Shangguan Wan Ning couldn't help but shuddered when she saw Zheng Bingrong's understatement.
Mu Jingrui entrusted her with such an important thing for safekeeping. If she handed it over so easily, then...
How could she deserve Mu Jingrui's trust in her? What's more, there were so many victims.
"Ning'er, my father has offended many people in the court in recent years, and many people are wary of the power of our Yiyong Hou Mansion. If someone with ulterior motives seizes this, I'm afraid...the consequences will be disastrous."
Shangguan Wan Ning was startled.
Four words came to her mind.
High merit overwhelms the master.
She remembered that in her previous life, the emperor was very afraid of the power of the Zheng family.
All the men in the Zheng family are good at fighting. Even the third uncle, who was least favored by his grandfather, rarely lost a battle when he went to the battlefield.
The emperor must rely on the Zheng family, but also be wary of the Zheng family.
If he hadn't been suspicious of the Zheng family, I'm afraid Xiao Zhenting wouldn't have taken advantage of him.
Shangguan Wan Ning's memory was flooded with the tragic scene of all her relatives being hung on the city wall in her previous life.
Didn't she tell herself that she would protect them in her next life? Even if her third uncle did something wrong, she still hoped to give him a chance to change his ways.
"Ning'er? How about it?" Zheng Bingrong saw Shangguan Wan Ning's silent daze and couldn't help but urge.
Shangguan Wan Ning came back to her senses and said with a trembling voice: "Third uncle, this matter is not trivial. I can't make up my mind at the moment. Just give me some time to think about it."
"Ning'er, it's not that Third Uncle wants to rush you, I'm afraid that time is running out. Mu Jingrui has been back for so long, what if he goes to the palace to face the Saint, then..."
"Third uncle, don't worry. The list you mentioned is in my hands. I won't hand it over to the emperor until I think of a solution. You can rest assured."
Zheng Bingrong was stunned and looked at Shangguan Wan Ning in disbelief. "Ning'er, are you serious?"
"Yeah." Shangguan Wanning nodded.
Zheng Bingrong's heart was full of mixed feelings, and he hesitated to speak. For a long time, he stared at Shangguan Wan Ning with a more pleading look in his eyes.
"Ning'er, the safety of the Yiyong Hou Mansion is in your hands."
Say it, and walked out of Shangguan Wan Ning's room with a sigh.
Late at night, Shangguan Wan Ning lay in bed and couldn't sleep, Zheng Bingrong's pleading kept lingering in her ears.
The list and the incriminating evidence became her heartache.
If she just sits idly by and does nothing, if something happens to anyone in the Yiyong Hou Mansion, her mother will definitely not be able to bear the blow.
Shangguan Wan Ning couldn't sleep, so she got dressed and came to the door of her uncle Zheng Binghong's room. She was about to raise her hand to knock on the door, but the door opened on her own initiative.
"Ning'er, why are you still up so late?"
Zheng Binghong heard the footsteps lingering outside the door.
"Uncle, I..." Shangguan Wanning lowered her head and played with her fingers for a long time, then whispered, "I have something I want to discuss with you."
Zheng Binghong rarely sees a worried look in the eyes of his innocent niece. "Let's talk after we come in."
He poured Shangguan Wan Ning a cup of tea and asked, "Tell me."
Shangguan Wanning organized her words and explained the causes and consequences in detail.
There was a "pop" sound. After hearing this, Zheng Binghong stood up and slapped the table with his palm, causing even the tea in the cup to overflow.
His face was livid, and he cursed angrily: "This beast... is so audacious and does such a treacherous thing. Let me beat him to death with one slap."
Shangguan Wan Ning looked a little scared when she saw Zheng Binghong.
She pulled his sleeve and comforted him: "Uncle, now is not the time to pursue the case. We have to find a way to protect the third uncle and hand over these criminal evidence at the same time."
"He should be responsible for what he has done. Just hand him over and let the emperor handle it."
Shangguan Wan Ning knew that what Zheng Binghong said was angry, so she waited silently for his next plan.
"Ning'er, can this matter... be postponed temporarily?"
Zheng Binghong's anger subsided a little and he looked at Shangguan Wan Ning seriously.
Shangguan Wan Ning has already thought about this issue.
"Uncle, although I have the list, I am not the only one who knows about this matter. To say the least, even if I can persuade Jingrui to postpone the submission of the memorial, in the end it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Is it necessary to let
Is everyone getting away with it?"
Shangguan Wan Ning knew that her behavior of shielding her third uncle was wrong.
However, now she just wants to protect her shortcomings and doesn't care about anything else.
"Ning'er, could it be that...you already have a solution?"
Shangguan Wan Ning clenched her fist nervously.
"I have seen the list and compiled the model of their entire organization. In order to protect and contain each other, they will not contact too many people in the entire link. According to my guess, the people who know the true identity of the third uncle are probably the third uncle.
Five. As long as they die..."
Shangguan Wan Ning said such words, not only Zheng Binghong, but also she herself felt strange.
"Ning'er, you..."
"Uncle, I also know that this is wrong. But... we can't just watch the third uncle die. We can't let him implicate the entire Yiyong Hou Mansion because of this incident. Jingrui also needs someone on his side.
Tell me, this is the best way."
Shangguan Wan Ning found that her heart was changing bit by bit. She didn't know whether it was for good or bad.
She could only comfort herself that those people deserved to die.
Zheng Binghong felt that Shangguan Wan Ning seemed to have changed a lot after not seeing each other for half a year. He didn't want her to get too deeply involved.
"Ning'er, leave this matter to me. You just need to delay submitting the list for another three days."
Zheng Binghong acquiesced to Shangguan Wanning's idea.
"Okay, I understand." Shangguan Wan Ning's mood was complicated. It was the first time she had done such a thing, and she still felt a little guilty and uneasy.
"There's a fire...come and put out the fire..."
Outside the door, there were loud shouts and calls for help.
Shangguan Wan Ning and Zheng Binghong glanced at each other and rushed out.
"What happened? Where is the fire?" Zheng Binghong asked Xiaosi, who ran over to put out the fire.
"Huh? Cousin, you are here? That's great." Xiao Si breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The room you live in is on fire. The eldest lady thought you were in it, so she fainted from fright!"
"My room is on fire?" Shangguan Wan Ning's face changed suddenly, and her heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at Zheng Binghong and said in a hoarse voice, "The list is inside."
The two of them rushed towards her room, where the raging fire had already engulfed her room.
Not to mention the list, everything was burned to ashes.
Shangguan Wan Ning's mind went blank, and she didn't know how to explain it to Mu Jingrui.
"What a good thing you did." Zheng Binghong rushed in front of Zheng Bingrong and punched him hard in the face.