RWNEFE -Chapter 315 Dealing with Zhang Zifen!

Zhang Zifen kept begging for mercy. “Eldest Miss, I’ve been wronged. I never schemed against my own family.”

Shen Lanxi said coldly, “Spreading rumors, sowing discord, scheming against one’s own kin—punishment: tongue cut out, mouth sewn shut, face flayed.”

Chunxue lifted her foot, drew a dagger from her boot, and was about to slash Zhang Zifen’s face.

Old Madam Shen came back to her senses and screamed, “Wait… wait, don’t do it!”

Her voice was so strained it broke.

The entire Shen family was terrified. There hadn’t even been much of a conflict—how could such a severe punishment be ordered immediately? And that “flaying the face”… surely she didn’t mean literally stripping the skin off the face?

At that thought, everyone’s hair stood on end.

“Lanxi, what are you trying to do?” Old Madam Shen instinctively wanted to plead, but then thought again—this was no longer Dongchuan. She was an officially titled matriarch of the court; what could Shen Lanxi possibly do to her?

“This is the family home, not your military camp. Besides, you are no longer a general—don’t think you can throw your weight around here!” Old Madam Shen scolded sternly.

Shen Lanxi said nothing.

Suddenly, Zhang Zifen let out a piercing scream.

Chunxue had already slashed her face once and was preparing to strike a second time.

“Stop! Make your people stop! You unfilial wretch—how dare you defy your elders? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the Emperor?”

Shen Lanxi sat calmly. “If I dare to do it, I dare to bear the consequences. The Shen family rises and falls together—go ahead and report me if you wish.”

She had never been one to accept threats.

Old Madam Shen felt darkness swim before her eyes. This wretch—her heart was black indeed. Did she truly not care about the lives and futures of the people in this family?

How had their household produced such a calamity?

Shen Lanxi said, “It’s not that I am ruthless—Zhang Zifen has gone too far.”

Shen Conglian hurried to smooth things over. “Lanxi, Zhang Zifen truly didn’t intend to seize your mother’s authority over the household. It was really at your father’s instruction.”

At that moment, Shen Congwen, who had rushed over after hearing the screams, saw Zhang Zifen lying on the ground, her face covered in blood, and immediately flushed with anger.

“Shen Lanxi, what are you trying to do?”

Shen Lanxi looked at her furious father coldly. “Since you all returned to the capital, Zhang Zifen has relied on her control of the main household finances to amass wealth recklessly. She has also used the Shen family’s name to lend money at usurious rates, and even made contact with a prince. I won’t say which prince—you can investigate yourselves.”

Shen Congwen’s expression changed instantly.

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could Zhang Zifen have that kind of ability?”

“I don’t know how capable she is,” Shen Lanxi replied, “but I do know that when accounts are settled, all of this will become evidence.”

Old Madam Shen’s face also changed.

“Oh my… my head hurts…” she groaned.

Shen Congwen and the others immediately crowded around her, showing concern and calling for a doctor.

“I leave the capital tomorrow on official business, and I don’t know when I will return. During this time, if any of you commit offenses and are caught with no way out, don’t blame me for being too far away to save you.”

Having said this, she rose and left at once.

After she departed, Old Madam Shen slowly recovered.

“Eldest son, quickly lock Zhang Zifen up and interrogate her thoroughly. From now on, do not entrust the affairs of your household to concubines—I will handle them for you.”

Thinking of all the possessions added to the main household over the past few years, Old Madam Shen felt somewhat reassured.

Shen Congwen said with concern, “Mother, won’t that be too tiring for you?”

Old Madam Shen looked at him with a loving expression. “My son, you must serve in court and oversee the studies of the boys at home. I am only afraid you will overwork yourself.”

Shen Congwen was so moved that he nearly wanted to hand over the keys to the main household treasury on the spot.

As for Zhang Zifen, Old Madam Shen had long found her displeasing. If not for the fact that she had continuously borne children for the Shen family over the past few years, she would have sent her back to her hometown long ago.

“Lock her in the woodshed. After we verify everything she has done, we will decide how to deal with her. If what Lanxi said is true, she will not be spared!”

With a single sentence, Zhang Zifen’s fate was decided.

Shen Lanxi had already received news of the upcoming military examination. After returning to the Marquis of Zhenbei’s residence, she immediately summoned everyone to discuss their next steps.

“I will go to the imperial mausoleum. At the slowest, I will return in ten days; at the fastest, three days. The military examination is imminent—make arrangements for our people to participate.”

Wei Dongzhu said, “Before you depart tomorrow, we will draw up a list.”

“Good,” Shen Lanxi replied.

Besides the military examination, Wei Dongzhu and the others were deeply concerned about Shen Lanxi’s safety.

If anything happened to her, their entire group would scatter in an instant.

“Since you’re going to the imperial mausoleum, the court will certainly send people along. To be safe, I suggest arranging more guards in secret,” Liu Yanhui said.

Shen Lanxi nodded. “Ban Sicao will travel with me. As for guards, besides my close attendants, select twenty more from the covert ranks.”

Che Mingyuan hesitated. “Isn’t that a bit few? There are many in court who are wary of us.”

“Victory does not depend on numbers, but on skill,” Shen Lanxi replied. “The imperial mausoleum isn’t far, and the road passes mostly through villages. There shouldn’t be any trouble.”

For now, this was the only arrangement possible. If they mobilized too many people, it might attract unwanted attention.

Che Mingyuan volunteered to accompany her, but Shen Lanxi refused.

“You will remain in the capital and hold the overall situation steady, responding to changes with constancy.”

Entrusted with such an important responsibility, Che Mingyuan felt both pleased and somewhat unworthy.

Since joining Shen Lanxi, he felt he had not made any particularly outstanding contributions. In battlefield strategy he could not match generals like Wei Dongzhu; in planning and schemes, Shen Lanxi herself was more than capable.

Sometimes he even wondered whether he was dispensable.

Now, hearing her words, he felt completely reassured. Before pledging himself to Shen Lanxi, he had harbored some disdain toward women. But after serving her, that faint contempt had been crushed again and again by her strength and wisdom. Whatever thoughts he once had, now he was utterly loyal.

One by one, the others departed, leaving only Wei Dongzhu behind.

“Lanxi…”

Shen Lanxi smiled slightly. “Stay and have a meal with me.”

Wei Dongzhu replied briskly, “All right.”

…

She had already expected that Emperor Renxiao would send Zhou Ruyuan to accompany her, but she had not expected that officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Personnel would also join him, and that among the guards were quite a few unfamiliar faces.

Seeing Shen Lanxi’s gaze sweep over the people behind him, Zhou Ruyuan explained, “They are all battle-hardened generals who have fought alongside me.”

Whatever their identities or who had assigned them, they were all people of the court.

Shen Lanxi nodded. “Time is pressing. Let’s depart.”

Zhou Ruyuan asked, “Will you ride in a carriage or on horseback?”

“On horseback. And you?”

Zhou Ruyuan paused briefly, then said, “On horseback, of course.”

After traveling for a while, when they stopped to rest, one of her men came to report:

“There is a carriage following behind Prince Zhen’nan’s party.”

A flicker passed through Shen Lanxi’s eyes. “I understand. Continue watching.”

Before long, more news arrived.

“The person in the carriage hasn’t shown herself, but it appears to be a woman. Prince Zhen’nan personally brought food into the carriage and ate there.”

Shen Lanxi found it rather amusing. Even when traveling on official duty, he couldn’t bear to be apart from her—yet he still had the nerve to speak of affection in front of Shen Lanxi?