RWNEFE -Chapter 340 Shen Yuantang Storms the Marquis of Jining’s Residence!

Shen Congwen was furious. He could already imagine how fiercely the court officials would impeach him at the next morning’s court session.

“Shut up! Men, drag her into the courtyard, tie her to a bench, and beat her!”

“Have all the young ladies of the household go to the courtyard and watch the punishment.”

“If I don’t discipline you harshly today, I’ll write my name backwards!” Shen Congwen shouted, his face flushed with rage.

Old Madam Shen had never seen her eldest son so angry. She had originally intended to plead for her granddaughter, but now she gave up the thought.

This time, Yuantang had gone too far.

“Grandmother, save me! Grandmother, don’t let Father punish me!” Seeing her father’s ferocious expression, Shen Yuantang was so frightened that tears streamed down her face.

She had already begun to feel afraid while being escorted back by Sun Feng. She had simply been unable to swallow the Marquis of Jining’s attitude—how could they propose marriage when they wished and break it off when they wished?

She, Shen Yuantang, was not unwanted, nor someone who could be summoned and dismissed at will.

Old Madam Shen felt a tightness in her chest. These useless children…

“Yuantang, have you already forgotten what happened to Yuanzhan a few days ago?”

At the Court of Judicial Review, the heavy iron paddles had broken both of Yuan Zhan’s legs. The doctor said he would never stand again in his life. Even though he was half dead from his injuries, he wasn’t given any time to recover; that very night he was exiled together with the other convicts and sent out of the capital.

Such a painful lesson had still failed to make Shen Yuantang remember.

Whenever Old Madam Shen thought of her grandson, bloodied and beaten, her heart felt as if it were being cut by knives.

“Yuantang, how can Grandmother help you? When you caused a scene at the Marquis of Jining’s residence, did you think about the other young ladies of our household? Would their reputations not be dragged down by you?”

Shen Yuantang’s face turned deathly pale as she collapsed onto the ground. Two stout maids were about to drag her away, but she hurriedly clutched Old Madam Shen’s legs in terror.

“Grandmother, I know I was wrong. I was just angry. The Marquis of Jining’s household simply didn’t take our Shen family seriously!”

Seeing that his daughter still showed no true remorse, Shen Congwen slapped her across the face in fury.

“The Marchioness of Jining is the Emperor’s own sister-in-law, the elder sister of the Empress! You angered the Empress’s own sister until she fainted—Shen Yuantang, you’ve got some nerve!”

Now Shen Yuantang was truly frightened. Realizing the consequences, she trembled all over.

“Father, things have already come to this. We should think of a solution quickly. I know I was wrong. I only said a few words—how could I have known someone from the Marquis’s household would faint? She was perfectly healthy; how could she faint? She must have been pretending!”

Shen Congwen felt his vision go dark. His hand rose high again, as if he wanted to strike her once more.

“Stop!”

Zhou Xinrou had returned.

“Mother, save me!” Shen Yuantang scrambled over to her as if she had found a pillar of support.

Shen Congwen glanced at Zhou Xinrou, snorted coldly, and turned his head away with a dark expression.

“Princess, Yuantang has caused a great disaster this time. We must quickly find a way to resolve it!” Old Madam Shen was already thinking of having Zhou Xinrou go to the palace to plead with the Emperor.

“Mother, I was only angry. How could they treat me like merchandise? They were the ones who proposed marriage, and they were the ones who broke it off. They never took our Shen family seriously, summoning and dismissing us at will. Mother, I only wanted to vent some anger on behalf of our family!”

Shen Yuantang wept bitterly, her voice choking with sobs.

Looking at her daughter’s tear-streaked face, Zhou Xinrou let out a long sigh.

“Very well. I will go to the palace.”

Old Madam Shen’s eyes lit up, and she quickly signaled to her eldest son.

Reluctantly, Shen Congwen said, “Then I’ll trouble you, Madam.”

Zhou Xinrou turned and left the house again.

“Grandmother, Mother has gone to the palace to plead for mercy. Everything will be fine.”

“Father, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry anymore. I was only upset that they didn’t take our Shen family seriously—I only wanted to stand up for our family…”

Old Madam Shen said, “You child, why is your temper so fierce? Congwen, for the sake of Yuantang’s filial intentions, let it go this time.”

Shen Congwen snorted coldly and went to his study with a dark face.

Shen Lanxi looked at the main hall, which had emptied in the blink of an eye, and let out a mocking smile before leaving as well.

Now the only one in the Shen family still studying was Shen Yuanxu. To supervise the family’s sole scholar, Shen Congwen went to the study after work each day.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the study, he saw Shen Yuanxu practicing martial arts, and his anger immediately flared.

“Yuanxu, the imperial examination is almost here. How can you be so negligent?”

…

“My lord, someone claiming to be from the Second Prince’s residence wishes to see you,” a guard reported.

Shen Lanxi turned to look and saw a steward-like man hurrying over, holding a box.

“Lord Shen, my master is unable to come out recently, so he has sent this humble servant to deliver a congratulatory gift, to congratulate you on your promotion to Duke Juding and your command of the Capital Guards.”

Shen Lanxi said, “Open the box and let me see.”

The steward hadn’t expected her to be so direct. After a brief pause, he quickly opened the box.

Inside lay a thick stack of banknotes.

“Your Second Prince is very thoughtful. I’ll accept it,” Shen Lanxi said.

The steward was stunned again. She accepted it so easily?

Shen Lanxi smiled. “Go back and tell your Second Prince that I originally planned to host a banquet to celebrate my promotion. But recently I’ve been busy—familiarizing myself with the Capital Guards and overseeing the imperial examination—so the banquet is postponed. When he is free to move about again, I will hold the banquet.”

“I’ll accept the gift in advance. As for return gifts, I’ll present them together when the banquet is held. All right, you may go.”

The steward: “…”

Wait—That’s not what the banknotes were for!

He couldn’t just leave like this!

“My lord, our prince also wished to ask you something,” the steward said stiffly, forcing a smile as he produced a letter.

Shen Lanxi replied, “I won’t accept the letter. If he has something to say, we can speak face to face when he comes out.”

The steward was dumbfounded: This won’t do! You’ve already taken the money—how can you just take it and not do the favor?

He had never seen anyone like this!

His master was the Second Prince!

Shen Lanxi paid no attention to whatever he was thinking and turned back toward the residence.

“Not bad, not bad. Tell the guards at the gate—next time Wang Xiangyi comes to deliver something, keep the gift and send the person away.”

Chunxue and Qiushuang kept covering their mouths, trying not to laugh.

…

Zhou Ruyuan was summoned to the palace by Emperor Renxiao.

Several scrolls of portraits lay on the desk, and the Emperor was smiling broadly.

“Ruyuan, you are not young anymore. When I was your age, I already had many sons and daughters. Yet you don’t even have a single child—you fall short of your brothers in this regard.”

Zhou Ruyuan’s heart sank. His eyes swept over the scrolls on the desk, and his heart sank even further.

“These are fine young ladies carefully selected by your mother and me. Choose one to be your principal consort, two as secondary consorts, and pick a few others you find pleasing to fill the rear court of your residence. By next year, you will surely be surrounded by children, and your mother and I won’t have to worry about you all the time.”