Chapter 10 The Shen Family
Ling Wei turned back into the inner room, hoping that her father would forget about cooking for her.
Unfortunately, Su Jianqing hadn't forgotten.
At lunchtime, a table full of dishes was laid out, all of which looked bright and colorful. Ling Wei tentatively picked up a piece of the so-called "Hibiscus Chicken" with her chopsticks. The moment it entered her mouth, she almost couldn't keep her composure. It was so salty that it tasted bitter, and it also had a strange sour taste.
She looked up at the two people opposite her.
Shen Zhilan ate quietly, her expression unchanged, as if she were savoring delicacies from the imperial kitchen.
Yi Shao went even further. He took a bite and looked at Su Jianqing with a smile: "Your Majesty's cooking is unique. It's savory and flavorful, and the cooking time is just right. It's much better than those fancy but impractical dishes in restaurants outside."
Su Jianqing was coaxed into smiling broadly: "Shao'er really knows how to eat. Come on, eat more. I also watched the soup being made!"
Ling Wei watched as Yi Shao smiled and drank a spoonful of soup, and sighed inwardly: They're all ruthless people.
She forced herself to eat two more bites of rice, feeling that this meal was even more difficult than eating dry rations at the border.
Looking at Shen Zhilan again, he was still eating slowly and deliberately, as if his sense of taste had failed him.
After the meal, Su Jianqing was satisfied, Ling Wei felt relieved, and the two concubines thanked her with impeccable manners. Only Ling Wei secretly rubbed her stomach when no one was around.
The carriage back to the Prince's mansion was unusually quiet.
The sound of wheels rolling over the stone pavement was regular and muffled. Ling Wei leaned against the car wall and closed her eyes to rest, Shen Zhilan sat quietly with her eyes downcast, and Yi Shao turned his head to look at the swaying curtains, his profile somewhat blurry in the dim light.
As they approached the Prince's residence, Yi Shao suddenly spoke, his voice soft yet clear:
"Thank you very much, Your Highness."
Ling Wei casually replied, "She's mine, no need to thank me."
Once the carriage came to a stop, Ling Wei got out first and walked straight into the mansion.
Qing Shu naturally followed.
Shen Zhilan and Yi Shao remained by the car. Yi Shao was helped into a wheelchair by a servant. When he looked up, he met Shen Zhilan's gaze.
Shen Zhilan nodded slightly to him, showing perfect manners, and then turned and went in a different direction from Ling Wei.
Yi Shao watched the figure in moon-white robes disappear into the corner of the corridor, curled his lip, and gave a soft "tsk" before signaling the servants to push him back to Rongyin Courtyard.
......
Three days later, according to the regulations of the Da Chen Dynasty, the concubine should return to her parents' home.
In the Prince's residence, Qing Shu brought two invitations to ask for instructions: "Your Highness, the return home dates for Consort Shen and Consort Yi should be staggered. According to the order of seniority and the original engagement, Consort Shen is the eldest and should be first. Consort Yi's date should be later."
Ling Wei was leaning against the window eating sunflower seeds when she heard this. Without even looking up, she said, "Okay, we'll do it the way we're told."
Qing Shu did not immediately leave. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a low voice, "Your Highness, there have been some rumors circulating outside these past two days..."
"Um?"
"To say that on the second day of your marriage you asked the Emperor to establish Yi Ceqing as the new Empress is utterly absurd and blinded by lust."
Qing Shu paused, her voice even lower, "And there are even harsher things said, that you disregarded royal dignity just to please your lover."
Ling Wei tossed the sunflower seed shells into a small dish, clapped her hands, and laughed: "Isn't this great? It suits my current image perfectly."
Qing Shu frowned: "Your Highness, this rumor seems suspicious. Should we...?"
"No need to investigate." Ling Wei interrupted her, stretching lazily. "I'm already a cripple, why should I be afraid of people gossiping?"
She got up and walked to the window, her voice languid yet tinged with coldness: "Back when I returned to the capital seriously injured, those people, fearing my lingering influence in the army, used rumors to label me as 'indulging in wine and women, and unfit for greatness'. Now they're just repeating the same old tricks."
Since the Crown Princess passed away, her two older sisters, who believed they had a chance to ascend to the throne, have started to act arrogantly, thinking they were capable enough.
Not surprising.
The Shen family mansion is located in Qingpingfang, west of the capital. Although the family is not particularly prominent, it has its own refined and noble air of a scholar-official family.
Today, the main gate is wide open, and the area in front of the mansion is swept clean and spotless.
Minister of Revenue Shen Qingxian, Shen Zhilan's grandmother, and her family were already waiting at the gate to greet him.
She was over fifty years old, with slightly graying temples, a serene face, and clear eyes.
"Your subject Shen Qingxian respectfully welcomes Your Highness the Fifth Prince." She led everyone in bowing and paying their respects with impeccable manners.
Ling Wei offered a helping hand, her face still bearing that lazy smile: "Minister Shen, there's no need for such formalities. Today is a family banquet, so please make yourselves at home."
Her gaze swept over the back of Minister Shen, where the women of the Shen family were all dressed elegantly and behaved with propriety.
Standing slightly behind Minister Shen was a woman of about forty years old, dressed in a dark brown brocade skirt, with a dignified expression and a resemblance to Shen Zhilan in her features.
This is Shen Zhilan's biological mother, Shen Wenjun, who is currently the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy.
A little further away, among several young people of similar age to Shen Zhilan, the boy in the bamboo-green brocade robe stood out. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with bright eyes and naturally upturned lips. Standing there, he looked like a small white poplar facing the sun.
That was Shen Zhilan's younger brother, Shen Zhiyi.
The crowd ushered them in, and Minister Shen personally led the way, exchanging warm greetings along the way.
After they were seated in the flower hall, she turned to Shen Zhilan, took his hand and patted it gently, her eyes full of affection: "Lan'er looks much better, he must be well taken care of in the Prince's mansion, so Grandmother can rest assured."
Shen Zhilan lowered her eyes and nodded slightly.
Shen Wenjun stepped forward at this moment: "His Highness treats you well, which is a blessing for the Shen family. Now that you are married, you should be dutiful and serve him diligently, and not fail His Highness's kindness."
She looked at Ling Wei and bowed with perfect form: "Lan'er has studied the classics since childhood and knows how to be polite and virtuous. If there is anything she has done wrong, Your Highness is kind enough to teach her."
Several aunts and uncles gathered around, asking detailed and thoughtful questions, but Shen Zhilan remained quiet, occasionally nodding in response.
At the banquet, Ling Wei accepted all invitations and drank several rounds of wine. Her eyes turned slightly red and her gaze became watery, indicating that she was already a little tipsy.
"Your Highness has a great capacity for alcohol," Minister Shen said with a smile, waving his hand to signal the maid to change the tea. "But I am not a good drinker."
Ling Wei also put down her wine glass and rubbed her temples: "This wine has quite a strong aftereffect."
In the afternoon, Minister Shen instructed, "Go and prepare Tingzhu Pavilion, where Lan'er used to live, so that Your Highness may rest there."
Tingzhuxuan is located on the east side of Shen Mansion. It is a small courtyard with white walls and black tiles.
Upon entering, the room, though bright and clean, exuded an inescapable emptiness.
The bookshelves were mostly empty, and only a few common porcelain pieces were scattered on the display cabinet. The bed curtains and quilts were all made of brand-new Hangzhou silk, with no trace of the old life.
"Your old things," Ling Wei asked casually, glancing around, "were all taken away?"
Shen Zhilan stood by the door, nodded slightly upon hearing this, and gestured with her hand: "They have all been brought into the Prince's residence."
The attendant translated in a low voice.
Ling Wei said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions. She lay down and waved her hand to indicate that he should do as he pleased.
A wave of alcohol mixed with weariness washed over her, and she closed her eyes, her breathing gradually becoming steady.
The room fell completely silent.
Shen Zhilan remained standing by the door, his gaze slowly sweeping over the room where he had lived for more than ten years. Every empty space silently spoke of a kind of separation.
His fingers, hidden in his sleeve, curled up slightly, then slowly relaxed.
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