Chapter 8 Why haven’t I appeared yet?
Shen Zhejiang left the imperial study and walked quickly.
The Xiao family is truly a double-edged sword. Ten years ago, they wiped out the Shen family and left only Shen Zhejiang alone. They put on a play full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality for the people of the world to watch, just to spread the word about how much the Xiao family loves the people like their own children.
The Minister of War Wang Shouyi held great power and obeyed Emperor Wu Kun's orders. The emperor married his eldest daughter to him, firstly to prevent his bad reputation from implicating Xiao Zhinian, and secondly to restrain his actions.
Anger and resentment built up in my heart, and when I reached the way I came, I suddenly felt a surge of adverse energy rising up like a wave.
“Cough! Cough cough!!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Shen Zhejiang propped up the vermilion palace wall with his palms, covered his mouth with one hand and coughed violently, his internal organs seemed to be shaking, and his face looked extremely painful.
The light body seemed to disappear in the next second.
Xiao Zhinian didn't chase after him like he used to, and Shen Zhejiang actually felt a little uncomfortable.
After coughing enough, he swallowed the fishy sweetness in his throat, his lips pale as he dragged himself out of the palace in a dejected manner.
-
Huaiwen stood on the stone steps in front of the door, staring at the carriages and horses in the streets. His master had not returned home all night. If this continued, he would have to report to the authorities to find him.
But at this moment, he saw a shaky figure floating towards him from afar, and a look of joy appeared on his face.
"My Lord! You are finally back!"
"Um."
Shen Zhejiang didn't know if he caught a cold on the road, but after walking for such a long distance, he was already sweating profusely, and his almost pale face gave people the illusion that he was about to collapse.
Huai Wen was startled and asked in surprise: "Sir, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Chen Zhejiang's steps were light, as if he wanted to step on soft cotton with every step. He was still stubborn and ordered, "Get ready to go down and prepare the betrothal gifts and the guests according to the regulations. The three books and six ceremonies cannot be missing."
Huaiwen was even more horrified: "Who are you betrothing to?!"
Shen Zhejiang took a half-step into the courtyard gate, his eyes darkened as he said, "Miss Wang Xiuyi, the head of the Ministry of War's Minister's Mansion."
"ah?"
No...My lord, you haven't come home all night, so why do you want to propose marriage as soon as you come back? And where did that Miss Wang come from?
He had never seen an adult interact with her.
Huaiwen couldn't figure it out, but then he thought, the adult is almost thirty years old, it's time for him to get married and start a family. If it were someone else, he would have had wives and concubines and children everywhere.
So, Huaiwen couldn't help but feel emotional, Sir, your dull mind has finally come to your senses!
Shen Zhejiang returned to the house, exhausted both physically and mentally, and fell asleep on the bed until he was unconscious.
The nightmare ensued.
"The Emperor, by the order of Heaven and Mandate, declares that the guilty minister Shen Zhiyuan is conspiring with Prince Shen to rebel. His family property will be confiscated immediately and he will be imprisoned to await his sentence. Since he has been loyal and devoted for more than ten years, I will show mercy and spare the lives of the descendants of the Shen family."
Hai Sanqing's sharp and thin voice cut through the sky, and the guards behind him filed in, surrounding everyone in the Shen Mansion, wailing to the sky.
In this panic-stricken world, only Shen Zhejiang escaped death.
"My son! You must live well, don't seek revenge or bear grudges. Mother only hopes that you can live in peace and find a stable life in the future. Don't return to the capital. Do you remember?"
His mother held his hand, her hair disheveled, and she was crying.
"Zhejiang, I know you have great ambitions and are determined to make a living for the people, but I also have things I must do. I have anticipated the outcome today and have no regrets. We will never see each other again, take care."
His father stood between heaven and earth with his hands behind his back, and looked up at him from a distance.
"Father! Mother!"
Shen Zhejiang chased after them, but the distance between them was getting farther and farther, so far that he couldn't touch them no matter what.
Black fog, which appeared from nowhere, enveloped him at a speed visible to the naked eye, and everything around him was dark.
Why?
What to do with him left behind?
Over the past ten years, he has been trapped in dreams countless times, and this sentence has been haunting him like a ghost, and no matter where he goes, it can't be shaken off.
The greatest cruelty of the Xiao family was to leave him alone in this world, torment him, and make him live with sin for eternity.
"No! It wasn't my father who did this! I must clear your name!"
Shen Zhejiang suddenly woke up.
“Knock knock!”
There was a knock on the door.
"What is it?"
Huai Wentong reported: "Sir, Lord Han is here."
Shen Zhejiang's forehead was wet with cold sweat. He raised his hand and touched it. His eyebrows drooped lightly, and he turned over and sat up and said, "Please come in."
What is Zitang doing here at this time?
Just as I was thinking about it, someone came in a hurry.
"Why did His Majesty suddenly decree a marriage for you?"
Han Zitang went straight to the point.
Chen Zhejiang looked up at him and said half-truthfully, "It's just a distraction. He knows I'm still investigating the past, so he just arranged some spies."
"What are your plans?"
"What else can I do?" Shen Zhejiang's expression did not change. He pursed his lips and spoke the following words word by word, "I will live with Miss Wang as an equal and grow old together."
Han Zitang was silent for a while, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed, he took out a stack of paper money from his sleeve and said: "I have not saved much over the years, enough for you to buy a house in Jiangnan, with your talent and knowledge it should not be difficult to make a living, Zhe Jiang, leave the capital."
Shen Zhejiang was stunned for a moment, and refused, "You have helped me a lot, I can't accept your kindness anymore."
"I don't mean well, in fact, I am..."
"Zitang, that's enough," Shen Zhejiang interrupted him in time, "No matter what, our friendship will not be diminished in the slightest because of this."
Friendship, that's all.
A trace of pain flashed across Han Zitang's eyes, and he said bitterly: "I was entrusted by your father to help you. If you need anything, just ask."
Shen Zhejiang hummed, "On the ninth day of the third month, Miss Wang and I will get married. Let's have a drink?"
"......good."
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