The number one rebel of the Great Wu

Upon arriving at the lobby, Shen Qingci was already seated there, just as expected.

Ru Shuang and Ru Yi were waiting on the side, with several sheets of paper in front of her.

"Little Duozi?"

When Chen Changgeng saw that Xiao Duozi was also kneeling in the hall, his brows furrowed immediately.

Could it be that Xiao Duozi is Steward Lin's witness?

"You've arrived?"

When Shen Qingci saw Steward Lin bringing Chen Changgeng over, he simply looked up indifferently.

He immediately opened his mouth and asked a question.

"I heard Zhao Heng is dead. If I remember correctly, he was the villain who stole your article."

"According to the laws of my Great Wu Dynasty, he should have been sentenced to death. It was you who begged the Crown Prince to spare his life and send him to the Crown Prince's residence to work as a palace maid to atone for his sins."

Is that correct?

Chen Changgeng nodded quickly.

"That's exactly right."

In fact, Shen Qingci's meaning here is quite clear: this person deserved to die, but Chen Changgeng was kind and generous enough to spare him.

Why go through all that trouble to poison him and force him to his death?

If we wanted to get rid of him, we would have killed him long ago.

As the chief steward of the Crown Prince's residence, Chief Steward Lin could not possibly be unaware of all this.

So now Shen Qingci couldn't understand why Steward Lin insisted on making a fuss about this matter.

Isn't this a sure way to lose?

Steward Lin smiled upon hearing this.

"Your Highness, my meaning is not to discuss whether Zhao Heng should die or not."

"But Chen Changgeng is a man of extreme methods, insidious and cunning."

"Zhao Heng died because he could not bear the humiliation from Chen Changgeng and chose to commit suicide by poison."

"Little Duozi, where is the letter in blood that Zhao Heng gave you when he asked you to help buy poison?"

Steward Lin gave him a cold look.

Xiao Duozi immediately trembled with fear.

"It has already been presented to His Highness."

"I've read the letter written in blood; every word was written in tears. But so what?"

"If Chen Changgeng hadn't possessed such extraordinary abilities, how could he have assisted the Crown Prince in becoming the ruler of a new dynasty?"

At this point, Shen Qingci's attitude was already quite biased.

But Steward Lin wouldn't listen and insisted on banging his head against the south wall.

"Assist? Ha!"

"It was because of him that our Crown Prince was deposed. I am utterly loyal to the Crown Prince and simply couldn't stand by and watch!"

In my humble opinion, this Gengzi is a jinx!

"Your Highness, we beg you to expel him from the residence!"

"You bastard!"

The fact that the Crown Prince has been deposed is a forbidden topic that no one in the palace is allowed to mention.

Bringing it out so openly is hardly a way to stir up trouble and undermine public morale!

Shen Qingci was immediately enraged and was about to explode when she suddenly turned her head suspiciously to look at Chen Changgeng.

Strange, why is Chen Changgeng, who is usually eloquent, silent?

"Little Gengzi, what explanation do you have?"

They came knocking on your door, and you didn't say a word, relying entirely on Shen Qingci to protect you.

This is clearly inappropriate.

"I have nothing to say in my defense; justice will prevail."

"However, I do have a question for Steward Lin."

"You've crossed me to the point of no return."

"If Your Highness does not wish to expel me from the manor, what will you do then?"

Steward Lin immediately snorted coldly.

"I naturally wouldn't deign to work with you."

"From now on, in this Crown Prince's residence, it's either you or me!"

After saying that, Steward Lin knelt down in front of Shen Qingci with great pride.

"Your Highness, this old servant has been in this household for decades, even before you married the Crown Prince."

"Working diligently from dawn till dusk, never daring to slack off in the slightest."

"This old servant can confidently say that my loyalty to the Crown Prince is beyond question."

"This matter is left for Your Highness to decide!"

Shen Qingci's expression immediately changed.

Steward Lin is right. He has worked in the Crown Prince's residence for so many years, and even if he has not made any great contributions, he has certainly put in a lot of hard work.

In this matter, he still acted out of loyalty and came to criticize Chen Changgeng.

If I were to remove him from his position as the chief steward of the Crown Prince's residence because of this, it would be difficult to explain to the Crown Prince, and it would also easily lead to rumors and gossip.

This is...not a good situation.

While hesitating, Chen Changgeng let out a cold laugh.

He finally understood.

This was a suicidal attack by Steward Lin.

His goal wasn't to drive Chen Changgeng out at all, but rather to get rid of him—which was perfectly logical.

Now that the crown prince has lost power, he has probably started to have ulterior motives.

If you can find a reason to force Shen Qingci to fire him, he will be willing to give Shen Qingci a lot of benefits so that he can return to his hometown to retire, out of consideration for his reputation.

In this way, he could avoid future repercussions from others in the imperial court regarding the Crown Prince's residence, and also make a fortune and return home in glory.

That's quite a clever plan!

However, Chen Changgeng will not let him have his way.

"Your Highness, since Steward Lin has the idea of ​​retiring, we might as well grant his wish."

"However, I don't like taking the blame."

"Since someone has falsely accused me, this matter must be thoroughly investigated."

"Manager Lin, your witness is Xiao Duozi, and we all know that Xiao Duozi is one of your men."

"Having worked under you for so many years, his testimony is probably not reliable, is it?"

After Chen Changgeng finished speaking, he looked up at Shen Qingci.

The key to breaking the deadlock has been handed over to Shen Qingci; it remains to be seen whether she can understand it.

Shen Qingci's face turned cold, and he immediately waved his hand.

"Like frost, as you wish!"

This little Duozi has been entangled with Chen Changgeng from the very beginning.

With the political situation so chaotic and so many things happening, he and Steward Lin are still putting all their energy into fighting amongst themselves.

It was a waste of his and Chen Changgeng's time and energy.

Shen Qingci naturally wasn't going to stand on ceremony anymore.

Upon receiving the order, Ru Shuang and Ru Yi immediately went over to the left and right and lifted Xiao Duozi up.

"Little Duozi, you'd better tell the truth."

"Yes, otherwise, if the two of us joined forces, you wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of torture!"

Ru Shuang and Ru Yi's back-and-forth banter scared Xiao Duozi so much that he wet himself.

"Your Highness, spare my life!"

"Please spare me, sisters! I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything!"

"The poison, the poison was indeed something Zhao Heng asked me to buy."

"But this letter written in blood was... was forged at the behest of Steward Lin!"

"When Steward Lin heard that Zhao Heng had asked me to buy poison, he immediately thought it was a great opportunity to get rid of Steward Chen."

"They promised me a reward of ten taels of silver, asking me to fabricate evidence and witnesses to help kill Steward Chen!"

Instantly, Steward Lin's face turned ashen, and he immediately let out a loud shout.

"Nonsense, Xiao Duozi, you're such an ungrateful wretch."

"How dare you bite me back?"

It looked like Steward Lin was about to rush up and hit someone.

Xiao Duozi's face turned even paler, and he quickly called out.

"I...I didn't!"

"This letter written in blood is indeed a forgery; I have proof!"

Xiao Duozi quickly rolled up his sleeves, and deep in the crook of his arm, there was a bloodstain.

"This letter was written in my own blood. Look, the wound is still fresh!"

Ru Shuang and Ru Yi immediately checked it over, then nodded to Shen Qingci.

Shen Qingci's face was now extremely pale.

"Steward Lin, is this what you call unwavering loyalty?"

"Chen Changgeng is currently running around tirelessly for the Crown Prince's sake, and you're just adding fuel to the fire from behind?"

"Great, great, that's wonderful!"