RWNEFE -Chapter 324 Confining Shen Lanxi!

“Alright, alright. You are all still young; it’s normal to say the wrong thing even when your intentions are good. Let today’s incident be a lesson. Our Shen family must remain united if we want to keep the family safe,” Old Madam Shen said. She had not slept well for several nights, and during the day she looked fatigued, her energy clearly waning.

Shen Lanxi noticed this and said, “Grandmother, you should go back and rest early.”

After she left, Shen Yuantang pulled Old Madam Shen aside to complain. “Grandmother, look at her…”

Old Madam Shen glanced at Shen Yuantang and silently sighed.

After a night passed, everyone thought the Shen family would finally have some peace. Unexpectedly, an urgent military dispatch—an eight-hundred-li express from the northwest—arrived in the capital.

“Your Majesty, Shen Lanxi burned Mosang Town and slaughtered innocent people to claim merit. Her crimes are monstrous and unforgivable!”

“Your Majesty, we request severe punishment for Shen Lanxi and the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army. We beg Your Majesty to grant this!”

“Your Majesty, in the northwest Shen Lanxi is known by names such as ‘Blood Butcher’ and ‘Female Executioner.’ The people there tremble at the mere mention of her name and privately curse her as a scourge upon the court. We ask Your Majesty to punish her severely!”

“Thousands of civilians in Mosang Town were massacred overnight for Shen Lanxi’s personal gain. To destroy the evidence, she even had the entire town burned. Such a cruel and violent person must not be allowed to live!”

“Blinded by greed, Shen Lanxi used every possible means to gain military merit and clear the Shen family’s name…”

Emperor Renxiao looked grimly at the hall full of officials. After weighing the matter, he neither interrupted nor stopped them.

“Summon Shen Lanxi to the palace!”

Afterward, he also ordered the Imperial Guards to personally escort her.

Shen Lanxi watched expressionlessly as the Imperial Guards surrounded the Zhenbei Marquis’s residence in heavy formation.

“After I enter the palace, seal the gates of the residence. No one is to enter or leave.”

“Yes!”

“Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!” Shen Lanxi saluted.

Emperor Renxiao glanced at the military attire she was wearing, a flicker of displeasure passing through his eyes.

“Lanxi, earlier you told me Mosang Town was burned by bandits, and later it was confirmed to be the descendants of the Li King. Now a new version has appeared, so I summoned you to hear it.”

Shen Lanxi remained calm and listened respectfully.

Wang Bao read aloud the urgent report from the northwest.

“Lanxi, I believe you,” the emperor said. “I will send people to investigate in the northwest. Until the truth is uncovered, I must trouble you to endure a little inconvenience.”

Shen Lanxi’s eyes flickered, but she bowed respectfully. “I do not feel wronged. Cooperating with the court’s investigation is the duty of every citizen of Great Zhou.”

Emperor Renxiao nodded with satisfaction and sighed. “You’ve grown up. I am very pleased.”

Immediately, several ministers stepped forward in opposition.

“Your Majesty, even if imperial envoys are sent to investigate, Shen Lanxi should be strictly guarded during this period, lest something like what happened at the Court of Judicial Review occur again.”

“I second this.”

“I suggest that Shen Lanxi first be detained at the Court of Judicial Review or the Ministry of Justice for strict protection.”
(So-called protection was, in reality, confinement.)

The emperor interrupted coldly, “No need. Let Shen Lanxi remain in the Zhenbei Marquis’s residence to recuperate. She has captured Dongchuan and secured the northwest in succession, rendering great service. I do not wish the world to criticize me.”

At that point, the ministers dared not press further.

After all, anyone who objected would be implying the saying: Once the birds are gone, the good bow is put away.

Shen Lanxi offered no further explanation. After thanking the emperor, she returned home.

For three days in a row, the entire capital discussed the matter of Mosang Town, and the accusations once again pointed at Shen Lanxi.

“So one scheme failed, and another followed,” Che Mingyuan said, his voice filled with disappointment and cold anger.

Shen Lanxi smiled faintly. “Other people’s schemes only make us stronger.”

After hearing this and thinking of what was about to happen, Che Mingyuan couldn’t help laughing.

On the fourth day, another urgent report arrived from the northwest.

“Suspicious movements have been detected along the northwest border. The three Turkic tribes appear to be gathering again, seemingly preparing to invade Great Zhou’s borders!”

The entire court erupted in shock.

“Didn’t they already sign a peace agreement? How can they break their word like this?”

“They’re barbarians—what do they know of keeping promises? All they understand is burning, killing, and plundering.”

“They must see that the northwest has no leader, which is why they dare to test us!”

“What should we do now?”

“Why not send Shen Lanxi back?”

“Wouldn’t that be like letting a tiger return to the mountains?”

“Then perhaps send Prince Zhennan?”

At this point, the officials suddenly fell silent.

They remembered that Prince Zhennan, Zhou Ruyuan, had fought in the northwest before—and had been defeated there. He was then sent to Dongchuan, where he suffered further defeats.

Hearing the murmurs of the officials, Zhou Ruyuan’s expression grew increasingly ugly.

“Father Emperor, I am willing to volunteer to go to the northwest and suppress the rebellion!” Zhou Ruyuan stepped forward to offer himself.

Emperor Renxiao’s face darkened, his fists clenching.

“As long as the barbarian tribes harbor intentions to disrupt Great Zhou, we shall have no peace for even a single day!”

“The Emperor is wise!” the ministers chorused.

Though he spoke this way, Emperor Renxiao would not actually send Zhou Ruyuan.

At present, Zhou Ruyuan was the only one in the capital capable of holding things together. If he were transferred to the northwest, what if traitors seized the opportunity to rebel?

“Are there any capable people left in the northwest?” the emperor asked.

The ministers fell silent again.

How would they know about the situation in the northwest?

They should be asking Shen Lanxi and Wei Dongzhu!

Only then did the officials remember—one was confined in her residence, and the other had been sent out of the city to construct a platform for executing the descendants of the Li King.

The emperor suddenly thought of someone.

“Wu Tong—where is Wu Tong?”

Wu Tong, the nephew of Left Chancellor Wu Yanzhi, had once been placed in the Zhenbei Army by the emperor as a hidden agent. After returning to the capital, he had been given a minor official post and set aside.

Wu Tong was quickly summoned into the hall.

“Your Majesty, as far as I know, all the elite troops of the Zhenbei Army have already been transferred back to the capital,” he said. Others might not know, but he was well aware that those soldiers had either been assigned to posts in the capital or sent elsewhere, no longer connected with the northwest.

At that moment, Emperor Renxiao felt a trace of regret. He should have left one or two fierce generals to guard the northwest.

All because the three Turkic tribes had gone back on their word.

After a moment of silent annoyance, the emperor thought of another person.

“Where is Liang Shao?”

If the emperor had not mentioned him, the officials would almost have forgotten Liang Shao entirely.

Wang Bao quietly reminded him, “Your Majesty, a few days ago he was sent to inspect agricultural affairs in the countryside.”

The emperor stiffened, recalling the matter.

At the time, he had wanted to give Liang Shao a prestigious title but no real power. Since farmland outside the capital was being cultivated, he had sent him to oversee it.

He wondered how much ability the man still retained after being idle for so long.

“Immediately summon Liang Shao back!”

“Yes!”

Liang Shao’s entire family was in the capital, making him easier to control than Wei Dongzhu.

Two days later, Liang Shao returned. After hearing the full account of events, he immediately offered a suggestion to the emperor:

“Shen Yuanjing is married into the Wala tribes and is their son-in-law. Previously, it was the Zhenbei Army together with the Wala tribes that drove back the three Turkic tribes. I humbly request that Your Majesty send Shen Yuanjing to accompany the expedition.”