Shen Yuning felt rather puzzled. She thought Xuanzhi was acting a bit strange. She closed the door, and since she couldn't sleep anyway, she got up to do her toilette before heading to the main hall.
Just then, Chen Wenwei arrived with Ye Cuigu.
Old Man Zhang warmly led Chen Wenwei to the seat of honor, told the waiter in the store to serve a pot of tea, and asked respectfully, "My lord, has the case of Shen Jingui been interrogated?"
Chen Wenwei was gentle in manner. Smiling at Old Man Zhang, he said, "Uncle Zhang, don't be in a hurry. The case didn't happen in Yun County. We need to send someone to Maohe County tomorrow. At present, Shen Jingui has been imprisoned. In my opinion, with so many charges, the lightest punishment will be exile."
Old Man Zhang muttered to himself. Shen Jingui had been exiled for two years before and still came back safely. But exile was still better. He just hoped that Shen Jingui would be exiled for a longer time so that they could live in peace.
The main hall was left for Chen Wenwei and Shen Yuning. Zhang Rong led Ye Cuigu to a room, helped her call for water to wash up, and left her alone with Yuanbao.
Chen Wenwei's troubles were solved, and the Chen family no longer forced him to return to the capital. So he was in a particularly good mood.
"This case is quite serious. If the judgment is made, it is estimated that your elder brother will be escorted to the capital for the trial of the Dali Temple."
Shen Yuning nodded. She didn't consider herself a cold - hearted person, but over the past year, the little bit of sibling affection between her and Shen Jingui had been completely worn away. She didn't even care what punishment Shen Jingui would receive in the future. She just hoped that he wouldn't cause any more trouble.
"Before I returned to Shenjiapo, although I was worried about the long and uncertain road ahead and didn't know how to get along, I always thought that as long as the family members worked together, things wouldn't be too bad. I didn't expect that the so - called family affection would be my biggest stumbling block. I'm not afraid of making you laugh, my lord. In my heart, I even thought it would be better not to have such a brother."
Chen Wenwei's expression was calm and he didn't take it seriously. "When we were young and read so many case files, we always said that adults were too stupid and willing to be deceived. Now we understand that the emotion can really hold people back, no matter what kind of emotion it is."
Shen Yuning showed a faint smile. "My lord is right. But it is precisely because there is emotion where there are people that makes it feel particularly warm."
She looked up and met his gentle gaze. She always felt that there was a special meaning in his eyes, as if the emotion he mentioned had something else in it.
She felt a bit nervous and quickly changed the subject. "My lord, Shen Jingui was just a country bumpkin before. By himself, he would never have been able to create such a big situation. I originally thought it had a lot to do with the casino. But from what happened today, there must be someone behind the scenes pushing things forward. When you were interrogating the case, did you get any useful information from the people arrested today?"
Chen Wenwei frowned slightly and pursed his lips without saying a word.
Shen Yuning naturally knew his concerns. The person who could mobilize so many common people to deal with Chen Wenwei was not an ordinary person. And the secrets behind this were not something she, an ordinary commoner, should inquire about. "Anyway, this whole thing started because of me. I'm just a merchant's daughter, with no power or influence. I'm not worth others going to so much trouble. I'm worried that those people are actually targeting you, my lord."
Chen Wenwei looked up. "You're worried about me?"
Shen Yuning was taken aback and looked at Chen Wenwei in a rather puzzled way.
Chen Wenwei quickly averted his gaze, looked around awkwardly for a few times, coughed, and then said, "I've been a bit too aggressive in my work in the past few years, which has offended the interests of some people. It's normal for them to be dissatisfied with me. Digging into this kind of thing won't do me any good."
"My lord, are you just going to let it go like this? But it's precisely because you don't pursue these things every time that such things keep happening. In the past, they hurt you secretly. Now they use the eagerness of the common people to suppress you. What will happen in the future?"
Chen Wenwei lowered his head and didn't speak for a long time. Then he said, "Sister Yuning, before I came to Yun County, my elder brother reminded me. But since I've chosen to move forward, there's no reason for me to back down. My only purpose is for the common people. I don't care about other things. The Chen family has always been a clean - flowing faction, and there's nothing for those people to worry about."
"I'm just afraid that they don't think so."
In just a few words, Shen Yuning understood that this was a dispute in the court.
"Lord Chen, could it be that the Tang family is getting rid of dissidents?"
Chen Wenwei knew that Shen Yuning was always smart, so he no longer concealed it and nodded. "The crown prince has always been in poor health. The Zhu family, the external relatives, has been fighting battles outside for many years. In the past few years, several generals have... passed away. Now, both the former court and the harem are firmly in the hands of the Tang family."
Shen Yuning had heard about these things since she was a child. But the one in power was the emperor, and they were his subjects. Moreover, the Xue family was a pure - hearted subject and had no intention of currying favor. Besides, the current crown prince had been in poor health since childhood. Whether he could live to ascend the throne was a big question. The second prince was outstanding in ability and not inferior to his elder brother. Almost all the court officials defaulted that the future crown prince would be the second prince.
But five years ago, after the crown princess gave birth to the eldest grandson of the emperor, this default seemed to have some other meanings. Especially when it was heard that the eldest grandson of the emperor was growing up, his temperament was similar to his father's, his body was extremely healthy, and he was deeply loved by the emperor.
Shen Yuning didn't have much feeling about the affairs in the court. It didn't matter to her who would ascend the throne in the future among the royal family. All she wanted was peace and smoothness. If she could do practical things for the Great Zhou, that would be the best state.
Chen Wenwei sighed helplessly. "I insisted on being sent to a lower - level position at that time. One reason was to avoid the arranged marriage at home, and the other was that I didn't want to get involved in the court affairs. You know me. I don't have the sharp mind of my second elder brother, nor the concentration of Brother Xue. So I just hid in Yun County for some peace. But I didn't expect that the Tang family's reach was so long. Maybe they thought I was meddling too much."
The casino was different from other businesses. The procedure of signing a business contract with the government was much more troublesome than that of ordinary businesses. Without a powerful backer, it would surely not be able to open and would not last long.
This was also the reason why Chen Wenwei encouraged business but personally focused on the development of agriculture and industry.
Last time when he legally abolished the brothels, he caused a lot of trouble. If it weren't for the support of the Chen family, he might not even be alive.
So this time, as soon as he made a move, those people wanted to nip it in the bud.
Seeing that the topic was getting a bit heavy, Shen Yuning didn't bring it up anymore. She laughed softly. "Lord Chen came here for peace, but it's actually a thing that benefits the local people. No wonder the people here all praise you."
Chen Wenwei laughed along. "Sometimes I think, if I weren't a member of the Chen family, where would I have the opportunity to build up my official reputation? And then I think, if I weren't born into the Chen family, this time it might not just be the common people throwing a few rotten leaves at me and making me go back to the capital in a hurry. It's funny that I used to think that being a member of a famous family was not as good as being born into a peasant family and being care - free."
Shen Yuning's eyes curved into a crescent. She very much agreed with this. "Look at me. I used to disdain status. Now that I've really become a country girl, I've realized how difficult it is to move forward."
After experiencing the hardships of the common people for a few years, Chen Wenwei deeply understood that women had a much harder life than men. No wonder Yuning didn't want to expand and strengthen her shops. She just wanted to open more of them in more villages and towns to spread the laws of the Great Zhou deeply into people's hearts.
For a moment, he couldn't say a word. He just stared at the young girl in front of him, filled with emotions.
Shen Yuning felt rather embarrassed under his gaze. So she joked like when she was a child. "Just now, my lord mentioned that the elders in your family wanted to arrange a marriage for you. Considering that you've already passed the age of twenty, it's time for you to get engaged. Why do you avoid it like a tiger? Will getting engaged prevent you from realizing your ambitions?"
The situation in the capital was different from that in the countryside. In the countryside, it was very common for men and women to get married at the age of seventeen or eighteen. But in the capital, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, most men and women were just getting engaged. There were also cases like Xue Yuning in the past, who got engaged as soon as she came of age, but that was just a minority. Even if they got engaged, they usually had to wait until they were eighteen before getting married.
However, Shen Yuning's joking words didn't sit well with Chen Wenwei.
He stared at Shen Yuning for a long time until she uncomfortably turned her face away. Then he came back to his senses, and his voice became even more gentle. "Sister Yuning... We've grown up together. In the past, you always called me Fourth Brother Chen. Our relationship shouldn't be so formal now. Please don't call me my lord anymore. Just call me Fourth Brother Chen like before, okay?"
The strange feeling in Shen Yuning's heart grew stronger. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. Could it be that Lord Chen had feelings for her?
She was eighteen years old. She had lived in the Xue family for the first fifteen years. At that time, she was innocent and simple and had yearned for sweet love. But when she was driven back to Shenjiapo at the age of fifteen, all her dreams had turned into bubbles. Love? She hadn't thought about love for more than three years. Even though Old Man Zhang was eager to marry her off to a good family, she was so busy that she had no time to rest, let alone think about getting married.
She was probably the kind of person who set her sights too high. After all, she had met so many gentle and excellent young men. She really couldn't talk about the wonderful love described in the books with the men in the small town.
Shen Yuning shook her head, forcing herself to drive the distracting thoughts out of her mind. Lord Chen liked her? That was impossible. Although they had known each other since childhood, they were now on different paths. He was an official, and she was a merchant. He was from a famous and noble family, and she was from the countryside. They were not a match.
Thinking of this, she looked up with a smile. "Lord Chen, it's not in line with the rules."
Chen Wenwei stood up and quickly walked up to her. Shen Yuning was so scared that she leaned tightly against the back of the chair, her eyes wide open.
He summoned up his courage. "Sister Yuning, if you're willing, when I go back to the capital, I'll tell my father and mother and welcome you into our family. Okay?"
Shen Yuning was shocked. She stared blankly at him, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
At this time, the door creaked and was pushed open. A figure flashed in like a gust of wind, followed by Chen Wenwei's exclamation.
Shen Yuning just managed to calm her nerves. She saw Xuanzhi's hand tightly gripping Chen Wenwei's hand, and Chen Wenwei had fallen to the ground. He was in pain but couldn't break free.
Xuanzhi's eyes were cold, like a fierce beast staring at its prey, glaring at Chen Wenwei menacingly.