Chapter 123: Power

"Don't mention this again." Duan Yingying's face didn't look very good.

"The Shen family can't even protect themselves now, wouldn't it be suicide for me to marry into their family?"

If she really married into the Shen family, she would not be able to hold her head up in the Duan Mansion and would be ridiculed and mocked to death by Duan Mengmeng.

One imperial edict brings joy to one family and sorrow to two others.

In the flower hall of the Shen Mansion, Madam Shen was crying softly with red eyes.

Shen Wen and Shen Changhe hung their heads and said nothing. Only Shen Anan clutched the imperial edict, frowning and lost in thought.

"An An, don't be afraid. If you don't want to, Dad and your elder brother will definitely find a way to send you out of the capital."

Shen Anan came back to her senses, put the imperial edict on the table, and said calmly, "It's easy for my daughter to leave, but what about you and the three clans of my Shen family."

Shen Wen sighed heavily, his face full of struggle.

If he could exchange his life for his daughter's happiness, he would definitely be willing to do so, but since it would involve the Shen family's side branches, he really couldn't bear to do it.

"You don't have to worry about us. Even if the emperor is angry, he can't kill your father and brother. An'an, you just have to be obedient and go as far away as possible." The speaker was Madam Shen.

She had never imagined that her husband and son would bring back this news at the morning court today: Concubine, how could her daughter be allowed to be someone's concubine?

Even if she is a royal concubine, it is not acceptable.

"An An, what do you mean?" Shen Changhe finally spoke.

He thought that as long as An An didn't agree, he would give up everything.

Shen Anan raised her eyes and looked at her parents and brother who were looking at her worriedly, and her heart felt slightly warm.

As long as they are all there, it doesn't matter whether the marriage is granted or not, whether she gets married or not, whether she is the main wife or the concubine.

She can turn those around.

"I won't leave." She said calmly, but her tone was extremely firm.

How could she possibly leave? Her grandmother's body was still warm, and those people had treated her Shen family so badly. How could she just let it go?

"An An," Mrs. Shen cried, "If you don't leave, are you really going to be a concubine of the royal family?"

Shen Anan pursed her lips, stood up and walked towards Madam Shen, gently stroking her twitching back, “Don’t worry, mother, my daughter will not be a concubine.”

Mrs. Shen raised her red and swollen eyes and looked at Shen Anan.

Shen Wen and Shen Changhe also looked at her, "An An, what do you mean by this?"

Shen Anan looked at Shen Wen with a cold smile, "It's not the wedding day yet, if we don't get married, nothing will count."

There was a cold and cruel gleam in her clear almond-shaped eyes.

Seeing her family's worried gazes, she curled her lips and smiled, "Didn't the Fourth Prince tell me to wait for his news? There is no explanation yet, so you don't have to be so pessimistic."

Shen Wen sighed, "The emperor is determined, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the fourth prince to convince him, not to mention the Duan family..."

"Now we are of great help to the Fourth Prince's cause. My Shen family is just a burden. If the Fourth Prince puts his cause first, I'm afraid..."

He shook his head.

It's not that he doesn't believe the Fourth Prince, but human nature is so fickle. What's more, it's related to the throne, so it's really hard to say.

"Dad is right." Shen Anan nodded, his brows locked with a gloomy look, "So, we still have to ask the Fourth Prince for his opinion before deciding what to do."

After coming out of the flower hall, Shen Anan went straight back to the Begonia Garden. Just when Mo Xiang thought she was going out, she told him to prepare water, take a bath and change clothes.

Then he fell directly on the couch.

"Miss, aren't you going to look for the Fourth Prince?"

Shen Anan half closed her eyes and said nothing, so Mo Xiang also fell silent.

Tears slowly welled up in her eyes. She thought that if she had known this would happen, she would have married Master Zhang and gone to Jiangnan from the beginning.

Those two farm girls are easy to control, and are better than staying in the capital to be concubines.

But even if she became a concubine, she would be the Fourth Prince's concubine, far from being comparable to Master Zhang. The more Mo Xiang thought about it, the more conflicted she became.

Shen Anan just closed her eyes quietly and lay there for a long, long time.

It was not until the sky darkened and Mo Ran reported that Shen Changhe had arrived that she opened her eyes and stood up.

Those eyes were just as cold, but they were different from before.

The door opened, and Shen Changhe in the yard turned around and looked towards the corridor.

"Why don't you come into the house, brother?"

Shen Changhe stared at Shen Anan's calm eyes for a while before slowly looking away, "It's not cold today, it's just that the stove in the room is stuffy."

He thought that any girl would cry if she encountered such a thing, and An An was no exception. But when he looked at her now, he felt that he was wrong.

My sister was raised by my grandmother, how can she be compared to an ordinary girl in the boudoir?

"Are you really going to marry the Fourth Prince?"

Shen Anan was silent.

Just when Shen Changhe thought she wouldn't answer, she said softly, "Yeah."

"Is it for the Shen family and grandmother?"

Shen Anan was startled and turned her head slightly, not daring to look at Shen Changhe.

"Brother, grandma shouldn't have died. This was clearly an unprovoked disaster."

A false accusation made her lose the person she loved most. How could she not be angry?

Shen Changhe pursed his thin lips tightly, and his eyes exuded a hint of coldness.

"I am worried that, with such a great cause at hand, the Fourth Prince will..."

“I don’t have any hope in him.” Shen Anan said coldly.

"The trend is irresistible, the imperial decree has been issued, and since the marriage is inevitable, I can only try my best to gain something beneficial for myself."

Since we can't change the direction, then we'll have to change the process, and both sides will be destroyed.

Grandma, there is no way you could die in vain like this.

What past life, what personal love, she only knew that her grandmother who loved her the most had died, and her relatives were also suffering from the remnant of imperial power.

If the emperor dares to grant the marriage, she will dare to marry and turn his world upside down!

"An An."

Shen Changhe felt heavy in his heart. He had never seen Shen Anan so cold and sinister before.

He couldn't help feeling sad. If he had been more useful, perhaps his sister wouldn't have ended up like this.

"Brother, I know you want to persuade me to leave, but I can't leave anymore. Since my grandmother passed away, I have been trapped in this imperial city. As long as those people are still here, I will never let it go."

Leaving the imperial city and living a happy life was what she had always desired. But now that the most important person in her heart was gone, everything became meaningless.

If she couldn't even save the Shen family in the end, her self-righteousness might lead to an even more tragic ending than her previous life.

She will blame herself and feel ashamed, and will be in agony.

Shen Changhe looked away and looked at the scenery in the distance with her.

"It's up to you. We'll be brothers and sisters together."

Whether it was my grandmother or the Shen family, they all supported it together.

"That day was also the original wedding day of Big Brother and Miss Lin." Shen Anan pursed her lips and said suddenly.

Shen Changhe was stunned.

After a long while, he said, "Mother has come to return the token and canceled the marriage."

The Lin family was afraid that more people would know about this past marriage.

The engagement was hasty, and the cancellation of the engagement was extremely low-key. Even Shen Anan didn't know, the two families had already returned the engagement letter.

"Yeah," Shen Anan responded softly, and silence filled the space between the brother and sister.

"Brother, I never knew that power is such a good thing."

You can do whatever you want, marry whoever you want, marry whoever you want, and live whatever kind of life you want.

That’s not right. The emperor has power, but he can only stay in the palace all his life, so he can only choose one between rights and freedom.

She thought that if she had lived longer in her previous life, she might have been able to sit on the throne of queen. After being corrupted by the palace for so long, she should have understood this truth.

I wouldn't have taken so many detours in this life.

"An'an," Shen Changhe said in a hoarse voice, looking at her distressedly, "You grew up in Jiangnan and have never enjoyed the prosperity of the capital. You don't want to face such a mess when you come back."

Shen Anan smiled and said nothing.

That was what she owed to the Shen family.

"I just suddenly realized that if you are at the center of power, unless you hold the power in your own hands, you will just be like fish on the chopping board and mud in the hands of others."

Looking back now, the life that I wanted and pursued is really ridiculous.

Even retreating while one is ahead in order to save one's life is wishful thinking.

Shen Changhe tilted his head to look at his petite sister beside him, and his heart ached slightly.

It is the time for girls in the boudoir to recite poems, compose couplets, laugh and have fun. My only worry is probably choosing a husband.

"You are right, only power is in your own hands."

If she had not been married at that time, he could still marry her.

Shen Changhe was lost in thought.

——

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Shen Anan called Mo Xiang into the house to wash up.

She never cared about her makeup, but today she specially picked out her hairstyle, jewelry, clothes and other things. Mo Xiang also took more care to dress her up than usual.

An hour later, Shen Anan packed up, looked at the lotus-like face in the mirror, curled the corners of her lips slightly, and suddenly felt like a spring breeze blowing on her face.

Gentle and graceful.

She didn't wear many hair accessories and her dress was simple in style, which made her look more elegant. She had a jade pendant on her waist and her skirt fluttered as lightly as smoke when she walked.

It was a very ordinary outfit, but compared to Shen Anan who was very casual in the past, it was extremely rare.

"The girl is so beautiful." Mo Xiang praised sincerely, but then frowned.

"I feel like the young lady is a little different, but I can't tell where the difference is."

It seems to be the look in the eyes, and also seems to be the charm.