Chapter 132 Shen Minghan's Instructions

Chapter 132 Shen Minghan's Instructions

Shen Nanzi looked at the anger in her brother's eyes and said, "Liefeng is no longer my guard. He has his own choices to make."

“But he betrayed you and colluded with outsiders to harm you.” Shen Minghan slammed his finger on the table. “That one thing alone is unforgivable.”

"He...maybe he's being used?"

Shen Nanzi didn't believe that Lie Feng would really hurt her; she must have been framed or used.

“We were counting on him to be in charge of security, so he would be our most reliable ally,” Shen Minghan said, rubbing his temples, his face full of disappointment and his eyes tired.

Shen Nanzi knew that her brother must be exhausted. The situation was urgent, and she and Xie Yu had gotten into this mess.

They went to great lengths to stop the memorials impeaching them, but ultimately failed.

Instead, he was impeached by the fourth prince and punished by the emperor with three months' salary.

Her sister-in-law told her about this today, but she knew nothing about it.

This is her brother, always silently supporting her from behind.

She could only offer a thick wad of silver notes as payment. “Brother, this is the silver we recently collected. Don’t worry about the money for maintaining our private army; I still have more.”

Shen Minghan looked at the silver notes and said, "With money, things are easier. Now, because of your matter, we've actually gotten rid of a fourth prince."

"It's good for everyone, but who will be next?" Shen Minghan's face was solemn.

"With the Fourth Prince out of the picture, Prince Jing appears even more formidable."

"The fact that Xie Yan chose not to kill the Sixth Prince shows that he doesn't even think much of us."

This was exactly what Shen Nanzi had thought. "Brother, how's the alliance thing you mentioned last time?"

Just then, Xie Yu was led into the study by Yang Wenhui.

Shen Minghan gave the head seat to Xie Yu.

He continued, "The Fifth Prince is a man of deep thoughts. On the surface, he is allied with us, but this is only to oppose Prince Jing at present."

"Alliance with him also means we must always be wary of his betrayal, sudden defection, or putting us in a desperate situation."

"Then shouldn't we make preparations in many ways?" Shen Nanzi frowned as she listened. This kind of thing is really hard to guard against!

Shen Minghan: "We can only be the passive party now, we don't have the initiative, we can only deal with things as they come, and we have to feel our way across the river."

"Preserve to the very end, and fight with all your might."

Upon hearing this, Shen Nanzi realized just how difficult things had been for Xie Yu and her brother.

“Time is also against us,” Xie Yu said, his brows furrowed as he looked at the silver notes on the table. “Father was so angry yesterday that he suffered a stomachache and didn’t sleep well all night.”

"My mother and I stayed by her side every step of the way, and the imperial physicians were helpless."

His voice was filled with deep sorrow and helplessness.

Shen Nanzi could see that he had deep feelings for the Emperor, and that it was not because he was in a hurry to deal with the Emperor due to the short time available.

"Is the Emperor about to write his will?" Shen Nanzi asked, voicing the question that everyone was most concerned about.

Xie Yu looked at her and said, "Early this morning, Prime Minister Li came to my side to inquire about this."

Speaking of Prime Minister Li, Shen Nanzi asked with concern, "Now that our matter has been clarified, can your marriage with Miss Li continue?"

Xie Yu lowered his eyes, his fingers curling beneath his moon-white sleeves. "At present, Father is unwell, so let's not discuss this matter for now."

Shen Minghan pondered for a while and then advised, "Using marriage to tie down Prime Minister Li is something we can consider, as I've heard he loves his youngest daughter the most."

Seeing that Xie Yu's expression showed no joy, Shen Nanzi nudged Shen Minghan's arm.

Shen Minghan understood, "If Your Highness has other plans, then this matter will be put on hold for now."

"That Prime Minister Li has many daughters, and he's involved in almost every faction. It doesn't matter whether he marries one or not."

"Prime Minister Li is a cunning old fox. He's good at protecting himself. Whoever comes to power in the end, he'll be able to keep his life."

Shen Nanzi remembered what happened last night. "Brother, did you find anything when I asked you to investigate Xie Yan's relationship with the Emperor?"

Shen Minghan shook his head. "When the Emperor ascended the throne, he returned to Luoyang from his fiefdom. At that time, Xie Yan was already two years old and moved into the harem with Madam Cheng."

“I sent people to check the Emperor’s former fiefdom, and everything is consistent with the previous investigation. There are no other suspicious points.”

"If we have to point out any doubts, it's that there are no unofficial histories or similar sources available for reference, only local chronicles about the place of enfeoffment and the official positions held."

"These are all records praising the emperor's great achievements."

“That Abandoned Palace sounds like a bad palace, a name that sounds like a cold palace.” Shen Nanzi felt something was off. “There must be something we don’t know about happening.”

Xie Yu raised an eyebrow. "I asked my mother, but she wasn't sure either."

"It seems that Madam Cheng had a conflict with the Emperor, and in the end, the Emperor got angry and left Madam Cheng in the Abandoned Palace."

"Only the lady's dignity was maintained; everything else was taken away."

"They, mother and son, are having a very difficult time."

Upon hearing this, Shen Nanzi repeatedly asked Xie Yu, "Are they having a hard time?"

Xie Yu nodded, "Third brother, it was actually very tough. I was bullied a lot when I was a child."

"In the palace... it's all about favoring people; whoever is in favor, that's who gets the wind blowing."

"Brother, why were we all unaware of this back then?" Shen Nanzi felt as if some truth was being buried, that even the mighty Prince Jing could be bullied.

Shen Minghan said, "That happened more than ten years ago. Your brother was just a junior official who had just started his career. How would I know about palace secrets?"

Shen Nanzi was somewhat discouraged. If it were other past events, she would have thought she could use them to control Xie Yan.

However, if it were about past experiences of being bullied, Shen Nanzi wouldn't have been that despicable.

She was even a little afraid to hear about Xie Yan's past; she felt heartbroken whenever she saw a small animal suffering.

She didn't dare imagine what it would be like if it were someone else.

Even without empathizing with her, one would feel pity for Xie Yan.

It's best if she and Xie Yan don't develop any further feelings for each other.

Shen Minghan and Xie Yu were discussing matters of state when they had finished talking. Shen Nanzi, concerned about Cheng'er finishing school, took her leave early.

After Shen Minghan and Shen Nanzi had gone far away, he said to Xie Yu, "Don't interfere in the matter of raising private soldiers. You must clear yourself of all responsibility."

Xie Yu shook his head, "This matter cannot be borne by Grand Commandant Shen alone."

“Raising a private army is a serious crime. If Prince Jing hadn’t been so powerful, we wouldn’t have taken this risk.” Shen Minghan put away the silver notes Shen Nanzi had given him.

"This is also our trump card. If the Emperor's will is for you, I'm afraid Prince Jing wouldn't comply."

“You are weak and he is strong, he won’t let you sit there, we can only wait to be the ones to take your place.”

“If the will does not list you as the person in question, given your involvement in factional strife and your close relationship with Nan Zi, neither Prince Jing nor any other power will let you off the hook.”

"This is our bargaining chip in negotiations with them."

"Until the Emperor's last edict is issued, remember, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with you."

Xie Yu knew perfectly well that Grand Commandant Shen was protecting him, so that if anything happened, he could take all the blame upon himself.

"Grand Commandant Shen, rest assured, I will do my utmost to protect your peace of mind."

Xie Yu realized that, according to Grand Commandant Shen's calculations, other forces were not within the Emperor's consideration.

*

Upon returning to Prince Jing's residence, Shen Nanzi received an imperial decree summoning her to the palace.

Judging from the palace emissary's words, it was compensation for what happened before.

compensate?

This sounds really strange.