EBE Chapter 335 Cold Winter
Chapter 335 Cold Winter
Early the next morning.
Shen Li was woken up from her sleep by Min'er's licking.
When I opened my eyes, it was already bright outside.
Nanny Zhuang came out of the rest room and stood beside the two Zhaos. She stretched out her hand and pushed the older Zhao, who fell straight down.
Matron Zhuang quickly squatted down and put her hand under her nose to feel the air. There was no breath at all and the person was frozen stiff.
After doing so many evil things, Shen Li finally made her kneel in front of the people she killed and pay with her life as a way of atonement.
At the same time, Xiao Zhao, who was kneeling beside her, was not in a much better situation.
She wasn't as badly injured as Da Zhaoshi, and though she didn't freeze to death, she was barely alive. When she saw the Fang family army throwing Da Zhaoshi directly into the excavated bone pit, where she lay with the pile of corpses, she lost her breath and fell straight back.
Nanny Zhuang hurried forward to test her, only to find out that she had actually been frightened to death.
As the imperial edict was issued from the capital, the news that the Zhao family had killed so many people and buried their bones in a farm outside the capital spread quickly.
The emperor's decree to execute the Wen family in Jiangnan was also known to everyone.
The government and the public were in uproar.
Even the people in the Prime Minister's Mansion were too embarrassed to go out. The old Prime Minister fell ill in bed and did not attend court for several days.
While he was ill and unable to take care of her, the Prime Minister's wife secretly sent people to the farm to dig out her daughter's body and rebury her, but they were caught by Fang's army and thrown back to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The prime minister was furious and ordered his men to put his wife under guard and take away her power as head of the household.
The next day, news broke that the Prime Minister's wife had suffered a heart attack during the night. By the time she was found, she was nearly dead. With much difficulty, she was saved by the imperial physician, but she also suffered the same illness as the old lady of the Yao family, becoming paralyzed in bed and unable to speak.
Fang Yao sighed and said to Lan, "I don't know if he is really sick, or if the old prime minister is too angry..."
As soon as his wife fell ill, the old prime minister wrote a letter of retirement while he was ill.
He said that he was old and in poor spirits, unable to handle state and family affairs, and felt guilty towards the emperor and the people. He requested to retire and return home, and hoped that the emperor would grant his permission.
In addition, he also asked the emperor to allow the cancellation of the marriage between the second prince and Shen Yao.
The emperor tried his best to persuade the prime minister to retire and return home, and ordered people to send many medicines and supplements to the old prime minister, asking him to rest well in his mansion and not to think too much.
The old prime minister had no choice but to submit another petition, deeply ashamed, explaining that he was now physically unable to attend court. The guilt he felt so strong that he almost kowtowed and wept even at the sight of the palace from afar, let alone meeting the emperor in person. His entire life, disgraced by his unworthy descendants, he once again begged the emperor to allow him to retire and return home, weeping and bowing.
After the emperor sighed, he finally wrote his approval on the memorial with his red ink.
By the way, he also "carelessly" wrote the word "approved" on the letter of cancellation of engagement.
Several major events were settled in just a few days.
Shen Zhaojiang instantly felt the obvious cold winter of human nature.
When the court officials saw him now, those who could avoid him would do so, pretending not to see him. Those who couldn't avoid him would just nod their heads and quickly move aside, as if to keep their distance, afraid of being associated with him.
Those years of success in officialdom were like a flash in the pan. In the quiet of the night, he reflected that he was just a dullard with a good education. He could have been a compiler or editor, but he had to go to great lengths to curry favor with the powerful.
In the end, the powerful and influential people were deposed one after another, and his good days were finally over. As the end of the year approached and the time for officials to report on their performance had come, it was clear that he would lose his position as the Minister of Justice.
The successive bad news made Wan from the second house anxious.
Finally, when she heard that Shen Li had returned home to pack up her things and was going to move out of the Shen Mansion completely, she hurriedly brought her two daughters to the Jiaojiao Courtyard.
As soon as she entered the room, she gestured to her two daughters to greet Shen Li. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to reach out to pull Shen Li away, but Banxia blocked her with a stick. "If you have something to say, talk to her nicely. Don't try to get close to our girl."
If Banxia hadn't known that she had asked her daughters to keep vigil over Ding Lan's death, she wouldn't have been so polite.
Wan withdrew her hand awkwardly, looking at the boxes and bundles piled on the ground. She said earnestly, "Now that there is no one in this mansion that you would dislike, it would be better for you to stay at home. Besides, you can't write two Shen characters with one stroke. When you marry the eldest prince, you will eventually have to leave the Shen Mansion. It's better not to move out. Keep this courtyard, even if you come back to live occasionally. It's still a root after all. Miss, please don't act on impulse and cut off your ties with this place."
Before Shen Li could say anything, Zi Su was checking items with the account book over there. After hearing what Wan said, she smiled faintly and said politely, "Second Madam, what you said is true. Our young lady didn't even have a roof over her head in this mansion before, but she lived well for so many years on the farm. But as soon as she came back, all kinds of monsters and demons came out. Those who wanted to hurt her hurt her, and those who wanted to trip her up kept tripping her up. There's not a single day that we can feel at ease."
"Only when I got to my uncle's place did I dare to close my eyes and sleep soundly. It seems that the concept of roots depends on who you are talking to. For you, the Shen family is your roots, but for us girls, the Fang family is more like our roots."
"That's right," Banxia also hummed. She didn't have many polite words, which would only hurt people's hearts. "You say those nice things now, but it's just because you see that our girl has made it through, and you are worried that you won't be able to benefit from it after we move away."
"Oh, Miss Banxia, I really mean well. If you speak like this, I, I..."
Wan wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, looking aggrieved. She spoke to Banxia and turned to face Shen Li. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Li raised her hand to stop her, "Stop pretending. When my mother was bullied by the whole family, I never saw you say anything or do anything for her. Now there is no need to try to get close to me. I'm not afraid to tell you that I was the one who did the Zhao family business."
Wan's heart skipped a beat and her face turned pale.
Then Shen Li continued, "I didn't involve you this time because you knew to ask your children to help at Ding Lan's funeral. I'm a person who distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, so I used this favor to offset your previous behavior of taking advantage of my mother. Apart from that, there's nothing much to say between us."
"This Shen Mansion has never been my home. If I hadn't avenged my mother, I should have moved out the moment I recognized my grandmother. Waiting until now is already too late. I might as well make things clear today. From now on, no one in the Shen family is allowed to use my name to gain face. If I find out, don't accuse me of not giving you face."
Mrs. Wan stuttered and wanted to say something else, but her two daughters, Shen Yan and Shen Lin, were already blushing red in the face, wishing they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.