Chapter 348: Spent hundreds of thousands of taels to buy a terrible idea!
"Lanxi, today is a big day for the Shen family, so let's not say anything that would spoil the mood and bring bad luck!" Zhou Yunyuan said with a stiff smile.
Shen Lanxi glanced at Zhou Yunxue, thought for a moment, and nodded.
"Today is indeed a big day."
Zhou Yunyuan's face lit up with joy, and she was about to raise the corners of her mouth when she heard Shen Lanxi say another word.
"Then let's talk about it tomorrow."
Zhou Yunyuan's heart sank suddenly.
She secretly cursed Shen Lanxi as an abandoned woman, and given her petty, ruthless nature, she would definitely make things difficult for her.
"Lanxi, it's been a long time since we sisters have gotten together. How about I treat you to a meal at Wangjiang Tower another day!"
Shen Lanxi: "It has indeed been a long time since we last got together, seven or eight years?"
Zhou Yunyuan froze again.
"Don't worry, I'm back in Beijing and doing quite well. I'll take good care of you and your family from now on!" Shen Lanxi said ambiguously before going to offer a toast.
Looking at Shen Lanxi's ambiguous smile, Zhou Yun felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and even when he left, he was still feeling a chill.
After the meal, Zhou Yunxue found Shen Lanxi.
"Lanxi, don't take Zhou Yunyuan's words to heart. She's just jealous, her life isn't as glamorous as it seems on the surface."
Shen Lanxi: "I know. After you came to see me last time, I had someone investigate why you married Fang Wenting."
Zhou Yunxue lowered her head in embarrassment, her lips pressed tightly together.
"If you want a divorce, I'll help you."
Zhou Yunxue looked up in surprise, "Divorce?"
She had thought about it before.
“Lanxi, my family also investigated Fang Wenting, but at that time, my family had lost power and I had lost my reputation, so I had no choice but to submit to him. Now I have a son and a daughter, and he is also ambitious and hardworking. I don’t want a divorce.”
Shen Lanxi thought to herself that Zhou Yunxue was also implicated by her, so she was willing to be patient with her.
"I can make you a promise. If you want a divorce, I will find someone to register your household as a woman, so you can return to live in the capital and I will ensure your safety. If you want to take your children with you in the divorce, I can also help you with that."
Zhou Yunxue's eyes flickered, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head and said, "Lanxi, I'm fine. Once my husband passes the imperial examination, he will become a formal seventh-rank official. If he ranks in the top three, he will be promoted one rank. That would be great."
Shen Lanxi: "As long as you're satisfied, this promise will remain valid with me if you want a divorce!"
Zhou Yunxue had something else to say, but Shen Lanxi interrupted her and she left with a heavy heart.
The next day, Shen Lanxi went to the palace to file a complaint against Zhou Yunyuan's husband.
"Uncle, yesterday at Shen Yuanxu's wedding banquet, she openly insulted me, calling me a discarded wife, and even threatened Zhou Yunxue because her husband is an examiner for this imperial examination. Uncle, Zhou Yunyuan is bullying others by abusing her power. I haven't done anything like that, yet she did it in a way that bypassed me. Uncle, you can't be biased..."
"If you're biased... then I'll take advantage of my power to bully others too..."
Emperor Renxiao looked at Shen Lanxi with a complicated expression.
"Look at yourself now! Where is the prestige of commanding the Zhenbei Army? Where is the general who has returned victorious from battle? How can you convince the people if outsiders see you like this?" Emperor Renxiao said, unable to suppress his smirk.
Shen Lanxi sat on the steps beside the table, looking like a tough nut to crack.
With so many people watching yesterday, this news must have already reached Emperor Renxiao's ears.
Emperor Renxiao was very satisfied with Shen Lanxi's attitude of reporting everything to her, but he was also somewhat disgusted by her current inability to handle anything.
Sometimes, people are just so conflicted.
He wanted his subordinates to be tough, but he also worried that if they were too tough, they would threaten his position.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you face by transferring this person out of here, just because you've been loyal to your job."
Having achieved her goal, Shen Lanxi stood up to express her gratitude without saying a word.
"Uncle, may I ask you something?"
Emperor Renxiao chuckled: "With your imposing presence, do you really have anything to ask me?"
Shen Lanxi: "My prestige is all borrowed from you. I'm just curious, how did you come up with the idea of arranging a concubine for Shen Yuanxu? If it were me, I couldn't have come up with it even if I racked my brains!"
Emperor Renxiao was embarrassed. He couldn't very well tell Shen Lanxi that there were rumors that Miss Hu had committed suicide because she was so angry that Zhou Ruyuan and Shen Yuantang had an affair!
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was a trusted minister whom he relied on, and since he still needed to use the Hu family, he naturally couldn't allow women from the Hu family to become his concubines.
It was Wang Bao who casually reminded him that it was common for men to have two wives, so what was wrong with taking a concubine?
Another point is that I did feel somewhat sorry for Shen Yuanxu before. Judging from the quality of his writing, he is probably destined to fail the imperial examination.
Just for his words, "When the country is in trouble, every citizen has a responsibility," this marriage can be considered compensation for him.
Emperor Renxiao glanced at Shen Lanxi with annoyance: "The eldest daughter of the Hu family is a good match for Shen Yuanxu. Let's not mention his previous wife!"
Don't make him laugh if your wife can't even walk properly yet.
“Yuanxu calls me uncle, after all. I can’t let my nephew’s heart be cold.”
Shen Lanxi looked deeply moved.
"Uncle, it's so good to have you as my uncle!"
Emperor Renxiao was overjoyed, and after Shen Lanxi left, he reviewed memorials twice as fast as before.
However, Wang Bao's joy was short-lived, as he received a secret report from Tianjin.
After reading it, Emperor Renxiao was so enraged that he fainted.
Afterwards, rumors spread that Wang Bao had to drink three cups of ginseng tea to save Emperor Renxiao's life.
As soon as the news broke, a turbulent situation began to stir in the imperial harem. Dozens of carrier pigeons and hawks flew out that night, and one of them landed in Shen Lanxi's hands.
The next day, Zhou Ru'an secretly sent a brocade box to his residence.
"Sir, it's silver notes again."
Shen Lanxi smiled coldly, "Take it, then write another letter, put it in the brocade box, and send it back to him!"
Che Mingyuan: "What should we write?"
Shen Lanxi's eyes darted around, and she said, "Just write that you sacrifice the pawn to save the king, and make him admit that he had an affair with Zhou Qiwu's son and daughter, but that he was tricked by Zhou Qiwu and had a handle on him, so he had no choice but to obey her."
Che Mingyuan's lips twitched: "Isn't this a bit too crazy?"
Shen Lanxi: "Crazy? Sometimes the crazier you are, the more people will believe you. That's called taking an unconventional approach!"
Che Mingyuan was somewhat skeptical; if he were Zhou Ruan, he would never have complied.
Only someone with a screw loose would spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to buy back a terrible idea!
Unexpectedly, less than a day after the letter was sent back, Zhou Ru'an knelt in his mansion, facing the direction of the palace, weeping and pleading guilty. He even wrote a letter in blood to present to the emperor.
Che Mingyuan stood at the main gate of the Juding Duke's Mansion, staring dumbfounded in the direction of Zhou Ruan's residence.
This world is going mad!
That day, Shen Lanxi was summoned to the palace by Emperor Renxiao overnight.
"Uncle, what's wrong?"
"Why didn't anyone tell me you were sick?" Shen Lanxi's eyes reddened when she saw Emperor Renxiao lying on the couch. She hurried a few steps and stumbled and fell in front of Emperor Renxiao.
The look of heartache on his face made him seem more like a biological son than Zhou Ru'an, who was kneeling beside him.
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