Chapter 045
This farce was stopped by the teacup that King Rui smashed into pieces. King Rui looked at his three daughters, his face flushed red, not knowing whether he was angry or ashamed. Chu Xiuming had just praised the upbringing of his daughters, but now...
Prince Rui said angrily, "How disgraceful, you..." He was so angry that he could not speak.
Princess Rui's expression remained unchanged. She just turned around and looked at the three Shen Zi sisters and said, "Someone, send the three girls back to sober up."
Shen Zi looked at King Rui in disbelief, but his eyes fell on the man in brocade standing next to King Rui and could not move away. Who is this? Why is there an outsider here? Could it be a prince in the palace? His face turned red and he took out a handkerchief to cover his face. He had just done this in front of outsiders, which was really embarrassing.
Shen Rong didn't dare to scream. Looking at Shen Zi's appearance, she also looked into the room curiously. She easily saw the man in brocade clothes because her two sisters' eyes were focused there.
Shen Jing's face turned even redder, and she regretted standing with Shen Zi and Shen Rong. She didn't know if their embarrassing appearance just now had any impact on her. She lowered her head slightly and glanced at them secretly a few times, her eyes red with shame and guilt.
As soon as Princess Rui finished speaking, Cui Xi brought a few maids to invite Shen Zi and the other three to leave.
Shen Jing couldn't help but turned her head to look over before leaving. She saw the man in brocade clothes talking to King Rui. King Rui looked better. He bit his lip and left the yard. Shen Jing asked, "Cui Xi, who is that person standing next to my father?"
Before Cui Xi could say anything, Shen Rong said, "Yeah, why didn't you tell us in advance that there were outsiders coming?" There was a hint of blame and resentment in her words.
Shen Zi even asked directly, "Which cousin is it?"
Cui Xi said respectfully, "No outsiders are coming to the mansion today."
Princess Rui brought Shen Qi and Shen Jin into the house, and explained apologetically, "I haven't seen Jin for a long time. I was so happy that I asked the maid to serve a pot of peach wine. The second, fourth, and fifth girls drank a few more cups. I just made a fool of myself. It's all my fault for not thinking it through."
Drinking? No one at the scene believed it, but it wasn't his wife who was embarrassed, so Yongle Hou Shizi smiled and said, "Mother-in-law is being too formal, we are all family."
Chu Xiuming also smiled and said, "No problem."
Shen Zi's husband Zheng Jiaqu's expression changed again and again, but he didn't say anything in the end, but his expression was extremely ugly.
Although Shen Xuan and Shen Xi were not close to Concubine Xu's children, they were still members of Prince Rui's Mansion. Shen Zi and the other two were completely embarrassed. Shen Xi's neck even turned red. He looked cautiously at Chu Xiuming, who had a calm expression.
Princess Rui acted as if nothing had happened and said, "Please sit down and let the maid serve the dishes. I specially asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes today. I just don't know what Earl Yongning likes. I will ask the kitchen to prepare it next time."
Chu Xiuming smiled gently and said, "I'm not picky, mother-in-law can just call me Xiuming."
"Yes." Princess Rui glanced at Prince Rui.
Prince Rui finally reacted and said, trying to save face, "Please sit down," as if nothing had happened.
Because there were three people missing, the maids removed the bowls and plates and other things. After everyone sat down, the wine and food were brought up one by one. It was extremely rich. Just like Princess Rui said, everything everyone liked to eat was prepared.
In the Begonia Courtyard, Concubine Xu looked at her three distraught daughters and sent Cui Xi away before asking, "What happened? Didn't you say you were going to have dinner with the princess? Why did you come back first?"
Shen Rong was the youngest, and she recovered first. She just looked at Concubine Xu and asked, "Mother, didn't you say that Earl Yongning was ugly?"
Concubine Xu frowned and saw that Shen Zi and Shen Jing were still distracted. She patted them unhappily and said, "Could it be that I was wrong? Killing people like crazy is so ugly..."
Shen Zi was not really unconscious, she was just too shocked and angry, so she started crying, "Mother, you lied to me!"
"Oh, what happened?" Concubine Xu was confused and said, "Don't cry, were you bullied by someone?"
Shen Zi cried even harder when she saw her mother's expression. She was supposed to marry the Earl of Yongning, so the position of the Earl's wife should be hers. She should be the one being praised by others outside, and her husband should be hers. "It's all your fault... He should be mine..."
Shen Jing also cried non-stop, but unlike Shen Zi, she shed tears silently. Thinking of Earl Yongning's appearance, she felt her heart beating wildly, but when she thought that he had married her third sister, she was heartbroken. Why did all the good things fall on her third sister?
Although Shen Rong did not cry, she felt embarrassed and she still found it unbelievable. Her mother and two sisters had always told her that Shen Jin's husband was ugly and cruel, and that the border town was poor and barren, but... her eyes flickered slightly.
When Concubine Xu finally understood the truth of the matter, she felt a headache from crying and said, "Stop making a fuss for now. I'm afraid it's your father... Forget it, Jing and Rong, when your father comes, remember to cry more sadly. You don't have to change your words. Just say that you feel scared when you see Earl Yongning, okay?"
"Got it." Shen Rong agreed obediently.
Shen Jing lowered her head, feeling extremely unwilling.
After crying, Shen Zi gritted her teeth and said, "Even if he looks good, he must be a gilded figure. He has killed countless people." She didn't know whether to convince herself or others, "Besides, the way he looks now is just an act. What kind of person can be raised in a place like Border Town? He can't even hire a teacher, and maybe he can't even read a single word."
Apart from her son, Concubine Xu liked this daughter who looked like her the most. Upon hearing this, she said, "Yes, some time ago when the barbarians attacked the city, Shen Jin had to live with a bunch of civilians, which was really embarrassing for the princess of the palace. Think about the letters she wrote back, all asking for food."
Shen Zi snorted and went to the side to clean his face. "Who knows if those people are clean or not? They are with a bunch of barbarians from the border town. They have no rules at all. How dare they walk around in the capital?"
Shen Jin, who was told that she had no face to walk around the capital, was drinking the pigeon soup that Shen Qi had personally served her. Zheng Jiaqu had not recovered from his wife's shame and was drinking without saying anything. The prince of Yongle asked Chu Xiuming a lot about the border town. After drinking a few glasses of wine, he sighed, "I wish I could kill those barbarians with my own hands."
Chu Xiuming smiled but did not answer. King Rui also sighed, "It's really too dangerous."
Shen Xi looked at Chu Xiuming with admiration and asked, "Third brother-in-law, I want to go with you to fight those barbarians, too."
King Rui was so frightened that his hands trembled and the wine in the cup almost spilled out. He looked at Shen Xi. Shen Xuan seemed not to notice King Rui's loss of composure and just smiled and said, "With the presence of my brother-in-law, we can enjoy peace in the capital."
Chu Xiuming shook his head and said nothing, but glanced at Shen Jin's hand that was trying to secretly pour wine. Shen Jin sensed the danger, forced himself to remain calm and retracted his hand as if nothing had happened, then he took the wine jug and filled the glasses of Princess Rui and Shen Qi, and then put the jug aside.
Seeing Shen Jin's expression, Chu Xiuming looked away and answered King Rui's question.
Shen Jin took a sneak peek and felt that Chu Xiuming was too cruel. She saw Chu Xiuming didn't notice this side before pouring the wine. Princess Rui naturally saw it all. She lowered her eyes slightly and glanced at Shen Qi again, sighing in her heart that everyone has their own destiny.
After the meal, Shen Qi sat aside and whispered to Shen Jin, "Do you think Shen Zi will regret it when he goes back?"
"Why?" Shen Jin looked puzzled, then glanced at Zheng Jiaqu who had obviously drunk too much and was drinking the hangover soup, nodded and said, "I'm afraid so. I don't know if my second brother-in-law will blame me when he goes back."
Who told you this? Shen Qi glanced at Shen Jin and found that she was actually very serious. It was like chatting about gossip with someone but finding that the topic was not the same...
"Who told you this?" Shen Qi sneered and said, "Shen Zi's temper is not one that will suffer any loss. If a quarrel really breaks out, I'm afraid that even the eldest son of the Zheng family will not be Shen Zi's opponent."
"Ah?" Shen Jin turned his head and looked at Shen Qi.
Shen Qi wanted to say that Shen Zi cried and made a scene and refused to marry Earl Yongning, and Concubine Xu finally pushed Shen Jin out. After seeing Earl Yongning's appearance today, they were afraid that they would really regret it. However, looking at Shen Jin's appearance, they didn't want to mention it anymore, so they said, "It's nothing."
Shen Jin nodded, lowered his eyes slightly and smiled innocently, then looked at Zheng Jiaqu and said, "Second brother-in-law, I heard from my second sister that you have excellent literary talent, especially the book "Flower Song", which the prince even had someone buy it back for collection."
As soon as these words came out, not only Shen Qi, but also the Yongle Marquis's son and the two legitimate sons of the Shen family had strange expressions. After looking at Shen Jin, their eyes fell on Zheng Jiaqu. Zheng Jiaqu's hands holding the cup were almost bulging with veins, but seeing Shen Jin's innocent and simple expression, all his attention fell on Shen Zi. What an ignorant woman, she actually showed off such a thing, isn't she ashamed?
Shen Jin still looked unaware, and was a little slow to notice the strange atmosphere in the room. He just smiled and said, "I wonder if my second brother-in-law can give me a few books?"
Princess Rui's arm gently touched Prince Rui, who coughed faintly and saw Shen Jin looking over. He then explained to Shen Jin, "Don't mention "Flower Song" in the future. The palace has ordered a reprimand for your second brother-in-law."
"Ah?" Shen Jin looked confused, "Why? Isn't it said to be widely sung?"
"It's not a good place, of course no one will care about it." King Rui said casually.
Shen Jin was even more confused. He looked at King Rui and then at Zheng Jiaqu. After a long while, he said, "Oh..."
Zheng Jiaqu was about to stand up and say goodbye, suppressing his frustration, when he heard Shen Jin speak again, "Second brother-in-law, it's such a pity. I heard that the words were extremely ornate..." She didn't say who she heard it from, but combined with the previous words, it was easy for people to associate it with Shen Zi. After she finished speaking, she sighed, "But why was he scolded?"
Chu Xiuming also looked at Prince Rui, but the Prince of Yongle lowered his voice and said, "Third brother-in-law, it's better not to ask too much. The flowers that Second brother-in-law sang about were not real flowers, so the place where they were sung naturally couldn't be serious."
Shen Qi also said, "Third sister just returned to Beijing, so naturally she doesn't know about this. Second brother-in-law, please don't be surprised."
Zheng Jiaqu looked at Shen Jin's expression and felt that he couldn't really blame her, so he gritted his teeth and nodded.
Shen Jin felt something was wrong this time, his face turned pale, he looked at King Rui with some fear, then at Chu Xiuming, and finally at Zheng Jiaqu, he stood up and bowed, his eyes full of apology, he said, "Second brother-in-law, I really didn't know, please forgive me if I have offended you."
"It has nothing to do with you." Zheng Jiaqu looked at Shen Jin's expression, which was like a frightened deer, and his heart softened, and even his eyes softened a lot. "I think it's just that Third Sister likes poetry. I have a collection of many good ones. I will give them to Third Sister for appreciation when the time comes."
Chu Xiuming narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble my second brother-in-law."
Shen Jin stopped talking and huddled obediently beside Shen Qi, like a newly hatched quail.
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