"Your Highness..."
Some elders, unable to bear it, tried to intervene.
Nan Yuan'er was the Empress appointed by His Majesty. If cold air entered her body and harmed her, making her unable to bear imperial heirs for His Majesty, it would be a crime for their Nan Prefecture.
Furthermore, the status and benefits to their families of an Empress with an imperial heir versus one without were vastly different. For the sake of the Nan family, they could not allow her to be treated this way.
Hearing the elders' voices, Nan Shiying raised her eyes and looked towards them. The elder who spoke out met Nan Shiying's bone-chilling gaze and felt as if a basin of cold water had been doused over his head. A chill instantly spread throughout his body, dragging him into an endless abyss. His voice got stuck in his throat, mixed with phlegm, and he choked so hard he almost passed out.
A group of old fogeys who thought themselves wise, and to this day, still couldn't grasp their own positions.
"What do the elders wish to say? Speak freely, I am all ears!"
The elders' faces immediately turned red. They dared not say anything to Nan Shiying, so they could only turn their heads and look at Nan Chaoyyin.
"Chaoyyin, since when does an elder sister kneel in mourning for her brother? This is your residence, can't you do something about it!"
"Yes, Chaoyyin, say something!"
"Chaoyyin, these are all daughters, after all!"
"The elders are as usual, only knowing how to rely and depend on their fathers," Nan Shiying's eyes were filled with amusement. Her voice was unhurried, languid, and relaxed. If one only listened to her voice and not the meaning of her words, they would not detect the ridicule and mockery.
"You..."
The elders' eyes blazed with anger, yet they dared not retort.
Nan Shiying's smiling gaze fell upon one of the elders, her lips curving upwards, even a smile gracing her face. "Elder, if I recall correctly, your great-grandson, who is also my cousin, holds a position in the Patrol Division, does he not!"
"The monthly salary of a deputy general in the Patrol Division is merely three taels of silver, yet I hear that cousin spends money like water at Yipin Ju." Nan Shiying's eyes curved slightly, her smile continuous as if she were chatting about everyday matters. She looked at the large beads of cold sweat on his forehead and inquired with concern, "Elder, are you worried that cousin might be led astray by villains and commit mistakes? In that case, I will send someone to investigate immediately. Rest assured, within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, I will have everything investigated clearly."
"Guards..."
"No, no, don't..."
That elder immediately panicked. He might not know about other people's affairs, but how could he not know about his own family's? His great-grandson was a dissolute youth comparable to Wang Qiancheng. While he could explain the financial matters, which official in this world could withstand an investigation? Once subjected to torture, even things they hadn't done would be attributed to them. Nan Shiying, that little vixen, was clearly threatening him. If he dared to plead for Nan Yuan'er again, he feared he would bring disaster upon himself.
Although Nan Yuan'er was related to the future favor and honor the Nan family would receive, if he couldn't even save his own life now, how could he manage future matters?
Controlling his almost exploding nerves, he softened his tone. "How would I dare trouble your Highness with such trivial matters? I will return and break that unfilial descendant's legs myself."
"Elder, there's no need to be so polite with me. If you require anything, feel free to come to the royal residence to find me. Of course, this applies to all elders!"
"We thank your Highness!"
The elders immediately knelt. Even if she was Nan Chaoyyin's secondary wife and Nan Yuan'er's birth mother, wasn't she still tormented to death by this vixen, and her death without a memorial tablet or spirit?
If she could be so ruthless to her father's secondary wife, how much more so to them, relatives she hadn't seen in a hundred years.
Perhaps they had no prior enmity, but if they mentioned Nan Yuan'er again today, they would incur enmity!
It wasn't worth it, truly not worth it!
Seeing the reaction of the Nan family elders, Nan Yuan'er almost gritted her teeth. Seeing that this person was about to cause a scene in the mourning hall, the officials' wives began to withdraw. Lingering to watch the show meant they could be implicated at any moment. This Nan Shiying was so powerful and arrogant; whoever fell into her hands would either die or be severely injured.
"Elders, please rise!"
Nan Shiying lightly supported them, and after the elders rose, she did not cause the disturbance everyone expected. She slightly curtsied to Nan Chaoyyin, "Please take care, Father!"
With that, she turned and left.
Along with the officials' wives, she departed from the Nan residence.
Watching the royal carriage grow further and further away, everyone's expressions were exceedingly strange—was this person truly here for the memorial service?