Xuan Yuanjue particularly emphasized the character "elder" in his address of "Miss Shen, the elder one". Others might not notice, but to Shen Li's ears, it sounded full of gritted - teeth annoyance.
Shen Li thought to herself, as expected. With his petty - minded personality, it was only natural that he would be angry after discovering she had lied to him.
However, since the matter had already happened, it was crucial to handle the current business first.
"Replying to the heir's question, the development of today's incident to this extent is truly unexpected. But since it has happened, and Uncle is angry with me and wants to drive me out, for my own self - protection, this matter must be properly resolved today!"
"This is the title deed of the mansion where the Shen family currently resides. Please take a look to prove that this mansion is under my father's name and belongs to him!"
As she spoke, Shen Li handed over the title deed in her hand. Xuan Yuanjue took it, glanced at it, and then directly passed it on to Xiao Hanzhi.
"I, the heir, have seen it. It clearly states your father's name on it. It indeed belongs to your father!"
After the remaining people had a look, although they didn't want to get involved, they still testified for her.
"Since all the princes, Princess Heyuan, and the heir have testified! Uncle surely trusts the characters of all of you, so there's no need for Uncle to look at this title deed!"
In front of everyone, Shen Li wasn't afraid that Shen Junming would destroy the title deed. After all, all the princes had seen it. Even if he destroyed it, it would be too late.
Not showing it to him was purely Shen Li's way of deliberately provoking him!
"Of course, although this mansion belongs to my father! Uncle, after all, also has the surname Shen. I can't do what Uncle did, directly driving relatives out. Uncle is naturally welcome to live in the Shen Mansion!"
"However, even though my father is no longer here, this mansion still belongs to our eldest branch. Uncle and Aunt have managed it on our behalf for many years, and they must be extremely tired. As a niece, how can I bear to see my elders so exhausted? So, from now on, it's better that our eldest branch takes over the management of this mansion!"
Shen Miao forced a smile.
"Sister, don't be angry. Father's words just now were just said out of anger for a moment. Sister, please don't take them to heart! Moreover, now that Uncle and Aunt are not at home, and elder brother often lives outside. Sister is, after all, a young lady. It's not appropriate for you to manage the affairs of this big family. It might even be detrimental to sister's reputation!"
"Moreover, my parents have been in the Shen Mansion for many years and are extremely familiar with this mansion. They have also gotten used to it. All the heavy and tiring work is done by the servants. They're not tired at all! Sister, please let them continue to manage it!"
"Since they're not tired, I just happen to want to learn. As for what others say, let them say. Rumors can be as powerful as metal - melting flames and can destroy a person. If we always care about what others say, then our lives would be meaningless! I wonder what the three princes think?"
Shen Li looked at Xiao Hanzhi and the other two.
Xiao Jinnan's eyes lit up. Before Xiao Hanzhi could speak, he said excitedly, "Right! Rumors can be as powerful as metal - melting flames! Let others say whatever they want. We don't need to care about those ignorant people."
Even Xiao Luochi, who had always disliked Shen Li, was shocked by her words just now. He never expected that a young lady in the boudoir could have such insights. He immediately nodded in agreement.
Seeing that his two younger brothers had both agreed, and looking at the pleading look from Shen Miao on the opposite side, Xiao Hanzhi was truly in a dilemma. But in the end, he also agreed with Shen Li's statement.
"Since everyone has no objections, then I'll be in charge of the Shen Mansion from now on!"
The servants of the Shen Mansion present immediately changed their expressions. They never expected that within just half an hour, their master would change.
Especially the servants who had rushed in just now were extremely panicked. It was over! They had just tried to drive the eldest miss out, and they didn't know what kind of punishment they would receive!
Everyone present had different thoughts, and for a moment, no one spoke. The hall fell into a silence.
Princess Heyuan never expected that she would watch such an exciting show today. The internal strife among the Shen family members, whether it was Shen Li or Shen Miao who won, had nothing to do with her. What she cared about was who had instigated Wang Ze?
"Since this is your family's matter, you can handle it by yourselves! Now, let's continue to talk about my guard!"
Princess Heyuan was simple - minded and impatient. At this moment, she couldn't wait to stand up and bring the topic back.
Shen Miao was the first to say, "Sister has said everything, and she even has this witness. Naturally, whatever sister says goes! Moreover, this guard has been with sister for three days. It's hard to guarantee that this person hasn't been bribed!"
Their family had already lost the stewardship of the Shen Mansion. Of course, they couldn't let the matter of her instigating Wang Ze to assassinate Shen Li be exposed. So at this moment, she didn't care about anything and started to make trouble.
"Second Miss! You can't ignore me! I've done as you told me. I've already betrayed the princess's mansion. If you ignore me, I really have no way out but to die!"
Wang Ze, who had been kneeling in the middle of the hall, upon hearing that Shen Miao not only didn't plead for him but also framed him for being bribed by Shen Li, immediately crawled over on his knees, trying to hug Shen Miao's leg and plead for mercy, but she dodged him first.
"You keep saying that I instigated you. Do you have any evidence?"
Shen Miao dared to ask like this because she was certain that Wang Ze couldn't produce any evidence.
Sure enough, Wang Ze frowned and thought for a while, then reluctantly said, "I don't have any evidence, but a box of gold in my home was indeed sent by the Second Miss before!"
Before Shen Miao could say anything else, Xiao Hanzhi said coldly, "There are no names on the gold. How can it be evidence that the Second Miss Shen bribed you? Maybe it's evidence that the eldest Miss Shen bribed you to frame the Second Miss?"
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince is wrong! As you said, the gold can't talk either. How can you say it was given by the eldest Miss Shen?" Xuan Yuanjue retorted the Fourth Prince's words in a calm voice.
The matter fell into a deadlock again. Both Shen Li and Shen Miao might have bribed Wang Ze, so Wang Ze's words couldn't be trusted anymore.
In the end, Princess Heyuan took Wang Ze away and gave Shen Li several precious medicines and some jewelry as compensation. Only then did the matter come to an end.
Although there was regret, Shen Li knew that with Xiao Hanzhi protecting Shen Miao, she couldn't completely bring her down for the time being. She could only gradually deprive her of things. Reclaiming the stewardship was just the beginning.
Shen Li knew that although this matter seemed to be over, in fact, it wasn't.
She didn't believe that with Princess Heyuan's suspicious and jealous nature, after seeing the man she admired repeatedly speaking up for another woman today, she wouldn't be suspicious. Once the seed of suspicion was planted, it wouldn't be easy to remove. Princess Heyuan might find it hard to trust Shen Miao in the future.
Princess Heyuan walked behind Xiao Hanzhi, looking at his figure and silently biting her lips. She wanted to ask the doubts in her heart but was afraid of provoking her cousin's anger.