Chapter 399 News of the Ghost Valley Disciple!
On the day of the family reunion banquet, apart from the old lady and several other female relatives, all of them were absent.
Shen Congwen stared at the empty table, his face darkening beyond recognition.
He had considered that his family might be unhappy, but since he had already invited them, they would definitely give him face and all of them would attend.
I never expected that not only would one person not come, but they wouldn't even say hello.
Princess Yunhui and Shen Yuanxin arrived late. Relying on her noble status, Zhou Yunhui wanted to be the last to arrive and make everyone wait for her.
Surprisingly, many people arrived even later than her.
What's this?
Are all members of the Shen family so unpunctual and unruly?
When Shen Congwen saw the princess arrive, his complexion improved considerably, and he quickly had someone lead her to a seat.
"Didn't my older sister come today?" Zhou Yunhui asked, suppressing her temper.
Shen Congwen froze, repeatedly telling himself that the princess's status was noble and he couldn't lose his temper.
"Let's not talk about her today, Princess. Let's have our meal first!"
Zhou Yunhui was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "Let's wait for Uncle and Auntie."
She intended to win over everyone in the Shen family, and could not leave any room for criticism of disrespecting her elders.
Shen Congwen said stiffly, "There's no need to wait for them. There's no reason for the princess to wait for them."
Madam Shen also chimed in, saying, "Let's eat our own food; the princess doesn't need to worry about them."
Zhou Yunhui felt smug; the Shen family members were at least sensible.
"I am a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and now that I have married into the Shen family, I am still a junior. Let's wait a bit, it's alright!"
She is a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty; these people are not worthy of making her wait.
Once she completes the task assigned by her father, let's see how she deals with these people.
Shen Congwen was so anxious he was sweating. He regretted saying that earlier.
Now he was experiencing the feeling of sitting on pins and needles, as if he were being roasted over a fire.
If they still don't show up soon, he'll be in an awkward position.
Those bastards! What did he ever do to offend them that they had to embarrass him like this!
Wasn't Shen Congwen good enough to them?
They're all ungrateful wretches.
"Is this the concubine Father took in? Why is she wearing a veil?" Zhou Yunhui suddenly asked.
Madam Shen, along with Shen Congwen, Shen Xinyi, and their three illegitimate sons, all froze at the same time.
"Princess, I am not feeling well and need to go back to rest." After Madam Shen finished speaking, two old women hurriedly stepped forward to help her.
Shen Congwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ordered someone to take the old lady to rest.
“Princess, my mother is unwell and I would like to send her back to rest first.”
Zhou Yunhui felt something was strange, but couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she nodded.
"Grandmother's health is of utmost importance. Should we call the imperial physician?"
Shen Congwen: "No need, no need. It's just that we probably can't continue with this family reunion banquet. How about this, have the servants in the mansion carry the banquet back to your rooms."
Shen Yuanxin immediately understood what was going on and whispered a few words in Zhou Yunhui's ear.
"Oh well!"
No sooner had Zhou Yunhui left than she sent her personal maid out.
A palace maid came to report shortly afterward.
“Princess, I pretended to accidentally bump into that concubine and took the opportunity to pull off her veil to look at her. Her face was so swollen it was almost raw. I also found out that the old lady had asked her to come and learn manners.”
Zhou Yunhui was quite pleased to hear that the mistress's face was swollen like a rotten pig's head. She assumed that Shen Congwen didn't want to lose face, so he made an excuse to cancel the banquet.
Zhou Xinrou had been stuck at home for days and was already quite impatient. Today, not only Shen Yuantang came, but her two sons also came, which made her even more unhappy.
"Mother, Father held a banquet for his mistress and her son to recognize their relatives, and none of us went," Shen Yuantang said, both resentful and smug.
"Father bullies Mother. If the Empress Dowager were still alive, let's see if Father would dare to do it again."
"Mother, we will always stand by your side."
Zhou Xinrou glanced at her children, who were so concerned about her, her eyes flickered, and she turned to the side.
...
News came from Nanning today that Zhou Ruan's reason for deploying troops so fiercely is because he has a very capable strategist under his command.
It is said that the strategist was named Song Daoxi, a disciple of Guiguzi.
Upon receiving the news, Emperor Renxiao's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.
"Father, the disciples of Guiguzi are not so easy to meet. Could it be that my second brother deliberately spread this news to appease the people?"
Zhou Rulin said this on purpose. He had been secretly sending people to search for this successor of Guiguzi, and recently news came back that the successor of Guiguzi had appeared in the Northwest.
Zhou Ru'an happened to have been to the Northwest.
Which emperor, when he was a prince, didn't think of recruiting the successor of Guiguzi to his cause?
Even Emperor Renxiao had such thoughts when he was young.
However, no one has ever seen a successor of Guiguzi, and over time, everyone thought it was just a legend.
Recalling the rumors spread when the two rebellious princes rebelled, Emperor Renxiao and Zhou Rulin felt a chill run down their spines.
"Send someone to Nanning to verify. If it's true..." Emperor Renxiao would have no choice but to consider calling Zhou Ruan back.
A sharp glint flashed in Zhou Rulin's eyes: "Father, if we can think of it, others certainly can too."
A fierce glint flashed in Emperor Renxiao's eyes: "If the disciples of Guigu cannot be used by my Great Zhou, then no one else should be allowed to have them."
Zhou Rulin shared the same idea.
"Go to Nanning in secret, take my gold token, and make sure you bring the successor of Guiguzi into your fold."
"Yes, Father."
Within two days, news of the appearance of a disciple of Guiguzi in Nanning spread like wildfire and quickly became a hot topic in the capital.
“Your Highness, whoever obtains the successor of Guigu will rule the world. We cannot let the successor of Guigu fall into the hands of others,” Bai Qingling said.
Zhou Ruyuan frowned: "I am currently in the capital and cannot leave without an imperial decree."
Bai Qingling: "Your Highness, have you forgotten about me?"
Zhou Ruyuan looked at Bai Qingling with complicated emotions and said softly, "Qingling, I'm sorry to have wronged you."
Bai Qingling felt a warmth in her heart: "Your Highness is so kind, Qingling is so kind. Your Highness, rest assured, Qingling will definitely bring the successor of Guigu back to you."
Looking at Bai Qingling's sincere expression, Zhou Ruyuan subconsciously averted his gaze.
"Qingling, I'm entrusting the Yongzi Battalion to you. Be careful."
Bai Qingling felt a warmth in her heart when she saw that the prince had given her the military tally he kept close to his body.
"Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely return safely."
Watching her departing figure, Zhou Ruyuan thought to himself, "I will definitely make it up to her in the future."
Even though he could no longer wholeheartedly love only her.
The Residence of the Third Princess Zhou Xiwu
Yuan Lang packed his luggage efficiently.
Zhou Qiwu waited on the side with a reluctant expression.
"Yuan Lang, are you really going to Nanning?"
Yuan Lang packed the last piece of luggage into a bundle and tied it up. He then turned around and embraced Zhou Qiwu with a reluctant expression.
"Princess, do you remember what I said to you when we first met?"
Zhou Qiwu's memory was already hazy.
"I said I would make the princess the most honorable person in the world, and let her return to the capital in a grand and glorious manner."
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