Chapter 137 My Mother's Past
It was a powerful statement, combining reason and emotion.
The old minister was refuted until his face turned red, but he remained defiant:
"Eloquent words and a flattering demeanor! Even if... even if Lord Song is wrong, how can you, a woman who has broken with her family and whose status is so awkward, bear such an important title as the Marquis of Yongjia?"
"Your status is too lowly; I fear it will be difficult to gain the respect of the people! Have you not heard that the princess of the previous dynasty was stripped of her title and died in despair because her family was implicated in a crime, even though she herself was innocent, due to her status? This is a lesson from the past!"
He deliberately brought up precedents from the previous dynasty in an attempt to deny his own legitimacy.
Just as the stalemate continued, Xiao Yongjing, who had been silent all along, slowly walked into the hall.
He first bowed to the emperor, then turned around and calmly looked at the old minister.
"Lord Li's words are rather pedantic."
"You keep saying that General Shen's status is too low to command respect. But what if..."
"What if she were not an ordinary general, but the future queen whom I deeply admire and wish to be betrothed as the crown prince's consort?"
"What?"
"Princess!"
The entire room was shocked, and an uproar suddenly broke out.
Even the emperor raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at his son who never played by the rules.
Ignoring the commotion around him, Xiao Yongjing faced the emperor, knelt down solemnly, and spoke earnestly:
"Your Majesty, you are wise! I met General Shen when we were both lowly, and I witnessed firsthand how she fought bloody battles on the frontier and how she repeatedly made great contributions with her wisdom and courage!"
"Her fortitude surpasses that of many men I have ever seen; her loyalty and courage are evident to heaven and earth! I admire her character and respect her talent, and have long vowed to marry no one but her."
"Her status is by no means low; she is the most dazzling female general of our Great Zhou, a Crown Princess who is worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with me and be a model for the world!"
He looked at Song Yiqiu again, his gaze intense:
“My Crown Princess, the future mother of the nation, inherits the title of Marquis of Yongjia. How can her status be considered low? And why should I worry about not being able to win over the people?”
The emperor looked at the crown prince kneeling before him, and then at Song Yiqiu, who remained calm in the center of the room.
He pondered for a moment. He had long been aware of the Crown Prince's intentions, and he also greatly admired Song Yiqiu's talent.
The scandal involving the Song family today needs a sufficiently significant resolution to appease them.
The emperor laughed loudly:
"Excellent! Excellent! You are worthy of being called my equal! Jing'er has a discerning eye, and Minister Shen truly deserves this title! Today, I have double joy!"
He stood up:
"By imperial decree, the heir to the Yongjia Marquisate, Shen Yiqiu, is permitted to inherit the title, which shall never be changed! Furthermore, Crown Prince Xiao Yongjing is betrothed to Marquis Shen Yiqiu of Yongjia, and the wedding shall be held on an auspicious day! This is my decree—"
With the imperial edict issued, the fate of the world was sealed.
Song Qingming collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
Song Sangyu and her four brothers stood there, stunned.
The guests in the hall had various expressions, but no one dared to raise any further objections.
Dressed in white, Shen Yiqiu stood in the center of the main hall. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice and fell upon her, as if gilding her with a golden hue.
She slowly knelt down:
"Your humble daughter, Shen Yiqiu, thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"
...
When Song Shenshi awoke from her drowsy state, she saw Song Yiqiu sitting by the bedside, and Qingzhu and Baimei standing beside her.
"Song...Song Yiqiu?"
Madam Song spoke in surprise, seemingly not expecting Song Yiqiu to come and take care of her.
Seeing her surprise, Bai Mei calmly explained:
"Madam, you are awake. You should no longer call Miss Song Yiqiu. His Majesty has granted Miss permission to inherit the title and revert to the surname Shen. She is now the rightful Marquis of Yongjia, Shen Yiqiu."
Upon hearing this, Madam Song stared blankly at her daughter, who was now completely unfamiliar to her, and realized with shock that she had missed everything. Her eyes instantly reddened.
She struggled to sit up, her voice hoarse and choked with sobs as she spoke:
"Qiu'er... no, Yiqiu... Mother... Mother is sorry for you. All these years, I was confused, I was biased, I was all misled by your father... misled by that hypocrite Song Qingming!"
“I really thought Sang Yu was a helpless orphan. I only believed her because she was well-behaved and sensible… Now that I think about it, there are loopholes everywhere.”
"Her preferences and temperament are all in accordance with my wishes, no wonder she is so pleasing to my heart... My poor Qiu'er, suffering on the frontier, and having to suffer such injustice at home... Mother was wrong, terribly wrong!"
She reached out her hand, trembling, and pleaded:
"Yiqiu, can you... forgive your mother?"
Shen Yiqiu remained calm, gently holding her mother's hand, her demeanor detached and distant.
"Mother, you're being too harsh. There's no question of forgiveness between us. It's just that things have come to this, so let bygones be bygones."
"My daughter's only wish now is to restore the Shen family's honor and... find out the true cause of her maternal grandmother Shen Zhaohua's death."
She looked thoughtfully at Madam Song:
"I always felt that Father, Song Sangyu, was inextricably linked to Grandmother's death. I would like to ask Mother to tell me what exactly happened back then that caused you to break with Grandmother to this extent?"
Song Shenshi's tears instantly burst forth; how could she not hear the resolute tone in her daughter's words?
Seven years ago, she knelt down to be loved and pampered. Seven years later, the word "mother" is still there, but the intimacy in her words has long been worn away by the wind and sand of the frontier.
She looked up, overwhelmed with grief:
“Wrong…wrong still…in the end, she was right…”
Shen Yiqiu keenly sensed the hidden meaning in her words and frowned:
"Her? Who?"
Song Shen cried out in anguish:
"Your maternal grandmother... Shen Zhaohua! I never imagined she was right, and I was wrong... terribly wrong!"
Shen Yiqiu was taken aback, but still spoke:
"Mother, what exactly happened back then? Please, tell me."
Under Shen Yiqiu's persistent questioning, Madam Song sighed deeply and began to recount her story:
"Back then... your maternal grandmother arranged my marriage with General Fu Xuelin. But I... I hate her!"
"I deliberately chose Song Qingming, a seemingly honest and poor scholar, just to spite her and to rebel against her control. I thought I had found a good man, but I never expected... he was having an affair with Zhao Xuan before the marriage!"
She angrily tore off the stray hairs from her head, her whole being on the verge of madness.
"Why do I hate her? Because from birth, I have never been favored by her. Your uncles and aunts are all highly skilled in martial arts; they are the pride of the battlefield!"
"Only I, by chance, inherited your maternal grandfather Zhao Wusi's love for poetry and calligraphy!"
"That year, there was turmoil on the frontier. She took her older siblings to fight, leaving me at home to take care of her younger siblings. On the day she returned in triumph, I was overjoyed and went to the countryside to pick her favorite wildflowers..."
"But when I returned home with the flowers, what I saw... was her holding a blood-dripping sword, and your grandfather, and my two young siblings... were all lying in pools of blood, lifeless..."
"The flowers in my hand are stained with the blood of my family... I still don't understand why she killed your grandfather and siblings! Was it because they weren't as martial as the Shen family? Was it because of me, her unfilial daughter?"
"Later, all my other brothers and sisters died on the battlefield, except for me. The Emperor allowed her to designate an heir, but she declared that the heir could be a grandchild or a great-grandchild, but not me, Shen Ruyi!"
"How could I not hate her? I'm her daughter too! Just because I can't fight, does that mean I'm not worthy?"
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