Chapter 321 Whose child is he?

Zhou Ruyuan pursed his lips bitterly. Just as he was caught in a dilemma, a vase not far away shattered with a crash.

A group of eunuchs and palace maids quickly surrounded them.

"Young master, what are you doing here playing football? Come on, let's go to an open space..."

"No, I want to play here."

"My lord, this won't do. Her Majesty is resting inside."

When Shen Lanxi arrived, she saw several eunuchs and palace maids kneeling on the ground, coaxing the child.

"Is Consort Shu in the palace? His Majesty asked me to speak with her." Shen Lanxi turned her head and met the angry child.

Immediately afterward, the football flew towards her, and Shen Lanxi coldly swung it away.

"You broke my football, so kneel down and pick it up!"

Shen Lanxi walked straight over and kicked the football away.

"How dare you! You lot, arrest her right now!" The child jumped up and down angrily, pointing at Shen Lanxi.

The door opened, and Zhou Ruyuan came out of the house with a dark face.

"Nonsense! Take the young master away immediately!"

Seeing that Zhou Ruyuan was angry, the child was too scared to make a sound.

Consort Shu came out of the room with a displeased expression.

"What's going on? Who has offended my precious grandson?"

Upon seeing someone familiar, the child immediately ran over and hugged Consort Shu to complain.

"Grandmother, it was her! She's a bad person! She kicked my football away!"

Consort Shu, with a stern face, looked at Shen Lanxi and said, "Lanxi, you're such a grown woman, why are you arguing with a child?"

Shen Lanxi ignored her question and instead asked, "Whose child is he?"

Consort Shu froze, and Zhou Ruyuan also pursed his lips tightly.

Shen Lanxi: "I haven't heard that Consort Shu has given birth to a second prince? Could it be that he was adopted from one of the other concubines?"

Zhou Ruyuan was instantly annoyed. She knew perfectly well what was going on with him, yet she asked the question knowing the answer.

Consort Shu said coldly, "This is my grandson."

Shen Lanxi: "Did you take the royal imperial plate?"

One sentence almost made Consort Shu faint with anger.

"This is my grandson, Ru Yuan's child. After you marry Ru Yuan, this child will be registered under your name and will be your child from now on."

Shen Lanxi sneered, "No need, I can't give birth to a child that big. Does His Majesty know that Your Majesty is so eager to give this child a royal title?"

Consort Shu's face turned ashen with anger.

“Even if it’s not registered under your name, it’s still Ru Yuan’s child. He has royal blood, so he will definitely be on the imperial register in the future.”

Shen Lanxi said with a smile, "Whether he gets on the Imperial Flying Saucer or not is none of my business, and it has nothing to do with me."

Consort Shu gritted her teeth in anger: "Shen Lanxi, how dare you speak to me like that?"

Zhou Ruyuan's face was also ashen. This time, the Emperor had spoken, which was a guarantee for Shen Lanxi's future. How dare Shen Lanxi talk back to her mother like this? Was she really not afraid of being punished?

"Shen Lanxi, my patience with you has its limits," Zhou Ruyuan said coldly.

Shen Lanxi looked at Zhou Ruyuan with a half-smile: "I have already told His Majesty what we talked about before. I believe it won't be long before His Majesty summons you."

Zhou Ruyuan thought of the conditions she had set before, and looked at Shen Lanxi with eyes that looked like he wanted to devour her.

"I have already met Your Majesty. I have completed the task assigned by His Majesty. I am busy with official business, so I will not stay any longer!" Shen Lanxi turned and left.

He walked to the place where the football was thrown and stomped on it, flattening it.

A heart-wrenching cry rang out instantly, and Shen Lanxi left with an arrogant smile on her face.

Consort Shu's chest heaved with rage: "Outrageous! She's utterly arrogant! Guards, stop her! I'm going to teach this disrespectful brat a lesson!"

Shen Lanxi coldly watched the guards rushing forward. The guards all stopped five meters away and did not go any further.

Zhou Ruyuan gritted his teeth and roared, "Let her go!"

Consort Shu looked at her son in disbelief. He had ruined his reputation for Bai Qingling and caused His Majesty to neglect him for two years. Now, for Shen Lanxi, he didn't even care about his mother's reputation.

Who was she meticulously planning all for? Shen Lanxi dared to defy her so much, and this own son let it go so easily?

“Mother, she has a token given to her by Father on her waist!” Zhou Ruyuan explained coldly.

Consort Shu instantly regained her senses; she had truly been blinded by anger. It was all Shen Lanxi's fault for talking back to her mother-in-law and not even giving her own husband any face. She'd see how she dealt with her once the Emperor's decree of marriage arrived.

"Ruyuan, your mother is confused with anger. What were the conditions she mentioned just now?" Consort Shu regained her shrewd demeanor and stared intently at her son.

Zhou Ruyuan froze.

...

Shen Lanxi did not attend court for three consecutive days, and the court officials were talking about it in private.

"It seems His Majesty intends to set things right. Allowing a woman to attend court is absurd to begin with!"

"The Wei family's case has been resolved, and the Shen family is the biggest victim. It's time for Shen Lanxi to step down and focus on being a wife and mother."

"It should have been done a long time ago. Women should follow the three obediences and four virtues. From now on, they should stay in the inner quarters and avoid showing their faces in public."

The news that Shen Lanxi had gone from being an official to a commoner spread like wildfire.

Today, Shen Yuantang took her sisters to attend the birthday banquet of the young lady of the Marquis of Jining's mansion. They were subtly and overtly gossiped about, and Shen Yuantang was both angry and annoyed. She suppressed her tears and ran back home alone.

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen immediately had Shen Yuantang summoned to her side.

"Why did you come back from your birthday party?"

Shen Yuantang felt both angry and aggrieved, and when she saw her beloved grandmother, she blurted it all out.

“Grandmother, they openly and secretly laugh at our family’s women for being fierce, disrespectful of etiquette, and not adhering to the three obediences and four virtues.”

Madam Shen's face darkened instantly.

"Who said that? If this gets out, how will the women in the family choose their husbands?"

Shen Yuantang burst into tears, feeling wronged: "They said in a sarcastic tone that my eldest sister was out in the thick of things on the battlefield, that the women in our family were also mingling with men, and that during the exile, men and women lived together, and they even said..."

Madam Shen's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

This isn't just some young woman making sarcastic remarks; it's someone who has a grudge against their family and wants to destroy the Shen family.

Where is your older sister?

Shen Yuantang covered her face and shook her head: "I don't know. They all say that my eldest sister has lost her official position and has been punished by His Majesty. She is now confined to her home to reflect on her mistakes."

Madam Shen said angrily, "They're talking nonsense. They're just jealous of our Shen family's resurgence. They don't dare to do anything to us openly, so they say these sarcastic and mean things."

Isn't Grandma the one who dislikes the eldest sister the most? Why are you taking her side?

Shen Yuantang recalled the humiliating scene at the Marquis's mansion and felt utterly ashamed and utterly humiliated.

"Grandmother, will His Majesty really hold my eldest sister accountable for joining the army later?"