readytorunbook Chapter 186 Carriage
Chapter 186 Carriage
The point of Shen Tang's words was not to tell the old lady how shameless the second house and Shen Xi were and how they cheated on the second prince. After all, even if this matter was exposed, the second prince and Concubine Ye would deal with it privately for the sake of their own face and to protect the Changping Marquis's Mansion.
The key point is that the Prince of Jingyang supports the eldest prince. Because of the relationship between Concubine Ye and Princess Jingyang, everyone tacitly agrees that even if Xie Guimo does not support the second prince, he will never become an enemy of the second prince and stand on the side of the eldest prince.
The emperor has eight princes, but only the eldest prince and the second prince are capable of competing for the position of crown prince. Only one of them will be chosen as the crown prince.
The winner takes all, and no matter who sits in that position, he will settle accounts with his opponents.
Shen Xian married the second prince, and the second master must support the second prince. Otherwise, if the family is not divided and the second master is not removed from the family tree, which side will Shen Sui stand on in the future?
Because of Shen Ying's relationship, the Pingyuan Marquisate was tacitly accepted to support the Second Prince. Regardless of whether Shen Sui actively participated in the fight for the throne or not, when the Second Prince ascended the throne in the future, the credit for following the dragon would only fall on his father-in-law, the Second Master. Shen Sui's busyness was just to prepare wedding dresses for the Second Master.
If they want to support the eldest prince, then in the eyes of all the civil and military officials in the court, the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion is playing two games, which is a taboo for officials and will not please anyone. In the future, when the eldest prince succeeds, he will not reuse Shen Sui. There is absolutely no benefit and no disadvantages to avoid.
While the second house is harming the first house's heirs and the matter is exposed, it is better to cut off the relationship. From now on, everything the second master does will have nothing to do with the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion.
From now on, my father can choose to support the eldest prince or not participate in the fight for the throne. At least no one will simply put the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion into the second prince's camp. As for the second prince's success in the fight for the throne, Shen Tang has never thought of this possibility.
Originally, Shen Tang forced the old lady to agree to drive the second house out of the Marquis' Mansion. The old lady was still a little worried. After all, Jiang was depressed and died with hatred. In addition to the second house's evil intentions and substitution, the doubts and distrust between them and the Jiang family made the situation worse. Even the Jiang family did not have the face to come to their house to question them.
The fact that the second master divorced his wife and separated the second branch from the Marquisate was enough to give an explanation to the Jiang family. Now, after hearing that there were so many twists and turns behind this matter, the old lady could imagine how dangerous the upcoming struggle for the throne in the court would be. If she was not careful, the entire Marquisate of Pingyuan would be involved.
Shen Tang was thinking about the Marquis's mansion and the ancestral foundation, so the old lady didn't blame her.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence to prove that Shen Yan's disappearance was the work of the Second Master. Otherwise, Shen Tang would not have to explain and would have directly thrown the Second Master out of the Marquis' Mansion without the Old Lady daring to say a word.
Shen Tang looked at Shen Sui and told Shen Sui and the old lady about taking Chunlan back to Beijing. "Fourth uncle and fourth aunt were concerned that second uncle was father's younger brother. Without solid evidence, they didn't dare to reveal anything to father. That day, I gave Fourth Aunt the letter that Chunlan had asked someone to send to Beijing. Fourth Aunt immediately sent someone to Wangzhou with money to redeem Chunlan. Later, I guessed that the content of the letter was related to second brother. To ensure Chunlan's safe entry to Beijing, I asked Prince Jingyang to send someone to Wangzhou to take care of her."
"Second Uncle wants to kill Chunlan, not only in the mansion, but he also tried to silence her yesterday at the inn outside the city."
"I asked them to send Chunlan directly to the mansion without even saying hello to Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt. They must have been scared."
Shen Tang was not worried about Shen Sui. After all, the Fourth House was helping Shen Sui find his son and was loyal to the First House. Shen Tang was worried about the Old Madam, fearing that she would vent her anger on the Fourth House. After all, the Second Master and Shen Sui were both the Old Madam's biological children, and she loved them dearly.
Perhaps the old lady would think that if it weren't for Chunlan, the maid, the things the second master did would not be exposed, and the second and first houses would not have been in such a mess. No matter how close her grandson is, he can never be as close as the flesh and blood that fell from her own body.
Shen Tang didn't say it explicitly, but the old lady could hear her worry. She felt bad in her heart. In the eyes of her granddaughter, was she such an unreasonable person?
The old lady looked at Shen Sui and said, "If it weren't for Chunlan, the maid, we wouldn't know the injustice Jiang had suffered in the past, nor would we know that you had a son, who might still be alive. I remember that Gongzhong has two shops connected to each other in the south of the city. I will send the house deeds and land deeds to the fourth house later. If it weren't for your own good, how could I dare to meddle in this trivial matter."
If it were something else, one might suspect that the fourth branch was after the title. Shen Sui broke up with the second branch and had no children, so it was possible that he would adopt a child from the fourth branch. However, the fourth branch was looking for Shen Sui's son. Shen Sui found his own flesh and blood who was stranded outside, even if he was just an illiterate gangster, the title would have nothing to do with the fourth branch.
Shen Sui knew what to do without the old lady telling him.
His own brother harmed his son, but his half-brother and sister-in-law secretly spared no effort to help him find his son. How could Shen Sui not be moved?
Now that she knew her second brother was not buried alive, there was still hope that he was still alive. Chunlan was the only person who had seen her second brother, and there was also the carriage. She had not had time to ask in detail just now, and she did not know if she could find any clues.
Mother Wang went out and called the fourth master, the fourth mistress, and Chunlan back in.
The Fourth Master and the Fourth Mistress were very worried. Quarrels between husband and wife and conflicts between siblings were things they should not interfere with. Even if someone's bones were broken and tendons were connected, they might heal in a few days. By then, they would be in a difficult situation. However, Shen Sui had always been nice to the Fourth Master. It would have been fine if he didn't know about this, but how could he ignore it now that he knew?
Especially the Fourth Wife, because Chunlan never came back, she was not sure whether what she heard that year was the cry of a baby. Jiang insisted that she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and her son was stolen. She did not dare to stand up and speak for her. Without evidence, she could only watch Jiang helpless and depressed day by day.
All she could do was to spend more time with her, comfort her, and tell her that only by staying alive could she find her son. Later, Jiang died with hatred in her heart. For so many years, the Fourth Madam felt guilty every day. She regretted not standing up and telling Jiang about the faint cry. Perhaps with her trust, Jiang might have been able to hold on.
Knowing how ruthless the Second Wife was and how powerful her connections were in the Marquis' Mansion, the Fourth Wife avoided the Second Wife's edge and never dared to make enemies with her. She wished that the Fourth Wife could live her own life behind closed doors.
Chunlan may be the only one who knows the truth. Knowing that Chunlan is still alive, how could the Fourth Madam not redeem her and bring her back to Beijing? If she pretends to know nothing, she will not have the face to face Jiang in the underworld after her death.
Shen Tang stood up and apologized to the Fourth Madam, "I didn't tell Fourth Aunt about Chunlan's matter in advance. Please don't be angry..."
The Fourth Madam shook her head. "Chunlan just told me that if you hadn't sent someone, she would have died in Wangzhou by now. There's no way she could have returned to Beijing alive."
Shen Tang looked at Chunlan and asked, "Do you have any clues about my second brother? Do you know whose house that carriage belonged to?"
Chunlan replied, "The carriage wasn't very grand, but it wasn't bad either. There was a sign on it with the word 'Lin' written on it. It must have belonged to a family with the surname Lin."
"The Second Young Master has a large birthmark on his arm, from his shoulder to his elbow. Anyone who has seen it will be deeply impressed."
Jiang only told Shen Sui about the birthmark on her youngest son's arm, because no one believed that she had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, let alone the birthmark. No one would believe it even if she told them, so Shen Sui never told anyone else about it.
The old lady said, "The carriage is parked outside the city. It's possible that they are from near Kyoto. Let's have Steward Li take people to inquire. If nothing works, we can post a notice."
Shen Sui said, "I'll send someone to look for him."