RWNEFE -Chapter 640 Old Madam Shen Pushes Shen Congyi onto the Throne!

As soon as Old Madam Shen left, Shen Congli immediately called his elder and second brothers together.

“Elder brother, second brother, Mother has taken Fourth Brother into the palace.”

He felt stifled. Even if someone were to inherit the throne, it should have been his grandson. After all, his grandson had been personally acknowledged by Lanxi as an adopted heir.

Yet Mother had not even asked him before taking Fourth Brother along. It was completely against propriety.

Shen Congwen only felt a headache and had no other thoughts.

“Let Mother go make a scene. No one will pay attention to her, and she’ll come back soon enough.”

There were so many shrewd and experienced officials in court—what could Mother possibly accomplish by going there?

Shen Congli began to resent things again. His elder brother showed none of the bearing of the eldest son. If he had been capable of holding up the family, then back then it would have been a male member of the Shen family who sat on the dragon throne, not a woman.

They had endured Shen Lanxi’s temper for so long—how could Elder Brother still not understand?

No wonder Shen Lanxi had never valued him as her father.

“Why be anxious? I think Elder Brother is right. Even if Lanxi has truly died, there isn’t a single capable person in Fourth Brother’s household. Whoever sits on the dragon throne, it certainly won’t be someone from his branch,” Shen Conglian said calmly.

Among the four branches, only his son Yuanxu was outstanding, and then his grandson Chengfeng, who was the most promising of the younger generation.

What did Fourth Brother have? None of his sons commanded heavy troops, and none of his grandsons showed any promise. He was only jumping about now—if matters truly became serious, he would not even be in line.

“Let him make a fuss. As long as I haven’t seen Lanxi’s corpse with my own eyes, I won’t move,” Shen Conglian added. Others might not know, but he did—Lanxi was full of schemes. What if she hadn’t actually met with disaster?

The consequences would be unbearable.

“Elder brother, aren’t you worried at all?” Shen Congli grew anxious when he saw he could not persuade the other two.

Shen Congwen, on one hand proud, on the other somewhat tempted, still felt that Second Brother’s reasoning made sense.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. Yuanjing and the others haven’t replied yet.”

Shen Conglian smiled and took out a letter. Shen Congli’s eyes widened.

“Second Brother, whose letter is that?”

The reason Shen Conglian could remain so calm was because he had received a reply from his eldest son.

“It’s from Yuanxu. Yuanjing and the others are farther from the capital; their letters should arrive in a few days.”

“Let me see.” Shen Congli quickly snatched it.

Shen Conglian said, “Yuanxu says we should stay quietly at home and do nothing.”

Fortunately, he had not listened to Madam Liu earlier, or he would have had no way to answer to his son.

“Go and inform the Second Madam,” Shen Conglian said, then glanced at the third brother.
“And inform the Third Madam as well.”

“Elder brother, should we inform the Princess Consort as well?”

Shen Congwen was not worried about the Princess Consort; he was worried about their mother in the palace.

“This is bad—it will cause trouble. Hurry and go to the palace to stop Mother!” Shen Congwen’s expression changed drastically as he realized the danger.

Shen Conglian rose slowly. “What’s there to fear? Lanxi wouldn’t dare do anything to Mother.”

“Do you understand nothing?” Shen Congwen snapped impatiently.

Shen Lanxi had dared to deal ruthlessly even with him, her own father. Would she show mercy to a grandmother separated by another generation?

At this point, the expressions of Shen Congli and Shen Congyi also changed.

In recent years, Shen Lanxi had treated the Shen family with great politeness, to the point that they had forgotten how ruthless she had once been toward them back in Jinmen.

No—that wasn’t quite right. She had never truly been kind to them. It was only because Mother and Elder Brother had stopped provoking her that she had ignored them.

But when the younger generation made mistakes, she had spared no one.

Legs that deserved to be broken were broken; those who deserved exile were exiled. She had never shown mercy.

“This is bad—quickly go and stop Mother,” Shen Conglian said, his face turning pale. His earlier calm vanished, and he nearly ran out the door.

Shen Congwen, limping on one leg, called out as he walked, “You go ahead—I’ll follow shortly.”

Riding horses at speed was forbidden in the bustling streets of the capital. Ever since Shen Lanxi personally led the imperial campaign, the streets had been managed even more strictly.

Anyone who ran too fast would be stopped and questioned by the capital guards, lest someone take advantage of the situation.

Several groups of people repairing rooftops or causing disturbances had already been arrested under the pretext of capturing foreign spies.

After news of Shen Lanxi’s serious injuries returned, patrols by guards and constables had increased severalfold.

It was no exaggeration to say that when Old Madam Shen left earlier, she had not even dared ride in a carriage; instead, she had people carry her slowly in a sedan chair.

It was not that she wasn’t anxious—but no one dared quicken their pace no matter how much she urged them.

“Don’t run so fast—be careful you’re mistaken for spies and arrested!” Shen Conglian shouted at Shen Congli’s retreating figure.

With Shen Lanxi absent from the capital, if some hot-headed guard arrested them, they would have no one to appeal to.

By the time they hurried to the palace, their mother—Old Madam Shen—had already placed her fourth son upon the throne.

They entered the palace as if in a dream, hardly daring to believe it.

This time, no one stopped them; they were able to see the scene without obstruction.

“Mother, you mustn’t—come down at once!” How could she sit upon the dragon throne? Only the emperor could sit there.

Old Madam Shen had never expected things to go so smoothly. She was already beside herself with triumph.

“Since you are all so useless, don’t blame this old woman for pushing your Fourth Brother to the throne.”

At that moment, Old Madam Shen felt she had finally held her head high. No longer would she be suppressed by others.

From now on, she would be the most honored woman in Great Zhou. Her son would be emperor; she would be the most exalted Empress Dowager. The entire Great Zhou would belong to their Shen family.

“Mother, stop making trouble—come back with us at once!” Shen Conglian said, his heart pounding, not even daring to look at the throne.

Shen Congli stared fixedly at Fourth Brother standing beside the throne. If he hadn’t known certain things, he would have been consumed by jealousy.

Fortunately, he now understood that the man standing there was simply courting death.

The more he strutted now, the faster he would die later.

In the family, Yuanjing and Yuanxu both commanded heavy troops. Next were Yuanpeng and Yuanhao from their third branch, and below them were many younger ones waiting eagerly. He could already see that if his own son wanted to rise, there was still a long line ahead.

The ones who should be anxious were the eldest and second brothers; he could simply sit back and watch the tigers fight.

He only felt some pity for their mother—if blame was to be assigned, it should fall on Fourth Brother, who must have instigated her.

Hearing her son’s words, Old Madam Shen immediately shouted angrily, “Impudent! The ones making trouble are you. If you dare obstruct us again, don’t blame me, your mother, for being merciless.”

All three brothers were stunned. Their mother had never spoken such harsh words to them before.

“Mother…” Shen Congwen anxiously turned to the others for help.

“Lord Liu, Grand Tutor, Mr. Ruohua—my mother has grown senile. The three of us will take her home at once.”

The three officials exchanged glances but said nothing, adopting an attitude of letting events take their course.