RWNEFE -Chapter 450 The Self-Righteous Zhou Ruyuan

“My lord truly has remarkable foresight—he was called away by the Princess,” someone reported.

Shen Lanxi gazed quietly toward the doorway. It wasn’t foresight; she had simply begun to understand certain people’s intentions.

On the second day of Shen Lanxi’s rest at home, the court remained calm.

All the memorials impeaching her were sorted out and tossed into a corner of the inner cabinet.

“It’s not suitable to make trouble for her right now. Otherwise, His Majesty will think we’re deliberately picking a fight. Shen Lanxi could also use that as an excuse to accuse us of delaying her preparations for grain supplies,” Wu Yanzhi said to the other two regent ministers.

“The Left Chancellor is right.”

“Indeed, well said.”

The three men continued handling state affairs as if nothing were amiss.

Recently, Song Daoxi had been refining an elixir for prolonging life. The quantity of medicinal ingredients required was enormous, and many were rare.

Emperor Renxiao devoted himself wholeheartedly to gathering these rare materials and had no mind left for governing.

After the birthday banquet, the envoys and officials who had come to offer congratulations gradually departed. The responsibility of seeing them off once again fell to the Prince of Zhen’nan.

Zhou Ruyuan was more than happy with this duty. It was an excellent opportunity to interact with officials and envoys and build relationships, and each time he drank himself into a stupor.

Over time, even the guards around him grew careless—and one day, something happened.

When Zhou Ruyuan woke up, he saw himself lying beside Shen Yuantang. Their clothes were scattered across the floor, and the signs were unmistakable. There was nothing to misunderstand.

He closed his eyes in frustration and could only resign himself to reality.

From then on, he seemed to have let go of something. He began spending his days going in and out of the rear courtyard of the prince’s residence. When Consort Shu learned of this, she even sent four beautiful palace maids to her son.

…

Not long afterward, Shen Lanxi received news that Liang Xinyi’s daughter was already pregnant. Less than two days later, Madam Liu came to pass on a message.

“That concubine-born daughter of your father truly has no sense of propriety.”

“She can’t wait any longer. Your grandmother says that in seven days, the concubine-born girl will be carried over in marriage.”

Recalling the carrier pigeon message she had received earlier, Shen Lanxi smiled faintly and replied, “Please trouble Second Uncle to pass a message to my father.”

Madam Liu listened attentively.

“Tell him that the wife of Shen Shuniang’s son is not dead. She is alive and well in their Jiangnan home, taking care of the child.”

Although the Shen family was marrying off only a concubine-born daughter, their status was still higher than that of the Zhang family in Jiangnan. If her father discovered that his daughter was actually being married there as a concubine, one could only imagine his reaction.

Madam Liu thought to herself: Hadn’t that woman died in childbirth?

She hurried off to find Shen Conglian to deliver the message. It wasn’t that she cared about the concubine-born girl being deceived. Rather, if a daughter of the Shen family became someone’s concubine, it would damage the family’s reputation.

Though she had no biological daughters, she had concubine-born daughters and nieces. Her eldest daughter-in-law and second son’s wife were both about to give birth. If sons were born, it wouldn’t matter—but if daughters were born, wouldn’t they be affected by the reputation of that concubine-born girl from the main branch?

The Shen family’s hard-earned reputation couldn’t be ruined by “spoiled meat” brought from Jiangnan.

Shen Congwen refused to believe it.

“Matters of life and death—how could Fifth Sister lie about something like that?”

Shen Conglian had witnessed Shen Lanxi’s methods before. Whether the matter was true or not, he decided to treat it as true.

After all, he was only passing along a message. If there was embarrassment, it wouldn’t fall on his branch of the family.

“Elder Brother, I don’t think anyone would joke about something like this. How about we investigate first before fixing the wedding date?”

Shen Congwen hesitated. The wedding date had already been set; changing it casually would be improper.

“I’ll go ask Mother.”

Having delivered the message, Shen Conglian left it at that. He had an appointment to drink with friends at Wangjiang Tower, and he’d be late if he didn’t go now.

Since being driven out, Shen Shuniang and Shen Huiniang had assumed that the Duke Protector’s residence wouldn’t want the shame to spread, so they stubbornly lingered outside the gates overnight.

They had hoped to use public opinion in the capital to pressure Shen Lanxi—but not a single onlooker even came to watch the spectacle.

Seeing that they might starve to death outside without anyone caring, they finally slunk off to stay at an inn for a few days, then hastily rented a small house and moved in.

“Mother, didn’t you say the court would definitely impeach Shen Lanxi and we’d soon be able to move back?” complained Zhang Heng, Shen Shuniang’s eldest son.

Shen Shuniang’s face looked miserable, all her former arrogance gone.

“Who would have thought that little wretch would truly turn her back on us.”

“Perhaps the ministers just haven’t reacted yet. In a few days, Shen Lanxi will surely come personally to invite us back.”

“Big Brother, what are you afraid of? That concubine-born girl is already carrying your child. Even if someone is anxious, it should be them,” said Shen Shuniang’s daughter Zhang Jia confidently.

Hearing this, Shen Shuniang felt somewhat relieved. Indeed, a woman’s reputation was everything. Unless they killed that concubine-born girl, the Shen family would have no choice but to beg them to marry her properly.

“Let’s wait a few more days. Yesterday your grandmother sent quite a bit of silver—enough for our family to live on for a while.”

…

All the other envoys had left, leaving only the envoys from Yue Kingdom and the representatives sent by two rebel princes.

They clamored daily to see Zhou Ruyuan, but each time he refused, citing his busy schedule.

The Yue envoys felt stifled. Trapped in the relay station with no outlet, they could only find fault with the station officials day after day.

The representatives of the two rebel princes were treated even worse.

The wine was poor, the food worse, and their rooms weren’t even cleaned daily. They were thoroughly miserable.

After finally bribing someone, the only news they received was that Zhou Ruyuan was busy again.

They were practically under house arrest, complaining bitterly.

At last, one day Zhou Ruyuan finished his work and appeared, and the Yue envoys hurried to surround him.

“Prince of Zhen’nan, what is Great Zhou’s decision regarding the grain supplies?”

Zhou Ruyuan’s eyes flickered. “The matter of grain has already been taken over by Duke Protector Shen Lanxi. She insists on no longer using grain from Yue Kingdom and even intends to sever diplomatic relations with you.”

The Yue envoys’ faces changed drastically.

The conditions they had proposed earlier were only meant to intimidate Great Zhou. Yue Kingdom was small; without a major buyer and friendly ally like Great Zhou, their own situation would become difficult.

“On what grounds can Shen Lanxi block this? Does she know how many people in Great Zhou would die next year without grain?”

“How can your emperor allow her to behave so recklessly?”

Zhou Ruyuan said gravely, “If you want the two countries to restore diplomatic and trade relations, then go find Shen Lanxi.”

“If you can persuade her to abandon this plan before His Majesty, you will still be able to give an explanation to your emperor when you return.”

At this point, the Yue envoys no longer cared so much about the death of the Third Prince. In the face of national hardship, the death of one or two princes meant little.

If finding Shen Lanxi could solve the matter, then they would find Shen Lanxi.

According to the original plan, Zhou Ruyuan was supposed to send the Yue envoys away. But he couldn’t bear to watch Shen Lanxi walk straight into a trap, so he used this method to help her.

After all, he felt he owed her something. Once this matter was over, he would no longer feel any guilt in his heart.