The house was clearly heated by a heating system and was as warm as spring, but for some reason, when Ping An Hou's wife finished speaking, she felt a chill run down her spine, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her head.
Their Ping'an Marquis Mansion had already formed some kind of tacit understanding with the Linjiang Palace because of the last time they asked for help from Old Lady Wei of the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. Although there were not many overt contacts between them, the key connections still existed.
If something goes wrong, the Linjiang Palace will definitely ask them to do something. If they do nothing, won't the Linjiang Palace destroy them completely
But if they did it, Concubine De would never let them go.
Thinking about it this way, they are now like being roasted on a fire, unable to advance or retreat.
Although the wife of Marquis Ping'an did not get angry, she now felt pain from her throat to the roots of her teeth. She sat in the chair, unable to utter a word.
The two of them only talked to this point, and before they had time to say anything else in private to comfort each other, they heard a knock on the door outside.
It was so late, and I was afraid that one of those close friends would come and ask for news by relying on their relationship. The wife of Marquis Ping'an was also very annoyed and looked at Marquis Ping'an with a unhappy expression.
Ping An Hou waved his hand coldly, extremely impatient: "Let the eldest daughter-in-law come out to send him away, and say that you are sick. In the future, use this excuse to close the door and refuse visitors. The elders are all shrewd people. They see that the situation is not right, but they are silent. If we are the first to speak out, we will not be able to please both sides. How can we survive?"
The wife of the Marquis of Ping'an knew that what he said was reasonable, so she agreed and was about to give the order, but the housekeeper's wife came in and said, "My Lord, Madam, the Marquis of Pingxi is here..."
Marquis Ping'an immediately stood up, not even caring about the teacup beside him that had fallen to the ground. He looked at the wife of Marquis Ping'an in surprise and doubt.
Speak of the devil, here he comes. I was just worrying about whether to help the people of Linjiang Palace or not, and now Shen Chen is here. What a coincidence?!
The wife of the Marquis of Ping An turned to look at him, also with a look of doubt on her face: "My Lord, do you want to see him or not?"
How can I not see you
Last time, I owed the Wei family and the Linjiang Palace a huge favor, and they already have the leverage over me. If I don't see them now, Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu might end up taking them down with them. How can I not see them
He hummed, straightened his clothes expressionlessly, and calmly ordered: "Take the Marquis to the Water Mirror Hall."
Shuijing Hall is Ping'an Hou's own study, and it has always been strictly guarded. Except for himself and the prince, no one else in the mansion can enter easily.
Mrs. Ping'an paused, and seeing that he was about to leave, she hurriedly followed him a few steps: "I'll go with you too. After all, I have a good relationship with Old Madam Wei. If Shen Chen makes a request that we really can't help with, I can also help put in a few words."
It is common knowledge in the capital that Shen Chen likes Wei An.
If Emperor Longqing had not suddenly fallen ill and fallen into a coma, the imperial decree granting the marriage would have been issued long ago. They all knew that Shen Chen would definitely give face to the Wei family.
The wife of Marquis Ping'an also knew that when it came to matters of interest and life, this friendship might not be of any use, but after all, wasn't it better than nothing
Ping'an Hou did not object. The two of them quickly walked into the Water Mirror Hall with lanterns, and saw Shen Chen's subordinates, who nodded at him hurriedly.
Han Bo also returned the greeting respectfully and waited for them to go in before guarding outside without leaving.
As soon as he entered the flower hall and saw Shen Chen standing in front of the crystal chandelier, Marquis Ping'an hurriedly smiled, called out "Marquis Pingxi", and hurried forward to greet him.
Although he is much older than Shen Chen in terms of generation and age, they are both marquises in terms of title, and as a Taoist priest, he has no reason to lose face.
Shen Chen politely returned the greeting and went straight to the point: "I heard that the Marquis was on duty the night the emperor got into trouble?"
It turned out that he came here for this matter!
Ping An Hou paused, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Although I was on duty, I was on patrol at the time and not stationed at Taiji Hall. When I heard the news and rushed over, the emperor had already fainted. The eunuch An beside him panicked and asked Concubine Peng De to take charge of the situation... ... I couldn't get involved in what happened next..."
This was telling Shen Chen that he knew nothing, and that he couldn't help with anything that happened later.
They are all smart people. He believed that Shen Chen could understand. He was old and could certainly help with other things to the best of his ability, but he didn't even dare to think about such a big thing now.
Shen Chen really understood. He glanced at Ping An Hou with a half-smile, sat down next to him, and said softly, "My Lord, I just want to ask you something. As for the other things, we can talk about it later. What do you think?"
He didn't say his purpose, nor did he say he wanted to help. He just said he had questions to ask. Marquis Ping An didn't know what to say, so he just nodded and said, "If I know, I will tell you everything I know. Please feel free to ask me, sir."
Shen Chen nodded and said with a smile: "Don't be too nervous, Lord. My question is very simple. I just want to ask you, Lord, have you also noticed that something is wrong?"
Marquis Ping'an and his wife looked at each other and said nothing.
After a while, Ping An Hou said angrily: "I don't know what you are talking about. I am only in charge of the imperial guards..."
Shen Chen didn't care about his anger. He sat on the chair calmly and looked at Ping'an Marquis. He said calmly: "My Lord!" He interrupted Pingxi Marquis's evasive words and said slowly: "My Lord, you have to think it through. I know that it's none of your business and everyone wants to take care of their own business. But you are a smart person. You should also know the principle that when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the pond will be affected, right? Think about those true people. The emperor valued them so much at the beginning, but what about now? Once the emperor gets into trouble, they will immediately be labeled as spreading rumors and misleading the people, and suffer torture in the imperial prison..."
Cold sweat gradually seeped out of Ping'an Hou's forehead.
Shen Chen laughed when he saw this, and then continued: "It's not just that. Young Master Lin is also in trouble. His subordinates took bribes and exposed Young Master, saying that Young Master was in collusion with those real people, and that he accepted money from those real people and changed their confessions..."
Jinyiwei was also affected and needed a blood transfusion? !
Ping'an Hou became more certain of his guess and looked at Shen Chen in shock. He was very conflicted and didn't know how to answer.