Chapter 86 Sudden onset of old illness
"An'an, tomorrow is your engagement ceremony. Zhang Yeyang finally got out of jail. You..."
Mrs. Shen, who had been silent since Shen Anan started talking, frowned, not quite agreeing with Shen Anan's approach.
"Mom, tomorrow's engagement ceremony...is cancelled."
Shen Anan’s tone was calm, but contained a hint of guilt.
"What? Cancelled? Why was it cancelled?" Mrs. Shen stood up in shock and walked to Shen Anan.
She had seen her daughter's true feelings for the scholar these days, so how could she cancel it just like that?
"An An, has something happened? Did that scholar bully you?"
Shen Anan held Mrs. Shen's hand and comforted her to sit down in the chair, "Don't worry, mother, it's not that, it's just that my daughter thinks that maybe what mother said at the beginning is right, we are not suitable."
How could Mrs. Shen believe it? "An An, tell me honestly, what happened?"
Shen Anan was quiet for a moment, then sighed, sat down beside Madam Shen, and told Madam Shen what happened today.
"Sister Yue raised him with love and care, just like a mother. He will never be able to let go of her in his life. I can't match their sibling love, so I won't join in the fun."
Madam Shen was shocked when she heard this, and then she was frightened. "You are right. I really can't enter such a family. Besides, she is not my biological sister. But from what you said, how much affection does Sister Yue have for Mr. Zhang?"
Shen Anan nodded.
She would never mistake that look, because in her previous life, she often stared at the mirror and thought about Xiao Yuan.
"But didn't you say that there was a six-year age difference between them?"
Shen Anan nodded again. This was the disgusting part. It was acceptable under the age of three, but at the age of six, in a poor family, and at the age of fourteen, one could be a mother.
Madam Shen was shocked and quickly brought a cup of tea to calm her nerves. "Fortunately, fortunately the sister came to the capital. Otherwise, if she had married you off without knowing why, wouldn't it have ruined your life?"
Shen Anan responded softly, but Mrs. Shen still hadn’t recovered from her shock, “Oh my God, how could there be such a thing.”
Her daughter also encountered it. Mrs. Shen's eyes were stained with a little coldness, and she began to suspect whether the scholar was deliberately concealing something in order to climb up to the Shen family.
Seeing that Shen An'an had been silent, Mrs. Shen thought she was sad and comforted her softly, "An'an, it's your blessing to know this kind of thing in advance. There are many good men. Don't take it to heart. Wait until your brother gets married, and then we can slowly choose."
"Well, mother is right." Shen Anan smiled, but she couldn't stop worrying in her heart.
The night is long and dreams are many. Who knows whether the second prince's downfall and Xiao Yuan's coming to power will have an impact on her marriage. Given the power of the Shen family, if the new emperor is wary of it, it will not be easy for her to leave.
Once one begins to balance the harem and restrain the previous dynasty, one will undoubtedly repeat the trajectory of the previous life.
Madam Shen comforted Shen Anan for a while before letting her go back to Begonia Garden.
As soon as Shen An'an left, Madam Shen's face darkened, and she ordered the nanny beside her, "Go and find out what's going on between that scholar and that sister?"
If he is already married, it would be a good idea to tease her daughter. His intention will bring disaster even if he becomes an official in the future.
——
The next morning, a carriage came from the palace and took Shen Anan to Concubine Shen’s palace.
At first, Shen Anan thought that Concubine Shen was just trying to prevent her from getting engaged, but when she really met Concubine Shen, she believed that she was really sick.
She lay on the chaise longue, her face pale and frail, without any trace of her former imperial concubine's grace.
"What are you standing there for? Do I look ugly now?" Concubine Shen glanced at Shen Anan and said in a low voice.
"No." Shen Anan walked over and bowed before saying, "I just took a vague look and felt that the queen's eyebrows and eyes were very similar to my grandmother's."
He was not so snobbish, ostentatious, or calculating. When he was quiet, he was indeed very much like his grandmother, which made her feel close to him.
Unfortunately, as soon as she opened her mouth, she ruthlessly brought Shen Anan back to reality.
"Haha." Concubine Shen laughed softly, "I am her daughter, so naturally I look like her."
She looks very pretty when she smiles, especially when her smile is gentle and not harsh, which makes her look less annoying.
After a while, Concubine Shen suppressed her smile and said, "It's hard to draw the bones of a tiger. My eyebrows and eyes are most like her, but in terms of temperament, you are the most similar!"
She glanced at Shen Anan and sighed, "As expected of someone raised by her mother, her free and easy and stubborn character, and her character of not bowing to power and wealth, is carved from the same mold as her."
"That's how my grandmother taught and warned you back then."
But she didn't like to hear it, so Shen Anan stepped forward and picked up a thin blanket to cover Concubine Shen.
Having lived a lonely life, longing for a man within the palace walls, without even a child to pin hopes on, Shen Anan didn’t believe it, Concubine Shen didn’t regret it at all.
Last time, she was able to control her only because she loved Xiao Yuan. If not,...
His thoughts were disrupted by Concubine Shen's laughter, "You're right."
But which woman would not admire the emperor's majesty and the most outstanding figure among men? Loving power is not necessarily wrong, it’s just that she lost, lost to the women in the harem.
Therefore, all of them thought she was wrong and gave her the cold shoulder. If she had a son, even if he was just a prince of a fiefdom...
Losing is the biggest mistake, her choice was not wrong.
"Don't call me aunt. If others hear it, they might think that you and I are not getting along."
Shen Anan nodded obediently, "Aunt."
"Yes." Concubine Shen breathed a sigh of relief and let Shen Anan sit down beside her. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. You are the treasure of my eldest brother and He'er. If something happens in the palace, I can't bear the anger of the Shen family."
Shen Anan smiled and sat down beside her naturally.
Of course she knew that even if Concubine Shen didn't like her, she wouldn't do anything to her, otherwise she wouldn't have entered the palace.
“Aunt Yu,” Concubine Shen ordered weakly, “Please clean up the side hall closest to me and give it to An’an to stay in.”
Aunt Yu agreed and immediately retreated. Not long after she left, a little maid brought a glass cup into the hall.
Concubine Shen gave Shen Anan a look, and Shen Anan immediately stepped forward and took the glass cup from the little maid, "You can leave."
"Yes." After the little maid left, she closed the palace door.
Concubine Shen said with a half-smile, "Do you think that what Aunt Yu said yesterday was just to gain sympathy?"
Shen Anan didn't say anything. She put the glass cup on the small table, opened the whole set of drug testing tools on it, and tried them one by one.
Concubine Shen sighed, "This palace is a place where people are eaten without leaving any bones. Not to mention food, even a tree in the courtyard, the handkerchief I often use, or the flowers and plants in the pots may have been drugged."
"Aunt Yu is busy taking care of me, so she has no time to care about other things. Every time I get sick, those women rush over like flies smelling a scent. If you're not careful..."
Concubine Shen paused for a moment, and Shen Anan's glass cup was handed to her. She reached out to take it and drank it all.
Shen Anan took the empty bowl and listened to Concubine Shen continue, "Tell me, why do they have to keep staring at me? I have no children, and I am not a threat to them."
Shen Anan just felt that Concubine Shen was a little strange today and talked a lot.
I still remember the first time I saw her at the palace banquet. She sat next to the emperor, dignified, noble and majestic, as if she looked down upon everyone except the emperor.
Because she refused the marriage, she got very angry. Looking at the current Concubine Shen, Shen Anan always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
How could she, such a noble person, take the initiative to reveal her scars to someone she doesn't like?
"My aunt is favored, and the ladies in the palace are jealous of her."
Concubine Shen sneered at the words, "What's the use of favoring? It's just a trick to fool people."
After talking for a while, she felt a little tired. "I'll take a nap. You can go to the side hall and have a rest. If you have any problems, just tell Aunt Yu. Tomorrow, you can tell me what kind of person Miss Lin is."
“Okay,” Shen Anan looked deeply at Concubine Shen, covered her with a thin blanket, and left the main hall.
Aunt Yu was waiting outside. She immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My cousin, the side hall has been cleaned up. I will have someone take you there. If there is anything that is not thoughtful, please send someone to look for me."
She was extremely respectful, Shen Anan nodded slightly, and left under the guidance of the palace maid.
After Aunt Yu and the others had gone far away, she pushed open the palace door and walked in, "Your Majesty."
Concubine Shen half-supported herself and sat up a little, and asked, "Is the person gone?"
"yes."
Concubine Shen closed her eyes tiredly, and Aunt Yu immediately stepped forward to rub her eyes gently.
"Looking at her today, she doesn't seem to be sad or lonely after losing her lover. It's as if nothing happened."
Aunt Yu, "I think... my cousin has suddenly figured it out. He is a poor scholar with so many dirty things going on in his family. The people sent by the queen saw Ling Shizi's carriage with their own eyes, and Ling Shizi's people were protecting him. I think the fourth prince had planned it in advance."
Concubine Shen smiled, "She is so lucky to have Xiao Yuan pay so much attention to her. With such a man, which girl in the capital would not be vying to marry him?"
Aunt Yu nodded in response, and Concubine Shen sighed again, "So you see, let alone the royal family, even such a poor farmer's house is so dirty, what difference does it make to marry someone, it just turns this problem into that problem, but at least, I have power and wealth."
——
In Fengtian Hall, the ministers left one after another after the morning court session. The Zhang family was imprisoned, and Duke Li, who was a fence-sitter, immediately divorced Zhang, and Li Huaiyan inherited the Duke's Mansion.
Today the three of them left court together and prepared to leave the palace.
"How's the porcelain I asked you to find?" Xiao Yuan asked.
Ling Chenyi nodded, "Everything is ready. I will send it to Concubine Shen tonight, but..."
He changed the subject and stopped talking. Xiao Yuan glanced at him, "But what?"
Ling Chenyi smiled again and said, "I heard that Concubine Shen suddenly got sick from an old illness, and Miss Shen was brought into the palace early in the morning to take care of her."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
