Shen Zhixiu did not explain what happened outside the city, and said, "I came here today to talk to Lord Su about something. My marriage to the eldest daughter of the Su family will go on as usual."
"We will discuss the wedding date separately."
"However, if Marquis Su wants to teach his daughter a lesson in the future, please think twice. After all, she is the third wife of the Shen family, and being scolded in public by Marquis Su is embarrassing for our Shen family. What do you think?"
Since they were talking about marriage, Shen Zhixiu naturally treated himself as a junior and spoke very politely.
But it was this polite remark that made Su Chengye break out in cold sweat.
In an instant, a hint of joy welled up in my heart again.
Then isn't he the father-in-law of Lord Shen?
With this relationship, who in the court would dare to look down on him?
Thinking of this, Su Chengye immediately smiled happily.
"Master Shen has misunderstood. Qingyu is the legitimate daughter of our Shen family. We cannot dote on her enough."
Then he turned to Su Qingyu and said, "Qingyu, you have worked hard these past few days. I specially made you a set of ruby jewelry today and will give it to you when we get home."
Su Qingyu smiled and replied, "Thank you very much, father."
After Shen Zhixiu finished his business, he said goodbye, got on the carriage, and went directly to Chen Ge Lao's residence.
In the Chen family study, Chen Zheng, the second assistant of the cabinet, was sitting behind the desk, and Shen Zhixiu was sitting opposite him.
"Teacher, since this matter has been traced back to Lord Xu, I have decided to close the case."
"You can't bring him down with this kind of thing. There's no need to alert him."
Chen Zheng was in his fifties, wearing a dark-colored casual suit and gently stroking his goatee with one hand.
"You did the right thing. Even the things you found out during your trip to the northwest cannot be easily brought out."
"We must wait until the emperor is dissatisfied with him, and when the time, place, and people are all right, then we can kill him with one strike."
"He wants to deal with you in this way, which means he has no other tricks."
Shen Zhixiu then recounted the Crown Prince's departure from the city today, then added, "Teacher is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's mentor. It was you who submitted the petition requesting the Crown Prince's appointment. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, you will be the undisputed choice for the position of Prime Minister."
Chen Zheng laughed heartily and looked at Shen Zhixiu with admiration. "Speaking of which, you and the Crown Prince are considered brothers from the same school. When Lord Xu steps down, my position as Assistant will be handed over to you."
Shen Zhixiu did not show any joy or arrogance, but said modestly: "I am still a young student and need more experience."
Chen Zheng suddenly spoke up, "Zhixiu, I met Prince Shan today. How come the marriage between your two families hasn't been finalized yet? In my opinion, this marriage can be concluded."
Shen Zhixiu shook his head and said, "I have already planned to continue marrying into the Su family. I have set a date and will invite the teacher to the wedding."
Chen Zheng was stunned for a moment, then said disapprovingly, "How can the Su family compare to the Shanjun Prince's Mansion? Princess Yongjia still has some influence with the Emperor, and Princess Chaoyun is favored by the Emperor."
"If you marry Princess Chaoyun..."
Before Chen Zheng could finish his words, he was interrupted by Shen Zhixiu, "Teacher, I have made up my mind. I know you are doing this for my own good, but marriage also depends on fate."
After leaving Chen's house, Shen Zhixiu went straight back to Shen's house.
When Old Lady Shen heard that he had already told the Su family, she asked, "What should we do about this? We've already paid the betrothal gifts, but the rumors in the capital are that our two families have called off the engagement."
"Should we take back the betrothal gifts and then betroth again next time?"
Giving out the betrothal gifts is the best way to let everyone know about the marriage. It's not good to notify every household and say that the marriage is not cancelled.
But bringing the betrothal gifts back to the Shen family didn't seem to make sense.
Then Shen Zhixiu said, "Those things before are my dowry for her. I will prepare the betrothal gifts separately, but now is a critical time for disaster relief, so I can't make a large betrothal gift. Once this matter is over, I will prepare the betrothal gifts with peace of mind."
Old Madam Shen was a little surprised that her son was really planning everything for his future daughter-in-law.
The previous betrothal gift cost almost 100,000 taels of silver. Using 100,000 taels of silver to add dowry to the girl from the Su family...that's fine.
"Then the next time you pay the betrothal gift, you have to take it from your private treasury. If the public treasury pays so much money again, your two sisters-in-law will have some ideas." Old Lady Shen said thoughtfully.
Shen Zhixiu said jokingly, "Yes, if this isn't enough for me, I'll go to my mother's private vault and get some good stuff."
The old lady rolled her eyes at him and said with a smile, "Don't ask me for this. I'm saving this good thing for my daughter-in-law as a gift."
The mother and son chatted and laughed for a while, and then the old lady suddenly stopped laughing. "You beat your nephew badly. Your sister-in-law has already come to me and cried."
When Shen Zhixiu heard her mention Shen Zhao, his expression changed and he said, "Mother, if I find a job for Shen Zhao to go out and gain experience for a few years, what do you think?"
The old lady looked at Shen Zhixiu inquiringly, "Are you worried that Shen Zhao and that girl from the Su family living under the same roof will have a bad influence? But Shen Zhao is the eldest grandson of the Shen family after all, and I'm afraid your sister-in-law won't agree."
Shen Zhixiu's brows were grim, and he snorted, "I'm not just being selfish. My elder brother and sister-in-law have neglected to discipline this child. If they continue to pamper him like this, the Shen family will be defeated by him sooner or later."
"Now that I'm still in power, I can still help out. If I'm gone someday, will he be able to keep this family business?"
The old lady's face became solemn when she heard this. She recalled how Shen Zhao and the other members of the Shen family had behaved during the days since the news of Shen Zhixiu's death. Suddenly, she was overcome with grief. If her youngest son were gone, she was unsure whether the family business could be saved.
"Even if we want to send him out for training, we have to arrange a marriage for him first. When the time is right, I'll sound out your sister-in-law."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
