Will Shen Mingrong be married off to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion?
Is the old lady determined to make the Shen family and the Lu family live or die together? Shen Mingzhuang couldn't help but sigh for Shen Mingrong. The Lu family is going through a lot of trouble right now. Any family that loves their daughter would not be willing to push her into a fire pit.
Furthermore, Master Lu's incompetence in handling affairs in Huainan has led to the escalating disaster among the Huainan victims, and the Lu family is now in a precarious situation. The reason why Jiang Wang has not yet issued a statement is because this matter has far-reaching implications, and if it is dealt with hastily, it may cause public outrage.
The imperial court is currently busy providing disaster relief to the victims, and Lu Shizhong has died in office. At this point, one could say he devoted himself to the cause until his death, but another way of saying it is that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
The Shen and Lu families are only related by marriage. Is it worth sacrificing the Shen family for the sake of the Rongguo Duke's mansion?
"Grandmother, you can make all the decisions at home. My fifth cousin is in poor health, and now that it's autumn, the weather is dry and the air is irritable. How is she?"
The old lady's eyes flickered slightly, and she chuckled twice. "Everything is fine, Your Highness. Please take good care of yourself."
He felt a chill in his heart. After all, she wasn't his real granddaughter. Now that she had gained power, she no longer recognized him. All she said were polite words, not a single one of them was sincere.
"Your Majesty is now a high-ranking concubine, while I am already halfway to the grave. Every day I live is one day less. I don't know how many more times I will be able to see Your Majesty in the future. I'm afraid only the young ladies and maids of my household will have the opportunity to enter the palace and talk to Your Majesty."
The implication is that if you don't value your sisters and your maternal family, the Shen family, you will be alone in the palace and have no support outside. You should think things through carefully.
Shen Mingzhuang understood perfectly well, but the Shen family was nothing more than a group that used each other. If she were to lose power that day, they would probably be the first to turn around and kick her while she was down.
She knew perfectly well what was going on, but she still needed to think this over carefully. Since she had decided to share both glory and disgrace with Jiang Wang, she couldn't stand aside. She had to seize every opportunity and every possibility to change the course of history and prevent the tragedy from repeating itself.
Her beautiful eyes lowered slightly, revealing a hint of hesitation. "Grandmother, there's no need to rush this matter. I currently hold the highest rank in the palace, and my every move is being watched. They're just waiting to find a fault with me and bring me down. The Lu family is in a complicated situation right now, and the Shen family is my maternal family. This matter is of great importance. Grandmother, please wait for my news. I will discuss it with His Majesty later."
After hearing these words, the old lady finally felt reassured!
She nodded repeatedly, her mood immediately improving. She smiled and said, "That's how it should be, that's how it should be. I'm just getting senile and didn't think things through. I'm so grateful for Your Majesty's reminder."
Shen Mingzhuang smiled, pursing her lips. This topic was sensitive, and since she had already given her answer, she naturally wouldn't dwell on it any longer.
When Old Madam Shen entered the palace today, she heard the news of the Empress Dowager's Buddhist worship. Knowing that she would not be able to see the Empress Dowager, she smiled and asked Shen Mingzhuang to wait until a certain day and convey her greetings to the Empress Dowager.
Shen Mingzhuang nodded to each of them, and when the old lady was about to leave, he reluctantly said a few words to persuade her to stay.
"I'm getting old. Today's trip to the palace has already taken a toll on my body. I'm afraid I'll have to stay in bed for a while after I get back." Old Madam Shen held Tian Mama's hand, looked at Shen Mingzhuang again, and smiled, "You look very good. You're dressed up so beautifully. His Majesty will like you. But young couples should still be careful and not harm their health."
Shen Mingzhuang blushed, lowered her head shyly and said she wouldn't, but in her mind she thought of Jiang Wang's unrestrained nature. She was willing to have less marital relations, but Jiang Wang was in his prime and full of vigor, how could he possibly restrain himself?
After seeing off Madam Shen, Shen Mingzhuang rubbed his sore back with a groan, strolled back to his bedroom, and instructed Tan'er, "Grind the ink for me."
Tan'er obediently agreed, and then she saw Shen Mingzhuang scribbling some messy things on the snow-white Xuan paper. She was taken aback. The Consort Ming's handwriting... was really not flattering.
After writing on a densely packed sheet of paper, Shen Mingzhuang took out another sheet and drew a frame on it. Tan'er couldn't read, but she found the words on it very strange. She had never seen them before and didn't know if they had any special meaning.
After finishing all that, Shen Mingzhuang stood up, yawning and stretching, and said to Tan'er, "Come with me to the Yeting Palace."
Although Manhuan and Wenxin weren't exactly proper palace maids, since they had entered the palace, they had to learn the palace rules. They had been there for almost a month, and Shen Mingzhuang really missed Manhuan.
She wasn't worried about her suffering in the inner palace. This girl was clever and resourceful, and her best skill was playing to her strengths and avoiding her weaknesses. Plus, she had given her some money, so she probably hadn't suffered much in the past month. In comparison, she was more worried about Wenxin.
Wenxin is a dull girl. Everyone who works in the palace has some skills. They are used to doing the kind of work that involves flattering the powerful and bullying the weak. People like Wenxin are the easiest to be bullied in the palace.
This was the time for the governesses to teach etiquette. As soon as I entered the palace, I heard faint sobs mixed with the reprimands of the governesses. Thinking of these women who had left home to come to the palace, only to face one challenge after another, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Who are you? Not just anyone can come to the Imperial Palace!"
An older palace maid standing guard at the door spoke up and stopped the group of people who were coming.
She found the person in front of her very unfamiliar and had never seen her before. In addition, Shen Mingzhuang was wearing an inconspicuous pale yellow gauze palace dress today, with only two pale yellow velvet flowers in her hair, making her look rather plain. The maid's first reaction was that this person was one of the unfavored concubines in the palace.
Countless women have entered the palace, but not everyone is treated with courtesy. Those who are merely nominally talented or noble ladies, rarely seeing the emperor throughout the year, sometimes have a lower status than a palace maid who has earned some seniority in the palace.
"How dare you!"
Seeing that even the lowest-ranking gatekeeper in the Yeting Palace dared to reprimand her mistress so loudly, Tan'er immediately stepped forward. Just as she was about to speak to her, a nanny in her early thirties stepped forward and slapped Tan'er across the face, saying disdainfully, "I know you young mistresses who guard the four palace walls and only see His Majesty a few times a year are always up to no good. The Yeting Palace is not some chaotic place. Even newly arrived ladies from noble families have to be careful and polite. Who do you think you are!"
No wonder they dared to act so recklessly. When Shen Mingzhuang saw Tan'er being beaten, his face darkened.
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