Chapter 306 Why can't you just let her live!
"Shut up!" Wu Yanzhi rebuked coldly with a dark face.
"She can single-handedly take charge of the Zhenbei Army and make so many capable young men obey her. Do you think she's some kind of kind person?" Wu Yanzhi's fierceness was no longer concealed.
Startled by his reaction, Madam Liang quickly shut her mouth, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
When Shen Lanxi entered, she saw Liang Shi holding a handkerchief and sobbing. Her demeanor was very similar to Liu Shi's, which explained why the two of them could become related by marriage.
"Greetings to Prime Minister Wu!" Shen Lanxi gave an official salute and straightened up before Wu Yanzhi could speak.
Wu Yanzhi snorted coldly, as if completely ignoring her, and turned his head to the side.
Shen Lanxi naturally didn't expect him to respond; they both knew perfectly well why he had come today.
"Today I am here on His Majesty's orders to deliver the betrothal gifts. We have already sent the betrothal geese before, so we will not be sending geese this time. All the various gifts and the betrothal money are listed in the gift list. Please take a look, Your Excellency. I will not read them out one by one."
She handed the two gift lists to the maid, who was originally going to give them to Wu Yanzhi, but Wu Yanzhi waved his hand and told the maid to give them to Madam Liang.
Madam Liang was only thinking about her daughter getting married in a few days, so she had no interest in looking at the gift list.
"My poor daughter, she's only three months old! Your Shen family is inhuman!" Madam Liang cried as she covered her face.
Shen Lanxi pretended not to hear it; a mere Liang family member couldn't stop the tide.
"Is the eldest daughter of the Wu family here?" Shen Lanxi opened the brocade box and took out the imperial edict.
Wu Yanzhi's expression immediately changed, and he quickly pulled Liang Shi down to kneel.
"Your subject receives the imperial decree."
Shen Lanxi opened the imperial edict and, before reading it aloud, read a passage from Emperor Renxiao's oral decree.
"His Majesty's decree states that Shen Yuanxu is a kind-hearted and compassionate child."
Wu Yan was so angry he almost vomited blood, and Liang was so angry she almost fainted.
Shen Lanxi then opened the imperial edict and read aloud: "By the grace of Heaven... the eldest daughter of the Wu family is hereby granted the title of Princess of Qinghe County, with a fief of five hundred households. After she comes of age, she will be granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady. This is the imperial decree!"
Liang felt like crying even more.
Wu Yanzhi's face turned pale and then red, and he silently accepted the imperial edict.
"My lord, thank you Lord for your kindness!"
Shen Lanxi's trip can be considered a complete success. After the betrothal gifts were counted and handed over, she left the Wu residence with a smile and returned to the Shen family with music and fanfare all the way.
Emperor Renxiao in the palace received the news immediately, chuckled, and said, "To send Shen Lanxi to propose marriage, how could the Shen family come up with such a thing?"
Wang Bao echoed in a low voice, "Aren't they afraid that the Wu family will beat Shen Lanxi out?"
Emperor Renxiao was delighted to hear this.
"None of the men in the Shen family have any guts. When something happens, they like to let the women take the lead."
Previously, Zhou Xinrou was the one to take the lead, but now that Zhou Xinrou doesn't care anymore, she pushes Shen Lanxi forward instead.
Wang Bao's eyes darted around, and he deliberately teased, "Your Majesty, their whole family are scholars; they'll be taking the imperial examinations in the future."
Emperor Renxiao laughed even more heartily.
"Last time you asked who Shen Congwen found to be a teacher for the Shen family?"
Wang Bao chuckled and said disdainfully, "First it was Grand Tutor Mei, then it was the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, then it was Sun Daoxue of Bailu Academy, and now he's even sending invitations to Liufang Academy. I heard he wanted to enter the Imperial Academy before, but the Dean rejected him directly."
Emperor Renxiao asked curiously, "Why was it rejected?"
Wang Bao laughed as if he had heard a funny joke, saying, "The young men of the Shen family are all getting old. The Imperial Academy will not accept anyone over the age of thirteen."
Emperor Renxiao was taken aback, then laughed so hard his mustache stood on end.
"This Shen Congwen has really put in a lot of trouble."
Wang Bao smiled and said, "Isn't that right? He's becoming a laughing stock among scholars!"
After Emperor Renxiao smoothed his beard, he smiled and said, "I can see that he wants the Shen family's sons to study for the imperial examinations. Here's what we'll do: you secretly spread the word and have Bailu Academy take them in."
Wang Bao: "His Majesty's appreciation for talent is truly admirable; the Shen family must repay His Majesty in the best possible way!"
What does it mean that even the most prestigious academies in the capital don't accept them?
Emperor Renxiao's eyes were deep and unfathomable; he smiled but remained silent.
After a flurry of activity, the Shen family finally welcomed the day of Shen Yuanxu's wedding.
On the day of the wedding, Wei Dongzhu's position was once again puzzling.
"Why is it that he's helping the Shen family with the arrangements?"
Why use an outsider when you can use your own family?
"In every family, the son-in-law goes to the wedding with his brother-in-law. What exactly is going on between Wei Dongzhu and Shen Lanxi?"
"These two have been together since Dongchuan, and then they went to the Northwest together. It is said that Shen Lanxi's rapid reconquest of the Northwest was all thanks to Wei Dongzhu."
"What does Shen Lanxi, a woman, know? It's all Wei Dongzhu who's behind the scenes, strategizing and planning. She's where she is today because of Wei Dongzhu..."
Amidst the murmurs, Shen Yuanxu welcomed the eldest daughter of the Wu family into the house.
The Wu family's eldest daughter had barely entered the family when she was sent to be raised by Liu.
The sound of firecrackers drowned out the heart-wrenching cries of Liu and Wu's eldest daughter.
The Shen family's front courtyard was filled with joy and guests.
Although the Wu family was decorated with red everywhere, the atmosphere was like that of a funeral procession.
That evening, at the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, Bai Qingling was poisoned for the second time.
Bai Qingling, with a gloomy face, threw the dead carrier pigeon out of the room.
She dared not call out to anyone, much less speak to Zhou Ruyuan. She quietly disposed of the pastries on the table, turned around and took out a bag of pastries from the cupboard, silently ate two bites, and then angrily smashed the pastries on the ground.
Can't we just let her off the hook since she doesn't fight or compete?
Why can't we just let her live?
It's all Shen Lanxi's fault. If it weren't for her, those people wouldn't have treated her like that.
Why is Shen Lanxi so hard to kill!
"Madam, the Prince has returned," a maid announced from outside.
Bai Qingling quickly moved the cabinet blocking the door and restored the mechanism on the window to its original state. Once she could no longer see anything in the room, she dressed herself up a little and opened the door.
"Has the Prince brought the young master back?" Bai Qingling asked anxiously after leaving the house.
The maid shook her head in fear, and Bai Qingling's eyes instantly turned sinister.
Why won't that old hag let her see her child? That's her only child!
Zhou Ruyuan was originally going to attend Shen Yuanxu's wedding banquet today. Shen Yuanxu has been very popular recently and has been granted a marriage by the emperor. The Shen family is related to the royal family by marriage, so as a prince, he should attend.
He finally convinced himself to attend the wedding banquet, and from afar he saw Shen Lanxi and Wei Dongzhu standing together, chatting and laughing intimately. He watched for a while, almost inexplicably, and then returned.
When Bai Qingling arrived, Zhou Ruyuan was already drinking.
"Your Highness."
Seeing that Zhou Ruyuan looked unwell, Bai Qingling patiently offered a few words of comfort before impatiently asking about the child.
"Your Highness, has our little Yu'er been brought back?" Bai Qingling's eyes were full of anticipation.
Zhou Ruyuan felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he saw Bai Qingling looking at him earnestly, and his heart softened again.
"Mother said that Xiaoyu'er has not been feeling well these past two days and should not be exposed to the wind. She will be sent to us to reunite after she has recovered in a few days."
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