Chapter 34 Shen Jingshu
Xu Shuyao sat in the open hall of Jinhua Hall for a while before a maid came to call her in.
Chen was lying on a rosewood bed with a moon-shaped door, looking exhausted.
Seeing her forced a smile on her face, he said, "You're here? Jiyunzhai is far away. Didn't I tell you not to come here?"
Xu Shuyao handed the soup bowl to the maid next to her and said softly, "It's okay. My brother went to the Imperial College today, and the old lady has granted my niece leave."
She pointed to the soup bowl held by the maid and said, "Yesterday, I heard from Madam Wu that Auntie had a sore throat, so I specially made this snow pear, lotus root and pork bone soup. Would you like to try it, Auntie?"
As she spoke, the maid had already placed the soup bowl on the small table beside the bed. Chen Shi didn't move, but instead glanced down at her niece who was sitting upright across from her. Her tone seemed to carry a hint of apology, "Originally, it was my job to help take care of all this, but your uncle got angry with me a few days ago and didn't return to the main courtyard for several days, so Heng'er's affairs were delayed."
After a pause, she continued, "But it's not needed right now. That's fine, since you've asked the old lady and the prince for help, they're definitely more connected than your uncle."
Xu Shuyao didn't want to argue about this. "It's because of the old lady's generosity that I answered truthfully when she asked about my brother. I hope my aunt won't blame me."
Chen's pale face revealed a very forced smile. "Yao'er! Your aunt is having a hard time living in the Duke's Mansion. You should have suspected something about what happened before, right? You are such a smart child, I'm afraid you have already noticed my concerns. I want to keep you by my side."
After finishing this long string, she paused, then spoke again with difficulty, "It's just that no matter what I did, I was doing it for our own good. You understand, right? As for how that letter from Master Qiu ended up in your boudoir, I...I was also tricked."
When Chen said this, her pale face looked sincere, and Xu Shuyao did not feel much resentment in her heart.
On the contrary, she was calm.
No one should be nice to you for no reason. If you meet someone, you should cherish them and know how to repay the kindness.
If you don't meet the right person, you should lower your expectations.
So she smiled and said, "Shu Yao understands everything."
The two of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, but as to how much each believed the other, only they knew.
After Xu Shuyao left, Mother Wu lifted the lid of the soup bowl and said, "Madam, why don't you have some? The soup is still hot, the scum has been skimmed off, and it's cooked through."
Chen leaned against the large pillow on the bed and said weakly, "Drink it! Does the master know that I'm not feeling well?"
Mother Wu felt a little sorry for the bowl of soup in her hand. No matter what the two of them felt in their hearts, her cousin's behavior was still very appealing.
Sniffing the aroma emanating from the cup, she drank from the spoon while saying, "Master knows about this. I heard he even sent Steward Chen to Jiyunzhai to give this young cousin a lot of gifts! Madam, please go and admit your mistake! Why does the master value this young cousin so much? Isn't it because of you, Madam?"
Chen didn't say anything for a long time. After a while, she said, "I understand. You can go down now!"
The people in the capital were also puzzled. Originally, the marriage between the Shen and Xiao families had not made any progress, and many people thought that there was something wrong on the part of the prince.
But after Shen Jingshu was appointed as the concubine of the Second Prince, people began to say that it was the royal family that had taken a fancy to the daughter of the Shen family, and the Duke's Mansion could not compete and simply gave in.
In the Fengyi Palace of the Dayan Palace, Empress Feng was listening to the palace maid's report when suddenly someone came to say that the second prince was asking for an audience outside the palace.
Empress Feng's face showed a bit of fatigue. She waved her hand to let the palace maids leave, and then said, "Come in!"
Although the second prince Zhu Jingrui was born handsome and had the status of the empress's legitimate son, he did not look arrogant, but gave people the demeanor of a gentleman with a bright and elegant demeanor.
But the second prince who walked into Fengyi Palace at this time frowned, and there seemed to be a hint of depression on his face.
"Your son greets your mother!"
"Stand up!"
"I wonder if your Majesty Queen Mother has summoned me here for some urgent matter?"
"You don't know?" Empress Feng suddenly raised her voice, "Who allowed you to ask your father for permission now? Did that girl Shen Jingshu come to see you?"
The hall was silent. The palace servants had retreated outside Fengyi Palace, but the master's raised voice could still be heard inside.
Zhu Jingrui's face turned pale, and after a while he said, "It's just a concubine's position, but it can make Master Shen's family and us tied to the same boat. Why is the Queen Mother so excited?"
"Haha..." Two cold laughs came from above.
"You are so reckless! Everyone in the capital knows about the marriage alliance between the Shen family and the Chengguo Mansion. Why do you have to take action at this time? Are you so impatient? Have you listened to what people are talking about outside? They say that my royal family took advantage of its power to snatch the marriage from that young master Xiao." After Queen Feng finished scolding, she looked angry, as if she was disappointed in her son.
Seeing her son didn't respond, she continued, "Didn't I tell you before? Shen Jingshu was so ambitious. When she saw Prince Xiao guarding the border, she wanted to bet on you. We just had to keep our relationship ambiguous. Now look, the good reputation you've built over the years is ruined, and you haven't even managed to please the Shen family."
"Has my concubine wronged her?"
"She's Grand Tutor Shen's only granddaughter and the daughter of Shen Xinian. How could she be content with being a concubine?" Empress Feng raged at her son, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "How did you ask your father for permission?"
"I only said that I admired the young lady of the Shen family, and I didn't say anything else."
Empress Feng was thoughtful after hearing this.
After Zhu Jingrui left Fengyi Palace, he couldn't help but think of this incident. He suddenly received a letter from Shen Jingshu a few days ago, which contained only some words of sadness from a young woman. He suddenly thought of their previous encounter in the palace, and impulsively went to ask his father for an order.
At that time, the emperor just looked at him and said, "Are you sure?"
Zhu Jingrui nodded.
"The position of Xu's wife?"
At that moment, he thought of what his mother had said and did not answer for a long time.
But in the afternoon, the imperial edict from the palace was delivered to the Shen family.
Chen Jingshu was also confused. When she heard that the imperial decree of marriage had arrived, she was excited at first, but later when she found out that it was the position of concubine, she felt bored.
She knew that because of her impulsive behavior, the Shen family was now tied to the Second Prince's boat.
But a concubine is just a concubine in the eyes of ordinary people.
Since I am a concubine, how can I make my grandfather and uncles stand on my side?
My grandfather repeatedly forbade my second and fifth uncles to interfere in the fight for the throne among the princes.
But because of her outstanding performance at the previous palace banquet, she accidentally got to know the second prince.
That day, Empress Feng summoned her to Fengyi Palace. Not only did she reward her generously, she also held her hand and looked her left and right, saying that she admired girls like her and that it would be great if she had her as a daughter.
Shen Jingshu's face flushed slightly when she heard this, and her mind began to wander. After leaving Fengyi Palace, she met the Second Prince unexpectedly.
The noble and silent prince actually called out her name at that moment and said that he was impressed by her performance.
But after returning home, Shen Jingshu did not receive the imperial decree of marriage from the palace as she wished.
Next, Prince Xiao returned to the capital and took over the position of leader of the imperial guards.
Seeing that there was no hope of marrying into the royal family, she hurriedly instigated Ruan to bring up the marriage between the Shen and Xiao families again.
But Xiao Mo refused to accept the offer and rejected her in person on the day of the second daughter of the Xiao family's wedding banquet.
Shen Jingshu thought about the astonishment and fear that Ruan and her grandfather felt when they received the imperial decree granting the marriage, and for a moment she didn't know whether to feel regret or hatred.
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