The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 138 The Heir of the Duke's Mansion

"But we've all seen the Duke's attitude towards Pei Xingzhi. Pei Du has already left the Duke's mansion. Perhaps there's a chance for things to turn around?"

Xu Ying sat in the chair. If all went well, Pei Mingjian would become the heir to the Duke's mansion, and Liang Ruoyan would have something to look forward to.

Liang Chengxuan looked at her with a look of disappointment and frustration.

“A single imperial decree granting marriage means that Pei Du’s departure from the Duke’s mansion is utterly useless. In the Emperor’s eyes, he doesn’t acknowledge Pei Xingzhi. Besides, given Pei Xingzhi’s status, why would you want to wrong Yan’er?”

Liang Chengxuan couldn't understand it either. Even if he had made such a fool of himself before, it would be better to find someone of lower status than Pei Xingzhi.

Liang Ruoyan listened outside. She didn't actually want to marry Pei Xingzhi either. Like Liang Chengxuan, she looked down on Pei Xingzhi's status.

No one knows how Han Yueru managed to persuade Xu Ying, but Xu Ying actually agreed to the marriage.

Moreover, regarding Pei Xingzhi's attitude towards her, Liang Ruoyan pursed her lips; Pei Xingzhi always seemed to have a superior air about him.

She didn't barge in to say anything, letting Xu Ying and Liang Chengxuan discuss it themselves.

Liang Chengxuan did not agree to this, and said that he would decide Liang Ruoyan's marriage, which gave Xu Ying a headache.

Granny Song came over and said, "Madam, let's not talk about this for now. It's obvious that the Marquis is not unwilling to form a marriage alliance with the Duke's family, but he just doesn't want to get involved with that second young master."

Xu Ying looked at herself in the bronze mirror.

"But is there a better place than the Duke's mansion? Pei Du has gone to the border, and to put it bluntly, he might die before he can earn any fame or fortune. Pei Xingzhi's identity is a bit unpleasant, but as long as Pei Mingjian is alive, who dares to say anything?"

Xu Ying sighed. Whenever something like this happened, Liang Chengxuan always disagreed with her.

"There's no rush for the eldest daughter's marriage; let's wait and see."

Xu Ying held the hairpin tightly; she would never allow her daughter to marry below her station.

If Han Yueru is willing to cooperate, then she'll see how far Han Yueru can go.

When Shen Hanyu had some free time, she would look through the things Shen Yanzhi had left behind at night.

Miao Cui held the candle for her, and the candle flickered. Miao Cui yawned.

"Young lady, the nights get chilly after autumn arrives, you should get some rest."

Shen Hanyu had looked at these things over and over again several times, but had not been able to find anything else.

“Ah Ye left these things behind, which means there must be some useful information in them, maybe I just haven’t seen it yet.”

Shen Hanyu could almost recite the contents of the letter. She touched the letter; it was rough and had no interlayer. The rest of the letter about Lizhou was the same.

Miao Cui also stared at the letters.

"Could there be something else on these papers?"

Shen Hanyu stroked the paper, "This paper is from Lizhou. If you hide something on it..."

Shen Hanyu carefully recalled whether Shen Yanzhi had ever said anything to her before.

Miao Cui picked up one of the cards.

"There are many folk methods to make hidden writing on paper appear, such as heating it with fire, or dipping it in vinegar or tea. However, these methods can damage the paper."

The choice is entirely up to Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu felt that the methods Miaocui mentioned sounded familiar. She thought about it carefully and realized that Shen Yanzhi might have actually mentioned them to her.

It seems that she and Shen Yanzhi chatted briefly when they were writing the character "福" (fortune) together on New Year's Eve one year.

When Shen Yanzhi dipped his finger in the tea, the characters on the Xuan paper became visible.

Shen Hanyu took the tea that had cooled down, dipped it in a brush, and carefully applied it to a piece of paper.

There were no extra words on the paper, and there was still quite a bit left. Miao Cui helped Shen Hanyu with it.

After a flurry of activity, the two discovered extra words on thirteen sheets of paper.

Reading them individually might seem strange, but if you put them together and scramble the order, they might form a sentence, though the order is different.

Shen Hanyu looked at the thirteen sheets of paper and said, "I can't think of how to piece these words together into a sentence in a short time."

Some have only two characters on them, while others have three or four. Moreover, these characters are only found in the records of Lizhou; there are no characters on the letters themselves.

Miao Cui couldn't figure it out either. She pointed to one of the cards and said, "Look, girl, doesn't this look like a person's name?"

The paper clearly bore the name Lin Qiufeng.

Shen Hanyu had no knowledge of the name Lin Qiufeng, nor did it appear in any letters or documents.

"Tomorrow, Jinchui should thoroughly investigate this name."

One problem is that there might be many people with the same name.

After finishing these tasks and putting things away, Shen Hanyu went to rest.

The next day, when she arrived at the girls' school, she heard many people discussing Liang Ruoyan and Pei Xingzhi.

Liang Ruoyan, who was at the center of the incident, had a dark expression on her face and only gave cold answers to those who came to ask her questions out of curiosity.

"Don't talk nonsense about things that are far from being finalized."

They stopped talking after hearing Liang Ruoyan's words.

Liang Ruoxue stood to the side and laughed. Pei Xingzhi's secretive identity was already common knowledge, and Liang Ruoyan had actually been reduced to discussing marriage with him.

She walked up to Liang Ruoyan.

"Sister, you should have made your move sooner. Otherwise, you would have been engaged to Pei Du. Although Pei Du's relationship with the Duke is strained, at least his status isn't awkward."

Liang Ruoyan can't stand Liang Ruoxue showing off in front of her right now.

"Don't be so smug. Your wedding is still several months away. You, who only won the Third Prince's favor with Shen Hanyu's advice, do you have the right to say these things in front of me?"

Liang Ruoyan whispered in Liang Ruoxue's ear, sharply poking at Liang Ruoxue's sore spot.

If Liang Ruoxue's matter is exposed even slightly, Princess Yongning will definitely investigate it thoroughly.

However, for the sake of the Marquis's mansion, everyone in the mansion chose to keep quiet, including Liang Ruoyan. She didn't want Liang Ruoxue to drag the entire mansion down with her.

Liang Ruoxue's face was ashen. She glared at Liang Ruoyan, harboring a lot of resentment towards Shen Hanyu.

At that time, Shen Hanyu wanted to leave, but she had to use this incident to threaten her and let her grandmother know about it.

Now she's living in constant fear, terrified that Princess Yongning will find out about this.

However, Li Jun's attitude towards her remained the same as before, which reassured Liang Ruoxue quite a bit.

Just then, Shen Hanyu happened to pass by. Liang Ruoxue snorted, but in her heart she was thinking about how to deal with Shen Hanyu, the only variable.

"Girl, if you want to get rid of Shen Hanyu, that's easy. Dead men tell no tales."

The maid whispered behind Liang Ruoxue.

Liang Ruoxue looked at her: "Do you think I don't want to? Shen Hanyu never goes anywhere and just stays there obediently. What opportunities can I possibly find?"

The maid smiled and said, "If we don't have an opportunity, we can create one. There will be many people going to the Buddhist temple next time we have a holiday. Shen Hanyu is on good terms with the Wei family, so she might go with them, since her father has passed away."

Liang Ruoxue thought there was some truth to it.