She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 143 There is something wrong with the medicine

Zhao Yi chuckled: "That's a good idea."

If Marquis Chengen buried the evidence of his crimes in Elder Li's grave, he would surely keep a close eye on news from the grave.

Once someone gets close, it will definitely alert him and he will take some action.

If they guess wrong, Marquis Chengen will not make any move.

Shen Qingtan asked, "Did His Majesty allocate silver to Qingzhou?"

"The imperial court allocated silver and grain to Qingzhou in the first two years, but in the following two years, the war in the northern border became more intense, and the expenditure of military funds put some pressure on the national treasury."

Zhao Yi slowly said, "The Emperor then issued a decree that merchants could exchange grain for salt permits. This decree was implemented in Qingzhou and achieved great results, alleviating the disaster in Qingzhou and reducing the burden on the national treasury."

Jiang Chao said indignantly, "Qingzhou has no disaster at all, so why do these corrupt officials need to alleviate it? I have found out that they directly sold the salt permits to merchants, and all the money went into their pockets."

Shen Qingtan thought it was a good plan. By using the pretext of a disaster to sell salt permits, even if the whereabouts of the salt permits were unknown, there would be an excuse.

"Last year, disasters struck various parts of the Great Zhou, and donating grain in exchange for salt permits was ineffective. So the Emperor issued another decree that anyone who donated more than 800 shi of grain could become a tribute student and take up an official post."

Shen Qingtan said sarcastically, "The officials in Qingzhou have come up with another way to make money: they're selling official positions directly."

She changed her mind, knowing how to get the Marquis of Chengen to kick her aside.

Shen Qingtan's mood improved, and the corners of her lips turned up slightly.

Suddenly, her smile froze as she thought of Shen Shaobai.

Zhao Yi asked in a low voice, "Are you worried about Shen Shaobai?"

Shen Qingtan nodded: "He is a person who truly cares for me."

Zhao Yi knew that Shen Qingtan was kind-hearted and couldn't be cruel to those who treated her sincerely.

He advised, "Make amends for your mistakes with good deeds."

Shen Qingtan frowned even more deeply. It was truly a case of Shen Shaobai being neither good at literature nor martial arts, and even if he were to achieve merit, she didn't know where to begin.

Zhao Yi comforted him, saying, "I have a way to save his life. As for what fate will bring, that depends entirely on him."

Shen Qingtan looked up into Zhao Yi's dark eyes, and his firm gaze made her inexplicably believe his words.

"It's already a good result if we can spare his life," Shen Qingtan said with a heavy heart. "We can deal with the rest later."

-

When Zhongxia returned from the clinic, she saw Shen Shaobai leaving through the side gate of the Duke of Zhao.

She thought she was seeing things, stared at them for a while, and after confirming that it was Shen Shaobai, she entered the Duke's mansion through the back door and went straight to the second branch's Qingyun Garden.

Zhongxia didn't see Shen Mingzhu in the outer room, so she went into the inner room.

Shen Mingzhu was lying on her side on the bed, covered with a bright red quilt, which made her face look even paler.

She remembered the doctor's words and gripped the medicine packet in her hand tightly.

"Zhongxia?" Hearing the noise, Shen Mingzhu opened her eyes and looked at Zhongxia standing by the curtain, asking weakly, "What did the doctor say?"

"Third Grandmother."

Zhongxia moved into the inner room and saw Shen Mingzhu with her eyelids drooping and looking listless. She didn't know how to start the conversation.

Shen Mingzhu had a vague premonition of something bad, but she tried to deceive herself by not thinking about the worst and kept a glimmer of hope in her heart.

But seeing Zhongxia's reaction now, the last glimmer of hope in my heart has cracked.

She asked in a trembling voice, "Zhongxia, is there something wrong with this medicine?"

“Third Grandmother.” Zhongxia looked at the tears in Shen Mingzhu’s eyes, and her nose tingled. “The doctor said that this medicine is fine to take before pregnancy, but if you take it while pregnant, it will not help you give birth, but will instead harm the baby in your womb.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the figure who had walked to the screen suddenly stopped.