Chapter 305 Shen Lanxi proposes marriage on behalf of Shen Yuanxu!

One spoke out of spite, the other was ready to fight to the end; Emperor Renxiao felt he could only be the good guy.

"Yuanxu, marriage is not a game; you can't act rashly!"

"Prime Minister, you must not act impulsively."

"I will give you two more days to negotiate privately. After two days, whatever decision you make, I will grant it!"

The courtier said, "Your Majesty is wise and benevolent."

Emperor Renxiao finally smiled.

The welcome banquet was rather lackluster, with Shen Yuanxu and Wu Yanzhi stealing the spotlight.

After the court session, Zhou Ruyuan, looking dejected, was summoned by Emperor Renxiao for a reprimand.

...

Shen Lanxi returned to the Shen residence with Shen Yuanxu, accompanied by Wei Dongzhu.

"Lanxi, do you think His Majesty has let his guard down around us?" Shen Yuanxu asked in a low voice.

Shen Lanxi wouldn't give a definitive answer unless she was absolutely certain.

"The wariness can't be dispelled in a short time. The most important thing now is the imperial examination for our Shen family's sons."

Shen Yuanxu hesitated as he looked at the people walking ahead. If he was really worried that Emperor Renxiao would be wary, why didn't he let Yuan Jing and Yuan Qing retire from their military service and study together?

There are two major events currently taking place in the Shen family.

The first matter is already being resolved, which is Shen Yuanxu's marriage. The second matter is the imperial examination.

When Shen Congwen heard that Shen Yuanxu wanted to study for the imperial examinations, he was very excited. What good was becoming a military general if he still had to come back to take the imperial examinations in the end?

In his view, those Shen family members who joined the army were all forced by circumstances and would eventually return to take the imperial examinations.

Shen Lanxi delayed Yuan Jing and the others. If they had stayed in the capital to study instead of going to the Northwest, they would definitely have been on the list of successful candidates in this imperial examination.

What a pity!

When Shen Congwen saw Shen Yuanxu return, he first frowned, but thinking that it wasn't too late for him to start studying, he still gave him a word of advice.

"Since you will be taking the imperial examinations in the future, you should go out less and study more."

Shen Congwen was not on the guest list for the welcome banquet today, so he is unaware of what happened.

Shen Yuanxu gave a vague reply, and only after all the family members had gathered that evening did he recount the events of the day in detail.

Madam Shen was already having a splitting headache; their family had now made an enemy of the Prime Minister's family.

Liu didn't dare to say a word and kept her head down the whole time. Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried to minimize her presence, Old Madam Shen still took her anger out on her.

"Liu, you are hereby confined to your quarters for a month, and you shall spend one hour each day copying scriptures at the ancestral hall."

Liu's expression immediately changed; she had hardly ever held a pen before.

No matter how much Liu tried to pull him from under the table, Shen Conglian wouldn't plead for him.

Yuan Xu's marriage was ruined.

"Lanxi, you're smart, hurry up and think of a solution. We can't really make Yuanxu wait until a little kid grows up before getting married, can we?" Although he doesn't lack sons, and he certainly won't lack grandsons in the future, doing so would really be unfair to his son.

Shen Lanxi looked at Shen Yuanxu, who calmly said, "Men of the Shen family are not allowed to take concubines. Let's talk about this later."

Upon hearing this, Liu felt utterly despondent and began to sob uncontrollably.

As Madam Shen grew older, she disliked seeing others cry, especially those like Liu who were wailing at a funeral.

"Shut up! If you don't know what to do, go kneel in the ancestral hall. Get up when you understand what you're doing!" He wailed like a mourner, howling away all the good luck in the family.

Liu really couldn't control herself and really didn't want to kneel in the ancestral hall, so she quickly turned around, covered her face, and ran away.

Two days later, neither the Wu family nor the Shen family came to the Wu family.

On the third day, Emperor Renxiao bestowed a marriage upon Shen Yuanxu, and the time was set very hastily, to be held at the end of the month, with only ten days left until the end of the month.

After receiving the imperial edict, Lady Liu began to spend her days in tears.

As Madam Shen thought about how she was so old and still had to arrange such a marriage for her grandson, her face grew colder day by day, and the corners of her mouth almost drooped to her chin.

After receiving the imperial decree, Shen Yuanxu openly stated that although the time was short, the dignity of the Wu family's eldest daughter should not be neglected.

From the marriage certificate to the betrothal letter, the gift certificate, and the wedding invitation, nothing was missing.

The entire Shen family pitched in, and even Shen Lanxi was assigned to deliver the betrothal gifts.

Of course, everyone knows that going to the Wu family's house is such an unlucky thing that most people wouldn't do it. If it were someone else, being sarcastic or even verbally abusive would be tolerable, and a scolding or beating would be within reason.

Madam Shen felt sorry for the men in the family and was afraid that they would be harassed or humiliated if they went, so she could only send her granddaughter, who was capable of upholding the family's reputation.

Shen Lanxi, accompanied by Wei Dongzhu, both dressed in festive attire, arrived at the Wu residence amidst music and fanfare, having deliberately taken a longer route.

When they arrived, the long procession for the betrothal was already packed with onlookers.

Shen Lanxi dismounted and clasped her hands in a joyful gesture.

"Today, I, Shen Lanxi, have come on behalf of Shen Yuanxu, a disciple of the second branch of the Shen family, to present the betrothal gift."

"Shen Yuanxu is young and promising, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and handsome. He is fortunate to have married the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Wu. The two are a match made in heaven, and they will surely create a beautiful story in the future!"

Wei Dongzhu and the others listened with smiles, occasionally scattering lucky money for the people to grab.

The common people had never seen a woman preside over a betrothal ceremony before, and upon hearing such a shocking statement, they were all at a loss for words.

Only after Shen Lanxi entered the Wu residence did the people outside realize what was happening.

"Why do these words sound so strange?"

"How could a woman say such a thing?"

"Keep your voice down, have you forgotten her infamous reputation?" Although I had never witnessed Shen Lanxi killing anyone, hearing her say that made me imagine the title of "Northwest Butcher."

Emperor Renxiao personally issued an edict that even if Wu Yanzhi was unwilling, he had to stay at home to oversee his daughter's marriage.

After hearing that Shen Yuanxu had betrothed her daughter, Liang's tears never stopped.

Two days ago, she had been confined to her quarters. If it weren't for the fact that it would be inappropriate for her not to be present when the Shen family presented the betrothal gifts today, Wu Yanzhi would not have had her released.

"Cry, cry, all you do is cry. If you cry again, go back to your room and never step out of your room again!"

In the past, such threats would have frightened Madam Liang long ago. Today, Madam Liang relied on the fact that she couldn't do without her on the day of the betrothal, and after waking up, her tears never stopped.

"My lord, how could you be so heartless? Our daughter is only three months old, how can she get married?" It's all her fault for being too cautious and planning too late, allowing that little slut Wu Tingtan to take advantage of the situation.

"My poor daughter..."

Wu Yanzhi's veins were throbbing as he listened, and he was on the verge of collapse.

"Master, someone from the Shen family has arrived!"

Wu Yanzhi, his face dark with anger, shouted, "Open the door and welcome guests!"

"yes!"

Upon learning that it was Shen Lanxi who had come, Wu Yanzhi's face darkened even more.

“Master, the Shen family doesn’t respect you at all. For such a big matter, they only sent an unmarried woman. The Shen family is clearly bullying our Wu family. We shouldn’t marry our eldest daughter to Shen Yuanxu. If we’re going to marry, we should marry our illegitimate daughter!” Madam Liang blurted out all her words as if she had grasped at the last straw.