mtlumby2d Chapter 177 Demoted
Chapter 177 Demoted
The two girls denied it hastily with trembling voices.
It would be strange if this were no problem.
Princess An Ding's heart skipped a beat. "Why are you so surprised to see me at the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion?"
The two girls looked at each other, seeming to want to say something but hesitant.
Anyone with eyes could see that something was amiss. Princess Anding was becoming increasingly impatient, her face drooping. One of the two girls steeled herself, realizing it couldn't be concealed anyway, and said, "We just entered the Marquis of Pingyuan's mansion and heard that Prince Shun was forming a clique for personal gain. The evidence is irrefutable, and the Emperor, in a fit of rage, demoted him to Prince Shunping..."
Princess Anding, no... Prince Shun was demoted, and Princess Anding's status would also be demoted. Now she can no longer be called Princess Anding, but can only be called Princess Anding County.
With such a thing happening in the mansion, it is impossible for Princess Anding to have the leisure to come to the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion to deliver additional dowry. She must not know about it yet.
Princess Anding could no longer sit still, so she stood up and left in a hurry.
She walked away quickly, so Shen Tang and Shen Luo did not chase her. They asked a maid to escort Princess Anding out of the house.
After Princess Anding left, no one had to worry about anything anymore. Everyone was talking about the demotion of Prince Shun. The lively lotus viewing banquet at Prince Shun's mansion seemed to be still before their eyes. They didn't expect that he would be demoted so soon. Forming a clique for personal gain, these four words meant that it was not only Prince Shun who was demoted. It was not known which ministers would suffer the consequences.
Shen Xian's face looked a little unhappy. Ever since she helped Concubine Ye plot against Shen Tang at Prince Shun's Mansion, she knew that Prince Shun supported the Second Prince. Prince Shun's demotion was not a good thing for the Second Prince. As the Second Prince's consort, Shen Xian was looking forward to becoming the Crown Princess in the near future, or even the mother of the country. Naturally, she hoped that the Second Prince would be well.
Shen Tang was in a good mood, welcoming and seeing off guests. Fortunately, he would be fine after these busy days.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day for the wedding banquet at the Marquis's mansion. The Marquis Pingyuan was marrying off his daughter to the second prince, and there was also a future son-in-law, the prince of Jingyang. All the civil and military officials came to the mansion to drink in the wedding wine. Although the Marquis Pingyuan had no children, as the old saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son, and the two halves of the Marquis Pingyuan were much better.
The second master and second mistress's wounds had healed, and they were helping to greet the guests with smiles on their faces. If you didn't know better, you would have thought they were getting their daughter married.
But it was normal for them to be happy. Marquis Pingyuan had no son, not even a illegitimate son. His two daughters married into wealthy families, one more glorious than the other, and as a result, Marquis Pingyuan's status in the court also rose. Without a son to inherit the title, the second wife was the one who benefited in the end. It was normal for the second wife to be happy. Who wouldn't be envious?
Shen Xian did not show up at the wedding banquet and stayed in her boudoir. Shen Tang, Shen Luo and the two girls from the He family helped to greet the ladies who came to the wedding banquet. After today's busy day, Shen Xian would get on the bridal sedan tomorrow and the mansion would be quiet.
The wedding banquet lasted for over an hour before it ended. Shen Sui saw his colleagues out of the mansion. The second, third, and fourth masters all saw them off. As the second master was seeing Prince Zhao off, Prince Zhao asked the second master, "News has come from Wangzhou that the mansion has sent people to Wangzhou Baihualou to redeem a maid named Chunlan. They've even moved out of Pingyuan Marquis's mansion in an attempt to force Baihualou to release her. Did you send those people?"
The second master was stunned and shook his head, "It's not me."
King Zhao asked, "If it's not you, then who could it be?"
The second master also found it strange. How could someone in the mansion go to such a faraway place as Wangzhou under the guise of Pingyuan Marquis Mansion to redeem a maid? Could it be the eldest brother?
But why would big brother want to redeem a maid and be willing to spend four thousand taels to redeem her?
The Second Master thought this was unusual. After seeing off the guests, he returned to the South Courtyard and asked the Second Mistress, "Is there a maid named Chunlan in the mansion?"
The Second Wife asked curiously, "Why would the Master inquire about a maid?"
The Second Master told the Second Wife what Prince Zhao had told him. The Second Wife was also surprised. "The name Chunlan seems familiar. I seem to have heard it somewhere..."
Mother Sun walked in and heard this. She choked up and asked, "Chunlan is still alive?"
Her voice was urgent and trembling, which scared the Second Madam. She asked, "Do you know Chunlan?"
Mother Sun choked up, "Madam, you forgot that Chunlan and my daughter Qiaohui disappeared one day..."
Her daughter was found in a dilapidated temple a few days after she disappeared. She had been tortured to death. There was no news of Chunlan. She had always thought that Chunlan had died a long time ago, but she didn't expect that Chunlan was still alive.
After Mother Sun reminded her, the Second Madam immediately remembered that Chunlan was the Fourth Madam's maid.
But how could anyone in the Marquis' Mansion spend four thousand taels to redeem the Fourth Madam's maid? They even put pressure on Baihualou under the banner of Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion to release her.
Even if she had the courage of the Fourth Master and the Fourth Mistress, she would not dare to do such a thing.
When Jiang was alive, she sent people to look for Qiaohui and Chunlan everywhere. Later, the Marquis's Mansion gave up, but the Fourth Madam was still looking. Four thousand taels of silver were enough to buy more than a hundred skillful maids. The Second Madam didn't believe that the Fourth Madam valued her maids so much. Even though they had been missing for more than ten years and were trapped in a brothel, she was determined to rescue them.
While the Second Madam was thinking about this, the maidservant in the room said, "This servant remembered something. Before the Fourth Madam went to her parents' home to celebrate her birthday and had not yet returned, someone came to the mansion looking for her. It seemed that person was from Wangzhou..."
If the maid hadn't said anything, the Second Madam wouldn't have known about this. "Where's that man? Did the Fourth Madam see him?"
The maid shook her head, "I don't know..."
She knew about this matter because she happened to be out of the house on business and came back to meet him at the side door. She asked casually and didn't take it seriously. The fourth room was not conspicuous in the mansion, and the servants in the mansion didn't care much about the fourth room's affairs. Only when she remembered it now did she report it to the second wife.
"Go and find out."
The maid went to the side door to ask the old woman who was guarding the door at that time.
Soon the maid returned and said, "The man from Wangzhou came to ask the Fourth Madam for help on Chunlan's behalf. However, he was anxious to leave Beijing and insisted on seeing the Fourth Madam. The maid was so angry that she wanted to chase him away. The Second Madam's maid happened to see him and called the man aside to talk. After that, he did not appear again."
It’s the second girl again!
The second wife's face was as long as a horse's.
In the past few months, the second young lady has brought a lot of bad luck to her and Xian'er. Whenever they have anything to do with the second young lady, nothing good will happen.
Could it be that the people sent to redeem Chunlan were the second lady's men?
The fourth wife doesn't have the courage to do things under the banner of the Marquis' Mansion, but the second lady does.
Considering that Chunlan and Qiaohui disappeared on the same day and left the house at the same time, it is possible that Chunlan knew something.
Shen Tang even knew that Shen Ran was the daughter of Princess Jinde and her husband. The Second Wife did not dare to underestimate Shen Tang anymore. It is better to be safe than sorry.
The Second Wife looked at the Second Master and said, "We must not let Chunlan return to Beijing alive!"