No one expected Liu to suddenly pass away. Even Shen Lanxi was stunned for a moment after hearing the news.

"Isn't she just catching a cold?"

"Investigate!"

"...Never mind, I was just being nosy again."

Regardless of the cause of Liu's death, all the posthumous honors due to her should be honored.

The eunuch who delivered the imperial decree was still the pale-faced eunuch. When he arrived at the Shen family, they had already put up white banners.

Everyone came out and knelt to receive the imperial edict.

"By the grace of Heaven... Lady Liu is posthumously granted the title of First-Rank Lady, and shall be buried with the rites due to a Princess Consort. She shall be granted a pair of luminous pearls, a jade seal, and a set of Princess Consort uniforms to be buried with her..."

The gifts were all luxurious burial items that symbolized status; eight boxes were used, and it took two trips by carriage to deliver them all.

The Shen family kowtowed in gratitude and accepted the imperial decree.

Shen Conglian seemed to have suffered a huge blow and did not show up until the end of Liu's funeral. The entire funeral was handled by Shen Yuanxu and his eldest son and daughter-in-law, Hu Jinyu.

The funeral had barely ended when Hu Jinyu fell ill.

Shen Chengfeng, whose confinement was lifted after the funeral, braved the cold wind to enter the palace and summon the imperial physician.

Unfortunately, her filial piety did not save Hu Jinyu's life for long. No sooner had Shen Lanxi gone on her southern tour than Hu Jinyu passed away from illness.

Because of Hu Jinyu's health condition, Shen Lanxi specially summoned Shen Yuanxu to the palace.

"I originally intended to take you with me on this southern tour, but Hu Jinyu's health is not good right now. I can't bear to take away your last moments together as a couple, so you will stay in the capital!"

Outsiders all say that Shen Yuanxu and his wife are deeply in love. Even after His Majesty abolished the rule that the Shen family could not take concubines, Shen Yuanxu still stayed with Hu Jinyu, whose beauty had faded and whose figure had changed.

Many young ladies from prominent families in the capital envied the couple for their lifelong devotion to each other.

Shen Yuanxu: "Even if Your Majesty does not seek me out, I still want to find Your Majesty. Lady Hu followed me all the way from the border to the capital, and bore me children. I cannot bear to let her down."

Shen Lanxi: "Go ahead, I grant you leave. You don't need to see me off on the day I depart for my southern tour."

Shen Yuanxu left dejectedly.

Shen Lanxi looked at his back, trying to find the boy who was exiled to Dongchuan in that figure, but she couldn't recall what he looked like back then.

"Tell me, if I hadn't accompanied them into exile in Dongchuan, what would they be like now?"

A few short words were handed to him.

"They're long dead!"

Shen Lanxi looked at the words on it and chuckled.

“I let them live many more years; they gained something.”

In exchange, they showed her the ending; it was a worthwhile deal!

Five days after his southern tour, he received a message by carrier pigeon from the capital, which read that Hu Jinyu had passed away.

The pale-faced eunuch recited a sentence casually, as if reporting a daily routine, and then continued to report on other matters.

Shen Yuanxu was taken along on the southern tour, while Shen Yuanhao remained in the capital.

Shen Yuanhao was originally part of the plan, but unfortunately, his future was ultimately ruined by what happened in the room.

When Shen Yuanjing thought of replacing Shen Yuanhao at the last minute before departure, he came here specifically to plead for Shen Yuanhao so that His Majesty would not think he was cold-blooded towards his brother.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think that woman is a good person. She must have deceived Yuan Hao. You know Yuan Hao’s character; he has always been honest and kind.”

Shen Lanxi: "You don't need to plead for him. You reap what you sow. When he chose to take that woman under his wing, he should have thought that he would be burdened by her."

That woman named Lian'er was quite bold; taking advantage of Liu's death and Hu Jinyu's serious illness, she actually brought her child and knelt at the Shen family's door.

"That woman, though seemingly weak, revealed her ambition and schemes the moment she knelt at the Shen family's gate." Shen Lanxi didn't want to blame anyone for this; she was simply stating the facts.

Shen Yuanjing thought she was furious, so he immediately knelt down and begged Shen Yuanhao for mercy.

"Your Majesty, please spare Yuan Hao this time!"

Shen Lanxi silently sized him up a few times: "Get up. Shen Yuanhao is Shen Yuanhao, and you are you. You don't need to kneel before me to plead for others!"

"You are my brother, born of the same mother. My feelings for you are different from those for others. You should know this."

Shen Yuanjing's eyes lit up, and he obediently stood up to listen to the admonition.

"Fortunately, he didn't cause such a scandal on the day of my southern tour. Even if I were to pursue the matter, it would be his family affair. Besides, it was I who ordered him to stay in the capital. If I hadn't given the order, he would definitely have come on the southern tour anyway."

Shen Yuanjing is now completely aligned with His Majesty.

"Shen Yuanhao allowed his servants to cause such a scandal, which not only tarnished the reputation of the Shen family, but also His Majesty's reputation."

Shen Lanxi saw his expression and calmly said, "He has brought this upon himself. I gave him two years to mourn his wife. If I had pursued the matter carefully, he would have already committed the crime of disobeying the imperial decree."

Shen Yuanjing's heart skipped a beat.

"Such a person is not fit for important positions. When I return from my southern tour, I will send him to oversee the construction of irrigation canals along the Han River!"

Shen Yuanjing's eyes flashed, and he said, "Given Yuanhao's temperament, His Majesty sent him to the Han River to protect him. This is to prevent him from making a foolish mistake and being schemed against."

Shen Lanxi nodded gently, signaling Shen Yuanjing to step back.

On the tenth day of His Majesty's southern tour, the capital's express newspaper published news of His Majesty's southern tour, and also published a notice that if anyone had a grievance, they could seek His Majesty's help.

The news sent shivers down the spines of certain people hiding in the shadows.

Just two days after the bulletin was issued, people began banging gongs and appealing for justice on the riverbank.

Shen Lanxi immediately ordered her men to bring the person who was banging the gong onto the ship for questioning.

"I am a villager from Yingkou Town. Because my daughter is beautiful, she caught the eye of a local bully. That bully is the brother-in-law of the town's yamen clerk. I went to the yamen to file a complaint, but the yamen officials said I was crazy. They not only locked me up but also seized my land. I had no way to seek justice, so I could only pretend to be crazy. When the guards in the jail saw that I was crazy, they took me to work on the river embankment. While they weren't paying attention, I jumped into the river and escaped."

"Your Majesty, please do justice for me and my daughter!"

Shen Lanxi gave the order immediately, her face cold.

"Quickly investigate the truth. If there is any injustice, there is no need to report it to me; I will deal with it directly."

The officials from the Ministry of Justice received their orders and disembarked to carry them out.

"I have only issued the proclamation for a few days, and people are already coming to complain. How many people are there who did not know about my southern tour and are trapped and unable to appeal to me?"

Liu Yan replied: "Your Majesty, even in broad daylight, there are shadows under high walls. Your Majesty has accomplished what all your predecessors combined could not do, so there is no need to blame yourself for it."

Shen Lanxi: "I am not blaming myself, but I feel that I have not thoroughly purged them in the past."

"You must remember what you have seen and heard along the way, and after you return to the capital, you should draft a specific plan for me."

The officials who followed immediately accepted the order. (End of Chapter)