Then, Prince Jing recalled another matter.
"How could a Vice Minister of Rites with such character possess my Maternal Grandfather's token?"
Steward Chen knew the answer to this question as well, so he hurriedly spoke up.
"No, no, Your Highness, Miss Shen said when she arrived that this token belongs to Lady Gu."
Lady Gu is Miss Shen's mother.
Nanny Cui is still investigating the relationship between Lady Gu and the Marquis of Zhenbei's Mansion.
After all, the Marquis of Zhenbei is already dead, and Miss Shen only brought a token when she came, without saying anything else.
Prince Jing nodded slightly.
"Understood. Since it doesn't belong to that Vice Minister, it will be easier to handle. After the morning court session today, remember to make inquiries and tell me what you find."
After speaking, he handed the cup back to Steward Chen.
"Uncle Chen, Miss Shen said she would come again today; remember to prepare the carriage to pick her up."
After giving these instructions, Prince Jing slowly lay back down.
As for other questions, there was no rush.
Since Shen Qingyuan would come again, he could just ask her then.
Ask her about her relationship with his Maternal Grandfather.
Ask her if she needed help after being abandoned in the countryside by her father for so many years.
Ask her...
If it were truly the Emperor who used the excuse of a wedding for luck to ask her to treat his illness.
Then he would have to ask about her own thoughts on the matter.
If she were unwilling, he could go to the palace and call off this marriage.
But he did not know why.
Prince Jing suddenly felt that he hoped Miss Shen would not refuse this imperial marriage.
After all, she... was someone his Maternal Grandfather and his mother had sent before his eyes.
Thinking this, Prince Jing slowly closed his eyes again.
In his dreams, there was a blurred figure.
✦✦✦
After watching Prince Jing lie down, Steward Chen.
Immediately ordered someone to contact the Minister of War.
To convey Prince Jing's intentions.
To see if the Emperor knew about the Vice Minister of Rites swapping the bride.
If he did know, they must protect Miss Shen.
To avoid His Majesty flying into a rage and having her executed.
Yes, although Prince Jing had been away from the capital for many years, he was not without a foundation.
The Minister of War was someone personally trained by the Marquis of Zhenbei.
He ordered the servants to deliver the message before the morning court session.
Steward Chen then properly arranged the affairs of the mansion.
Finally, he personally selected the steadiest carriage and laid out soft cushions.
He also took a piece of fine jade from the storeroom, placed it in a brocade box, and tucked it into his robes.
He would personally go to invite this Miss Shen.
✦✦✦
Inside the Shen Mansion.
Shen Shiqian had already left for the morning court session.
Shen Qingyuan had been busy for half the night and had only rested for a few hours through meditation.
She was still feeling a bit drowsy.
Gu Minglan, however, had rested well and was already up.
Seeing that Shen Qingyuan had not yet woken up, she decided to let her daughter sleep a little longer.
But unexpectedly, the Shen Mansion was in chaos early in the morning.
It started after Shen Shiqian left the house.
Cuihuan, the head maid by Lady Liu's side, ran over to find Lady Liu in a panic.
"Ma... Madam, Nanny Liu is gone."
Lady Liu was applying her makeup; for some reason, she felt quite fatigued today.
Even though the master hadn't touched her at all yesterday, Lady Liu felt physically unwell.
She had forced herself to get up to serve the master before he left, only to hear Cuihuan running over while gasping for air.
Lady Liu hadn't rested well, and seeing her like this made her even more displeased.
"What is with this panicked behavior? Speak properly. What do you mean 'gone'? Where did Nanny Liu go?"
Nanny Liu was Lady Liu's wet nurse; it was impossible for her to be like the others and steal things to run away.
Cuihuan stood where she was, took two deep breaths, and steadied her nerves.
Only then did she speak.
"Replying to Madam, Nanny Liu didn't get up today, so this servant went to call her. I saw a servant from the outer courtyard lying in the yard and was startled.
I called out twice outside the door, and seeing no response, I gathered my courage to push the door open and enter, only to find that Nanny Liu was already dead."
It was more than just dead; Nanny Liu was huddled in the corner of the wall.
Her eyes were shut tight, as if she had been scared to death by something.
"What?! You useless girl, why didn't you say something sooner about such a big matter?"
Lady Liu looked at her with sudden shock and anger.
（Cuihuan's internal complaint: You were the one who told me not to be panicked.）
Lady Liu turned her head too quickly, and the maid responsible for her hair didn't have time to let go.
A few strands of Lady Liu's hair were pulled out.
Lady Liu felt the pain and slapped the maid across the face.
"Useless thing, I'll deal with you when I get back."
Lady Liu couldn't be bothered to continue inserting hairpins into her hair now.
She put on her outer coat and headed toward the servants' quarters.
A crowd had already gathered there.
The servant boy from outside Nanny Liu's courtyard had also been splashed with water and woken up.
At this moment, Gou Han was kneeling on the ground, trembling.
He already knew that Nanny Liu was dead, and the companion who had been with him last night had also gone mad.
Gou Han only remembered that he had listened to Madam's words yesterday.
He was supposed to go to Minglan Courtyard to teach those two wretches who returned from the countryside a lesson.
Gou Han and his companion had happily had a couple of drinks before going.
And then, and then, he didn't know anything else.
But Gou Han remembered that he had clearly entered Minglan Courtyard.
Yet after waking up, why was he in Nanny Liu's courtyard? He couldn't recall the process no matter how hard he tried.
But now that Nanny Liu was dead and his companion had gone mad.
Gou Han didn't dare to think too much about the process.
At this moment, the crowd dispersed.
Lady Liu walked out from behind.
As soon as Gou Han saw Lady Liu, he lunged at her.
"Madam, Madam, there are ghosts in Minglan Courtyard!"
Lady Liu had only intended to come and ask about the situation.
She had been a bit anxious at first, but halfway there, Lady Liu had calmed down.
Even if Nanny Liu was her wet nurse, so what?
She was no longer that Concubine-born Daughter of the Liu Family who had no parents to love her.
She was the mistress in charge of the Shen Mansion.
It was just a dead servant; why did she need to come and see for herself?
How unlucky.
But since she was already here, Lady Liu decided to ask about the situation to put on a show.
It would also prevent the subordinates from feeling cold-hearted.
As for Nanny Liu's funeral arrangements, someone would naturally handle them.
But Lady Liu had just arrived in the courtyard.
Right here, she saw someone who shouldn't have appeared.
Wasn't this the servant she had sent to Minglan Courtyard yesterday to fix those two little wretches?
Before she could even ask, she saw the man lunge at her feet, shouting about ghosts.
Lady Liu felt even more annoyed.
A useless thing who ruins everything he touches.
Lady Liu kicked the man away.
"What ghosts? Where in this world are there ghosts?"
Seeing that Madam didn't believe him, Gou Han didn't care about anything and opened his mouth to shout.
"Madam, yesterday you told me and Da Niu to go to Minglan Courtyard, but as soon as we entered, everything went black, and I didn't know anything else. When I woke up, I was here."
Seeing that Gou Han had no filter and was shouting about the tasks she had assigned in front of so many people.
She was furious; if she had known he had no filter, she shouldn't have let him handle so many of her dirty deeds.
It seemed that neither of those two servants could be kept.
Lady Liu turned around and gave a look to the head maid behind her.
"This person is spouting nonsense in the mansion; it seems both of them have gone mad. Sell them both off."
Cuihuan responded and signaled for the people around her to take action.
A circle of servants surrounded them, some of whom were on good terms with Gou Han and didn't want to move.
But more of them knew that Nanny Liu was dead.
Cuihuan would definitely be promoted to be Lady Liu's personal head maid in the future.
Directly taking Nanny Liu's position.
If they performed well now, Cuihuan would think of them first whenever she wanted something done later.
Naturally, the benefits would not be lacking.
Soon, people grabbed Gou Han by the left and right.
And dragged him out of the courtyard.
Gou Han was scared out of his wits, kicking his hands and feet wildly.
"Madam! This servant hasn't gone mad! What this servant said is true! There really are ghosts in Minglan Courtyard!"
✦✦✦