Chapter 91 Visiting - I still have a chance, I still have a chance!...
Gao Zheng's hand, which was knocking on the door, stopped abruptly, and he felt his heart pounding wildly.
What does a divorce agreement mean? Did His Majesty give Aci a divorce agreement? But how could that be?
While it was possible for men to divorce or have a peaceful separation, for prominent families, this signified domestic discord. Therefore, neither option was desirable, as both would damage their reputation. This led to a situation where even couples experiencing marital discord would not easily divorce or have a peaceful separation.
If even families of officials are like this, what about the imperial family?
Only when the royal family is dissatisfied with their wife's family, resulting in the demotion and remarriage, is it permissible to allow the wife's family to divorce.
Gao Zheng's first reaction was that this was impossible, but upon closer inspection, it made some sense.
Aci was forced into marrying into the Prince of Jin's mansion out of necessity, simply to break the deadlock. Given her temperament, she would seize any opportunity for a divorce with all her might.
It would be very difficult to get a divorce after the marriage is actually completed. Even if everything is found out by then, for the sake of the royal family's dignity and Qi Jingxuan's face, the emperor and Consort Shu might not agree.
But what if we agree on the conditions beforehand? What if marriage is contingent on the permission to divorce?
At that time, Prince Jin was deeply embroiled in a public opinion storm, and the best solution was to marry Shen Yan. However, if Shen Yan was unwilling, they could not force her, otherwise it would only make things worse.
Qi Jingxuan is Consort Shu's only son, the Emperor's most beloved son. For his sake, would the Emperor agree to Shen Yan's conditions? Shen Yan has never cared about material possessions; the most likely condition she would propose is that they divorce at any time after the matter is resolved...
So...did Aci already obtain a divorce decree from the Emperor before marrying into the Prince of Jin's household?
Gao Zheng's heart would race uncontrollably whenever he thought of this possibility.
He always knew that Shen Yan married Qi Jingxuan in order to break the deadlock, but once the marriage was completed, it would be difficult to leave, especially since it was a marriage with the royal family.
Therefore, even though he knew that Shen Yan did not have feelings for Prince Jin, he did not know how to take her away from the palace.
But if Aci had a divorce agreement and could leave at any time, then everything would be different!
I still have a chance! I still have a chance!
Gao Zheng stopped knocking, exchanged a few pleasantries with Shen Mingshan and his wife, and then left, his mind preoccupied with these thoughts on his way to the Prince of Jin's residence.
When he met Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan and saw how they got along, it confirmed his thoughts.
Aci did not want to accept Prince Jin's kindness; she had already severed ties with Prince Jin's residence.
If she wasn't planning on divorcing, why would she do this?
Therefore, Gao Zheng was in a particularly good mood at this moment. After jumping out of the threshold of the Prince's Mansion, he even looked back at the plaque of the Prince's Mansion.
Prince Jin's Mansion.
After Aci leaves, he will go to the Shen family to propose marriage!
…………
"Aci, what's wrong? You don't seem very happy."
Gu Niannian tugged at Shen Yan's sleeve, showing great concern.
Not long after Gao Zheng left, she and Li Yaozhi came to visit. Upon entering, they noticed that Shen Yan seemed to have something on her mind.
They didn't ask questions when Qi Jingxuan was there, but now that he's been driven away, Gu Niannian asked out loud.
Shen Yan smiled and shook her head: "I just heard some bad things and felt a little sad."
"Bad things"
Gu Niannian was about to ask more questions, but Li Yaozhi stopped her.
They arrived just as the young master of the Gao family was leaving. The bad things Shen Yan said probably came from him. And Gao Zheng is currently investigating the Ning Prince case, which is not something that just anyone can hear.
Since Shen Yan didn't say it directly, it must be inconvenient for her. Asking again now would only put her in a difficult position.
Seeing Li Yaozhi shake her head, Gu Niannian quickly stopped talking, scratched her head and said, "That's good. I thought Prince Jin was bullying you."
"No, Your Highness is well."
Shen Yan said.
Gu Niannian nodded twice before getting back to the main topic: "Azhi and I came to thank you. If you hadn't written to us in advance, our two families might have been in trouble this time."
"I heard that on the day the Xie family led troops to force the emperor to abdicate, the Fang family was on their way to Baohua Temple outside the city to offer incense and pray for blessings. As a result, they ran into the mutinous soldiers and were indiscriminately hacked at. Several people died and several were seriously injured."
“My mother and the others had originally planned to go together with the Fang family, but I absolutely refused. She couldn’t persuade me otherwise, so she had to cancel, which is how we escaped this disaster.”
As she spoke, she squeezed Shen Yan's hand tightly: "Aci, it's all thanks to you! I should thank you properly!"
Li Yaozhi nodded in agreement and handed over a gift list: "This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."
On the day Shi An entered the capital, Shen Yan first went to the palace with Qi Jingxuan to inform the emperor about the Ning Prince and the Xie family's private iron mining. After returning, she wrote a letter to Li Yaozhi and Gu Niannian respectively.
She didn't say anything in the letter, only that it was best not to go out these days.
Both of them knew that she was investigating something important, something that was life-or-death, and that Shen Yan had even cut off all contact with them for a time, just so as not to implicate them.
Now that she has suddenly sent such a letter, the two of them, though unaware of the details, have decided to believe and obey it. They not only stay home themselves, but also ask everyone in the family to stay home as much as possible.
Gu Niannian couldn't make decisions for the Yongchang Marquis's family, and she was afraid that if she took out Shen Yan's letter, her family would spread it around and ruin Shen Yan's plans. So she could only resort to crying, making a scene, threatening suicide, or pretending to be sick to stall her mother and the others.
The situation was much more convenient for the Li family. Li Yaozhi was Grand Secretary Li's most beloved granddaughter. After receiving the letter, she went directly to her grandfather, hoping that he could order everyone in the household not to go out unnecessarily in the coming days.
After reading Shen Yan's letter, which contained no specific content, Grand Secretary Li pondered for a moment but did not ask any further questions. Instead, he began to feign illness.
He was already old, and this time he acted as if he might pass away at any moment. His family dared not neglect him; all those who did not have to go to the government office stayed at home to take care of him.
Both families thus escaped the chaos of war. Although the Yongchang Marquis's family did not know why Gu Niannian was acting recklessly at the time, they realized something was wrong afterward. Upon questioning, they learned that it was Shen Yan who had reminded them, and they were extremely grateful. They also sent a thick list of gifts.
Shen Yan quickly waved her hand: "It's just a small matter, there's no need to make such a fuss."
"Oh, don't be so polite! Just accept it!"
Gu Niannian pulled her hand and slapped the gift list into her hand.
“This wasn’t given by us, it was given by the family. My grandmother was very generous to my eldest brother and his family, giving them whatever they wanted, but she was always finding fault with my third brother and me, as if we were wasting the family’s food by eating even a little more.”
"I did a great job this time. My father gave me a very big red envelope and promised to make me new clothes and jewelry. My grandmother was so angry that she almost lost her temper."
"But I was able to make a contribution, and that's all thanks to you. If you don't accept this gift list, wouldn't it be even harder for me to accept mine?"
Shen Yan had heard about the Yongchang Marquis's mansion. The old lady, Madam Zhou, was the aunt of the Yongchang Marquis's first wife, Madam Xiao Zhou. Therefore, she was very biased towards the two children born to Madam Xiao Zhou, and was very harsh on Gu Niannian and the third young master Gu, who were born to her second husband.
Miss Gu Er once falsely accused Shen Yan of stealing her jade pendant in the palace. Although it was later found out that it was due to Yang Huiru's instigation, she hated Yang Huiru and also hated Shen Yan. Whenever she learned that Gu Niannian was seeing Shen Yan, she would complain to Old Madam Gu. Old Madam Gu would then scold Gu Niannian without distinguishing right from wrong.
Gu Niannian suffered a lot of grievances for no reason. Today, she saw that Gu Er was both jealous and hateful. Her grandmother did not want to give gifts to Shen Yan but had to. She was happy but did not want to take these gifts back.
“Yes, please accept it,” Li Yaozhi said. “This gift list was written by my grandfather himself, and he also personally selected the gifts, so I can’t very well take them back.”
Since both of them said so, it would be inappropriate for Shen Yan to refuse again, so she simply accepted it and put it aside.
Seeing that she had accepted the gift list, Li Yaozhi said, "Actually, I should have come earlier, but although the Ning Prince's rebellion was quickly suppressed, it was still a major event of forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebelling. My grandfather was worried that there were still remnants of the Ning Prince hiding in the capital and that there was danger outside, so he made me postpone it. Otherwise, I should have come to thank you immediately."
“Yes, yes, me too,” Gu Niannian said. “I wanted to invite Azhi to come to the Prince’s Mansion with me, but my mother stopped me, saying that it was chaotic outside and we should wait a couple of days.”
Shen Yan nodded, then chuckled at the two of them, "You were just telling me not to be so polite, but now you're the ones being all formal. You've only been here a short time, and you've already said thank you so many times."
Li Yaozhi and Gu Niannian were taken aback upon hearing this, but then the three of them looked at each other and smiled. They stopped mentioning gifts and the chaos of war and started talking about where they could go for fun another day.
The group was chatting happily when a servant came to report that the Fifth Princess had arrived.
What is she here for?
Gu Niannian was puzzled.
Shen Yan was also somewhat puzzled and asked the servant who came to deliver the message. The servant did not know either, only that the Fifth Princess said she wanted to see the Princess Consort and asked if the Princess Consort was available.
Have you ever had any contact with her?
Li Yaozhi asked.
Shen Yan shook her head: "We have never had any contact."
But now that the Fifth Princess had arrived, she couldn't very well refuse to see her, so she said, "Bring the princess in."
The servant acknowledged and turned to bring in Qi Yunxiu, who was waiting outside.
Although Qi Yunxiu was not favored, she was still a princess, and the three of them rose to pay their respects. Li Yaozhi moved to the lower seat, giving the seat next to Shen Yan to her.
Qi Yunxiu quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, I... I'll just say a few words and leave soon."
"Then let's sit down and talk, otherwise it would seem like I'm not being hospitable."
Shen Yan said.
Seeing that she was kind and polite, and did not embarrass her because of her close relationship with the Third Princess, Qi Yunxiu pursed her lips and sat down with a hint of gratitude.
Knowing that her arrival had disturbed their gathering, she got straight to the point so as not to take up any more of their time: "I'm so sorry to bother you. The reason I came today is actually... actually, I have something I'd like to ask Your Highness for help with."
Shen Yan asked in surprise, "How can I help the princess?"
Qi Yunxiu lowered her eyes, feeling somewhat abrupt about what she was about to say, but since she was already there, she mustered her courage and spoke: "I heard... His Majesty intends to marry the Third Princess to a foreign land. I wonder if the Princess Consort could intercede on His Majesty's behalf and persuade him to change his mind?"
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Author's Note: The story is nearing its end. The main text will be around 400,000 words, with about five, six, seven, or eight more chapters remaining. All side stories will be free bonus chapters.
My next novel, "After Being Offered to a High-Ranking Official," has already reached over 90,000 words. I'll continue writing that one after this one is finished. If you're interested, you can check out the previous chapters and add it to your favorites.
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