Then a middle-aged man approached from a distance. He was not sitting with the officials and young men, but was seated at a specially reserved table far away. The man was about forty years old, with a dark, thin, and ferocious face. He was wearing a long, rosin-colored brocade robe. His clothes were extremely rich, but unfortunately he only had one leg.
This is the current emperor’s younger brother, Prince Yu.
Prince Yu was the Emperor's full brother, born of the same mother. As a young boy, he saved the Emperor's life from an assassin, but his left leg was injured and had to be amputated, leaving him a cripple. Since then, Prince Yu's temperament has changed dramatically, becoming brutal, cruel, and perverse. He even collected a houseful of concubines, a secret unknown to outsiders, but well-known to the imperial family. This Prince had some filthy habits, and countless women were murdered by him.
The Princess of Yu had died seven years earlier, a fact that was quite bizarre. However, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager both protected Prince Yu, so the Princess and her family had no choice but to accept the bitter fate. Recently, news suddenly broke from Prince Yu's mansion that Prince Yu was planning to take a concubine.
For a time, everyone in Dingjing was filled with speculation. Prince Yu held a high position, favored by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and choosing a princess required equal status. Those from wealthy families who truly loved their daughters naturally wouldn't let them enter such a den. Others, however, saw their daughters as mere bargaining chips, eager to trade them for wealth and glory, even at the cost of their own lives.
Look at the family of Princess Yu. Although they lost a daughter, they became more and more prosperous under the emperor's compensatory care.
Shen Miao's gaze passed over Prince Yu and then to Ren Wanyun who was sitting at the female seat.
As expected, Ren Wanyun's face lit up, and she said to Madam Yi beside her, "Your Majesty really treats Prince Yu very well."
As someone who had all worked in the inner chambers, Madam Yi almost immediately figured out what Ren Wanyun was planning. Although she despised her for being so ruthless, her master and Shen Gui were on the same page, so naturally she would side with Ren Wanyun. She smiled and said, "Not bad. Although she's a bit older, she's also kind."
Chen Ruoqiu lowered her head and slowly ate her snacks, but the smile on her lips was a little strange. Loving? No one would want their daughter to marry a crippled widower. Even if he was loving and powerful, it would still be pushing their daughter into a pit of fire. Thinking of this, she turned her head and looked at Shen Miao again.
Shen Miao patiently and persistently placed the chess pieces, step by step, following the chessboard, seemingly paying no attention to the others. Chen Ruoqiu suddenly felt uneasy. Shen Miao had become a different person since she woke up after falling into the water. Could it be that this was Shen Xin's bloodline finally awakening? Shen Xin's family were all violent. If Shen Miao learned of Ren Wanyun's plan, would she accept it obediently?
Just as she was thinking, she saw Shen Miao seemed to have noticed her gaze, raised her head and glanced at her. That look was extremely cold. It was the golden autumn of October, but it instantly chilled Chen Ruoqiu's heart to the bone.
Shen Miao lowered her head and looked at the chess game in her hands.
In her previous life, she had made a fool of herself at the Golden Chrysanthemum Banquet. After returning home, Ren Wanyun mentioned the marriage proposal to Old Madam Shen at the Prince of Yu's mansion. Ren Wanyun said, "Xiaowu's current behavior is not only without any merits, but also brings shame to the Shen family. Which noble family would be willing to marry a girl like Xiaowu? There's still the good marriage opportunity with the Prince of Yu's mansion. If Xiaowu goes there, she'll be the princess, with His Majesty and the Empress Dowager looking after her. That would be a blessing. Although her legs are weak and she's a bit old, our Xiaowu doesn't have any outstanding qualities, so it's not a loss for her."
The words were high-sounding, but in reality, they were extremely malicious. It was only after she spent a large sum of money to bribe the maids at Rongjing Hall that she learned of these words. Old Lady Shen had always hated the first wife. Chen Xin was the son of the first wife. When Master Shen was still alive, he was very close to Chen Xin, which made Old Lady Shen, the second wife, jealous. After finally surviving Master Shen, Chen Xin was unable to be touched because of his military achievements. If she couldn't touch Chen Xin, she could always touch Shen Miao. For a woman, nothing is more painful than marrying the wrong person.
Old Madam Shen and Ren Wanyun hit it off immediately, and immediately decided to send someone to Prince Yu's mansion to raise the matter. Shen Miao was filled with anger and fear. She had been in love with Fu Xiuyi at the time, and with a determined heart, she went to Prince Ding's mansion that night, carrying her belongings and asking to be taken in. She also disregarded her own reputation and deliberately had the matter spread, thinking that since her reputation was already ruined and the matter was settled, marrying Prince Ding as a concubine would be better than marrying into Prince Yu's mansion.
At that time, Old Madam Shen was furious. Although Fu Xiuyi was annoyed, he didn't treat her too badly on the surface. Perhaps he also saw the value of the Shen family's military power to him. Although he was not very warm to Shen Miao, he did not refute it. Later, when Shen Xin returned to the capital at the end of the year, he was greeted by the fact that the daughter of Ding Jingcheng had run away to marry. He was shocked and angry. Shen Miao even went on a hunger strike in protest. In the end, Chen Xin had no choice but to devote all his military achievements to earn her the title of Princess Ding.
But no one expected that this was the beginning of a real nightmare.
Shen Miao closed her eyes. It seemed as if all the mistakes of her past life had begun today. Today was destined to be the turning point of her life. Those who owed her money should now prepare to repay their debts!
"Hey, what's fun to do alone?" A voice suddenly rang out in her ears. Feng Anning had walked up to her without her noticing, a look of awkwardness on her face. She sat down opposite her and said, "Why don't you play a game of chess with me? But do you know how to play chess?"
Feng Anning looked down at the chessboard. He had originally said this casually, but now he was intrigued. He examined it carefully for a while, but couldn't figure out what was going on. So he asked, "What kind of move is this? I've never seen it before."
“This isn’t a game of chess,” Shen Miao smiled, “This is a war.”
"What?"
“You can’t see it now,” Shen Miao said calmly, “For this kind of chess, you can only see it when the piece is swallowed at the end.” It was like a net, tightly and solidly covering everything, so that no one could escape.
Feng An Ning shuddered: "What are you talking about? It's so creepy." She looked at the men's seats, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she glanced at Shen Miao with a somewhat mischievous look: "Look, His Royal Highness Prince Ding has arrived."
At the men's table, Prince Ding's Fu Xiuyi was a sight to behold, dressed in a blue robe embroidered with golden pines, green boots, and a jade crown. He was handsome, with a rather austere demeanor, yet he acted amiably, without the airs of a superior prince. His every move elicited gasps from the women.
Shen Miao lowered her head, her clenched fist fingers digging into her palms.
Ten years of companionship and support, in exchange for nothing more than a piece of white silk and a blood debt for the entire family. Even a pair of children died because of this.
The more kind this person appears on the outside, the more vicious he is on the inside; the more fair he appears on the surface, the more cruel he is in reality.
In her previous life, this person gave her an intact body, and in this life, she wants this person to be torn to pieces!
Fu Xiuyi, I'm back!
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