Chapter 147 The Truth Seventeen Years Ago
When Chen Heng took Shen Zhiyang out, he happened to run into Shen Zhang walking with Ruan Jingtang.
Chen Heng was stunned at first, then subconsciously looked at Ruan Jingtang. He saw traces of tears on her face and she looked frightened. Her hair looked like someone had recombed it.
"The people from the Ruan family are still in the palace. You should send them back first." Chen Heng saw that Shen Zhang was uncomfortable, but did not ask the reason.
Chen Zhang responded awkwardly, and Ruan Jingtang clung to his arm tightly like a frightened bird and refused to let go.
Shen Zhang immediately bent down and whispered soothingly.
Chen Heng withdrew his gaze with a complicated expression and pressed on Shen Zhiyang's shoulder, "Let's go, let's go back first."
-
The rebellion caused by Xiao Chengming was quickly put down. Some people from the royal family also wanted to take advantage of the situation, but they were suppressed by Jiang Heng and Zhao Yun before they could show their strength.
Soon, news spread in Luojing that Princess Linzhao's son Jiang Hengde had inherited the throne and would ascend the throne that very day.
When the news came out, Shen Shuwei was counting the accounts in the study. She and Princess Rongyang had allocated some money for disaster relief and had been very busy these days.
"Third sister, there's an imperial decree from the palace, inviting you to the palace to watch the ceremony on the day of Jiang Heng's enthronement. Will you go?" Shen Zhang pushed the door open in a hurry, and his voice came before he even arrived.
Shen Heng followed behind, feeling helpless.
On the day they left the palace, they learned the truth about her life from Shen Shuwei.
Seventeen years ago, a mutiny broke out in Luojing. Princess Linzhao had just given birth to twins less than half a month ago when she learned of the death of Marquis Huaiyuan. She had no choice but to return to the Northern Frontier in a hurry. However, her carriage was separated along the way, and her close confidants only had time to save one of the children.
Shen Shuwei was taken away by Shen Yuan. He recognized her identity from the baby's swaddling clothes. When he was driving back from the outskirts of Beijing, it happened to be snowing heavily. He met a woman who was kneeling and begging him to take her baby, who was only a few days old, with her newborn baby.
Shen Yuan saw the child crying pitifully, and thought that Shen Shuwei needed someone to take care of her along the way. He was inevitably clumsy, and the woman should be more experienced than him, so he agreed to let her take his daughter on the ride.
Unexpectedly, after seeing the other child in the carriage wrapped in gold and jade, the woman became tempted and exchanged her child with hers.
It is difficult to distinguish the appearance of a newborn baby. She even said that Shen Yuan had only seen her a few times since he met her and did not discover her until he brought her home.
The woman had fled from another place and had originally wanted to send her child to the Ciyutang in Beijing. In the carriage, she thought her biological daughter had found a good place, so she left Chen Shuwei at the door of the Ciyutang and left in a hurry.
As for why Chen Shuwei went to the Jingning Marquis Mansion later, it was because the midwife who was responsible for delivering Ji Jinglan at the time made a mistake and suffocated the fetus in the womb, and it died as soon as it came out.
Out of fear, and because her good friend happened to be the manager of Ciyutang, she used a trick to replace the prince and stuffed Shen Shuwei into the Jingning Marquis's mansion.
The reason Chu Xinrou was able to go and recognize her relatives was because of the secret medicine in Chen Wan's hand, which burned a birthmark on her back.
These things were discovered afterward by Jiang Heng's men when they interrogated the people in Jingning Marquis' Mansion and dug out all the trouble.
Not to mention how Ji Jinglan cursed Chu Xinrou when she learned that her own daughter had died at the moment of birth. After Jiang Heng found out what happened that year, he found a reason to seize the title of Marquis of Jingning and exiled the whole family to the southwest.
"Someone from the Dali Temple came this morning to tell me that Chu Yunlan went crazy in prison, shouting that he was the prime minister and that the third prince was the emperor. His cellmates beat him up because he was noisy and ended up making him stupid. Now he can't even speak coherently." Chen Heng sat down in front of Shen Shuwei, pulled over a plate of lotus seeds, and started peeling them.
Chen Shuwei raised his eyebrows slightly. What Chu Yunlan talked about were all things from his previous life.
But even if he was stupid now, she didn't plan to keep him.
"Third sister, you haven't told me for sure whether you will go to Jiang Heng's coronation ceremony or not." Now that he knows that Shen Shuwei is not from the Shen family, Shen Zhang still can't change his tone and keeps calling her third sister.
"Since the day before yesterday, people from the palace have been coming here non-stop to inquire about this matter. They even found me while I was on duty in the army." Chen Zhang muttered, "They are all like dog noses."
Chen Shuwei took a lotus seed that Chen Heng had peeled and put it into his mouth, and said vaguely: "I went there."
The coronation ceremony was to be held in ten days. The people in the Ministry of Rites had originally said that they would hold it in a grand manner, but Jiang Heng could not stand the red tape and scolded three old ministers away. He even nearly hit one to death by colliding with a pillar. The people in the Ministry of Rites became obedient and did whatever Jiang Heng said.
They finally understood that someone who could speak so arrogantly in front of the Golden Palace, saying that anyone who was dissatisfied with her succession could rebel against her at any time like the deposed Crown Prince Xiao Chengming, and that they would be finished if she didn't deal with them, could not be someone who was easy to control.
Poor Chen Heng, who was promoted to the Ministry of Personnel, had to go to the front of the palace every now and then to appease those old ministers who were ready to bang their heads against the pillars or kneel down to fast and starve to death. During the ten days of the ceremony, Chen Heng lost a lot of weight.
The day before the ceremony, the dress that the weaving department had hurriedly made was delivered to the Shen residence.
But Shen Shuwei was unable to wear this dress to watch her sister's coronation ceremony because something happened in the northern border.
Princess Lin Zhao and Jiang Heng entered the capital one after another, taking away a part of the troops. The Rong people who were eyeing the northern border covetously smelled something and took advantage of this opportunity to launch a large-scale invasion.
Jiang Heng is now in charge of Luojing, and Princess Linzhao is living in a Taoist temple outside the capital. The two of them have no plans to return to the Northern Frontier, so the task of the Northern Frontier should fall on Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun didn't even have time to wait for the Ministry of Rites to confer the title of king, and set off for the northern border overnight.
The deep sound of bells came from the imperial palace. Chen Shuwei withdrew his gaze and stroked the dignified and elegant dress on his body. What a pity.
"Before I left, Jiang Heng withheld an imperial edict from me. When I come back, Ayuan, can you come with me to get it?" Zhao Yun looked at Chen Shuwei tenderly, and his fingertips curled up a strand of her hair.
Chen Shuwei lowered his eyes, "What is the will?"
Zhao Yun did not answer, but continued to ask, "Ayuan, just say whether you are willing or not."
He stood there quietly, and even though Chengfeng and Xunxiao urged him several times, he did not move, just waiting for a reply from Chen Shuwei.
Zhao Yun felt like he had been waiting for a long time, so long that he couldn't even count how quickly time had passed. Only then did he see the person in front of him slowly raise his head, a pair of clear almond-shaped eyes looking back at him, "Okay."
Zhao Yun raised the corner of his mouth in a happy arc, took a last look at Chen Shuwei, and jumped on the horse.
Shen Shuwei's heart moved casually, and he subconsciously took a few steps to chase after him.
"Girl." Qingdai held her hand.
Shen Shuwei closed his eyes and let out a long breath, "I'm fine, go back."
A few days after Zhao Yun went to the northern border, news of victory was delivered to Luojing, but a letter from home reached Shen Shuwei earlier than the news of victory.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
