Chapter 252 Zilan, you actually betrayed me!
Shen Yuanjing chuckled lightly, then turned and left.
I really don't know why the older sister keeps this useless person around!
In the capital city, a thousand miles away, lies the Shen family!
“Mother, I will be going to the Northwest after the New Year. I will take a good look at the character of Yuan Jing’s new wife then. Mother, you don’t need to worry too much!” Shen Conglian said with concern.
Madam Shen looked worried and glanced at her eldest son.
"Congwen, has the princess said anything?"
Shen Congwen shook his head: "No, even if she says something, it's useless. It's His Majesty's decree!"
Madam Shen fell silent.
"Brother, with Lanxi keeping an eye on things in the Northwest, there shouldn't be any problems!" Shen Conglian added as a word of advice.
Madam Shen held her second son's hand and said, "Conglian, after you arrive in the Northwest, you must take good care of the younger generation in the family. They are still young and inexperienced, and they need the advice of the elders in the family!"
Shen Conglian glanced at his third and fourth brothers.
"Following propriety and righteousness, are you really not going to the Northwest after the New Year?"
The two lowered their heads and sighed one after the other.
"Second brother, I'm really worried about all these things at home!"
"My family is full of elderly and young children. Ever since I came back, they've been crying and fussing all day long. I just can't leave them!"
The two brothers each had their own reasons.
Shen Conglian knew those were all excuses; they were simply afraid of war and death!
"Alright, I'm the second oldest in my family, I have an elder brother in the court, and you all are here at home, so I can go to the Northwest with peace of mind!" Shen Conglian said, but he also hesitated a little.
The journey to the Northwest is long and arduous, involving trekking through mountains and rivers.
"Master, go in peace. Once you're there, Yuanxu and Yuankun will have someone to discuss things with!" Liu's words put Shen Conglian in a difficult position.
"Second son, you are now a person of rank, which is better than the third and fourth sons." Madam Shen was also very reluctant to part with her second son, but there was nothing she could do.
The sons of the Shen family in the Northwest are the foundation upon which the Shen family makes its living.
"Eldest brother, prepare plenty of things for Second Brother to take to the Northwest!"
Shen Congwen: "I understand, Mother."
Since taking charge of the Ministry of Revenue, Shen Congwen's former arrogance has gradually returned, and he is no longer as extreme in his thinking.
It was indeed thanks to Lan Xi that the Shen family was able to return to the capital, but she was, after all, a woman. Currently, the court lacked military generals, so perhaps they would be more tolerant of her. However, once the Great Zhou Dynasty regained its former glory, the first target would be this woman.
Such is the way of the world; when that day comes, even he, as a father, will be helpless.
I can only hope that she wins in the Northwest, so that there might still be a glimmer of hope and that the Shen family won't be implicated!
...
Today is the day Shen Yuanjing and Kang Zhu get married.
Despite rushing as fast as I could, I still made it to the 30th!
Shen Yuanjing wore a wedding dress in the style of the Great Zhou Dynasty, while Kangzhu wore a wedding dress in the style of the Oirat Mongols.
Neither of them had much savings, so Shen Lanxi took out two generous gifts from her private treasury: one as a betrothal gift for Shen Yuanjing and the other as a dowry for Kang Zhu.
"The wedding banquet of General Pingyi and Princess Oirat shall officially begin!" Liu Yan announced, and the newlyweds then performed their rites.
Shen Lanxi and Shen Yuanxu, one as the leader of the army and the other as the head of the Shen family, sat in the main seats.
The ceremony was simple, but very lively.
They were all roughnecks from the military camp, not particular about etiquette. After offering their sincere blessings, they started eating and drinking soup.
No alcohol! But we have mutton soup!
There were more than a dozen large pots filled with lamb spine and lamb bones, which were boiled over a high flame. Once the liquid was gone, water and meat were added back in.
People in the city who want to drink can drink to their heart's content!
Shen Yuanjing blushed and led his bride into the bridal chamber with a large red silk ribbon.
Although there was no music or fanfare, some people sang folk songs from their hometown.
Then the singing continued, and the whole of Huangtucheng could hear it.
...
"Princess, they've all collapsed, come out!"
Zhou Yunyue peeked through the crack in the door and saw that both guards had fainted before pushing the door open and going out.
"Zilan, you are still the most loyal to me! After we return to the capital, I will ask my father to bestow upon you the title of Princess!"
Zilan looked around fearfully.
"Princess, I have done what you asked me to do. There are people watching me over there, so I must go back quickly." Zilan was afraid that people would find out that she had run away.
A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yunyue's eyes. Useless thing, so afraid of doing such a small thing.
Go!
Zilan quickly left.
Zhou Yunyue glanced down at the porcelain bottle in her hand. Shen Yuanjing had forced her to do this!
~
After drinking the nuptial wine, Kangzhu suddenly experienced a sharp pain in her stomach, followed by vomiting blood and fainting!
"Kangzhu..."
"Ban Sicao, hurry and go call Ban Sicao!"
Ban Sicao was quickly summoned, along with Shen Lanxi and others.
"Mr. Ban, what's wrong with my wife?"
Ban Sicao frowned and sighed, "They've been poisoned!"
Shen Yuanjing was immediately overcome with grief and roared in anger, "Whoever poisoned my wife, I will tear her to pieces!"
Ban Sicao examined the wine and said, "The poison was put in the nuptial wine. Fortunately, General Shen didn't have time to drink it, otherwise he would have been poisoned like Princess Kangzhu."
Shen Lanxi was furious: "Find them! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find the person who swallowed you!"
"I'll make this person wish he were dead!"
"yes!"
Before long, Zhou Yunyue was brought over, bound hand and foot.
"General, we found a lot of poison in this maid's room!" The guard opened the gilded box, which was full of bottles and jars.
After examining the contents, Ban Sicao said, "Half of them are poison!" He then picked out a bottle from the bottle.
"This bottle contains the poison that Princess Kangzhu was given!"
Shen Lanxi was furious: "Zhou Yunyue, I have treated you well. You said you wouldn't go for the marriage alliance, so I found someone to take your place. You have repeatedly dared to challenge me, but I have never punished you. Even when your personal maid was a Turkic spy, I didn't implicate you. I never expected that this would nurture your wolfish ambition, daring to sabotage the marriage alliance between my Great Zhou and the Oirat tribes, and even attempting to poison the two of them out of love turned to hatred. You are simply a sinner of my Great Zhou, utterly unforgivable!"
Zhou Yunyue denied it.
"What makes you think I did this? What if someone put these things in my room to frame me?"
Shen Lanxi said coldly, "I'll let you die knowing why. Bring the witnesses up!"
Zhou Yunyue stared wide-eyed in disbelief when she saw the person who had brought her.
How is that possible?
How could it be her?
"General, it was she who threatened me, making me drug the two guards at her door. She was also the one who gave me the drug that made me faint!"
Zhou Yunyue felt her blood churning in her chest, and a metallic taste rose in her throat. She coughed a few times, then looked up to find blood trickling from the corners of her mouth.
"Zilan, I've been so good to you, and you actually betrayed me!"
Zilan twisted the silk handkerchief in her hand, shrinking back in fear.
"This princess is doing this for the stability of the Northwest, and for our Great Zhou!"
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