RWNEFE -Chapter 445 Shen Shuniang’s Son and Liang Xinyi’s Daughter!

They had already tasted what it felt like to hold power in their hands. As for those memorials submitted to request the establishment of a Crown Prince—whoever submitted such a memorial would be guilty of disrespect toward the current emperor. Wouldn’t it be better to quietly eliminate those people and replace them with their own allies?

The palace once again became turbulent.

After briefly meeting with Wei Dongzhu, Shen Lanxi had someone send a message to Zhou Ruyuan, telling him to delay any action.

The men sent by the two rebellious princes could be killed at any time—but not now.

…

While Shen Lanxi was locked in open and hidden struggles with the men, an incident occurred in the Shen family.

At some unknown time, Shen Shuniang’s son and Liang Xinyi’s daughter had become entangled with each other. Once their relationship had progressed to the point of no return, Shen Shuniang wasted no time in reporting the matter to Old Madam Shen and Shen Congwen.

Old Madam Shen nearly fainted. They had only arrived in the capital from Jiangnan a few days ago—how could such a disgraceful affair happen so quickly?

It wasn’t that she didn’t favor her daughter, but the pounding on the door the previous night had once again filled her heart with fear and unease.

“You wretched thing! Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself? Why didn’t you take it to heart?” Old Madam Shen was so angry she was on the verge of tears.

Shen Shuniang, however, felt secretly pleased. Although her son couldn’t marry Shen Lanxi, if he married the eldest branch’s daughter, then in the future their household and her elder brother’s household would become inseparable.

Her mother was probably still frightened by the family’s earlier troubles, panicking at the slightest disturbance.

If she hadn’t already inquired and confirmed that the Shen family was now safe, would she have brought her children all the way to the capital?

“Mother, the children are grown now—how can I control them? Besides, this is simply fate bringing them together!”

No one knew a daughter better than her mother. Old Madam Shen understood perfectly well what her daughter was thinking and planning.

But this move… was truly a mistake.

“Shuniang, if I remember correctly, both of your sons are already married, and your daughter is betrothed, aren’t they?”

Shen Shuniang looked embarrassed. Of course, she couldn’t say that even her youngest daughter had already been betrothed—and later divorced.

“Mother, people always strive to climb higher, just as water flows downward. My eldest son’s wife was unfortunate—she died from complications in childbirth. The second son’s wife was unruly and disrespectful to me several times, so I had my son divorce her!”

Old Madam Shen nearly passed out.

One look at her daughter’s evasive eyes told her that she was lying.

“Oh heavens, what sin did I commit to give birth to such a shameless daughter…”

Shen Congwen had kept a dark expression the entire time. His leg had mostly recovered, yet the emperor had not mentioned reinstating him at court even once.

With his official career hopeless and his leg still impaired, he felt utterly disgraced and too ashamed to face others.

“Elder Brother, please help persuade Mother. The children are grown; it’s truly difficult for parents to interfere in their affairs!”

“This concerns a daughter from your household, Elder Brother. Surely you can understand your sister’s difficulties, can’t you?”

After confirming that his mother was fine, Shen Congwen sneered.

“They committed this disgrace themselves, so they must bear the consequences. If they want to marry, fine—but before the wedding they must write a document stating that whatever happens to them in the future will have nothing to do with the Shen family. And your son should forget about receiving any support from our family!”

Shen Shuniang was so furious she nearly spat blood. If the Shen family wouldn’t help her son’s future prospects, why would her son lower himself to marry a concubine-born daughter?

“Elder Brother, from your tone, are you resentful of your younger sister?”

“It takes two hands to clap. If your daughter didn’t have such intentions, could my son have forced himself upon her?”

Shen Congwen flew into a rage, cursing, “Shameless creatures! A disgrace to decency! The Shen family’s reputation has been completely ruined by you! Pack your things immediately and get back to Jiangnan!”

Shen Shuniang trembled in fear. Her elder brother had always seemed honest and gentle, protective of his younger siblings. She had never expected that when angered, he could be so terrifying.

“Elder Brother…”

Shen Huiniang frowned and reminded her, “That’s enough, Sister. Say less. Since things have already come to this, let’s calmly think about how to resolve it. Shouting here is useless.”

She kept giving Shen Shuniang meaningful looks, gesturing toward Old Madam Shen.

Foolish sister—Elder Brother respects Mother the most. Winning Mother over would be far more useful than arguing loudly.

“Mother’s health is already poor. If this matter worsens her condition, how will you explain it to the rest of the family?”

This time, Shen Shuniang had summoned only Shen Congwen among the male members of the Shen family; the other three brothers were still completely unaware.

Old Madam Shen kept pounding her chest and sighing, while Shen Congwen sat with a gloomy expression, saying nothing.

For a moment, silence filled the room.

…

At the relay station, the imperial physicians had finished their examination.

“It is indeed Huanxi Powder, without mistake!”

Because of the former empress’s case, the imperial physicians in the palace were already thoroughly familiar with the poisons of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. Although antidotes had not been developed for some poisons, identifying them was easy.

But once the poison was confirmed, the implications became even more serious.

After resting for a night, the envoys of the Yue Kingdom had already thought of a countermeasure.

“Since you recognize this poison, you must also be very familiar with its origin.”

Wei Dongzhu found himself at a loss for words, because this poison was indeed used by certain Jianghu sects within Great Zhou.

The Yue envoys seized upon this point as if they had finally found leverage.

“Our envoy was poisoned to death on your Great Zhou territory, using poison from your Great Zhou. Great Zhou cannot escape responsibility!”

For the first time, Wei Dongzhu realized how inadequate his eloquence was; in just a few sentences, the Yue envoys had left him speechless.

If Shen Lanxi were here—how would she respond?

Without realizing it, Zhou Ruyuan found himself comparing the two in his heart.

Jiang Wuya spoke up: “Although the poison belongs to a sect within Great Zhou, and the incident occurred on Great Zhou territory, it has nothing to do with our court.”

Zhou Ruyuan let out a long sigh and yielded the floor to Jiang Wuya.

“Everyone knows that the Yue Kingdom came as envoys to Great Zhou. Our court is concerned with protecting your safety—why would we do something so self-defeating?”

The Yue envoys refused to listen.

“Whatever the reason, your guards failed in their duty. As for whether there are other causes, our Yue Kingdom will investigate on its own.”

It was clear they no longer trusted the Great Zhou court.

Jiang Wuya said, “By doing this, you are falling right into the poisoner’s trap. The person who administered the poison must intend to sow discord between Yue and Great Zhou. I ask the envoys to carefully consider my words.”

The Yue envoys exchanged glances. Even if he was right, what difference did it make?

If an ordinary official had died, they might still have been able to argue the matter upon returning home.

But the one who had died was the most favored Third Prince—and also the prime minister’s son-in-law.

If they did not make this matter serious enough, their entire families might lose their lives upon returning.

“The incident happened on Great Zhou territory, and the culprit has not been found. Isn’t it easy for you to say whatever you like?”

“You claim someone is trying to sow discord—we could just as easily say that Great Zhou committed this act and is now using ‘discord’ as an excuse to shift the blame!”

Before Emperor Renxiao’s birthday celebration had even officially begun, so many incidents had already occurred that Zhou Ruyuan was overwhelmed with anxiety.

Privately, he thought that this birthday celebration should never have been held at all.