Chapter 301 Shen Yuanxu asked His Majesty for something using his military merits!

Shen Yuanxu ignored Wu Yanzhi's clamor and looked at the pale-faced Wu Tingxue with a mocking expression.

“I don’t blame you for divorcing me. Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately. I once resented you, but then I thought that it is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. Neither you nor I are saints, and I cannot guarantee that I will not abandon you when your family encounters great difficulties.”

Wu Tingxue looked at Shen Yuanxu with complicated emotions, but fearing that others might notice something, she quickly lowered her head.

"Why are you saying all this? Things have already come to this point."

Wu Yanzhi was already flustered when he heard Shen Yuanxu mention the peddler. Having held a high position for many years, he had seen all kinds of storms and would not be swayed by a few words from Shen Yuanxu.

“Shen Yuanxu, since you and my daughter can understand each other, I won’t make things difficult for you. As long as you give my daughter an explanation, our two families can live in peace.”

Shen Yuanxu: "There's absolutely no need for that!"

Wu Yanzhi and his daughter froze.

"I happen to know someone who knows that peddler surnamed Song. Although he disappeared without a trace, there are still people at his home."

Wu Tingxue's face was deathly pale.

Wu Yanzhi didn't believe it. He had already sent his subordinates to investigate. The peddler surnamed Song only had one cousin, who had long been exiled to Dongchuan... Dongchuan.

Wu Yanzhi stared intently at Shen Yuanxu. Impossible, there couldn't possibly be such a coincidence in the world.

Shen Yuanxu: "It was quite a coincidence. On our way to Dongchuan, we met a woman surnamed Song. Over the years, she had been exchanging letters with us. Those letters were all written by the peddler surnamed Song himself."

Everyone present had already noticed the odd thing about Wu Tingxue, the peddler, and why he seemed so strange whenever the topic of the peddler came up.

Intriguing glances kept shifting between Wu Yanzhi and his daughter, with many eyes also landing on the child.

“That child doesn’t look like Shen Yuanxu at all, nor does he resemble any member of the Shen family.”

Some nosy ladies have already started gossiping about it privately.

Shen Yuanxu sneered, "The letter said that the peddler had hooked up with the daughter of a wealthy family and was already pregnant. It also said that the young lady gave him a lot of money and he secretly took many of her personal belongings, just in case she would deny everything later!"

Wu Yanzhi wouldn't allow Shen Yuanxu to continue, but it was too late to stop him. Everyone could tell from Shen Yuanxu's words that the "Miss" he was referring to was Wu Yanzhi's daughter, Wu Tingxue.

Wu Tingxue was so frightened that she was trembling all over and didn't even care about the child next to her.

"Enough, Shen Yuanxu. I'm talking about my daughter. Why are you bringing up a peddler for no reason?" Wu Yanzhi glared at Shen Yuanxu, annoyed and embarrassed.

"Lord Wu, as a high-ranking official of the court, you have made great contributions, which I greatly admire. I really cannot bear to see you tarnish your reputation. If you continue to cause trouble, I don't mind bringing everything and everyone related to the peddler. Let's confront each other in court and let His Majesty clarify things for us!"

Wu Yanzhi stared at Shen Yuanxu with a gloomy expression, not expecting that the Shen family had already prepared a response. The Shen family was forcing him to choose between his official reputation and his daughter.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" Wu Yanzhi closed his eyes and resignedly knelt on the ground.

When Wu Tingxue heard her father say this, she felt utterly hopeless.

Shen Lanxi asked with a soft laugh, "Prime Minister, what crime have you committed?"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Wu Yanzhi's eyes. He hurriedly knelt respectfully on the ground, crawled several steps, and tearfully pleaded with Emperor Renxiao: "It was my oversight that led me to be deceived by that wretched daughter, which is why I sought out Lord Shen. My crime is unforgivable. I beg Your Majesty to consider my love for my daughter and show leniency!"

Shen Lanxi asked curiously, "I didn't hear what Shen Yuanxu said just now. How did Lord Wu realize that he was deceived by his daughter? Could it be that Lord Wu had suspicions all along but failed to verify them in time?"

Wu Yanzhi's face turned ashen, and he immediately confronted Shen Lanxi: "Shen Lanxi, it was your Shen family that took my daughter and child into your mansion to live before, and then you kicked my daughter out. It was all your Shen family's own doing. Did my Wu family ever go to your door to cause trouble?"

Shen Lanxi: "So, you're blaming our Shen family for taking your daughter and child into the family on our own?"

Wu Yanzhi's eyes flashed, and he said aggressively, "My daughter has been missing for a long time. If you hadn't imprisoned her, how could we, father and daughter, have been separated for so long?"

Shen Lanxi looked on with amusement at the fascinating expressions on the faces of the women in the Shen family.

"Grandmother, Second Aunt, do you have anything to say?"

Old Madam Shen glared fiercely at Wu Tingxue, then glared angrily at Liu Shi.

Liu was so angry that her mind went completely blank.

“Lord Wu, although I am just a commoner, I know about etiquette and morality. You keep saying that our Shen family imprisoned your daughter and caused you to be separated from your daughter. I want to ask you, your daughter has been missing for so long, did you report it to the authorities?”

Shen Lanxi smiled at the speechless Wu Yanzhi, wanting to hear what else this man could say in his defense.

Wu Yanzhi's face turned ashen, and he slapped his daughter across the face.

"evil creature."

After beating his daughter, Wu Yanzhi continued to apologize to Emperor Renxiao.

“Your Majesty, I disagreed with my daughter’s divorce from Shen Yuanxu from the beginning, but she secretly did it, and by the time I found out, it was too late. In a fit of anger, I kicked her out of the house and declared that I would never acknowledge her again. I don’t want to talk about the past… I’ve utterly lost face.”

Those unaware of the inside story might think that Wu Yanzhi was kept in the dark and was disappointed in his daughter.

Those who know the inside story think Wu Yanzhi is shameless, able to turn black into white.

"Your Majesty, I am also a daughter. Hearing Lord Wu say this, I deeply felt Lord Wu's deep love for his daughter."

Emperor Renxiao pondered for a moment, then looked at Shen Lanxi meaningfully: "What does the Shen family want?"

Shen Lanxi: "Shen Yuanxu was the one who was falsely accused, so it's natural to consider the victim's opinion."

Wu Yanzhi thought to himself that the Shen family hadn't made it public, which meant they were leaving room for the Wu family. As for Shen Lanxi's intentions, it was nothing more than wanting some compensation.

That small amount of compensation is insignificant to the Wu family's reputation.

Wu Yanzhi faced Shen Yuanxu and said sincerely, "Yuanxu, this time it was our Wu family's fault. It's also my fault for being old and confused, failing to understand the whole story, and causing my nephew to suffer injustice."

Shen Yuanxu gave Wu Yanzhi a deep look, then immediately stepped forward, past Wu Yanzhi, and took a position closer to Emperor Renxiao to request permission.

"Your Majesty, I dare to call you 'Uncle'."

Emperor Renxiao smiled and said, "I promised you before that you would call me uncle along with Lanxi. How dare you say that?"

Seeing that Emperor Renxiao's tone was amiable, Shen Yuanxu immediately smiled easily.

"Then I shall dare to ask my uncle to make the decision and grant me permission to use my military achievements to request something from Your Majesty!"

Wu Yanzhi's face turned ugly; Shen Yuanxu clearly wasn't planning to let the Wu family off the hook.

Emperor Renxiao glanced at Wu Yanzhi, and after a moment of silence, asked, "What do you want to change?"