TSWRLM -Chapter 276 Eliminating Shen Qingyuan

“Why on earth does the prince suddenly want to eliminate Lord Shen?”

While adding tea for the Prince of Ying, Lanshu asked curiously. The prince let out a cold laugh: “Naturally, it’s because he’s blocking my financial interests.”

Lanshu wanted to ask more, but Li Huaijing interrupted: “Young Master Lanshu, do you know if Lord Shen has any vulnerabilities?”

Li Huaijing’s tone was polite, but his eyes clearly showed caution.

Lanshu paused briefly and then said, “Lord Shen became the top scholar at seventeen, then stayed under the radar in the Jingzhao Prefecture for ten years. He only recently got promoted to the Censorate. From what I know, over the past ten years, his relationships with colleagues in Jingzhao Prefecture were just average, but he has judged countless cases. He doesn’t indulge in wine or women, never accepts bribes, and his character and abilities are impeccable.”

This aligned with what Li Huaijing had already heard. He immediately pressed further: “All these years, hasn’t he ever made a single mistake in his cases?”

“Shouldn’t be,” Lanshu shook his head and poured himself some tea. “He has no friends in the prefecture; many people dislike him. If he had done anything wrong, even if no one exposed it, there would have been some gossip.”

And since there was no gossip at all, that meant he truly was flawless.

Li Huaijing looked disappointed by Lanshu’s answer and quickly asked again: “What about the Marquis’ household? Any secrets there?”

“The Marquis’ household has plenty of messy affairs; it would take three days and nights to recount them all. But Lord Shen rarely meddles in the inner affairs. Even when mistreated by his stepmother, he never complained. Earlier this year, he married his new wife. Though the matter of establishing a separate household caused some commotion, it happened publicly, so there’s no fault to point out.”

Prince Ying nodded approvingly. “This Madam Shen is indeed capable.”

Li Huaijing seemed thoughtful. Lanshu took note of both their expressions and continued: “Recently, there is one matter. The Marquis of Qingyuan plans to take a second wife after the New Year and wants Madam Shen to handle the wedding arrangements. But a child appeared unexpectedly, and Madam Shen suspects the child isn’t the Marquis’ own. She has asked Wuyou Pavilion to investigate.”

Li Huaijing didn’t care about the Marquis taking a second wife. When he heard that Madam Shen had entrusted Wuyou Pavilion, he immediately asked, “Does Madam Shen come to Wuyou Pavilion often? Are you close?”

“Not often—she’s only been here twice. I’m not particularly close to her, but we can exchange a few words.”

Lanshu answered honestly. Prince Ying then said: “With your skills, any woman can be manipulated if you wish. You can use this matter as an opportunity to interact more with her.”

Since no weaknesses could be found in Shen Qingyuan, they would try to find them through his wife.

As long as he made a mistake and stopped meddling in trade with Yuexi, their goal would be achieved.

Hearing this, Lanshu furrowed his brows slightly: “This Madam Shen is no ordinary woman. She has a strong marital bond with Lord Shen and is currently pregnant. It might not be easy to manipulate her.”

Prince Ying didn’t like hearing this. He set down his teacup heavily and said, “How you do it is your problem. I only care about the result!”

Seeing the prince visibly angry, Lanshu stopped resisting and respectfully said, “Rest assured, Your Grace. Lanshu will handle this matter.”

Lanshu’s obedience calmed the prince slightly. After a moment, he had someone bring two boxes of spices to Lanshu.

“This is called Soul-Enthralling Incense. Its effect in arousing desire surpasses even Wuyou Incense. Use it for a while. If any important guest wants to buy it, tell them this spice is extremely rare—ten taels of gold for just one qian.”

Wuyou Pavilion entertained high-ranking nobles, who didn’t lack money, but ten taels of gold for a tiny amount of incense was outrageous.

Since the Prince of Ying was already angry, Lanshu didn’t dare question it and left with the spices.

After he left, Li Huaijing said immediately: “Although Lanshu is the prince’s man, Wuyou Pavilion belongs to others. Giving him the incense like this—won’t it cause trouble?”

Prince Ying laughed heartily. “Relax. No one in Han Capital dares to investigate Wuyou Pavilion. Besides, the Pavilion entertains lonely women from wealthy families. They have nothing to do and spend their days seeking pleasure. We just collect the money—nothing will go wrong.”

The prince was confident. Li Huaijing still worried: “Shen Qingyuan has already noticed that the food and cloth exchanged with the Yuexi emissaries are too few. He may investigate. If he discovers we are trading privately with the emissaries, His Majesty will be furious. We should be cautious.”

Li Huaijing had initially thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but he didn’t expect Shen Qingyuan to notice discrepancies from the emissaries’ reports. This made him uneasy.

Prince Ying, disliking Li Huaijing’s timid nature, said coldly: “This incense won’t harm anyone’s life. It only swaps for some hard-to-eat millet and buckwheat. I have people secretly procure these from various regions and send them to Wengzhou. You’ve been there for nearly ten years; all are your trusted men. Shen Qingyuan isn’t omniscient—where will he check?”

Without waiting for Li Huaijing’s objections, the prince continued: “Rest assured, I’ll soon find a way to eliminate Shen Qingyuan. No one can stop this. You just perform well before the emperor and get him to appoint you as Maritime Commissioner.”

The prince was firm. Li Huaijing had nothing more to say and responded: “Yes, Your Grace.”

After leaving Wuyou Pavilion, Chun Xi stopped by the Cao family on the way.

She didn’t enter the house; the carriage stopped at the alley entrance. A-Li went to knock, and Cao Wu soon came out with him.

Seeing Chun Xi, Cao Wu was delighted: “The New Year is almost here. I wanted to visit you before the holiday. Why did you return so suddenly?”

“I went out on business and bought some things, thought I’d bring them to you on the way,” Chun Xi said.

She lifted the carriage curtain and handed Cao Wu the new clothes she prepared for Zheng’er. A-Li also brought a few rolls of fresh cloth and smoked cured meat from behind.

The cloth wasn’t luxurious but suitable for making new clothes.

Besides Cao Wu, Madam Qian and Madam Wang would also receive some.

Cao Wu instinctively refused: “Our family already owes you so much. Now that you’re pregnant, your maternal family should provide things for you and the child. How can we take from you?”

“It’s just a small token. If you still consider me one of your own, then accept it,” Chun Xi coaxed, then changed the subject: “How is your wife? How’s she doing with Zheng’er?”

“Very well. She found a good household to work as a wet nurse and can bring Zheng’er along. The young lady of the house hasn’t had her child yet, so she has little to do. She just follows proper etiquette, eats well, and maintains her health. During the Laba Festival, she brought Zheng’er back, and mother and son both gained weight.”

Cao Wu didn’t hide anything and looked genuinely happy.

Chun Xi didn’t say much more and simply nodded: “That’s good.”