Princess Yongjia felt embarrassed as her inner thoughts were exposed. She thought Shen Zhixiu thought the same and was hinting at her.
"Master Shen, what do you mean by this? I'm not going to drink Taiwangju to reduce internal heat just because my daughter was punished to kneel."
Su Qingyu looked at Princess Yongjia with an inexplicable expression, "Princess, you misunderstood. When Third Master heard that Fourth Young Master Li was missing, Princess cried so hard that she fainted. That's why they had someone prepare the fetus."
Princess Yongjia was stunned for a moment before she realized she had misjudged the issue. Ever since she learned her daughter was punished, she hadn't thought about Li Yunzhou.
She quickly took out her handkerchief with a sad look on her face and wiped her eyes twice. "I feel sad just talking about this. Although he is not my biological son, I still love him as if he were my own."
Everyone present is a shrewd person, and no one can tell whether someone is sincere or not.
Even the old lady looked at Princess Yongjia with suspicion. It seemed rumors couldn't be trusted; a stepmother was still a stepmother. If Shen Yue married into the family, it would be best for her to live in a separate residence. Life under her stepmother's watchful eye wasn't guaranteed to be a good one.
Princess Yongjia pretended to cry for a while before she realized she had been led astray. She had come to seek justice for her daughter, not to mourn Li Yunzhou.
She concealed the sadness on her face and put the handkerchief back into her pocket.
She held her princess's demeanor and looked at Su Qingyu, "Madam Shen San, I came here today to ask why my daughter was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall just because she said Li Yunzhou was missing?"
"Which of your Shen family's rules did she violate?"
Princess Yongjia stared at Su Qingyu with an oppressive look.
Su Qingyu raised her eyelids and glanced back at Princess Yongjia. She said calmly, "She's right. You can tell me and Third Master. But you can't tell it in Qingyuan Residence. My mother-in-law is old and can't stand such stimulation."
"Your Majesty governs the world with benevolence and filial piety. My Third Master and I uphold the Emperor's benevolence and filial piety, and we also govern our family with filial piety. May I ask Princess Yongjia, what is wrong?"
Princess Yongjia was speechless when asked, and cursed Su Qingyu in her heart for her sweet talk and for bringing up the emperor for such a small matter.
But she didn't dare to say that Su Qingyu was wrong. According to this line of speech, saying that Su Qingyu was wrong would be equivalent to saying that the emperor was wrong.
Princess Yongjia gnashed her teeth and continued, "Even if she's truly wrong, there's no need to punish her so severely, right? As her aunt, you can just give her a lecture. It's freezing cold, and she's kneeling all day and all night. How can she possibly endure it?"
Su Qingyu picked up the orange-yellow chrysanthemum tea beside her, took a sip elegantly, and then spoke.
"Every country has its own laws, and every family has its own rules. I don't think the punishment is too severe."
Princess Yongjia's anger rose to her chest, "Madam Shen San, what do you mean by saying you are the emperor and the law of the country? Is punishing Chaoyun your selfish motive or the Shen family's rules?"
"Don't think I don't know that you were once engaged to Shen Zhao. Are you deliberately making things difficult for my daughter because of her loving relationship with her husband?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present changed their expressions.
Shen Zhixiu slammed the teacup in his hand down on the table. "Princess, please think carefully before you speak. Qingyu's attitude reflects the attitude of the Shen family."
"If the princess feels that the Shen family's rules are too strict, she can take the princess back home to educate her. When she is well educated, she can be sent back."
The old lady also looked unhappy, but Shen Zhixiu's words were so harsh that she didn't say anything.
Princess Yongjia saw Shen Zhixiu's cold expression and was unwilling to give in.
"Master Shen, have you ever thought about this? If the Third Miss of the Shen family marries into the Li family one day, and I treat her the same way, how would you feel?"
Princess Yongjia's words sounded like a threat.
Shen Yue is the apple of the old lady's eye, and these words touched her sore spot.
"If Princess Yongjia says so, then this door..."
The old lady wanted to say that this marriage should be called off, and it would be a good opportunity to cancel the engagement with Shen Yue.
But Shen Zhixiu interrupted him, "If Shen Yue married Li Yunzhou and her mother-in-law punished her like this, then she must have made a big mistake, and the Shen family will never say anything."
As for which mother-in-law, Shen Zhixiu did not say clearly.
Seeing that the Shen family members were unmoved and refused to give her any respect, Princess Yongjia stood up and stormed out. Before leaving, she glared at Shen Zhao. They were both men, so how could Shen Zhixiu protect Su Qingyu, but Shen Zhao couldn't protect her daughter?
But Shen Zhao had no choice. He couldn't get a word in. Not to mention facing his uncle, even facing Su Qingyu, he was inferior in momentum.
Su Qingyu and Shen Zhixiu stood up and escorted Princess Yongjia to the gate of Qingyuan Residence according to etiquette. They also instructed Shen Zhao to escort Princess Yongjia back.
Shen Zhao could only quickly follow Princess Yongjia, wanting to say something to calm her down, but he didn't know what to say.
After Princess Yongjia left, Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu returned to the hall of Qingyuanju again.
As the two of them walked in, Shen Yue followed in.
Seeing Shen Zhixiu, he stepped forward and asked, "Uncle San, have you found Brother Yunzhou? Is he okay?"
Shen Zhixiu comforted him, "Don't worry, good news will be reported back to Beijing soon."
The old lady looked at Shen Zhixiu in confusion, motioned him to sit down, and asked, "Why didn't you let me speak just now? If it were me, it would be better to cancel the marriage. You can't really wait until everyone is gone and let Shen Yue marry into the Li family."
Before Shen Zhixiu could speak, Shen Yue said, "I will not break off the engagement. If he dies on the battlefield, I will remain faithful to him while I am alive and buried with him after my death."
Su Qingyu: ...
Why does this sound so familiar?
The old lady scolded: "Nonsense."
Shen Yue's expression was firm. "How can this be considered nonsense? That's what Third Aunt said when she wanted to marry Third Uncle. At that time, Third Uncle had already been reported dead, so didn't Third Aunt marry in?"
Su Qingyu suddenly realized that these words were said on the day she broke off the engagement with Shen Zhao and decided to marry Shen Zhixiu.
But her situation was different from Shen Yue's. She didn't have many choices at that time, and Mrs. Shen was easy to get along with.
But Shen Yue was different. Her marriage hadn't been officially decided, and Princess Yongjia was her stepmother. Furthermore, the Shen family was now a more prestigious family, so even if Shen Yue didn't marry Li Yunzhou, she wouldn't have to worry about finding a husband.
After Shen Yue said this, the old lady didn't want to say too much. She was afraid that if she said too much, Su Qingyu would get suspicious. She couldn't say that you are different from your third aunt.
Su Qingyu knew what was going on, and she didn't want to embarrass the old lady. So she said, "It's too early to talk about this matter now, as we're still not sure what's going on."
"Why not wait for accurate information to come back and then discuss it properly."
If her brother really had an accident, she would persuade Shen Yue to cancel the engagement.
Su Qingyu had a vague intuition that her brother was fine.
Before she knew the news, she was a little nervous, feeling that something was going on that she didn't know about. But after Li Chaoyun told her about it, she felt relieved.
Sure enough, after leaving Qingyuanju, Wenzhu came up to him and reported in a low voice.
"Third Master, there's news from the Northern Frontier that General Li Yunzhou has been spotted."
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