Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 87 Speculation and Questioning

Seeing that there was no excitement to be had, and not wanting to offend Sheng Hong, the onlookers dispersed upon hearing this.

"Young Master Gu, my son is naughty and unruly; please forgive him."

Sheng Hong smiled and said, "Young Master Gu is indeed a distinguished guest. Why don't you come with me to the main hall for a while?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Magistrate Sheng."

Gu Tingye cupped his hands and said, "However, I only came to Yangzhou on the Yuan family's boat and just happened to come and join in the fun. Prefect Sheng can treat me as an ordinary guest."

Sheng Hong hesitated for a moment, then said, "In that case, let my nephew-in-law show the Second Young Master Gu around!"

Upon learning that Sheng Changfeng had gambled with a young master from the Yuan family by playing pitch-pot, and that Sheng Changfeng had lost several jade pendants worth hundreds of taels of silver in total, he summoned Yuan Wenchun.

He wanted Yuan Wenchun to manage the person he brought, but Yuan Wenchun said that the person was Gu Tingye, the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan, and he couldn't manage him at all.

Sheng Hong was furious when he heard this, but the marriage certificate had already been signed, and it was too late even if he wanted to break off all ties.

He could only rush over to see if he could stop it.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Zhou An stepped in and stopped Sheng Changfeng.

Judging from Gu Tingye's words, it seems that he really has no connection with the Yuan family.

But Sheng Hong was still a little worried, fearing that he might cause some trouble, so he suggested that Zhou An take him around, actually to keep an eye on him.

"Thank you very much, Magistrate Sheng!" Gu Tingye bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"Excuse me!"

Sheng Hong smiled and nodded, then turned to leave with Sheng Changfeng, only to see Minglan not far away.

"Take your sister back to the backyard!"

With his back to Gu Tingye and the others, Sheng Hong glared fiercely at Sheng Changfeng and said, "There are many people at home today, so stay in the backyard and don't wander around."

"yes!"

Sheng Changfeng responded, his head drooping, and left with Minglan.

When Zhou An saw Minglan turn around, a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

"Little girl, I'm doing this to help you!"

Zhou An intervened for two reasons. Firstly, since he was present, he couldn't just stand by and watch Sheng Changfeng gamble with the betrothal gifts.

Sheng Changfeng's actions could be attributed to his youth and lack of understanding. However, he was already twenty years old and could not possibly be unaware of what it meant to lose the betrothal gifts in front of the guests on the day of the engagement.

Both morally and logically, he had no choice but to step in and stop it.

Secondly, I also wanted to see if I could prevent a tragedy from happening.

On his way to Yangzhou, he carefully recalled the series of events that occurred on the day the Yuan family proposed marriage.

The final conclusion is that Lin Xiaoniang killed Wei Xiaoniang because Minglan won the pitch-pot game against Gu Tingye.

At the beginning of the story, Wei Xiaoniang and her daughter Minglan lived a very hard life.

Lin Xiaoniang was cutting back on their expenses while sending Wei Xiaoniang a lot of tonics in her meals. Isn't that contradictory?

It can also easily arouse the other party's vigilance.

Moreover, since Wei Xiaoniang never competed or fought for anything, Sheng Hong had lost interest in her, so Lin Xiaoniang had absolutely no reason to risk killing her.

The argument that they were worried about her giving birth to a boy, which would pose a threat to her, is not very convincing.

If there were such concerns, shouldn't they have taken action against Wei Xiaoniang when she was pregnant with Minglan?

Wei Xiaoniang was bought by Madam Wang to compete with Lin Xiaoniang for favor.

If Lin Xiaoniang felt threatened, it was after Wei Xiaoniang entered the household, especially when she became pregnant with Minglan.

Since Wei Xiaoniang was neither competitive nor greedy, Sheng Hong lost interest in her. Even if she gave birth to a son, it would not pose any threat to Lin Xiaoniang.

Under these circumstances, why would Lin Xiaoniang take such a great risk to harm her?

Zhou An clearly remembered that Minglan won against Gu Tingye and kept the betrothal gifts, which made Sheng Hong very happy.

Later, Madam Wang threw a tantrum, saying that Lin Xiaoniang had instructed Sheng Changfeng to do it that way, just to make her daughter lose face and be unable to hold her head up in her husband's family.

Whether Sheng Hong believed it or not is hard to say, but he did indeed take his anger out on Lin Xiaoniang because of what Sheng Changfeng had done.

The constant bickering between his wife and concubine was driving Sheng Hong crazy. Thinking of the obedient and sensible Minglan, he went to visit Wei Xiaoniang and her daughter.

It was probably because of this visit that Lin Xiaoniang felt threatened.

Lin Xiaoniang was not afraid of Wang Daniangzi because she had long since figured out Wang Daniangzi's personality.

Even if she makes a mistake, given Madam Wang's personality, it won't be long before she pushes Sheng Hong back to her side.

But when they felt threatened by Wei Xiaoniang, the situation changed.

Her conflict with Madam Wang might very well push Sheng Hong towards Madam Wei.

Given this concern, it's quite understandable that Lin Xiaoniang wanted to kill Wei Xiaoniang.

However, these were all Zhou An's guesses, and he didn't know if they were right or wrong.

Given the circumstances, he had to step in.

If he guessed correctly, he could be considered to have inadvertently saved the lives of Wei Xiaoniang and her unborn child.

It doesn't matter if I guess wrong.

As for using other methods to save Wei Xiaoniang, he hadn't even considered it.

Even if he had a way, given Wei Xiaoniang's personality, as long as Lin Xiaoniang was determined to harm her, she could escape once, but not a second time.

In his previous life, Zhou An had read a story.

A man, reborn, wants to save a fire. He remembers the fire started in a grove of trees, caused by someone carelessly tossing away a cigarette butt.

So he calculated the day and waited in the woods before the fire broke out, ready to rush forward and put it out as soon as it started.

He actually succeeded, and was overjoyed, lighting a cigarette.

He flicked his cigarette butt after finishing it and went home.

Ultimately, the fire still occurred.

The difference is that he was originally unrelated to the fire, but now he has become the one who caused it.

Many things happen because they are inevitable.

If he guessed correctly, then Lin Xiaoniang's idea of ​​harming Wei Xiaoniang was just a random one.

By denying Minglan a chance to shine, we can change everything.

Otherwise, it was bound to happen, and even if she avoided it once, it wouldn't dispel Lin Xiaoniang's idea.

"My name is Zhou An, courtesy name Huaide!"

Zhou An watched Sheng Hong and the others leave, then bowed to Gu Tingye.

Gu Tingye returned the greeting and said, "My name is Gu Tingye, and my given name is Zhonghuai!"

Since Sheng Hong just called him Second Young Master Gu, there's no need to hide it anymore.

Seeing that he had lost his previous aggressive attitude and was instead quite humble, Zhou An said, "Zhong Huai, shall we talk somewhere else?"

"Mm." Gu Tingye nodded.

Zhou An thought for a moment. At this moment, the front and middle courtyards of the Sheng family were full of people, and the back courtyard was for the women. They couldn't go there.

Only the side courtyard where Sheng Changbai lived was relatively quiet.

So he led Gu Tingye to a side courtyard, away from the crowd, and said, "I don't think Zhonghuai is an aggressive person. Why would he propose a game of pitch-pot on a day like this?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'm truly sorry, but I have some unspeakable difficulties. However, I can swear that even if Young Master Sheng had just lost to me, I would not have accepted the betrothal gift!"

"But today is a joyous occasion for the Sheng family. Whether you accept it or not, it won't change the fact that the Sheng family will lose face because of it!"

Zhou An naturally knew that Gu Tingye would go easy on her later. If things had continued as originally planned, even if Minglan hadn't stepped forward, Gu Tingye would still have gone easy on her.