RPAGF Chapter 403 Spreading rumors
Chapter 403 Spreading rumors
Shen Funian was still asleep when these things happened today.
She and Xiao Suye had a rather heated argument in the early morning, so she went to sleep after lunch.
After waking up, Xiao Suye told her the news.
While complaining that Xiao Suye hadn't woken her up, she hurriedly dressed and washed up, and ordered someone to tie up Granny Wang. She rushed as fast as she could and finally arrived before dark.
Wen Jiayue and Shen Fuhan then went out.
Granny Wang's hands and feet were bound, and her mouth was stuffed with a strip of cloth. Even so, she was restless, struggling desperately and glaring angrily.
Shen Funian found her noisy and slapped her across the face.
"Behave yourself, your master is about to fall, and your good days are coming to an end, you dog of a servant!"
She shook her aching hand, turned to her brother and sister-in-law, and explained, "The reason we tied her up so tightly was to prevent her from committing suicide out of guilt. When we found her, she was about to bite her tongue to end her life."
Shen Fuhan nodded and said, "I will have the guards take her to the Dali Temple in a moment."
Li Zhilan is the eldest princess, and it's difficult to interrogate her without solid evidence, but her servants don't have this concern.
Granny Wang has followed Li Zhilan for many years and must know a lot. Getting her to talk will make the investigation easier.
Seeing that her elder brother was alright, Shen Funian asked curiously, "Brother, weren't you poisoned?"
Xiao Suye suddenly remembered that his sister-in-law had asked him a few days ago what the Bone-Corroding Powder was, and he understood. He explained it to her in a low voice.
"That Wen Ruohuan!" Shen Funian gritted her teeth and said, "She better not let me see her, or I'll slap her two hundred times to vent my anger!"
Shen Fuhan invited them into the house, and then ordered his men to drag Granny Wang out.
As soon as she sat down, Shen Funian asked anxiously, "Is there any cure for this poison? Xiao Suye, say something!"
Xiao Suye shook his head: "There's no solution, we can only tough it out."
"You've wasted your medical knowledge!" Shen Funian said angrily, her concern clouding her judgment. "You can't even cure this!"
Wen Jiayue felt that her words were a bit too serious and was about to advise her to calm down when Shen Chengyao suddenly spoke up: "Mother, don't bully Father."
Although she was prepared, Wen Jiayue still almost lost her balance when she heard him call her "Father".
It's only been two or three days, and Yao'er has already accepted it so quickly. He called out "Daddy" so naturally.
"So what if I bully your dad?" Shen Funian pouted. "I can bully you too."
Xiao Suye said seriously, "Yao'er, don't upset your mother."
Shen Chengyao said incredulously, "Father, I'm standing up for you!"
“Father doesn’t need it,” Xiao Suye patted his head. “Remember, what your mother says is our decree.”
Shen Funian's expression changed from anger to joy; he was glad he knew how to talk.
Shen Fuhan seemed to be deep in thought, silently memorizing these words, saving them to coax Wen Jiayue later.
“Now that the person has been delivered,” Shen Funian said, standing up. “We’ll be leaving now.”
Wen Jiayue quickly asked, "Why the rush? Have you eaten yet? Why don't you eat here?"
"I'm in a hurry to get Xiao Suye back to look through medical books," Shen Funian said hurriedly. "I'm off, I'm off, no need to see me off!"
As they spoke, the family of three vanished without a trace.
Wen Jiayue was dumbfounded. Why did she feel that Shen Funian's words and actions had become more impatient after getting married?
Xiao Suye didn't seem to care at all, and continued to spoil and indulge her, almost to the point of spoiling her rotten.
If she hadn't already known Xiao Suye's character, she would have almost thought he was a carbon copy of Wang Xiucai.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Fuhan suddenly put his arm around her shoulder.
Wen Jiayue shook her head: "It's alright, let's go have a meal."
Since Wen Ruohuan wasn't there, Zhaozhao naturally had to eat with them.
Zhao Zhao, unaware of anything, opened her mouth wide and ate the food the maid fed her.
Wen Jiayue looked at her daughter, then at Shen Fuhan.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Shen Fuhan reassured her. "I won't let you remarry, and I won't let Zhaozhao call someone else 'father'."
"I haven't said anything yet," Wen Jiayue said, her tears turning into a smile. "Why are you like this?"
Shen Fuhan served her some food, saying, "Of course I understand you."
After dinner, fearing that she might be too restless to sleep, Shen Fuhan lit some calming incense.
But Wen Jiayue tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep.
The next morning, she was awakened by a dream. Turning her head, she saw Shen Fuhan sleeping peacefully and breathed a sigh of relief.
It was still dark outside the window, with only a faint light, indicating that it was not yet dawn.
Wen Jiayue looked at Shen Fuhan for a moment, wanted to touch his face, but was afraid of waking him, so she withdrew her hand.
"Why aren't you touching me?" Shen Fuhan opened his eyes.
Wen Jiayue was taken aback and said, "You're actually awake."
“I woke up when you woke up,” Shen Fuhan placed her hand on his face. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Wen Jiayue shook her head, not wanting to say more.
Since it's definitely not going to happen, I might as well go back to sleep.
She closed her eyes: "I'm going back to sleep."
I slept until dawn, which was already past 9 AM.
Shen Fuhan was sitting on the edge of the bed flipping through a book when Wen Jiayue placed her hand on it, blocking the words.
"You are not allowed to read books. Using your brain and using your hands both take just as much energy."
Shen Fuhan readily closed the book and asked leisurely, "So what shall we do today?"
Wen Jiayue was at a loss, her mind filled with thoughts of the Bone-Corroding Powder and Li Zhilan, so she asked, "How's the matter of spreading rumors going?"
"Yesterday it only spread to a small circle, but today many more people know about it. After all, it's a scandalous affair, and it spreads like wildfire. Perhaps tonight, the entire city of Chang'an will know about it."
Wen Jiayue asked, "When will this news reach the Emperor's ears?"
"No need to rush," Shen Fuhan said, playing with her hand. "Let's wait and see."
By evening, the teahouse was filled with talk of Shen Fuhan and Li Zhilan, and the discussion was escalating.
Some people criticized the princess for being shameless, while others said that keeping male lovers wasn't enough for her, so she seduced married men.
Even worse, some fabricated rumors that the two of them had been having an affair, but Shen Fuhan suppressed them before they could spread widely.
The next day, seemingly aware that Li Zhilan's downfall was likely, those who had been bullied by her saw hope and either came to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence to plead their cases or went to beat the Dengwen Drum. They collected a lot of evidence without lifting a finger.
While good news kept coming, Shen Fuhan felt unwell.
He started coughing, his throat felt like it was being slashed by a knife, and it was extremely difficult for him to speak. His throat was so dry that drinking water didn't help.
Wen Jiayue had experienced this before, so she knew it was the first step in poisoning, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Don't cry," Shen Fuhan said in a hoarse voice, "I'm fine."
“Don’t speak,” Wen Jiayue said, choking back tears. “Just gesture what you want to say, or write it on rice paper.”
Shen Fuhan gently shook his head: "If you speak to me, I will naturally respond."
He used to ignore her, making her feel insecure and anxious. He won't do that anymore, and he won't let her overthink things.
Wen Jiayue was both angry and helpless: "I know you're not feeling well, I won't overthink it."
"That won't do either. Don't feel sorry for me."
This is nothing; in his dreams, she would only be in more pain than he was.