"By imperial decree, Mu Chenyu is to be named a concubine of Prince Jing, and she will move into Prince Jing's residence tomorrow."
Shen Yu's expression was solemn. She stood up and replied, "Please ask Eunuch Cai to convey to His Majesty that he has promised my grandmother that he will no longer interfere with my marriage. Why has he gone back on his word and bestowed this marriage upon me? To me, Prince Jing is only a close friend and will never become my husband."
Eunuch Cai was shocked. Mu Chenyu's attitude was tantamount to disrespecting the Emperor.
What's even more infuriating is that Chen Yu helped Madam Jia up and said, "Mother, come back to Chengyuan with me. I will never let you suffer again."
"Oh my god..." Eunuch Cai was furious. He put away the imperial edict and stormed out the door. As soon as he stepped out, he was knocked to the ground by a person who came running at full speed.
"Who's blind? Are they rushing to be reborn? I'm going back to report to the authorities right now. You... you've gone too far."
Eunuch Cai was helped up by his attendants. When he looked up, he saw that it was Consort Yu's personal maid who had come to see Chen Yu.
Emerald knelt down with a thud, weeping bitterly, "Miss Chenyu, Consort Yu suffered a massive hemorrhage at noon today. Five imperial physicians were summoned, but none could cure her. When I saw Consort Yu unconscious and pale, I secretly ran to find you..."
——
When Chen Yu arrived at the Zhao residence in Dongsheng Village, it was already midnight.
As soon as she entered the Zhao residence, she heard the sounds of lovemaking. She frowned, thinking that Hongyu was in imminent danger, and followed Emerald to Hongyu's room.
Approaching the bed, Hongyu's face was ashen, her breathing was weak, and her body was cold and stiff; she was probably beyond saving.
She quickly opened her medicine box to treat him.
The next morning, before Hongyu even opened her eyes, she began to sob softly, "Sister Yu, the master of Yanwang Mansion is now a member of the Qiu family. Hongyu has nowhere to turn."
It turns out that after Hongyu exposed the conspiracy between the Empress and the Emperor's brother-in-law, the Prince Yan treated her coldly and forcibly separated her from her child, and even married Qiushuang'er, a concubine.
The reason is obvious to even a fish pondering the depths:
As the Empress's son, Prince Yan had long been suppressed by the Crown Prince. To protect himself, he feigned a carefree lifestyle and neglected state affairs. Later, he met Hongyu. Hongyu was ruthless in her pursuit of power and influence; her deep cunning, decisiveness, and fortitude made her exactly the capable ally Prince Yan needed. Therefore, Prince Yan kept Hongyu by his side. Hongyu's contributions to Prince Yan's efforts to depose the Crown Prince and suppress Prince Li were undeniable.
They thought that once they had children, they could grow old together.
However, Yan Wang turned against the Empress because of Hong Yu's denunciation of her.
This was not because Prince Yan was filial, but because it concerned the throne. After the Empress's death, Prince Yan was not only neglected by the Emperor, but also condemned by the people as an unrighteous and heartless man. In order to get rid of the infamy of murdering his mother and to win over important officials in the court, Prince Yan blamed all the crimes on Hongyu.
Hongyu was heartbroken and sobbed, "The Emperor originally intended to eliminate the Liu family. My denunciation of the Empress not only saved you, Sister Yu, but also helped Prince Yan clarify his position in front of the Emperor, which is a great achievement."
He, on the contrary, fearing the infamy of killing his mother, shifted all the blame onto me, saying that I had harmed my mother-in-law.
Since the day you were exonerated, he has never entered my room again; eight days after the Empress's death, he married Qiu Shuang'er; yesterday, he sent someone to deliver a letter of divorce.
Shen Yu remained silent. In her eyes, Hong Yu and Yan Wang were exactly the same, vying for power and profit by any means necessary. Their relationship was nothing more than mutual exploitation.
To protect his reputation, King Yan will never marry Hongyu again; this is clearly a case of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.
She helped Hongyu up and comforted her, saying, "To protect himself, Prince Yan will certainly not associate with you again. Now that you are divorced, you should leave quickly to avoid being humiliated and losing face."
Hongyu had no choice but to abandon her child and return to Chengyuan with Chenyu.
Inside the sedan chair, Hongyu continued to weep, her anger still burning. She had given everything for Prince Yan, even bearing him his eldest son, yet he was so heartless?
She lifted the sedan curtain and looked out. It was already dusk, and the night market was bustling with people, all pointing in her direction and talking amongst themselves. She couldn't hear what the others were saying, but Chen Yu could.
Shen Yu lifted the curtain on the other side and, seeing the mouths of the passersby, knew that they were cursing the two of them. "Zhang Hongyu is already a discarded woman. I heard that she exposed the Empress's crimes and was divorced by Prince Yan."
“Zhang Hongyu is being foolish by exposing her own mother-in-law; she's making a fool of herself.”
"That's not funny. What's funny is Mu Chenyu. She's a widow with a child, yet she dared to dream of marrying Prince Jing. Little did she know that Prince Jing wanted to marry the fourth daughter of the Mu family, Mu Chenjing."
Did King Jing marry Shen Jing?
Although Chen Yu was surprised, she felt somewhat relieved. In her opinion, King Jing was kind and benevolent, and should marry a woman of pure character.
Just as she was about to lower the curtain, she suddenly saw a limping figure. Was it the cripple?
She put on her veil and jumped off the slowly moving carriage. However, a crowd had gathered in front of her. The lame man was gone, and all she could hear was the storyteller's voice.
"In the end, Prince Jing decided to marry the fourth daughter of the Mu family. This widow, having exhausted all her scheming, was once again abandoned!"
Shen Yu was furious. What was this talk about Miss Mu and a widow? This was clearly a deliberate fabrication. She turned to leave, but then she saw Shen Jing.
At this moment, Shen Jing also saw Shen Yu. So, she came up with a plan and pointed at Shen Yu, shouting, "Sister Shen Yu, Sister Shen Yu, I'm here."
Shen Yu did not respond and hurriedly left. Of the three younger sisters, Shen Xiang was intelligent, patient, and low-key; silent, dignified, and composed, she disliked conflict. Shen Jing, however, was jealous, sycophantic, and opportunistic.
Presumably, Shen Jing revealed her identity at this moment to embarrass her. Perhaps the storyteller was also acting on Shen Jing's orders.
She rushed toward the carriage, but was caught by Shen Jing who grabbed her arm. "Big sister, let's go to the night market together. I want to buy some jewelry for my mother. I hope you can give me some advice."
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