Regarding the case of Shen Yuan mistakenly killing Sun Cai Nan, the trial was conducted with unprecedented severity and speed. First, Sun Tian Zheng submitted a memorial to the imperial court demanding that Shen Yuan be punished with death for his crime, and if not, he would have to retire due to old age and frailty, which was actually a threat to Emperor Wen of Wei to step down.

  Compared to Shen Gui, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is obviously more important. Sun Tianzheng has been in office for many years and the connections and paths he has established would be greatly disrupted if he were suddenly replaced. Emperor Wen Hui naturally wants to appease Sun Tianzheng. Secondly, the imperial censors have always pointed out the mistakes of the court officials, and this time they will not let go of the mistaken killing case. Considering that it is not good for Sun Tianzheng to lose his only son, the focus of the impeachment by the imperial censors falls on Shen Gui.

  What was unexpected, however, was Shen Gui's attitude. Kneeling before Emperor Wen of Wei, with a nose full of snot and tears streaming down his face, he guaranteed that this matter was due to his own failure in teaching his son properly and that he was willing to uphold justice by sacrificing his own flesh and blood, allowing Shen Jian to atone for his crime with his life.

  It is said that this remark stunned all the civil and military officials in the imperial court at that time.

  Although these words sound impartial and just, but when it comes to his own son, he didn't even try to save him, instead, he agreed to sacrifice him with a straightforward answer. This is too inhumane. Even though Shen Gui is usually cunning and good at dealing with people, the fact that "a tiger doesn't eat its own son" still makes his colleagues who used to get along with him keep their distance from him.

  The ministers all stood on Sun Tianzheng's side, and Emperor Wen Hui asked for the opinions of the princes. The nine princes unanimously stood on Sun Tianzheng's side. Even if they didn't explicitly express their attitude, the direction this case would take was almost a foregone conclusion that everyone understood.

  Three days after Shen Qi's execution order, this was roughly the fastest execution order since the founding of Mingqi. There were almost no appeals or resistance movements, and the sentence was directly determined. This was largely due to the Sun family's instigation and the Shen family's inaction, but whether there were other people secretly pushing their hands is unknown.

  In the dimly lit prison cell, Shen Yuan sat in the innermost part. His hair was disheveled and his body had not been washed for several days, emitting a sour stench. In his usually calm eyes, one could see a hint of panic and even a glimmer of despair hidden within.

  Last night, someone sneaked in and gave him a dumbfounding drug. He can't say anything, who would do such a thing, who has the ability to break into the prison cell, Shen Yuan himself knows it clearly.

  Fu Xiuyi would not come to his rescue. At first, he still had a glimmer of hope, but after careful consideration, he realized that Fu Xiuyi saving him would be more harmful than beneficial. That man was best at seeking benefits and avoiding harm, so he would never take this risk for him. On the contrary, Shen Yuan's existence had become a restless chess piece for Fu Xiuyi, and Fu Xiuyi naturally wanted to eliminate him mercilessly.

  Giving him a dumb pill doesn't necessarily mean he didn't want to kill him, it's just that Fu Xiuyi was naturally cautious and was probably afraid that if he died in prison, people would be suspicious.

  Shen Yuan's mouth slowly curled up into a bitter smile, the winner takes all, he had known from the start what kind of person Fu Xiuyi was. Working under Fu Xiuyi, one should have expected that there might be such an outcome, it's just that no one expected it to come so soon.

  In the darkness, there seemed to be the sound of footsteps, and unlike the slightly hurried voices of the prison guards, those footsteps were somewhat slow. He raised his head to look in the direction of the footsteps, and under the dim lamp light, a purple dress was right before his eyes.

  Further up, the young girl's face was delicate and pretty, looking at him with a faint smile: "Second Brother."

  A surge of anger rose up in Shen Yuan's heart.

  At that moment when he saw Shen Miao's face, a strong hatred and unwillingness surged from his heart, making Shen Yuan want to kill Shen Miao right now.

  Even if he didn't understand how things had become like this, there was one thing that Shen Yuan was very clear about: this matter must have something to do with Shen Miao.

  Shen Miao slowly squatted down, her eyes level with Shen Yuan's, and smiled: "Second brother, these days inside must have been difficult for you. Second aunt is mad, second uncle won't come to see you, seventh brother is still young, as for the old lady, she was the one who doted on you the most, but yesterday she issued an order, no one in the manor is allowed to mention your name, it seems like she has also given up on you. I've been thinking, after all, we are siblings, so I'll come see you off for the last time."

  Shen Yuan gritted his teeth and stared at Shen Miao, words that could kill a person, destroy one's faith. And now Shen Miao was doing just that, stabbing a knife into his heart without hesitation. Although Shen Yuan's emotions were numb, when he was trapped in prison, there wasn't even anyone to visit him, which made his heart cold. Old Madame had been good to him before, but it was also because of his exceptional talent; now that he had become a prisoner, Old Madame would certainly distance herself from him to avoid trouble.

  "It seems that Second Brother and Elder Sister are indeed biological siblings, both of whom have been to prison. However, when Elder Sister was in prison, Second Aunt was still running around, but now there is no one to run around for you."

  Shen Yuan didn't say anything.

  "Second Brother, why aren't you speaking?" Shen Miao tilted her head to look at him: "Is it that he doesn't want to talk to me, or..." She suddenly laughed: "Was he fed dumb medicine by someone?"

  Shen Yuan was stunned, and Shen Miao had actually guessed that he had been given a dumb-inducing drug. Before he could even think about it, Shen Miao's next words left him shocked.

  "It seems Fu Xiuyi's methods are still the same as before, nothing has changed." Shen Miao murmured.

  Shen Yu's eyes widened, hearing Fu Xiuyi's name from Shen Miao's mouth. How did Shen Miao know he was doing things for Fu Xiuyi? Moreover, Shen Miao spoke with such familiarity, as if she understood Fu Xiuyi extremely well. Shen Yu's astonishment couldn't be expressed in words. In the inner courtyard of the Shen residence, no matter how clever Shen Miao's methods were, Shen Yu had never looked up to her too much, for a young lady from a noble family was limited to this extent. But when Shen Miao brought up Fu Xiuyi's name, Shen Yu couldn't help but look at her differently anymore.

  "Second Brother, there's no need to be so surprised." Shen Miao swept a glance at him and said: "I not only know Fu Xiuyi, but also his plans. If you think that by telling Fu Xiuyi about my affairs, you can redeem yourself, it's already too late. The Crown Prince is cautious by nature, since he has fed you the mute medicine, he won't rescue you again. For these days, in order not to attract attention, he won't send anyone else here. Until after your death, there will be no further contact with you. From the moment you became a useless son, he had nothing to do with you and wouldn't let you have any means to implicate him."

  Shen Yuan's heart began to beat rapidly, Shen Miao was right, Fu Xiuyi was that kind of person. So after yesterday, he almost waited for his own death with a desperate mood. Don't think about dying together with the enemy, because that ending must be more miserable than death, Fu Xiuyi had never been as gentlemanly as he seemed on the surface.

  He dipped his fingers in the murky water in the bowl and wrote a few words on the dusty ground.

  What is your purpose?

  Shen Miao suddenly burst out laughing. When she laughed, her eyes curved and the corners of her mouth curved, and suddenly it was as if she had returned to a year ago when she was still a silly girl, a bit foolish, with some naive eyes, but indeed a girl who didn't understand anything. Now, although her expression is still the same, it makes people feel a chill in their hearts.

  Shen Miao finally managed to stop laughing, and she looked at Shen Yu: "What is my goal, didn't second brother guess it already?"

  Do you want to deal with Er Fang? Shen Yuan wrote on the ground.

  "It's not just the second house." Shen Miao suddenly said in a low voice, her eyes suddenly flashing with a fierce glint that couldn't be contained, and even a hint of murderous intent seeped out. She said: "There's also the third house, the old lady, and... Ding Wang."

  Shen Yuan stared at her tightly.

  "You want to ask why again?" Shen Miao said: "I'm just doing what you've done before and showing it to you. Just like this time, don't you think the situation with the Jing family is familiar? That's because it was originally your method, using your own chess moves against you, how can you possibly figure it out?"

  Shen Yuan looked at Shen Miao with a bewildered expression, unable to understand what she was saying. He only felt that Shen Miao's current demeanor was as if she had fallen into madness. It was understandable that she harbored resentment towards the second and third branches of the family, but everyone knew that they were just pretending to get along on the surface. But where did her hatred for Ding Wang come from? Was it simply because she had admired him in the past but didn't receive a response?

  "Second brother," Shen Miao smiled strangely: "You should thank me, your sister. On your funeral procession, there are so many people accompanying you to the afterlife. Don't worry, after you're gone, no one else will take your place in the second house of the Shen family. You will still be the only and unique eldest son of the Shen family."

  Shen Yuan glared at Shen Miao.

  Shen Miao stood up, her voice rising and falling softly in the darkness, pounding into Shen Yuan's ears.

  "Having two wives will cut off one's descendants."

  After they went out, the prison guard got a good deal and left contentedly, and before leaving, he promised not to tell outsiders about this matter. Jingzhen and Guyu supported Shen Miao onto the horse carriage, Guyu asked: "Miss, will Second Young Master really be executed three days later?"

  Shen Miao nodded slightly.

  "It's like a dream." Gu Yu murmured: "Just the other day, Second Master was still arrogant and proud, but now he's even going to lose his life."

  "It's meant to be." Shen Miao said coldly.

  Shen Miao's current mood didn't seem to be very good, and Jing Ru and Gu Yu stopped talking after sticking out their tongues. When they returned to the Shen residence, as soon as they entered the house, they saw that there were many people gathered in the main hall. Upon closer inspection, it was actually the Jing family.

  Mrs. Jing rolled on the ground and shouted: "Return my Chu Chu to me! Return my Chu Chu to me!"

  Old Lady Shen was also furious, her face turned iron-green, and she directly called out to the house servants on one side: "Still not throwing these people out for me?"

  "Old madam," Jing Guansheng changed from his usual gentle and refined demeanor, his face ferocious as he said: "We entered your estate in good faith, but were taken away and now our lives are uncertain. Even if we take this matter to the authorities, it would still be your fault."

  Old Lady Shen scolded loudly: "How dare you say that! Our family has been ruined by that little slut, what kind of state have we become? If it weren't for her bad luck, how would the Shen family be implicated in this lawsuit?"

  "Be careful what you say, old lady," Jing Guansheng said: "At that time, we all said that this matter must be someone secretly manipulating things. My sister's personal maid also disappeared later, don't you think it's suspicious? It must be someone who bought her off!"

  The women were all in the hall, Chen Ruoqiu looked at what was in front of her with a bit of a headache, Shen Yue looked at the Jing family with disgust, Luo Xueyan had an attitude of being above it all, and Wan Yiniang stood quietly to one side holding Shen Dongling's hand, there was no place for her to interrupt here.

  "Brother, you're going too far, thinking that by shifting all the blame to a personal maid, everything can be settled? Shen Miao's voice rang out: "After all, this is a matter of private communication, and the maid was forced into it."

  The sarcastic words made Jing Guan's face turn red and white, and everyone looked towards the door. Shen Miao walked in calmly. Old Lady Shen had never been so fond of Shen Miao as she was today, and as long as she could make these annoying people from the Jing family calm down for a moment, her heart would be at ease.

  Luoyueyan happily pulled Shen Miao over: "Jiaojiao has been out for so long, are you tired?"

  "Madam Jing is still wailing: 'You and Father are blood relatives, Chu Chu has your bloodline too, how can you be so heartless? Heaven, Old Madam, are you trying to drive us to death?'"

  "Who among you is a blood relative? A group of vagrants who came to the capital to make a fortune also want to associate with me? Don't they even take a look at themselves? They really think that having some looks can do whatever they want, it's no wonder they're from a humble background, with a flirtatious air about them, and at such a young age they already know how to seduce men..." Madam Shen was so angry that she brought out the old set of scolding words from her past in the streets. It was truly a difficult thing to listen to, and for a moment, everyone who heard it was stunned.

  After a while, Jing Guansheng suddenly laughed and said: "Old lady, are you really so heartless? Are you going to stand by and watch as Chu Chu's matter unfolds?"

  "What does Jingchu have to do with me? How ridiculous!" Old Lady Shen replied without hesitation.

  "Alright," Jing Guansheng sneered, suddenly glancing at Shen Miao and said: "Since you want to burn the bridge after crossing the river, don't blame me for not being loyal. In the past when you let Chuchu climb onto Shen Qiu's bed, I had to think of ways to win Shen Miao's favor, it wasn't as heartless as this."

  As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

  What was astonishing was that although I had already guessed the inside story, I never expected Jing Guansheng to say such a thing in front of everyone.

  The most surprised was Luo Xueyan.

  She looked at Jing Guansheng and asked slowly: "What did you say?"

  Jing Guan Sheng didn't care about Old Lady Shen's furious face, and said in a broken jar-like tone: "Eldest Aunt probably doesn't know. When my brother and I first came to the Shen Manor, Old Lady was extremely enthusiastic towards us. Why? She said she liked us siblings very much and hoped to become relatives with the Jing family. But... how could Eldest Brother possibly take a liking to our humble-born Chu Chu? Old Lady personally played matchmaker at that time, thinking of hastening the marriage, but didn't expect that in the end, it was Second Brother who won her over."

  Luoxueyan's whole body shook violently, and she suddenly drew out a soft sword from her waist and placed it horizontally in front of Jingguansheng's neck.

  Jing Guan's face changed, but he still forced a smile and said: "Sister-in-law, you've got the wrong person this time. My brother and I both know our own weight, without Mother's supervision, how dare we be presumptuous? Besides, it was Mother who gave the order to poison, shouldn't you blame someone else?"

  Luoxueyan turned her head and stared at Old Lady Shen, her killing intent surging violently. Old Lady Shen was so frightened that she almost fell off her seat, and she exclaimed: "Old lady, are you going to kill your own mother?"

  "The old lady not only wants Chuchu to marry her elder nephew, but also wants me to win over her niece's heart." Jing Guansheng smiled lightly: "She also said that men and women loving each other is just a matter of time, uncooked rice will become cooked rice, people will naturally die for love..."

  Luoxueyan could not bear it anymore, and with one slash of her sword, the ground cracked. The ground was originally made of good stone material, but at this moment, it showed obvious cracks. Mrs. Jing's family screamed in fright, and Old Lady Shen also turned pale.

  Shen Yue and Chen Ruoqiu were somewhat shrinking, but Wan Niang's heart was astonished. She didn't expect that Shen Lao Furen would use such a despicable method. It's not surprising for ordinary women or concubines to use this kind of method, but Shen Lao Furen is the head of the family. This kind of tactic is simply unbearable.

  Lu Xueyan grasped Shen Miao's hand with one hand and held her sword in the other, gazing at Old Madam Shen. When she was truly enraged, her aura burst forth, making people believe that she could pounce on Old Madam Shen and behead her at any moment. She said, "Old Madam, since I married into the Shen household, Shen Xin has treated you with deep affection, although you are not his birth mother. My husband and I have always respected you. However, now I know that there really are heartless people in this world. In a family like the Shens, I can no longer stay."

  "Old man's, don't listen to his nonsense!" Madam Shen retorted with a sinister tone: "Are you going to be unfilial?"

  Whether it's nonsense or not, one check will reveal the truth. As for being unfilial," Luo Xueyan sneered, enunciating each word: "Even if I'm known as unfilial for my whole life, I won't let my children follow someone like that!" She pulled Shen Miao: "Let's go!"

  It no longer matters how Old Lady Shen raged after her death, how the Jing family was in an uproar, or how Chen Ruoqiu smoothed things over. Shen Miao was being pulled by Luo Xueyan to walk quickly towards the West Wing, but she felt very relieved in her heart.

  This is what she wants to achieve. Sometimes, saying it out loud may make people feel that the tone is not enough, not because they don't want to believe, but because divorce is not an easy thing. This involves many tangled interests and may carry many infamy, making Shen Xin determined to divorce, which is not an easy task.

  But from today on, the matter of separation will be much easier. At least from now on, Shen Lao and Luo Xueyan will no longer have a shred of sympathy for Shen Laofu. It is instinctive for parents to protect their children when someone hurts them.

  Lu Xueyan pulled Shen Miao back into the house, first closing the door and taking a deep breath before coldly laughing: "Your father and brother went to the palace today, they should have seen what kind of people these are!" After speaking, she suddenly thought of something and looked at Shen Miao with a slight apologetic expression: "Jiao Jiao, you were scared, weren't you? Mother was too angry just now."

  Shen Miao shook her head and looked at her: "What are we going to do next? Mother said such things to Old Madam today, I'm afraid Old Madam will use this matter to blame Mother afterwards."

  "What's there to be afraid of?" Luo Xueyan slapped the table: "When your father comes back, we'll discuss dividing the family property. The people in the Shen household are all up to no good, if things keep going like this, who knows what will happen next." She stroked Shen Miao's face and said: "No wonder you wanted us to stay in the capital for half a year longer, did you... already know?"

  Shen Miao smiled but didn't speak, and Luo Xueyan felt that her guess was correct. She stood up and said: "No, I still need to investigate this matter. I'll have the guards outside watch the gate of the courtyard, don't go out." It was as if she had treated Shen's residence as a lair of dragons and tigers.

  Shen Miao nodded slightly, and after Luo Xueyan left, Jing Zhen asked: "Miss, can we really divide the family?"

  "Of course." Shen Miao said calmly: "My mother is a person who can't tolerate any sand in her eyes, so she will naturally make distinctions."

  "That's really great." Jing Zhen said: "After the division of the house, Miss can do whatever she wants and has more freedom, and doesn't have to guard against this and that every day."

  Bai Lu walked in and said to Shen Miao: "Miss, the girl from Taoyuan has been sent away, settled in the villa, and given silver money."

  Shen Miao nodded.

  The plan to buy off Taoyuan by Jing Chuchu was extremely simple. Originally, Jing Chuchu had planned to marry Shen Yuan and then make Taoyuan her sister-in-law to win over Shen Yuan's heart. However, what she didn't expect was that Shen Yuan had always been disgusted with being manipulated, and even if Taoyuan really became his sister-in-law, he would not treat her well. Moreover, Jing Chuchu still thought she was doing Taoyuan a huge favor, unaware that Taoyuan had already been bought off by someone else.

  Didn't want to be a concubine, nor did she want to follow the kind of master like Jing Chu Chu. Taoyuan risked her life and finally gained her own freedom. Shen Miao also didn't disappoint her promise to Taoyuan, giving her silver and sparing her life. Those in power should know how to use both kindness and severity on their subordinates.

  From now on, everything will be done as she wishes. Gu Yu said: "After the second young master is executed, the mansion will probably calm down, and it's just right to separate the family at this time."

  Shen Miao smiled slightly, and that would have settled the matter. The Jing family had left Sun Tianzheng to deal with, but the people of the second house were not yet extinct.

  "Second Aunt must be heartbroken when she found out about Second Brother's execution." Shen Miao said softly.

  "Isn't the second lady already mad?" Gu Yu was surprised: "If she's already mad, then she doesn't have a mind, according to what people in Caiyun Garden say. The second lady can't even recognize people now, how would she know about this matter?"

  "Has he gone mad?" Shen Miao shook her head: "That's not necessarily true."

  When people are in despair, they use "crazy" to escape the reality that cannot be faced. Ren Yuanyun's greatest pain was her "inaction" at Wulong Temple that night, which led Shen Qing step by step to his final outcome. She was powerless to change anything and could only watch as Shen Qing died. She couldn't face Shen Qing's death, nor could she face herself, so she finally went "crazy".

  Now that Shen Yuan's death has been passed on, she will probably go even crazier, because with Shen Yuan's matter, she still can't help.

  Ren Yuanyun has not been crazy for a long time. Whether she will choose to continue being crazy depends on whether she can gradually accept these facts. It won't be long before Ren Yuanyun wakes up, because she still has Shen Yuanbai, and she is afraid that Shen Yuanbai will fall into the hands of Wan Yiniang.

  Shen Miao wants Ren Yuanyun to wake up ahead of time.

  She has always been dealing with the lifeblood of the whole family, not just individuals. Having chosen the second house, how could she stop at the loss of the second house's two children?

  What she wants is for Shen Gui's three generations to be exterminated.