RWNEFE -Chapter 345 Trouble at the Poetry Banquet

When Shen Lanxi heard the report from her subordinate, her expression changed. Instinctively, she glanced toward her mother.

The latter remained calm and unmoved, as if nothing in the world could stir her mind.

“Call Sun Feng,” Shen Lanxi ordered.

“Yes.”

She had intended to summon Wei Dongzhu as well, but he was already walking toward her.

As soon as Shen Lanxi had sent someone out earlier, Wei Dongzhu had noticed. Now, seeing her grave expression and tense aura, he was certain something had happened.

Shen Lanxi glanced at her family, then stood and headed toward the place where Emperor Renxiao was resting.

During the midday meal, a major incident had occurred:

Prince Zhen’nan, Zhou Ruyuan, and Miss Shen Yuantang of the Shen family had been discovered lying together in a side room, their clothes disheveled.

Zhou Ruyuan had only recently been granted an imperial marriage to the daughter of the Vice Minister of Personnel, and Shen Yuantang had just broken off her engagement with the son of the Marquis of Jining. Yet on such an important day, the two had been caught in what appeared to be an illicit affair—and the matter had been reported directly to Emperor Renxiao.

The Emperor was furious and was now preparing to punish them.

By the time Shen Lanxi arrived, Zhou Ruyuan was still trying to explain, while Shen Yuantang knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Several officials and their female relatives were also present, and the room was in chaos.

A cold light flashed in Shen Lanxi’s eyes as she stepped inside.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”

Emperor Renxiao was in the midst of a rage. Seeing her, he showed no kindness and rebuked her harshly: “I entrusted you with the security of the poetry banquet. Is this how you fulfill your duty?”

The tone was clearly one of blame. Shen Lanxi had already sensed the Emperor’s attitude. She immediately knelt and said sincerely: “It is my dereliction of duty. I bear an inescapable responsibility. I ask Your Majesty to punish me severely—I will have no complaints.”

When someone is in the heat of anger, arguing only adds fuel to the fire. Shen Lanxi’s frank and humble attitude instead moved the Emperor.

She was far better than that son of his who kept explaining. After such an incident, what use were explanations? They only sounded like evasion of responsibility. It was better to accept responsibility outright, as Lanxi had done.

“Lanxi, rise. This matter is not your fault. I have already asked— you and Wei Dongzhu were responsible for security outside the banquet. Inside, it was the responsibility of Prince Zhen’nan.”

What was almost laughable was that the prince had been plotted against within the very area under his own control. That was a child the Emperor had personally nurtured with care, yet now he had been so easily schemed against—what an irony.

“Uncle, this matter is suspicious. My younger sister has never had any private dealings with Prince Zhen’nan,” Shen Lanxi said impartially.

The Emperor naturally knew this.

And precisely because he knew, it made the matter even more infuriating.

Someone had dared to scheme right under his nose.

“Lanxi, I leave this matter to you. You must find the mastermind behind it,” the Emperor said coldly. When he found that person, he would make them wish for death but be unable to die.

“I accept the decree,” Shen Lanxi replied.

After assigning responsibility, they began handling the aftermath.

Many people already knew about the incident. Once the banquet resumed, even more would hear of it.

A Shen family daughter marrying Zhou Ruyuan would not have been a bad match—but unfortunately, it was Shen Yuantang. Not long ago, Zhou Xinrou had even entered the palace to seek justice after Shen Yuantang had caused trouble at the Marquis of Jining’s residence.

How could such a person be allowed into his son’s household?

After much deliberation, Emperor Renxiao decided he could only allow Shen Yuantang to marry his son as a secondary consort, partly to preserve the Shen family’s dignity.

Given the disgrace Shen Yuantang had already caused, the Shen family should understand his intentions.

He was just about to announce the decision when a palace attendant hurried in to report something.

The attendant did not dare speak loudly. He first whispered to Wang Bao, who then relayed the message to the Emperor.

Upon hearing what had happened, Emperor Renxiao slammed the table several times in fury, nearly breaking it.

“Outrageous! Every one of them is utterly lawless!”

“Empress, go and take a look on my behalf.”

Qi Yingqun rose gracefully and left, led by the attendant.

Not long afterward, another attendant returned to report the situation to the Emperor.

The room was so silent that even a pin dropping could be heard. After listening, Emperor Renxiao’s breathing became uneven, his expression one of violent rage.

Kneeling on the ground, Zhou Ruyuan and Shen Yuantang scarcely dared to breathe.

The Emperor stood and paced the room restlessly. The poetry banquet was about to resume, yet no one dared to urge him.

At last, the Emperor himself spoke, deciding to continue attending the banquet. Such inner-household matters could not delay affairs of state.

“Lanxi, stay behind.”

Shen Lanxi lowered her eyes and waited respectfully at his side.

“Lanxi, investigate this. Once you find the truth, no matter who is responsible, I will show no mercy.”

Shen Lanxi accepted the decree and went to carry out her task. The afternoon session of the poetry banquet proceeded without the slightest disruption, its excitement greater than ever.

No one could tell that beneath Emperor Renxiao’s dignified and composed exterior, a storm was already raging.

After the banquet ended, Shen Lanxi had already uncovered some leads.

“The legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Personnel went to change clothes after lunch and was pushed into the water on the way. By coincidence, Shen Yuanxu passed by and, seeing someone fall into the water, jumped in to rescue her.”

“Afterward, this scene was witnessed by people attending the banquet. I questioned them one by one. They had been directed there by someone who said a person had fallen into the water and needed rescuing. I have also found that person—it was a palace servant responsible for menial work. When I found him, he had already hanged himself.”

The Emperor’s face darkened as he said through clenched teeth: “Good. Dead men tell no tales.”

“This person belonged to the palace, and I do not have the authority to investigate further. I ask Your Majesty to decide,” Shen Lanxi said.

“Wang Bao, investigate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Shen Lanxi summarized her findings: “I suspect the mastermind intended either to ruin the Vice Minister’s daughter’s reputation or drown her outright. I also questioned Shen Yuanxu. At the time, he was searching for my younger sister and happened to pass by. His pageboy can testify, as can the scholars and attendants he questioned along the way—he had been asking for her whereabouts all the way to the place where the incident occurred.”

What she said, the Emperor would naturally verify.

Her opening remark had also reminded him of something:

Someone did not want the Vice Minister’s daughter to marry Zhou Ruyuan.

Shen Lanxi continued: “I questioned Shen Yuantang as well. Before lunch, a maid claiming to be from the Marquis of Jining’s household invited her to speak in a pavilion. After she went, she was drugged and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she was already in that state.”

“I also confirmed with Prince Zhen’nan. During lunch, he drank a cup of tea and felt unwell, so he went to a side room to rest. When he woke, he too was already in that state.”

Her final sentence spared them some dignity: when they woke, they had already been caught in bed together by the crowd.

“I suspect that, including the Vice Minister’s daughter, all three of them were victims of a scheme.”

How could Emperor Renxiao not understand? Such methods were clearly meant to frame them and force the matter into a fait accompli.

Hearing Shen Lanxi speak in his defense, Zhou Ruyuan felt only bitterness in his heart.

“Father Emperor, your son has been wronged. I beg Father Emperor to do me justice!”