northernbook Chapter 237 Lure the snake out of its hole
Chapter 237 Lure the snake out of its hole
Zhao Wan stared blankly at Shen Qingtan.
"The old lady is an enlightened person. If a man is not of good character, she will not let you marry him."
Shen Qingtan comforted her, "Even if your husband treats you badly, you don't need to be afraid of him. You have the Duke's Mansion behind you. How can a young lady of the Duke's Mansion be bullied? If you feel wronged, your second brother will stand up for you."
As Zhao Wan listened to Shen Qingtan's words, her eyes welled up with tears. No one had ever spoken to her so frankly before.
Her mother only wanted her to marry a powerful and influential man. She believed that if she became wealthy and powerful, the third branch of the family could hold their heads high and she could also help her younger brother in the future.
Ever since her mother learned that the old lady intended for her to marry Pei Wuyan, she had been secretly inquiring about Pei Wuyan's family background.
After her mother learned that Pei Wuyan came from a wealthy family, she encouraged her to try to win Pei Wuyan's favor.
From that moment on, she realized more deeply that she was all alone and had no one to rely on.
Only her second sister-in-law told her that if she was wronged, her second brother would stand up for her.
Even just a word of comfort would be enough.
Zhao Wan said gratefully from the bottom of her heart, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
-
As dusk fell, Zhao Yi returned to Lanxue Garden. Upon entering the room, he saw Shen Qingtan leaning against the daybed, her chin resting on her hand, staring blankly at the oil lamp on the table.
He slowed his pace, walked slowly towards her, stopped in front of her, bent down, and leaned close to her.
The two people's faces were so close that they were only a finger's width apart, and their noses could almost touch.
Zhao Yi remained silent, watching his shadow fill her dark pupils.
Shen Qingtan's heart skipped a beat when she saw the face suddenly looming large in front of her. She clutched her chest and said coquettishly, "What do you want to do?"
Zhao Yi chuckled and kissed her on the lips: "Do this."
Shen Qingtan blushed, moved her body back on the couch, and pulled his sleeve to make him sit on the couch.
Zhao Yi gazed at the woman nestled beside him. Her hair was unadorned, her long, soft black hair cascading down, her raven hair and red lips making her breathtakingly beautiful.
He raised his hand and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear: "What were you thinking about just now?"
"Grandmother asked me to come over today. She entrusted you to help Wan's sister choose whether Young Master Pei is a trustworthy person."
Shen Qingtan's eyes filled with worry: "What Third Brother said in the carriage made me not have a good impression of Young Master Pei. If you have time, please meet with him. We can't let Sister Wan jump into a fire pit."
"Hmm." Zhao Yi responded and said in a low voice, "Jiang Mu sent word that my second aunt and her younger brother from her maternal family are making a living by selling counterfeit goods."
Shen Qingtan sat up straight: "Have you found out?"
Zhao Yi nodded slightly: "Jiang Mu also discovered a strange place. After Second Aunt moved out of the Duke's Mansion, she came to the Duke's Mansion a few times. She never went to the front gate, but to the side gate in the West Garden. The Duke's Mansion is guarded by people from the palace, so she didn't dare to get too close."
Shen Qingtan always felt that Zhao Yi's investigation was going too smoothly, as if there was a hand pushing things along from behind.
She pondered Zhao Yi's words repeatedly, feeling increasingly puzzled: "Does Second Aunt have some belongings that she hasn't moved out of the mansion and wants to move them out through the side gate of the West Garden?"
At this point, she suddenly remembered something: "Second Master, do you remember when I forced Second Aunt to hand over her dowry, she said that thieves had stolen my dowry and hidden it in the abandoned West Garden?"
"remember."
“That batch of dowry was indeed carried back from the West Garden.” Shen Qingtan pondered, “I thought at the time that she redeemed the dowry from the pawnshop and carried it in through the side gate of the West Garden, hiding the dowry there.”
At this point, Shen Qingtan said with a puzzled look, "When I took back the dowry, I didn't think about it too much. Now, thinking back on it, I feel there's something fishy about it. How did she manage to take this batch of dowry out of the mansion and sell it to a pawnshop so quietly?"
A thoughtful look flashed across Zhao Yi's eyes. The Second Madam was taking things out of the mansion little by little. If she did it too often, it would arouse suspicion.
If the dowry were to be sent out of the mansion from the West Garden, that would be even more impossible.
The West Garden is too far from the Second Branch, spanning half of the Duke's Mansion.
Suddenly, Zhao Yi thought of something: "Every important official's residence would have a secret escape route."
Shen Qingtan felt this was very likely; only by transporting the dowry out through the secret passage could she avoid alerting anyone.
She leaned her soft body into Zhao Yi's arms and whispered in his ear, "Second Master, please have the Emperor withdraw the guards stationed in the West Garden."
Zhao Yi immediately understood Shen Qingtan's intention: she wanted to lure the snake out of its hole.
-
Xingningfang, Zhao family.
The second wife sat in the dimly lit room, looking haggard.
They had lived in the house for a while, but the house still smelled damp, which made her very uncomfortable.
When they first moved in, the second wife couldn't stand it and couldn't sleep for nights on end.
Now that I can't hold on any longer, I can finally close my eyes and sleep for a while.
She had lived a life of wealth and luxury for most of her life, never expecting that she would have to live a life of poverty in her later years.
The house was completely empty, without a single decent piece of furniture.
She asked her younger brother for some money, bought some things, and then spent it all.
She went to her younger brother for more money, but he only gave her a packet of silver and told her to be careful with it. She didn't have any extra silver; she had given most of it to important people.
Thinking of this, the second wife felt a surge of resentment.
She had thought that the secret stash hidden in the dark room would allow her to live a good life. But then palace guards came and stopped the West Garden, preventing her from even entering, let alone moving her private belongings out.
She knew that since the second branch of the family had separated from the Duke's mansion, they had closed down their gambling dens and counterfeit workshops to avoid trouble.
The younger brother couldn't get anything out of her, so he didn't want to be her money bag anymore.
She dared not spend money recklessly, fearing that if she ran out of money, she wouldn't even be able to afford food.
They didn't even spend money to buy incense to mask the smell in the house.
The second wife was anxious. She could not have peace of mind until she moved the private room hidden in the Duke's mansion out, and she was worried that Shen Qingtan would discover the secret room.
She hoped that the guards stationed in the West Garden would be withdrawn as soon as possible.
The second wife touched her sleeve and found that there was only one piece of silver left in her sleeve pocket.
She gritted her teeth and decided to go find her younger brother again.
At this moment, a maid came in and said to her, "Madam, the guards watching over the West Garden have been withdrawn."