Chapter 608 Forced Marriage (1)
The case of Princess Ming'an in Dingjing City undoubtedly caused a great uproar among the people. The Dali Temple's investigation was protracted, and Emperor Wenhui's anger was frequent. Several officials were implicated, and the case seemed poised to become an unsolved mystery. Crown Prince Huangfu Hao of Qin was naturally displeased, but his own investigations had also uncovered nothing amiss. As time passed, the people's enthusiasm for the matter waned. After all, people need to eat and live, and keeping a romantic mystery unsolved cannot protect them from the harsh winter chill.
During the cold winter in Dingjing City, a major event also occurred in the Shen Mansion.
Shen Yue is engaged and will be married soon.
The family Shen Yue was introduced to was the Wang family, the Yuwenlang (Minister of the Imperial Court) that Shen Wan and Chen Ruoqiu had previously favored. The Wang family had only two sons, the younger of whom was not yet ten years old. The eldest was Wang Bi, the man Shen Yue was betrothed to. Wang Bi was twenty-four years old and had already entered the civil service, serving in the Imperial Academy. He was knowledgeable and a man with a promising future. Furthermore, while the Yuwenlang position wasn't one of the most important in the court, his colleagues inevitably interacted with him frequently. A connection to the Wang family would certainly provide significant support in one's future career.
The help in career was naturally viewed from Shen Wan's perspective. In Chen Ruoqiu's view, Wang Bi was the eldest son of the Wang family, and there were no concubines in the mansion. It happened that Shen Yue was well-educated and had a strong bookish air. If she could marry him, she would be able to grasp Wang Bi's heart, gain a foothold in the Wang family in the future, have another boy or girl, and then she could rest assured for the rest of her life.
The marriage was arranged directly between Chen Ruoqiu and the Wang family, and the engagement letter had already been exchanged. Naturally, upon learning of this, Shen Yue threw another tantrum. However, the usually gentle Chen Ruoqiu seemed determined to marry her off this time, and Shen Wan, who always loved her, refused to heed Shen Yue's pleas. Old Madam Shen was even more pleased to see this happen—if Shen Yue didn't marry, she would have another mouth to feed, and life was already difficult for the Shen family.
Shen Yue was making too much noise. Even though Shen Wan never punished his daughter on weekdays, he felt that Shen Yue had gone too far this time. In a rage, he locked Shen Yue in the ancestral hall and asked Shen Yue to reflect on herself.
That night, Chen Yue sat alone in the ancestral hall and cried silently.
The ancestral hall bore traces of a fire. Ironically, the last time Shen Miao was imprisoned in this hall, Ren Wanyun attempted to force Shen Miao to marry and exchange her for Shen Qing. Who knew a fire would break out midway through? Coincidentally, Shen Xin had left the capital at that very moment, allowing Shen Miao to escape unscrupulous. Shen Yue stared at the closed ancestral hall door. It seemed as if everything had gone smoothly for Shen Miao from that moment on. With Shen Xin and his wife, as well as Shen Qiu, backing her up, Shen Miao felt free to do anything she pleased. Shen Yue believed that if one day Shen Miao wanted to marry Fu Xiuyi, the Shen Xin couple would never try to stop her, as Chen Ruoqiu and Shen Wan had done.
And Shen Miao did have a crush on Fu Xiuyi in the past. If one day Shen Miao's old love rekindled, and the current Shen Xin made a comeback and held great power, would Fu Xiuyi refuse? Besides, Shen Miao was no longer the fool that the whole capital laughed at two years ago.
The thought that Shen Miao might be with Fu Xiuyi made Shen Yue feel particularly uncomfortable. She wondered unwillingly why the fire in the ancestral hall didn't burn Shen Miao to death.
Just as she was thinking, she heard the sound of the doorknob outside. Shen Yue thought that Chen Ruoqiu had sent someone to bring her food, and said angrily: "I don't want anything, get out."
The sound continued, and Shen Yue angrily said, "I told you to get out!"
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