Emperor Xuande rolled his eyes at him with a smile, "These snacks were sent by your Li family. Do you still need to come to me to ask for them?"
Li Yunzhou took a look at the snacks and said with a smile, "I can't eat these snacks. Mother only makes them for my father."
"I still don't understand. Why did my mother say that you were taking care of my uncle on my mother's behalf?"
The mother he was talking about was Princess Yongjia, and her mother was Princess Yongning.
Emperor Xuande then told Li Yunzhou about Princess Yongning's life, saying that only Princess Yongning could make these snacks. Even Princess Yongjia only learned how to make them after she passed away.
Li Yunzhou recalled a scene from his youth: Princess Yongjia had prepared some snacks, and Li Yunsi and the others were scrambling to eat them. Back then, little Li Yunzhou stood in the corner, watching timidly.
The family laughed and played, Li Chaoyun even rode on Li Jingchuan's neck. But he had to look at Li Jingchuan secretly.
For boys, it is the age when they long for father's love. After Li Yunzhou tried to please his father several times but was scolded, his heart gradually grew cold.
He remembered what Li Jingchuan had said at the time: "Your mother and I became friends because of these three dishes of dim sum. After we got married, she never made it for me again, saying she was afraid I'd get tired of it. How could I get tired of it? I begged her so hard that she made it for me again, and it still tastes the same."
Li Yunzhou was suspicious. Why did the emperor's words differ from Li Jingchuan's? But he remained calm and continued to accompany the emperor in reminiscing about Princess Yongning.
Sitting off to the side, Shen Zhixiu appeared calm, but in reality, he was worried about his family. Shen Zhao was considered a criminal, so no funeral would be held. However, funerals for his eldest brother and sister-in-law were still necessary.
As soon as he entered the palace, all the pressure fell on Su Qingyu. And he didn't know what happened to his mother.
Li Yunzhou raised his eyes and saw Shen Zhixiu looking at the copper kettle dripping not far away, and he understood.
Taking advantage of the gap between finishing one thing, he suddenly asked Shen Zhixiu, "Sir Shen, what are your plans for your master's funeral? I'll go and help tomorrow."
At this point, Li Yunzhou's face suddenly turned sad, and he sighed, "Although Sister Shen Yue and I haven't officially gotten engaged yet, I accept this marriage. For me, it's like both my father-in-law and mother-in-law have passed away, so I have to go and help."
Only Li Yunzhou dared to show such a mournful expression in front of the emperor. If it were someone else, they would probably be blamed.
Shen Zhixiu said, "I haven't decided what to do yet."
He didn't say anything else, obviously waiting for the emperor's instructions.
Li Yunzhou suddenly remembered something and asked, "Sister Shen Yue, do you have to observe mourning for three years?"
Emperor Xuande was afraid of delaying Li Yunzhou's marriage, so he quickly said, "You can get married during the mourning period. How about this? The Shen family will hold the funeral for a month, and let them get married within a hundred days."
"As for Shen Zhao, let's just say he died suddenly. Shen Zhiheng suddenly lost his son, suffered a heart attack, and his wife also committed suicide for love."
Shen Zhixiu breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down to express his gratitude.
It doesn’t matter whether people outside know the truth or not, and it doesn’t matter what they think in their hearts. What matters is the emperor’s attitude.
What the emperor said was equivalent to not pursuing the Shen family, and the matter was over.
Emperor Xuande naturally had his own selfish motives. Li Yunzhou's future wife was from the eldest branch of the Shen family. If the eldest branch of the Shen family was convicted, the girl's reputation would be ruined.
He could have found another wife for Li Yunzhou, but seeing how deeply in love the boy was, he couldn't bear it.
In addition, Shen Zhixiu was loyal to the country, so the merits and demerits of the Shen family could be offset.
Afterwards, Emperor Xuande thought of the Ning Palace, which was still under renovation. Turning to Hu Lu, he instructed, "Tomorrow, you will go to the Ministry of Works and convey my order to expedite the renovation of the Ning Palace. If you need workers, find them. If you need money, go to my private treasury and get it. I want to see the Ning Palace completed within a month."
The three-month construction period was forcibly compressed into one month. Hu Lu felt a little sympathetic to the officials in the Ministry of Works.
After thinking about Li Yunzhou's marriage, Emperor Xuande waved his hand and said to Shen Zhixiu: "You should leave the palace and take care of these things. I am going to rest now."
Seeing this, Li Yunzhou also took his leave and left the palace with Shen Zhixiu.
In the carriage, Li Yunzhou and Shen Zhixiu sat opposite each other.
"Teacher, after what happened with Chen Zhao, I'm afraid you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be at war until death."
Forget the Crown Prince. With such a major incident, anyone would have to find a way to root it out. Especially when it comes to a powerful official like Shen Zhixiu, who holds great power and is alienated from the Crown Prince.
Shen Zhixiu was leaning against the wall of the carriage, resting his eyes. Hearing Li Yunzhou's words, he spoke in a low voice, "It's okay. The more anxious he is, the more mistakes he'll make."
His thoughts were now wandering, thinking about the confrontation with the prince later, while recalling the scene of his brother's death.
Li Yunzhou didn't say anything more. The Shen family's top priority right now was to take care of the funeral.
After the carriage entered the Shen family's gate, Shen Zhixiu and Li Yunzhou got off.
Su Qingyu had obviously been waiting. She came forward and asked, "How should we prepare it? What did the emperor say?"
After getting out of the car, Shen Zhixiu looked around. There wasn't a single white curtain hanging in the entire Shen residence. They had only taken down the red lanterns in the corridor.
Not far away, there were piles of white curtains lying on the ground, obviously waiting for news from Shen Zhixiu.
The emperor's decision on how to handle the funeral was entirely up to him. All Su Qingyu could do was prepare in advance, but there was no sign of a funeral. Even the bodies of the three family members were still at their farm outside the capital.
Shen Zhixiu said, "Just celebrate the funeral normally, but...don't be too high-profile."
Su Qingyu nodded when she heard this, turned around and instructed several managers to set up a mourning tent and spread the news everywhere.
Soon, the Shen family's house was dressed in white, and the servants all changed into mourning clothes.
Shen Zhixiu patted Li Yunzhou's shoulder and said, "You've been busy all day. Go back first and come back to pay your respects tomorrow morning."
Seeing that everything was settled and that he couldn't help much, Li Yunzhou nodded. He told Su Qingyu to send someone to find him if she had any questions, then turned and left.
Shen Zhixiu asked Su Qingyu in a low voice, "How is mother?"
Su Qingyu shook her head and said, "Not very well. I asked Mr. Zhou to prescribe a prescription to strengthen the body and replenish the vital energy. My second sister-in-law is with me now."
"Let's go too. We have some things to discuss with mother." Shen Zhixiu said.
After the two arrived at Qingyuan Residence, Shen Zhixiu asked Su Qingyu and Yang to discuss how to entertain the female members of the inner house tomorrow, while he and the old lady went to the inner room.
After entering the room, Shen Zhixiu helped the old lady to sit down, and he knelt in front of the old lady properly.
The old lady was puzzled for a moment and asked him to stand up and speak if he had something to say.
Shen Zhixiu didn't get up, but knelt down and told everyone what had happened today. He explained how Shen Zhao had colluded with the Crown Prince, how he had secretly arranged things, and how he was ultimately shot dead by the Crown Prince. He also explained how Shen Zhiheng had died, without hiding anything.
After finishing speaking, Shen Zhixiu said in a deep voice: "Mother, I am responsible for this matter. If you are angry, just beat me and scold me."
After hearing this, the old lady sat by the bed for a long time with her eyes lowered and remained silent.
In her hand was the jade pendant that Shen Zhiheng had always worn. An arrow had snapped the string today, and Su Qingyu had picked it up and brought it back.
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