Mrs. Du put down her chopsticks and declined: "Sir, it's not that I'm shirk-shitting. My illness has seriously damaged my foundation. The imperial doctor said that I will need to be recuperated for at least two or three years. It's such a big mansion and the internal affairs are complicated. I'm afraid I won't be able to cope with it."
Guessing that she would refuse, Shen Sanxing turned his attention to Shen Moran. Shen Moran helped Si Yiluo take care of the housework and left early and came back late every day. Sometimes she was busier than him, the prime minister.
Shen Moran silently swallowed the lotus root slices in his mouth, and interrupted at the right time: "Dad, there is something that a daughter should not say. My mother has just gotten up. My father is willing to make my mother tired, but my daughter is not willing to let her go." It’s here!”
Her tone of voice was playful and approachable, suddenly bringing the slightly stiff atmosphere back to a warm and cozy one.
"You kid..." Shen Panxing took a chopstick of sweet and sour pork ribs and put it in her bowl, "Your mother is the first wife of my father, Ming Matchmaker, who is getting married. Can I not feel sorry for her?"
"You should kiss me right away. Dad is doing it for your own good."
Du asked the kitchen to cook two more dishes that Shen Anxing loved, and winked at Shen Moran.
"Dad, my daughter doesn't want to get married yet..."
"Why did the master suddenly mention marriage? But there is a youngster he likes?"
Du Shi put aside her grudge for the time being and arranged for Shen Anxing.
Shen Panxing took a few bites casually, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid we can't make the decision on our daughter's marriage. If Madam is feeling better, she should go to the palace more often and talk to the Queen."
Queen...he chose the third prince Zhou Chen?
Du Shi squeezed out a smile and served him while Shen Moran plucked at the food in his bowl, but his thoughts were not on it.
The family finished their dinner "harmoniously" and served tea after the meal, and the family of three continued to sit across from each other.
Shen Panxing had no intention of leaving, but the expression on Du's face clearly resisted him staying the night.
There was some disharmony in the atmosphere between the couple.
Shen Moran secretly looked at Shen Sanxing's expression. He would never waste time on meaningless things. Unless...
"Dad, my daughter wants to ask you something, please go to the study room."
Shen Jiaxing raised his eyes and glanced at Du, stood up and walked away. His look was full of meaning, confirming Shen Moran's guess.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the study room, Shen Panxing went straight to the topic.
"Did you find out clearly what I was told to you?"
He picked up a random book from the bookshelf and flipped through it.
Shen Moran opened the cup on the table and poured him a glass of water and brought it over.
"Daddy, please forgive me. Si Yiluo is thinking deeply, and his daughter has not gained her trust yet. My daughter came to you today to say something else, which is somewhat related to what you told me."
Shen Moran paused and observed his expression.
"Master Sun once sent someone to deliver two gifts. One is a congratulatory gift, and the other is said to be a thank you gift. My daughter has copied the two gift lists. Please take a look."
Si Yiluo didn't say anything about Sun En's buying and selling of official titles, but Shen Moran also guessed it.
If she wants to gain Emperor Yao's trust in a short period of time, she must dig out the biggest and most involved case as quickly as possible to prove her ability and courage. Sun En is just the breakthrough point.
She did not doubt that Si Yiluo was playing a long game to catch the big fish. After all, there was probably no one else who would pay attention to Sun En except his accomplices.
There was nothing wrong with the congratulatory and thank you gifts, but the gift list copied by Shen Moran clearly stated five thousand taels of gold.
Shen Panxing looked through the gift list twice and couldn't help but ask: "Did Si Yiluo accept the money?"
Five thousand taels of gold is not a small amount.
If she were jointly impeached by the three censors of the Procuratorate, as long as the money could be found from Si Yiluo's house, she would be stripped of her skin and cramped.
There are so many people staring at her, does she really dare to stop them?
Shen Moran shook his head and said: "I don't know the details. The money has not been recorded in the account and I don't know where it went. Dad, my daughter also wants to know what kind of excuse can make Mr. Sun go out and give away five thousand taels of gold..."
What kind of excuse... Shen Panxing clenched his cheeks. Sun En was considered his right-hand man. If anything happened to him, he would inevitably be punished by Emperor Yao.
How many people were watching him from behind, trying to find out his faults.
Shen Moran was testing him.
Shen Jianxing agreed to let her go to Si Yiluo for two purposes. The first purpose was to inquire about information. Jinyiwei monitors hundreds of officials. In several secret rooms of Jinyiwei Yamen, all the information about high-level officials in the world is hidden. A little leakage would be a huge help to him.
The second purpose is to seize Si Yiluo's handle and not be able to enter Jin Yiwei's secret room. As long as he can seize her handle, either win over or threaten her, and pull her into his own camp, he will have a greater chance of winning.
"Find a way to find out where the money went."
After Shen Jianxing finished giving the instructions, he realized that he was not talking to his subordinates. He paused for a moment and his tone became a little softer.
"Dad knows that he has been sorry to you mother and daughter in the past few years, but there is no way. Only in this way can we not be implicated in the affairs of Amber Mansion. When I sent you out of the city, I also wanted you to avoid the limelight for a while. You can understand the painstaking efforts of being a father. ?"
Shen Shanxing's tone was sincere, and Shen Moran lowered her head with a sense of grievance in her eyes.
"Dad, my daughter understands."
Shen Panxing thought he would have to spend more time coaxing her, but he didn't expect her to be more well-behaved and sensible than he thought.
The prepared words are on the chest.
"Ming Shu was adopted by the Shen family, so don't argue with her. My father has already planned your marriage. When the time comes, my father will use Ming Shu's marriage to pave the way for you. Don't let your father down!" "
Shen Moran felt cold in her heart. She and Shen Mingshu were both commodities to be sold in the eyes of Shen Sanxing. In her previous life, she was plotted before marriage, so she became a stepping stone to pave the way for Shen Mingshu.
He was not optimistic about Zhou Yu at first, so he agreed to Zhou Yu's marriage proposal.
Shen Mingshu, on the other hand, was hidden and covered by him until the situation became clear.
She stepped on the corpses on the ground and climbed up, she deserved it in the end...
"Yes, daddy."
Shen Sanxing looked at her well-behaved appearance with satisfaction.
"You should give more advice to your mother. I know she is heartbroken, but there is no such thing as an overnight feud between husband and wife. I am planning so hard not just to give you mother and daughter a better life..."
Shen Moran said yes while holding back her nausea. Seeing that he had no other instructions, she walked out of the study.
Walking out of the yard, Aunt Pei walked towards me carrying a food box.
"Miss."
Aunt Pei stopped and blessed her. Shen Moran kept walking and only gave her a wink as she passed by.
Mrs. Pei had a clear mind and waited until she could no longer be seen before turning around and walking towards the study.
Shen Sanxing had long heard the movement outside the yard through the door and window. Mrs. Pei came in without mentioning the grievance she had just suffered, and placed the dishes on the table.
"The master is going to the madam's place for dinner tonight, and I shouldn't have disturbed you. However, I heard from the kitchen that the dishes prepared by the lady today may not be to my taste, so I made a few side dishes myself."
A blatant way to win favor.
Mrs. Pei's appearance and figure are not bad, but she was suppressed by Mr. Shen in the past and could not serve Shen's case several times throughout the year. As a result, he almost forgot that there was Aunt Pei in the house.
"Master, come and try my handiwork."
Mrs. Pei called him with a smile.
Is Shen Case Xing hungry?
But judging from the generosity and propriety in her speech and behavior, even when trying to win favor, she doesn't have the usual flirtatious tactics used by Shen.
Suddenly she remembered that before her family fell into decline, she was also a lady from an official family. She had been with him for seven or eight years and had no sense of presence in the family.
How many tricks did Shen Mengyou play under his nose?
"Miss, the master is resting in Aunt Pei's courtyard."
In the darkness, Changde, the boy who was serving in Shen Anxing's study, came to report to Shen Moran. Bi Tao took out a five-tael silver lock from her purse and gave it to him.
"Use this money to treat your mother's illness. Don't go into the gambling house again. Otherwise, if you are caught by me, I will kick you out of the house!"
Changde knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.
"Miss, this slave was deceived by lard. I will never gamble again. Thank you very much, Miss, for saving my life!"
"Get up..." Shen Moran soothed, "Go back. If there is any news over there in the future, tell me in time. It will be of great benefit to you!"
"Thank you, miss!"
When Changde disappeared, Bi Tao came over and asked in a low voice: "Miss, it's not a good idea for us to plot against him like this..."
"All the money he lost is still with you. He gave you more than two hundred taels of silver just to issue an IOU. If he knew about it, would he betray you..."