The younger son of the Prefect of the Capital was named Sun Tingyun. He had always regarded Shen Heqing as a role model. Now that his role model was asking for a favor, he was determined to do his best.
When he learned that Shen Heqing wanted to find a prisoner for Dr. Liu to test medicine on and already had someone in mind, Sun Tingyun was a bit hesitant. This involved his father, and he couldn't make the decision on his own.
Shen Heqing knew Sun Tingyun's character well. He didn't force him but simply told Sun Tingyun about Chen Miaochun's experiences in the Wang family. He emphasized that he just felt sorry for Chen Miaochun. In terms of relationship, Chen Miaochun called the Princess of Jingning god - mother, so she was like his own younger sister.
Sun Tingyun gritted his teeth and said, "The Wang family is so bullying! I didn't know Brother Shen was doing this for his sister. Come with me to the yamen."
When they arrived at the yamen, Sun Tingyun asked Shen Heqing to go to the teahouse across the street and wait for a while. He said he'd be back soon.
An hour later.
Sun Tingyun came out beaming. "Brother Shen, it's done! Thanks to the Wang family's over - the - top behavior, we got this chance."
The Prefect of the Capital had initially disagreed with this matter, but he couldn't stand Sun Tingyun's persistent pestering. In the end, he ordered someone to retrieve the Wang family's case file and examine it carefully.
When Chen Ruxia stood up for Chen Miaochun, she only accused the Wang family of two crimes. One was that the Wang family extorted money from the Yong'an Marquis Mansion, which was blackmail. The other was that Wang Baogen had a fight with a neighbor.
However, after hearing Shen Heqing's description, Sun Tingyun added a few more charges against the Wang family, such as illegal human trafficking and allowing their son to hurt others. All these charges combined were enough to meet the requirements for the medicine - testing.
All Shen Heqing had to do was take the Prefect's personal letter and ask the yamen to retry the case. After that, the rest would be simple. Dr. Liu just needed to record the process of the medicine - testing and leave it at the yamen.
Sun Tingyun knew that Shen Heqing wanted to stand up for Chen Miaochun and get revenge on the Wang family. He kindly reminded him, "If the process of the medicine - testing is inconvenient, you don't have to write the record."
"Thank you." Shen Heqing knew well that although Sun Tingyun made it sound easy, it was not at all simple to get this done.
Sun Tingyun's eyes lit up. He said excitedly, "Really? Can I be friends with Brother Shen?"
He had long wanted to make friends with Shen Heqing, and he never thought his wish would come true today.
Shen Heqing successfully got the Wang family involved in the medicine - testing, and Sun Tingyun made friends with Shen Heqing. Everyone on their side was happy, but Concubine Zhao was in a much more difficult situation.
She nervously clutched the silver bag in her hand. Looking at the Wang family members in the prison cell, she was in a dilemma. There was a decent amount of money in the bag, but it wasn't enough to bail out the Wang family.
Concubine Zhao tried to bargain. "This is too much money. I just want to bail them out..."
"If you think it's too much, leave. If it weren't for the large number of cases recently and the order from above to clear out the prison cells, you wouldn't even have the chance to bail them out." The jailer was impatient. He pushed Concubine Zhao out. "These people have offended the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. If it weren't for the case being relatively minor and having to wait for three months, they would have been sentenced long ago."
The yamen in the capital was also responsible for the joint trials of the entire Dayong Empire. Some cases that local officials couldn't decide and death - penalty cases had to be sent to the capital yamen for a joint trial, then to the Court of Judicial Review for a second trial, and finally be finalized by the Ministry of Justice.
The Wang family was quite lucky. They happened to be in the middle of a joint - trial period. The yamen was short - staffed and needed to clear out a few prison cells. The jailer didn't know the details of the feud between the Yong'an Marquis Mansion and the Wang family. Just looking at the case, he thought the Wang family had accidentally offended the Marquis Mansion. The crime could be either light or heavy, but it was much lighter than several murder cases.
Concubine Zhao had witnessed Chen Linchun's fierceness. She also knew that he still cared about the Wang family. Gritting her teeth, she took off the jewelry on her body and placed it in front of the jailer. "Is this enough?"
The jailer pushed the jewelry back. "We only accept silver."
The yamen was not a pawnshop. If they accidentally accepted a fake by mistake, they jailers would have to bear the loss.
Concubine Zhao had no choice but to go to the pawnshop to exchange the jewelry for silver.
The jailer counted the silver and asked Concubine Zhao to sign and fingerprint. "Sign and fingerprint here. Write down your address. After the constables verify the information, you can take them away."
"If these three people disappear, you'll have to bear their punishments..."
Concubine Zhao nodded in agreement. Chen Linchun had told her this before.
Just as the jailer was explaining the rules, he suddenly saw his superior coming. He smiled and said, "Warden, why are you here?"
The warden was a thin and lean middle - aged man. He nodded slightly as a response to the jailer.
Then the warden welcomed the people behind him in. "Young Master Sun, this is the prison cell where the Wang family is held."
The prison cell smelled quite musty. Sun Tingyun, who was used to a pampered life, covered his nose with a handkerchief. With difficulty, he said, "It smells so bad here. Brother Shen, why don't you go out first? I'll find the people and send them up right away."
Shen Heqing didn't feel uncomfortable at all. He just wanted to take the Wang family away as soon as possible.
The warden was sensible. He could tell that Sun Tingyun didn't want to stay long. He immediately asked the jailer to bring out the three members of the Wang family.
Looking at the three names he had just written down, the jailer was stunned. He instinctively looked at Concubine Zhao beside him. "Warden, these three people have already been bailed out."
Sun Tingyun's expression changed. He had begged his father for a long time to get this done. If something went wrong, would Brother Shen think he was useless?
He quickly said, "When were they bailed out? Who approved it! These three are involved in human trafficking, which is a serious crime. How could they be bailed out!"
The jailer was completely confused. He timidly looked at the warden, who was also in the dark. The warden could only look at Shen Heqing.
Shen Heqing explained, "Previously, the Yong'an Marquis Mansion accused the Wang family of blackmail because the Wang family accidentally raised the eldest daughter of the Marquis Mansion for several years and extorted money from the mansion. Now, the Marquis Mansion has found out that the Wang family abducted the eldest daughter, deliberately concealed her whereabouts, and even intended to sell her. This counts as human trafficking."
It was also the Wang family's own fault. They had once planned to sell the disfigured Chen Miaochun and even found a human trafficker. All the neighboring villagers knew about it.
Hearing this, the jailer immediately returned the silver to Concubine Zhao. "The Wang family has committed a serious crime. They can't be bailed out."
Concubine Zhao also heard what Shen Heqing said. After getting the silver back, she didn't dare to argue with the jailer. She just wanted to take the money and leave quickly.
"Is it you who wanted to bail out the Wang family?" Sun Tingyun blocked Concubine Zhao before Shen Heqing could. Concubine Zhao was so frightened that she trembled.
Shen Heqing picked up the paper on the table. It clearly stated that someone had paid eighty taels of silver to bail out the three members of the Wang family for a period of three months. The person who bailed them out was surnamed Zhao, and the address was the Yong'an Marquis Mansion.
Although he didn't like the Yong'an Marquis Mansion, because Shen Baozhu was good friends with Qiuqiu, Shen Heqing also knew that there was a Concubine Zhao in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. This Concubine Zhao was very shrewd and had captured the heart of the Marquis. If the current wife of the Marquis didn't have a good family background, who knew who would be in charge of the mansion now.
Shen Heqing folded the paper and put it in his bosom. He whispered a few words in Sun Tingyun's ear.
After some hesitation, Sun Tingyun still helped Shen Heqing. His eyes sparkled. "It's a deal. Brother Shen, you have to give me some advice!"
"Tie them up and send them to the Princess Mansion."
...
In the main courtyard of the Princess Mansion.
Shen Baozhu was playing with Chen Miaochun in the study. She took out all her toys generously and said, "These are all Baozhu's toys. Sister Miaochun can play with them as she likes!"
Chen Miaochun picked and chose and finally selected her favorite toy.
[I didn't expect Chen Miaochun to like the rattle.]
Looking at the toys all over the floor and then at the lonely rattle in Chen Miaochun's hand, Shen Baozhu stuffed a few Luban locks into Chen Miaochun's hands. "This is fun!"
"I'm a bit stupid." Chen Miaochun explained politely. She didn't know how to play with them.
Shen Baozhu was stunned for a moment and then stuffed a wooden nine - link puzzle.
Chen Miaochun was more straightforward this time. "I don't know how to play these. The rattle is enough."
Then, a few wooden figurines were added to her arms.
Shen Baozhu held a figurine of the same type but different style. Her face was full of excitement. "Let's play a war game!"
"Cough, cough, cough."
The sound of Shen Heqing's cough came from the door. "Stop playing. It's time to learn characters."
The originally happy Shen Baozhu became listless. "Okay."