Chapter 37: Officials are superior, people are inferior

  Bao's face stiffened, and Mrs. Gu beside him also said: "Yan'er has never made any mistakes since she got married, let alone being presumptuous."

  It turns out that Bao's reputation as a cruel and heartless daughter has been fulfilled by herself.

  Madam Shen's face stiffened, unsure of what to say. Beside her, Shen Guiya finally spoke up: "The spirit tablet of the Qin family is gone, so let's all search for it. Since Mother suspects Fourth Brother's wife, then searching the North Wing won't hurt either."

  "If you want to search the Northern Palace, why not search the entire Chancellor's Manor at the same time?" Shen Guiyan looked up at Chancellor Gu and said: "Yesterday, I was in the manor and didn't take a single step out. I even paid respects to my mother-in-law and served dinner. Under such circumstances, if Mother can say that I stole the Lingwei, then anyone in this world could have stolen it."

  Gu Gongxiang didn't have a good impression of this Bao family, and now they came to his residence early in the morning to cause trouble. Now Shen Guiya was actually helping them say that they wanted to search Beiyuan.

  Although the North Mansion is where Gui Yan resides, it is also within the residence of the Grand Councilor. How can a humble lady like me, the wife of a low-ranking official, be allowed to search the grand mansion of the Grand Councilor? I had already given her face by calling out to my relatives, but she still dared to overstep her bounds in such a manner.

  The Grand Preceptor's face didn't look too good, and Madame Gu had always been perceptive to the subtleties of tone and expression, so she followed suit with a gloomy face: "Yan'er indeed came to keep me company for dinner yesterday, I don't know what evidence you have that Yan'er stole the Ling position? The Grand Preceptor's official residence isn't somewhere you can just search at will!"

  This sentence was also equivalent to slapping Shen Guiya in the face, making her face burn with anger. Normally when watching TV dramas, things that are lost aren't always found, who knew it wouldn't be this time either?

  Ancient rules are really troublesome.

  Bao also understood the situation, Shen Guiyan was actually quite favored in the Chancellor's mansion, and her status was even more stable than that of Ya'er from her own family. She couldn't be touched at all.

  Having understood the situation, Mrs. Shen's anger subsided a little, and she pursed her lips, saying: "Indeed, there is no evidence, perhaps I was thinking too much."

  "In that case, just go to the yamen and report the incident, let them investigate." said Grand Councilor Gu.

  Madam Shen hummed softly and said in a low voice: "No need to investigate, nothing will be found anyway, let's just forget it."

  "Never mind?" Shen Guiyan turned her head, her eyes wide open: "Yan'er's birth mother, also the second brother's birth mother, died unclearly and unjustly, now the spirit tablet is lost unclearly and unjustly, does Mother still not plan to give Yan'er an explanation?"

  "What instructions did I give you?" Madam Shen angrily said: "I am your elder, you are my younger generation, do you dare to speak to an elder like this?"

  Having said that, he turned his head and looked at the superior: "Look at you, this is what it means to be defiant!"

  Xu Mengdie stood to one side and whispered, "The daughter asks about the whereabouts of her own mother's spirit tablet, just wanting an explanation, but it's actually considered impertinence. Who would have thought that the rules of the Shen household are even stricter than those of the Prime Minister's household?"

  Madam Shen turned her head angrily and glared at Xu Mengdie, not recognizing who she was. Seeing that she was dressed simply, she rebuked: "Do you have the right to speak?"

  Mrs. Liu, who was standing beside her, spoke up in a displeased tone: "It's so early in the morning and there's no peace, something from the Shen household has gone missing, and they actually came to the Prime Minister's residence to look for it. Not only that, but they also spoke out of turn - Mrs. Shen really has quite an attitude."

  Bao Shilan is really stupid, didn't figure out whose territory this is, offending people everywhere, and hasn't even met Shen Guiyan yet, but has already gotten herself into a desperate situation.

  Shen Guiya cursed her teammate for being like a pig in her heart, and reluctantly opened her mouth to say: "Let's leave this matter to the government office, why does mother have to worry so much."

  Madam Shen grew anxious. How could such a thing be handed over to outsiders? The government office wouldn't dare come and investigate the Prime Minister's residence, would that not be equivalent to letting Shen Guiyan off scot-free?

  But now, she has no way out. The prime minister and Madame Guo have no intention of helping her, and Gui Ya seems to be powerless too.

  Failed to steal a chicken, but ended up losing rice instead, and also made a fool of myself in front of two aunties who followed me.

  Bao Shilan's face stiffened for a while before she finally stood up and said: "Forget it, I'll go back and let the yamen people handle it."

  "Thanks for your hard work, Mother. Yan will definitely make sure that justice is served." Shen Guiyan nodded: "Absolutely cannot let the bad guys get away with it."

  Mrs. Shen glared at her fiercely and didn't say a few more words to Mr. and Mrs. Gu, turning around and storming off in anger.

  "There's no discipline." Madam Gu muttered with a stern face.

  Shen Guiya heard it and was also annoyed in her heart. She glanced at Shen Guiyan, who was calm and composed beside her, and secretly gritted her teeth.

  Bao Shilan was about to leave the mansion, and Shen Guiyan and Shen Guiya naturally followed to see her off. After sending away the servants and getting them to keep a distance, Bao Shilan turned around and raised her hand to slap Shen Guiyan.

  Shen Guiyan raised her hand to stop her, and with a slight exertion of force, she pinched Bao Shi painfully.

  "How dare you!" Mr. Bao was furious: "You're going too far!"

  "What if I did?" Shen Guiyan raised her head and met her eyes with a faint smile: "Mother can still go back and tell on me."

  "You!" Bao Shilan's face turned red with rage as she flung open her hand, her voice trembling: "Now that there's no one around, you dare to defy me again, don't you?"

  "Mother, if you didn't do so many shameful things, I would naturally be filial to you for the rest of my life."

  Bao's expression changed slightly: "What can't be seen, what are you talking about?"

  "It's nothing, Mother should go back earlier." Shen Guiyan walked past her to the gate of the mansion: "Good and evil will be rewarded, Mother can take a look slowly, those who harm people will have some consequences."

  Shen Guiya slightly furrowed her brow and immediately let out a cold laugh: "Do you really think that in this Chancellor's Manor, you can cover the sky with one hand?"

  "What if it can't cover the sky?" Shen Guiyan said calmly: "As long as you can finish what you want to do, that's enough."

  Bao Shilan was so angry that her whole body trembled: "This little cheap thing... is really as despicable as her mother!"

  "Why is Mother in such a hurry." Shen Guiya pulled on Bao Shi's hand, her eyes coolly saying: "Look at her, she's always so calm and unhurried, yet doesn't she get everything done just the same? We should learn from her."

  Can't Shen Guiyan just follow her example? She remembered the preferences of the people in the mansion, knew how to win over Chancellor and Madame, and gradually established herself. It seemed like she didn't do anything, but today she won as a matter of course.

  But there are still things she can't learn, Shen Guiya sneered, modern things, let's see how she learns them.

  As they walked to the entrance of the Grand Minister's mansion, a crowd of people surrounded the outside, and when Madame Shen came out, everyone was talking in an uproar.

  "She even ran to her husband's family to tattle, what kind of mother is this? Others are all helping their own daughters, but she can't wait for the Fourth Young Master's wife to have a hard time."

  "How vicious! From now on, don't let our family's daughters be sent to the Shen household, or they'll encounter such a cruel master."

  The room was filled with murmurs, and Mrs. Shen grew even angrier. She wasn't someone who could keep her temper in check to begin with, and being pointed at and criticized by a group of refugees and commoners made it impossible for her to hold back any longer.

  "Go ahead, you think you're invincible just because you've found a group of dirty things to back you up?" Madame Shen glared at Shen Guiyan with a mixture of anger and sarcasm: "You just wait for me, if I can't touch you, I'll deal with these damned things!"

  "Ptoo!" Another refugee spat at her, right on her face. Bao Shilan shrieked and immediately got into the carriage: "Tell the government office! Say it's from the Shen household! Have this mob of violent civilians arrested!"

  "Yes!" You Ding responded and wanted to leave, but was blocked by refugees.

  The entrance of the Grand Chancellor's mansion suddenly became noisy, Shen Guiyan hastily instructed Bao Shan: "Quickly go find someone to help block them and persuade them to disperse. The people should not fight with the officials, if they continue to make trouble there will be no good outcome."

  The lives of the ancient common people were so low and cheap, it can be seen from the fact that Wen Guogong played with the lives of refugees last time. Madame Shen was also a woman of the imperial court, she could say some idle words, but when she really got anxious, she feared that she couldn't keep these refugees safe.

  Bao Shan hurriedly went to find the household registration officer and tried his best to stop the refugees. But who knew that more and more people were coming, and it was simply impossible to stop them.

  Shen Guiyan frowned and saw that there were already officials and soldiers coming from afar. With such a big commotion near the government office, it was unnecessary for the household servants to go and inform them.

  "Spit? Let them spit again!" Bao Shilan saw the officers and soldiers, and had more confidence: "Arrest all these people, cut out their tongues first, and see how they can spit!"

  "Yes!" The officers and soldiers came up and suppressed the refugees. The old man who had just spat was lifted by two officers, and it suddenly became much quieter outside.

  "Mother." Shen Guiyan frowned and said: "As a dignified lady of a high-ranking official, why must you be at odds with the common people?"

  Bao Shi Lan looked relieved, then got off the carriage again, her eyes red with anger: "You also know I'm a dignified wife of a high-ranking official? Being spat on by a lowly commoner and still having to endure it? Cut out his tongue!"

  The officials of the capital and Old Master Shen also had some connections, and there were many people who fawned on those in power. Upon hearing this, they immediately said: "Milady, please calm down, we will definitely put all these lowly commoners in prison, not one of them will have a good time."

  That head had already been taken by someone with a rope, tying the refugees together. Shen Guiyan stepped forward and blocked Shen's wife in front of her, saying: "Mother would do well to listen to Yan'er's advice, refugees are also people, they are all human lives. If mother is so tyrannical, regarding human life as nothing, there will certainly be retribution."

  "What retribution?" Madam Shen sneered: "Nowadays, officials are above and the people are below. If those below offend those above, I will punish them according to reason. What retribution can there be? You think these lowly commoners need to be appeased, but now look, no matter how many helpers you have, they can all be locked up!"

  "Take it away!"

  Refugees scattered in all directions, and dozens of people stood still on the spot, all tied up. Shen Guiyan frowned, unable to stop them, and could only turn around and walk towards the government office.

  Gu Zhaobei should not have gotten up yet, right? These refugees are also implicated by her, and they can't all be imprisoned for nothing. Gu Chengxiang was already displeased just now, and it's even more inappropriate to bother him with this matter again. The only thing that can be thought of is to discuss it with Gu Zhaobei.

  The north courtyard was still quiet, and it seemed that Jiang's family had not gotten up yet. Shen Guiyan lifted her skirt and went directly to Jiang's house.

  "Master." After entering the door, Shen Guiyan stood at the partition and didn't dare to go in and take a look: "I have something to do, please ask Master to get up quickly."