Shen Heqing looked at Su Qian. He seemed to know who his friend resembled.
Su Qian shivered under his gaze and nervously turned to the village head. "If that's the case, do you want to report this to the authorities? My friend has connections above. He'll surely get Su Yue locked up."
"As for compensation... I'm not good at managing property. How about I sell all my assets and divide the money equally among you?"
Su Qian thought it was simple. Su Yue and Su Ming had tried to kill him. If the people of Sujiacun reported the case to the authorities and got Su Yue arrested, his life would be saved!
What good news!
Seeing Su Qian grinning foolishly, Shen Heqing thought his friend had lost his mind. "Weren't you against it before? Why have you changed your mind?"
"It's different this time. They're my only remaining relatives. I'd be too ashamed to face my parents if I sent them to prison with my own hands." Su Qian had his own logic. "But now, it's the people of Sujiacun who want to report the case. It's just that my sister deserves her punishment. It has nothing to do with me."
Shen Heqing still didn't quite understand Su Qian's thoughts, but Shen Danqing sort of got it.
Su Qian knew what Su Yue had done wrong. But since their parents had passed away, Su Yue and Su Ming were his only remaining relatives. He was afraid of facing his parents after death if he sent them to the authorities himself.
If it was the people of Sujiacun who sent Su Yue to prison, when he met his parents after death, he could only blame Su Yue for her evil deeds.
Shen Danqing pulled Su Qian back and stepped forward to face the village head. In just a few words, she revealed Shen Heqing's identity.
Upon learning that Shen Heqing's maternal grandfather was General Mu, the people of Sujiacun looked at him with even more respect. Shen Heqing couldn't help but straighten his back, and the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.
The people of Sujiacun surrounded Shen Heqing and Shen Baozhu, offering them the freshest and most beautiful flowers from their own gardens.
Su Qian mused, "Brother Heqing looks so familiar in this way."
"Look to the side. Doesn't he look just like Baozhu?" Shen Danqing pointed at Shen Baozhu with her fan from afar, signaling Su Qian to look.
Su Qian was surprised. He first looked at Shen Baozhu and then stared at Shen Heqing. "He really does!"
A villager who was good at cooking invited Shen Heqing and Shen Baozhu to his home, saying he would cook a sumptuous meal and some special flower cakes. Before Shen Heqing could respond, Shen Baozhu, who had heard about the flower cakes, tugged at his sleeve. "Brother, you want to eat the flower cakes too, don't you?"
The word "too" was used perfectly.
Shen Heqing looked at Shen Baozhu helplessly and nodded in agreement.
Su Qian wanted to go with them, but Shen Danqing stopped him. "This is a good opportunity for you to talk to the village head."
"About what?" Su Qian looked at Shen Danqing blankly.
"Do you want to report the case to the authorities?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to take the imperial examinations?"
"Yes."
"Since you do, talk to the village head and find a good excuse to report the case. We don't want Su Yue to affect your imperial examinations."
"Oh!"
Su Qian was so silly that it was hard to trust him. Shen Danqing sighed and had no choice but to drag him to find the village head and help him negotiate in person.
...
In the Phoenix Palace of the imperial palace.
Princess Jingning, dressed in a pine - green long dress, sat in the hall, quietly waiting for the arrival of the queen.
A woman walked out from inside the hall. She was wearing a red sheer outer veil over a ruqun (a traditional Chinese dress). With a beautiful face and a phoenix hairpin in her high - coiled hair, every movement exuded grace and nobility. She was the current queen.
The queen stepped forward and stopped Princess Jingning, who was about to salute. "Why are you being so formal? There's no need for such formalities between us."
Following the queen's gesture, Princess Jingning sat back on the chair. The two looked at each other.
Princess Jingning was dressed simply, wearing only a few silver hairpins, looking rather plain.
Her eyes swept over the maids and eunuchs in the hall, and she hesitated to speak.
The queen understood immediately and ordered all the serving maids and eunuchs to leave, except for her personal maid.
"Your Majesty..." Princess Jingning lowered her head first and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. When she looked up again, her eyes were tearful as she called out aggrievedly.
"Baozhu fell into the water a few days ago. After being rescued, she couldn't sleep well at night. At first, she could only fall asleep in the second half of the night with the help of Doctor Liu's acupuncture."
Princess Jingning leaned forward slightly, tightly holding the queen's hand. Her eyes were red as she gestured. "Your Majesty has seen Doctor Liu's acupuncture. Those long silver needles... when they're inserted..."
"I've not only seen it. When the Crown Prince was ill, Doctor Liu used the same acupuncture method." These words touched the queen's heart. Remembering the past, her heart tightened along with Princess Jingning's words.
She hurriedly asked, "How did Baozhu fall into the water for no reason? Where were the servants around her?"
Hearing this, Princess Jingning couldn't help but shed tears. Choking with sobs, she said, "Your Majesty, Lan Yue wants to divorce Shen Yunfeng."
The queen was stunned. She instinctively tried to pull back her hand that was tightly held by Princess Jingning, but Princess Jingning held it too tightly, and she couldn't get it back.
Princess Jingning seemed not to notice and continued, "Your Majesty may not know that Shen Yunfeng has a mistress. He didn't dare to take her into the mansion, but he couldn't bear to let her stay outside either. So he brought her home under a false identity."
"And Baozhu's fall into the water... alas..."
At this point, Princess Jingning paused and turned her head, wiping the red corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
Seeing Princess Jingning's pitiful appearance, the queen was shocked and asked, "Was it that mistress who harmed Baozhu?"
Princess Jingning closed her eyes sadly and nodded slightly, looking like a poor woman whose husband had betrayed her and who was helpless. "That mistress resented Shen Yunfeng for not taking her into the mansion, so she blamed the child."
The queen couldn't help but think of more than a decade ago. The struggle between the emperor and Prime Minister Shen was nearing its end. Just when they needed an excuse, Shen Yunfeng took in a concubine. The emperor used this as an excuse to blame Prime Minister Shen for his poor upbringing of his son and ordered him to retire.
This was probably why Shen Yunfeng kept his mistress outside instead of bringing her home.
The queen felt guilty, and her attitude softened a bit. "You and Baozhu have suffered, but divorce is a serious matter. You can't say it lightly. It would be good if Shen Yunfeng can correct his mistakes."
"Lan Yue thought so too. But Shen Yunfeng insisted on protecting that mistress. He even indulged her to poison Heqing. Fortunately, Doctor Liu had seen that poison by chance. Otherwise..." Princess Jingning lowered her head and cried again, looking even more pitiful.
The unspoken words gave the queen a lot of room for imagination. The queen was slightly stunned, and the words of comfort got stuck in her throat.
If it was just having a mistress, it wouldn't be a big deal. But Shen Yunfeng shouldn't have hurt the children.
Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. Shen Yunfeng was worse than a brute.
But it was also impossible for the queen to support Princess Jingning's divorce.
This marriage was bestowed by the late emperor. It seemed that the only daughter of General Mu had married into the Shen family, but in fact, Mu Lanyue was specially granted the title of Princess Jingning, along with a princess mansion and a fief.
It was more like Shen Yunfeng had married into the princess mansion than Princess Jingning marrying into the Shen family.
The purpose was to appease General Mu and at the same time keep him in check, for fear that Princess Jingning would marry a husband and give birth to a child with the Mu surname.
Although the general was loyal, the emperor had to be on guard.
Divorce was absolutely out of the question.