Song Hongshen and Su Yuanzhou were both delighted when they heard this. They were military generals and what they liked to hear most was the news of victory at the border.
"Duke Weiguo is still strong and healthy. Ask him if he needs a vanguard army. I'm itching to join in too." Su Yuanzhou said with a smile.
Shen Zhixiu glanced at the two of them and said, "It's because you were crowned king after the battle that the Duke of Wei was also inspired and asked for permission to pacify the Miao border."
After saying this, he warned a few people, "This matter must not be spread outside."
They knew the news before it reached the palace. This kind of thing is likely to make the emperor jealous.
Shen Zhixiu then asked Wen Zhu, "Have Chen Ping and Jia Huai confessed? Has the place where they are being held been discovered?"
Last night, Shen Zhixiu had relocated the two men. Not far from here was an abandoned house. Even Li Hu had been hidden by Shen Zhixiu.
Wen Zhu shook his head and said, "That place is inconspicuous and won't be easily discovered. But these two are really stubborn. I interrogated them for half the night last night, and they refused to say anything."
It was pretty much as Shen Zhixiu expected. It was not easy to get the truth out of tough guys like Chen Ping and Jia Huai who had fought in the army.
He instructed Wenzhu, "Investigate the two people's daily lives and their contacts. If necessary, you can use some means."
When Shen Zhixiu was interrogating people, he would not easily involve unimportant people. Wen Zhu knew that the Third Master was anxious.
After everything was explained, everyone planned to return to the capital together.
Su Qingyu ordered people to pack a lot of fish and vegetables and take them back to the Song family, Prince Ning's Mansion, and the Su family.
When they reached the door, the servants were sorting things out and loading them onto the carriages of the various mansions.
Shen Zhixiu and Su Yuanzhou were discussing the deployment of defenses in the northern border. Song Hongshen had nothing to do, so he went to a pond not far away. The people on the farm were digging lotus roots.
Seeing that it would still take some time before he could walk over there, he lay down on the bench under the porch beside the pond, and covered himself with a straw hat to avoid the sun.
He pondered the blueprint Su Zhilan had shown him last time. He had to admit, that little girl was quite a prodigy. Sometimes, she'd grasped his meaning before he'd even finished speaking. She was also calm, neither ostentatious nor overbearing.
Now, rumors were circulating in the capital that the fifth daughter of the Su family was not worthy of him. He actually felt that Su Zhilan was unworthy of being the loyal and brave princess, and that this marriage was a favor from heaven.
In a trance, Song Hongshen seemed to be falling asleep.
Before I fell asleep, I heard voices coming from not far away.
"Fifth sister, if the King of Loyalty and Valor really sleeps with that girl, what are you going to do?"
Song Hongshen immediately lost his sleepiness and pricked up his ears to listen to what Su Zhilan had to say.
He guessed that the little girl would say something vicious, which would be a good opportunity to cancel the engagement.
After a long while, Su Zhilan said, "Fourth sister, how many couples can be together for life in this world? I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but even my father had a concubine when he was in Suzhou. Later, my mother became depressed and fell seriously ill. My father suddenly understood and has only doted on my mother since then."
"I see that my eldest brother-in-law is sincere to my eldest sister, but I dare not hope to have such a blessing. Isn't it the responsibility of marrying into any family to support the husband and serve the parents-in-law? The moment you enter the family, your life is over. I envy my fourth sister. After leaving the Su family, she lives a carefree and unrestrained life."
Song Hongshen took off his straw hat and just saw Su Zhilan's back as she walked further and further away.
A moment later, Mu Shan came closer and said, "My Lord, it's time to return home."
Everyone got on the carriages and returned home after entering the city.
The next morning, news of the great victory in Qianzhou reached the palace. Emperor Xuande was overjoyed and ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to cooperate with the Duke of Weiguo and prioritize the Qianzhou campaign.
Emperor Xuande even wondered if he could recapture the Miao border, would his achievements rival those of Emperor Taizu? With this thought in mind, he attached even greater importance to the campaign in Qianzhou.
While the Emperor and his court officials were preoccupied with the war in Qianzhou, the inner palace was busy preparing for the birthday of Empress Chen. The Emperor instructed that this be Empress Chen's first birthday in the palace, and it should be grand and luxurious.
Compared with these two things, not many people paid attention to the marriage between the Leng and Rong families.
Two or three days before Empress Chenfei's birthday, the news that the Leng and Rong families had broken off their engagement reached Su Qingyu's ears.
When Shen Zhixiu returned home that night, Su Qingyu asked, "Isn't the Leng family the prince's maternal family? Why didn't the prince try to save this marriage?"
Shen Zhixiu laughed and said, "Song Hongshen has plenty of ways to do this. If the Leng family doesn't cancel the engagement, their reputation will be ruined."
Because of what happened that day at the farmhouse, Consort Xian severely reprimanded the Crown Prince. The next day, she gifted the Song family's old lady, the Marquis' wife, with tribute brocade from Shu. This was clearly a gesture of goodwill towards the Song family.
However, despite Concubine Xian's frequent overtures, the Song family remained indifferent. Song Hongshen did not hold back because of Concubine Xian's overtures, and the marriage was ultimately broken off.
The two of them talked about the Concubine Chen's birthday in two days. Shen Zhixiu discussed with Su Qingyu, "Why don't you just not go that day? Just tell everyone that you're pregnant. The Emperor won't be able to say anything."
The news of Su Qingyu's pregnancy was only known to her family and had not been spread outside.
The couple looked at each other, and they both knew in their hearts that on the day of Concubine Chen's birthday, a conspiracy that had been planned for a long time was waiting for the Shen family.
Su Qingyu pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Third Master should know that only by taking advantage of this opportunity to completely destroy the Li family can we eliminate our worries."
"If the Third Master doesn't allow me to go, Princess Yongjia might become suspicious and change her strategy against me. Who knows who she'll plot against next, so it's better for me to deal with it."
Seeing that Shen Zhixiu was about to speak, Su Qingyu continued, "Third Master, Princess Yongjia wants to deal with the entire Shen family. After the Shen family is destroyed, the next target will be Prince Ning's Mansion. Third Master, who do you think can protect themselves?"
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