The peerless and dark princess

Chapter 138 Convincing Shen

For the first time since the palace coup and the national mourning period, the capital was abuzz with discussion. It was the case of our dignified Minister Mu and his daughter, Mu Wange. The former, a man whose wives had both severed ties, while the latter's actions were widely criticized by the people. Divorcing a husband on behalf of a mother was unheard of, and even women initiating divorces were rare. Many felt pity for Zuo Ci, fearing his future aspirations for a concubine were in jeopardy. Prince Heng was truly aggrieved.

After Qiao Yan received the imperial edict to divorce Mu Heng, she directly returned the rights of the housekeeper to Madam Mu Jiang. In fact, there was nothing for her to manage. The servants and maids in the past had all been replaced, and the servants and maids in the mansion now were all newly added by Qiao Yan. Basically, the indentures were in Qiao Yan's hands, so she released them all when she left. She only took away Bi Qiong, who had originally entered the mansion with Cai Yu. She was only responsible for taking care of Qiao Yan, and Cai Yu was in charge of everything else. She was relieved to be able to leave the Mu Mansion, as she finally had a place to use her skills.

"Big sister, you are leaving our Mu Mansion, right?"

Seeing that the entire Mu Mansion was about to fall apart, Mu Lanxin and her siblings as well as their aunt Zhao Yanfei didn't know what to do. They were originally born out of wedlock, and if this continued, would they... Lanxin was unsure, so she naturally wanted to ask Mu Wange, oh no, now it was Chu Wange.

"Lan Xin, it's okay. Even if Mu Heng did something wrong, it wouldn't implicate you. It would just have a slight impact on Yu Qi, but it shouldn't be that big. Lan Xin, you should have saved some money now that you're managing the shop for me. You can talk to Auntie and Yu Qi about buying a house as soon as possible..."

Chu Wange sincerely told Mu Lanxin that she had no intention of letting Mu Heng go. He could have stood by and watched Shen poison Mu Haolin because his mother didn't like him, watched the people in the mansion bully them, and even cruelly murdered Yang Dafu, who treated him like a son. And the account book of bribes he had accepted over the years in his study was too numerous to list. But Mu Lanxin had cared for Mu Haolin with her meager ability for so many years, and she was grateful for that. Furthermore, the third princess in the palace, Chen Yueyao, had received a favor from Madam Mu, so she would naturally intervene. Although the late emperor had passed away, she was still a member of the royal family. Such was the way of the world, and the people were helpless.

"Big sister, is what you said about father true?"

"Lan Xin, I don't know about this, but my father's account book..."

Chu Wange deliberately did not finish her words. She could not say that Qiao Yan from the Qiao family was the surviving member of the Yang family in Shanghe Village. The Qiao family obviously did not want Qiao Yan to appear as a member of the Yang family. Then, the fact that Shen poisoned her was a fact, and Mu Heng did not play a big role in it. Only the bribery could make Mu Lanxin realize the seriousness of the situation.

"You said my father accepted bribes?"

"Hush..." Chu Wange glanced around seriously, "It's good that you know. Make plans early. You won't want to live with Mu Qiaoyun and the others when the time comes. Anyway, I'm taking Lin'er back to Prince Yan's Mansion this time and won't be coming back. My grandfather and uncle are already planning to move my mother's grave back to the Chu family's ancestral tomb..."

This was indeed true. When Chu Lianyao came out of the palace, he mentioned to Chu Wange that since Chu Wanran had divorced Mu Heng, her grave naturally could not be buried in the Mu family. He went back that night and discussed with Chu Tianxiong and others to move the grave back to the Chu family.

"Okay, in that case, I'll go back and discuss buying a house with Yuqi and my aunt."

"Lan Xin, if you don't have enough money to buy a house, I can..."

"Big sister, it's enough. The house for the three of us to live in, the monthly salary and dividends I receive from you are more than enough. This is much better than before. Now, I have money in my hand, and my aunt doesn't worry about me anymore. Yu Qi admires me now. It is said that women should not show their faces in public..." Mu Lanxin feels that it is good now. She has some money to buy what she wants, and her aunt can do what she wants at home. Although she cannot live as comfortably as Chu Wange, she is still happy.

"Okay, but once you've decided on a house, you should have someone inform me at Prince Yan's Mansion. I'll take Lin'er to see it then."

Chu Wange didn't say anything else, but mentally asked Chu Lixiu to say hello to the people in the real estate agency, and when Mu Lanxin really went to buy a house, she should choose a place with a good environment, which would be considered as taking care of this younger brother and sister. As for Mu Qiaoyun, she didn't need to do it, because she was not a sucker, so she would help that picky person.

"Qingzhu, Shiqi, and Yihua, count the belongings at Tingxue Garden, pack them up, and take them back to Prince Yan's Mansion. Ask Nanny Chen to make arrangements for Lin'er. I'll take Ah Jiu and Ah Mei out for a while."

Qingzhu and others agreed. Yihua Shiqi felt relieved when she saw her taking Zuo Jiu out. After all, Zuo Jiu's kung fu was very good and could protect their young lady, and A Mei was meticulous and could take good care of her.

Chu Wange was going to the prison to meet Shen Xinyue from the Shen family and ask her to prove Mu Heng's guilt. Otherwise, she wouldn't know where to find a lot of evidence, after all, it had been so many years.

"What are you doing here? To see me make fun of you?"

"What joke is there to make of you? You are already a prisoner. I am here to tell you who killed Mu Yucheng."

"Cheng'er, didn't you kill him?" Shen Xinyue stubbornly believed that it was Chu Wange who killed Mu Yucheng. Perhaps this would make her feel better.

"You know whether it was my Shen family or not, so you're just lying to yourself. Well, it can't be said that Muruohan killed her, because she only arranged for someone to do it but didn't do it herself." Chu Wange wanted to crush Shen Xinyue from the bottom of her heart. "In fact, you thought she listened to you more. When you let your son succeed in doing that thing, my good sister Muruohan hated you. You gave your own mother and your own brother to other men to be humiliated, just to get pregnant and gain a foothold in the Second Prince's mansion..."

"No, that's impossible. I'm doing this for her own good. If I can't give birth to a child before the other women, then when she's no longer as beautiful as a flower... then I can have a child with her. After all, she's from the royal family. How could she possibly hate me?"

"How could she not hate you? You were the one who brought her up. Don't you know her nature best? You used her again and again for Mu Yucheng. How could she not mind? If you had disagreed with Mu Yucheng's method at that time, she might have just resented you but not hated you. Unfortunately, she has changed since then... Do you think that child is Chen Yunfeng's? Otherwise, why didn't His Majesty let him go? Because it was Mu Ruohan who colluded with that Zhou Yu. Yes, it was Zhou Yu who you sent to Mu Ruohan's bed. The baby boy they found was not even her own."

Shen Xinyue had always believed that Muruohan had given birth to a boy. She knew it wasn't Chen Yunfeng's, but she was completely unaware of the rest of the story. She hadn't said anything when Zhou met the Second Prince and stayed by her daughter's side, because it was Muruohan's request. She hadn't imagined Muruohan had the audacity to swap the baby right there in the palace, right under the noses of the late Emperor and Empress. How did she do it?!

"What about Ruohan's child?"

"What do you say?"

What else could Shen Xinyue do if she closed her eyes? Of course she would silence him. Even her mother had planned to kill her brother personally, so she could probably do the same to a baby, right?

"But I saved the child."

"Then what do you want?"

"You must prove Mu Heng's guilt and provide clues or evidence as verification."

"That child, where is she? Will you?"

"Of course I won't tell you where the child is. I can only tell you that she's safe. But if you agree, I can find a couple to raise her and ensure she has enough food and clothing until she reaches marriage age."