Chapter 398 Shen Congwen's Disappointment and Anger!
While everyone was curious about the Shen family's attitude, Shen Lanxi once again took leave, claiming illness and not coming out.
Furthermore, he sent a message to the palace, saying that airing his dirty laundry in public was shameful and he had no face to see anyone.
Emperor Renxiao was already annoyed by the situation in the northwest, and when he heard Wang Bao say this, he was so angry that he laughed.
"What family scandal are you talking about?" What does the misdeeds of the elders have to do with a junior like her?
Wang Bao chuckled, covering his mouth as he listened.
"You old fool, what are you smirking about?" Emperor Renxiao asked with a sullen smile.
Wang Bao, fidgeting with his fingers, said coyly, "Your Majesty, the whole capital is buzzing about it now. Storytellers have even come up with several versions of Lord Shen's romantic escapades!" After saying this, Wang Bao couldn't help but laugh as if he had thought of something funny.
Emperor Renxiao has been feeling quite tired lately, so he might as well listen to the Shen family's affairs to perk himself up.
"What did the storytellers say?"
Wang Bao said, "It is said that Lord Shen is not satisfied. He already has a princess as beautiful as a flower at home, and a beautiful concubine to accompany him. Yet he is still obsessed with keeping mistresses. Either the mistress is exceptionally beautiful, or she is very cunning."
Emperor Renxiao seemed to have thought of something, his eyes darkening, and then he said in an icy tone, "The Empress Dowager should really see what kind of person she has chosen for Xinrou after all her hard work!"
Sensing the coldness in the emperor's words, Wang Bao sneered, "That bastard Shen Congwen, he's quite the schemer. His mistress and her son are lucky; they didn't suffer the same fate of exile."
Emperor Renxiao's gaze grew even colder.
He kept a special group of assassins and secret guards to monitor all officials, and he knew exactly what those officials did in private.
The Shen family was also under surveillance, yet over the years, not a single assassin or secret guard had ever reported Shen Congwen's affair with a mistress.
Could it be that Shen Congwen has some underhanded methods that he doesn't know about?
Considering the Empress Dowager's insistence on marrying Zhou Xinrou to Shen Congwen, Emperor Renxiao's suspicions deepened.
"Have someone keep an eye on Shen Congwen."
Just as Wang Baogang was about to say yes, Emperor Renxiao said, "Let that concubine and her son enter the Shen family."
Wang Bao was filled with doubt and unease, but he kept his expression hidden and hurriedly went to do it.
Juding Gongfu
Shen Lanxi secluded herself for two days, and the matter concerning the Shen family was finally settled.
The concubine entered the household as a mistress, and the child she bore became an illegitimate son.
Shen Yuanxu said with a worried expression, "Liang Xinyi looks about 60% like my aunt."
Shen Lanxi sneered inwardly. Everyone said that her mother was magnanimous, not only not domineering, but also allowed Shen Congwen to take a concubine, and never mistreated the concubines and illegitimate sons.
Now, she wants to see if her mother can still be magnanimous.
What was my mother's reaction?
Shen Yuanxu frowned: "My uncle goes to my aunt's courtyard every day to apologize, and my grandmother and my mother often try to persuade him, but my aunt refuses to see him."
Shen Lanxi: "Where is Shen Yuantang?"
Shen Yuanxu: "My aunt originally didn't want to see her, but she was very good at talking, so my aunt just let her be."
Shen Lanxi's eyes were full of sarcasm: "With her by my mother's side, I feel at ease."
Shen Yuanxu: "Are you really planning to never come back to the Shen family?"
Shen Lanxi: "The time is not right."
Shen Yuanxu didn't know when the right time would be. The eldest son's family had already made such a fuss, was she just going to wait until things got even worse?
"If you have nothing else to do, go back to the academy!" Shen Lanxi said casually.
Hu Jinyu was about to give birth, and Shen Yuanxu actually wanted to wait until after she gave birth before going back.
"Tomorrow, my uncle will formally take Liang Xinyi into his household. There will definitely be no banquet for the concubine's arrival. My uncle's idea is to have a simple meal and introduce Liang and her three children to the family."
Shen Lanxi said in a low voice, "I'm curious, does he still have any money?"
Shen Yuanxu was taken aback, then said awkwardly, "It must have been taken from my grandmother's private savings."
Shen Lanxi said meaningfully, "The Shen family is now living off their savings. You're spending Hu Jinyu's dowry right now. The baby is coming soon, and the expenses will only increase."
How could Shen Yuanxu not understand what Shen Lanxi meant?
If he didn't understand, how could he have followed Shen Lanxi around like a servant during the war?
"I'm just a poor, pedantic scholar now, I won't do anything foolish."
Shen Lanxi: "Go back and give Yuan Jun and the others a good talking-to."
Shen Yuanxu nodded and talked with Shen Lanxi for a while longer. Fortunately, she didn't mention asking him to return to the academy again.
He won't be foolish enough to relay messages for his family anymore.
Not only that, after Shen Yuanxu returned home, he immediately went into his parents' room to talk for a while, and then went to find his brothers.
Shen Congwen never expected that Zhou Xinrou would allow Liang Xinyi and her son to enter the house.
Upon hearing the news, he wasn't particularly happy; instead, he felt somewhat stifled.
Does she really not care about him at all?
Even after such an incident, and despite being humiliated in front of her, she remained unmoved.
Shen Congwen felt a sense of loss and anger.
After all these years... why did she marry him?
Liang Xinyi and her son were assigned to the courtyard where Zhang Zifen used to live. When the four of them arrived, they brought nothing with them and started making arrangements after entering the mansion.
There wasn't enough money in the manor to buy them anything. Shen Congwen, whether out of spite or something else, went to find Liang Xinyi after leaving Zhou Xinrou's courtyard.
A short while later, Shen Congwen went to find Old Madam Shen.
“Mother, Xinyi and her son don’t have a single change of clothes, and I have no money left. I would like to ask you for some.”
He had given his mother many nice things before, and now he was taking them back to use. He would give them to his mother when he received his salary next month.
When the old lady heard her eldest son say that, she almost fainted again.
"You bastard, do you know how much money I've already spent to subsidize this? Do you know that because of Yuanxin's marriage to the princess, I've pawned all the precious medicinal herbs that Lanxi gave me?"
The old lady was so angry she felt like she was going to vomit blood.
Shen Congwen blushed deeply; he had no idea his family was so poor.
“Mother, when His Majesty bestows another reward, I will give it all to you. I will give you all my future salary as well, without keeping a single penny for myself.”
When Madam Shen heard her son make such a guarantee, her expression softened slightly, but not by much.
Zhou Xinrou is, after all, a princess favored by the royal family. How will His Majesty feel if such a thing happens in her residence?
What would the princess think if she saw Liang Xinyi's face?
We can't let Liang Xinyi meet the princess with that face.
"You should go back first and call Madam Liang over. I'll teach her some manners so she won't be unsure how to speak when she sees people in the manor."
Shen Congwen's eyes were filled with surprise. Did his mother's words mean she had accepted Liang Xinyi?
"Mother, money?"
"Go back and wait. I'll have someone deliver it to you later!" Old Madam Shen said sternly and displeasedly.
Shen Congwen dared not stay any longer and anger his mother, so he left in agitation.
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