ties with?”

“Isn’t it simple? It must be the Meng family.” Peach Blossom said with an expression of absolute certainty, “If it weren’t for the Meng family, why would you have had me deliver the plums to Lady Gu’s side?”

It’s clear that you’re giving Mei Zhaoxue a hand, luring both the Gu and Meng families into this trap.

With a slight darkening of his gaze, Shen Zaiye felt rather displeased inside. He looked at her for quite a while before finally speaking, “You women, always talking in vague, unclear ways, randomly guessing at my thoughts. Today, you better make things clear. Let me see whether you’ve truly seen through something or are just pretending to understand what you don’t.”

Taohua sat down beside him, blinking her eyes as she looked at him, “Is this Your Lordship giving your humble concubine a test?”

“Then, can you answer it?”

“Reward for answering correctly?”

“Naturally.”

This is great! Peach Blossom sat cross-legged, casually picked up a small wooden stick, and began drawing on the empty ground in front of her.

“I’ve been thinking for two days, and the situation should be like this—Lady Gu wasn’t yet certain about her pregnancy, but our mistress first helped her confirm it, leaving Lady Gu with no way out. After that, she sent me to buy plums for her. As for those plums, it’s unclear whether they were truly problematic, but Lady Gu’s miscarriage implicated Liu’s shop, which happens to be related by marriage to the Meng family. The master could then take the opportunity to hold the Meng family accountable and directly send Lady Meng back to her family. This was likely the master’s initial goal.”

Shen Zaichui listened with his eyes lowered, his gaze fixed on the relationship diagram she had drawn on the ground. Staring at the line between himself and Lady Meng, he softly asked, “Why do you think I wanted to distance myself from Lady Meng?”

“How would I know such matters? You surely have your own arrangements, and it is not for me to inquire,” Peach Blossom replied with a smile, while secretly marking a question mark beside Gu Shi’s name.

“However, there are two points of doubt here that this humble wife would like to ask Your Excellency to clarify.”

There’s still something she can’t figure out? Shen Zaoye finally regained a bit of confidence: “Ask away.”

“First, is Lady Gu truly pregnant?” Tao Hua tilted her head, staring at him. “This concubine always felt her pregnancy was quite strange—it came quickly and vanished just as fast, yet Your Lordship doesn’t seem the least bit concerned.”

A slight twitch touched his brow. Shen Zaiye didn’t answer her, instead asking, “And the second point?”

“Second, were there truly motherwort seeds in Liu’s preserved fruits?” Tilting her head, Jiang Tao Hua smiled knowingly. “Motherwort is a bitter herb. Lady Gu isn’t without a tongue—if she had really eaten so many plums, how could she not have noticed something was off with them?”

She still managed to seize the crucial point.

Shen Zaiji curled his lips into a smile, reached out to tilt her chin, and gave her a gentle kiss: “Since this matter has come to an end, it’s time for you to obediently return to Zhengchun Pavilion. As for the rest, there’s no need for you to concern yourself.”

Disdainfully wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Taohua said, “Do you always resort to this trick whenever you feel guilty?”

Watching her actions, Shen Zaiji’s expression darkened slightly: “Is your hand perhaps a bit too redundant? Maybe…”

“Not redundant at all!” Taohua panicked, immediately realizing the situation, and hugged the person before her, planting a loud, smacking kiss on their face.

“If I didn’t have hands, I wouldn’t be able to hold you, my lord!”

Shen Zaiye: “…”

The warmth and fragrance enveloped his breath, lifting his spirits. Yet, how could this daring girl always be so utterly shameless?

Clearing his throat softly, he stood up and said sternly, “Enough with the cheekiness. Go back and get ready, then pay your respects to the lady.”

“I understand, my lord!” Peach Blossom smiled obsequiously. “Will you come to the Contending Spring Pavilion tonight, my lord? I can give you a massage!”

Shooting her a sidelong glance, Shen Zaiye didn’t answer, instead turning and leaving with a flick of his sleeve.

Peach Blossom watched him walk away with a smile, stretched lazily, and called out to Moss, “Alright, let’s go back and enjoy some meat!”

Hiding in the corner and blushing, Moss responded, counting the time on his fingers.

It was about this time two days ago when he was locked up—exactly two days.