Inside Zhaoyang Palace, Liu'er told Li Langhuan about how Empress Li was about to summon Princess Heyang to the palace for a reprimand, as if it were an amusing story.
She had expected Li Langhuan to be furious at Empress Li's incompetence and then feel happier, but instead she saw Li Langhuan frowning: "Princess Heyang? The Duke of Zhenguo's sister?"
Liu'er paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Li Langhuan chuckled softly: "So it was her... Heyang has been wronged. I can't just sit idly by. I should help her tomorrow."
...
Inside the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Shang Shaoyan received an imperial edict from the Empress.
The official who came to deliver the imperial decree was a woman with a stern expression. Her gaze towards Shang Shaoyan was particularly unfriendly. If it were any other noble lady, she would have been unable to bear it long ago. However, Shang Shaoyan did not react at all. She even gave the woman a slight smile as she left.
Female officer: "..."
After seeing off the palace people, Shang Shaoyan lazily followed Shang Yunlan to the study, unable to help but laugh: "I really love that little idiot Empress Li!"
Shang Yunlan: "".
His lips twitched, and he replied perfunctorily, "Oh, right, right."
Shang Shaoyan didn't care about Shang Yunlan's attitude; she was excited: "Bringing Granny Li with you to the palace tomorrow will be enough... Oh, by the way, I heard the palace pastries are very good. Would you like me to bring you some?"
Shang Yunlan rolled her eyes: "Do you think this is a picnic? You're even giving us souvenirs?"
Shang Shaoyan was dissatisfied: "You don't understand, I'm very nervous. My excitement right now is just a protective shield."
Shang Yunlan: "Mmm-hmm."
Shang Shaoyan said with great interest, "Brother, do you think I should try to go to the Golden Palace to take a look? In case the dragon throne is not suitable, I can find some skilled craftsmen to prepare and help me modify it later."
Shang Yunlan could no longer contain herself: "Didn't you think about what would happen if the rebellion failed?"
Shang Shaoyan curled his lip: "If our combination fails to rebel, I can only say we're idiots."
Shang Yunlan: "..."
really.
The timing was perfect. Not only were they living in a chaotic world, but the Southern Chen dynasty they were in was also on the verge of collapse. Who knew that in a few years, it wouldn't just be the two of them rebelling? The Shang family had left 100,000 troops in the northwest, and the tiger tally hadn't been handed over to the emperor. It was currently in Shang Shaoyan's dressing table. Not to mention, they also had a golden touch. One was a scholar and the other a warrior, making them even more powerful.
Thinking about it this way, Shang Yunlan really felt that, given their intelligence, a failed rebellion would be like playing a winning hand terribly, and they might as well die sooner.
Shang Shaoyan asked, "By the way, how's your investigation of that letter going? Is there anything wrong with that doctor?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Yunlan said seriously, "I have investigated. That doctor is from a county in Suzhou. He came to Shengjing to practice medicine three years ago. His identity and background are very clean."
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow: "But you must have noticed something was wrong."
Shang Yunlan nodded: "Isn't it a coincidence? The Consort Shu in the palace is the daughter of a merchant in that county. Three years ago, for some reason, she caught the eye of the royal family and became the concubine of the Third Prince. After the Third Prince ascended the throne, she was made Consort Shu."
Shang Shaoyan became interested: "Consort Shu? The one who recently miscarried?"
Shang Yunlan's smile deepened: "Exactly. And I've also discovered something else—that doctor practices on East Street, but he often goes to a certain pharmacy in the west of the city to get his medicine. East Street has no shortage of pharmacies with excellent reputations and high cost-performance ratios. Why do you think he would go to such lengths to get his medicine?"
A hint of a smile flashed in Shang Shaoyan's eyes: "Don't tell me that the owner of that pharmacy is Consort Shu, will you?"
Shang Yunlan took out two or three sheets of paper from a hidden compartment in her desk and handed them to Shang Shaoyan: "This matter is not simple, and there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Take a look at what I've found out so far."
Shang Shaoyan picked it up and started looking at it, becoming more and more dumbfounded.
"This...this...Consort Shu actually had a crush on you." Shang Shaoyan clicked his tongue in amazement. "I never expected that the pregnancy was fake, the miscarriage was fake, it was all thanks to this doctor..."
There wasn't much on the paper, but every line of text was so good it made you want to exclaim, "Wow!"
Consort Shu's original name was Su Qianqian. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Suzhou. She was beautiful from a young age, but her temperament was really bad. She was unruly and domineering, so no one proposed marriage to her until she was sixteen years old.
However, there was a sycophant who really liked Su Qianqian, namely that doctor. Unfortunately, Su Qianqian didn't like him and preferred Shang Yunlan, whom she had only met once.
However, her family background was far inferior, and Su Qianqian knew she could not marry into it and could only become a concubine.
So Su Qianqian came to Shengjing, sneaked into a banquet of the powerful and wealthy, and used a sycophantic doctor to get some aphrodisiacs, which she then put into Shang Yunlan's wine.
As luck would have it, at that time Southern Chen was peaceful and prosperous, and the Third Prince, being very approachable, appeared at the banquet.
What happened next can only be described as outrageous.
The sycophantic doctor saw Shang Yunlan and Shang Shaoyan behaving intimately, unaware that they were siblings. He assumed Shang Yunlan was a flirtatious and passionate person and secretly felt that Shang Yunlan was not a good match for him.
Then she turned her head and saw that the Third Prince was handsome and had no women with him, so she thought that he might be a better husband candidate.
By the time Shang Shaoyan saw this part, he was already numb.
So, by a twist of fate, Su Qianqian ended up sleeping with the Third Prince. The Third Prince initially thought she was a vain woman who wanted to climb the social ladder, but he didn't expect that Su Qianqian was so upset that she was truly suffering.
Third Prince: Very good, woman, you have successfully caught my attention.
So she fled, he chased, and neither of them could escape.
But Su Qianqian was still intelligent, so she naturally wouldn't say, "The person I originally wanted to sleep with was Shang Yunlan." In the end, she accepted her fate and thought that the Third Prince was not bad either.
But who would have thought that as soon as she gave in, the Third Prince felt that "what you can't have is always more alluring," and what you have is just so-so.
Thus, Su Qianqian successfully turned to the dark side, and Shang Yunlan became her white moonlight and cinnabar mole.
The Third Prince somehow found out that Su Qianqian had feelings for Shang Jialangjun, and he was furious, but he dared not take action because of Shang Jialang's power and the late emperor's suppression.
After ascending the throne, he thought about it for a long time with his small brain and concluded that Su Qianqian must have fallen in love with the Duke of Zhenguo.
Yes, Shang Yunlan's father.
Then they plotted to kill the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife, regardless of what the Southern Chen would face after losing two fierce generals.
He felt relieved and comfortable after venting his anger.
What happened next was simple—Su Qianqian turned evil and began to vie for the emperor's favor, using pregnancy and miscarriage as pretexts, all to bring down Consort Zhao and Empress Li.
Shang Shaoyan secretly thought that she might even want to kill the emperor, become the empress dowager, and forcibly take Shang Yunlan away.
She read through the papers, and then silently burned them.
"Ha, love-struck fools." Shang Shaoyan sneered, her eyes surging with malice. "One day, I'll kill these idiots."
Shang Yunlan sighed, "A wise person doesn't fall in love."
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