How could Shen Lanxi use the day of her bestowal to strengthen her own imperial authority?
Zhou Xinrou’s face visibly darkened.
But the card of “enduring humiliation and bearing burdens” had already been played. If she changed her words now, how would the world view her, the Empress Dowager?
“Mother endured humiliation and hardship. Today, I have finally fulfilled my promise and welcomed Mother into the palace!” Shen Lanxi proclaimed loudly, her voice echoing throughout the imperial palace.
Within an hour, the news that Shen Lanxi was the bloodline of the former Crown Prince spread through the entire capital like wildfire.
“No wonder she, a woman, has such great courage. So she carries imperial blood—then it all makes sense.”
“The Renxiao Emperor murdered his brother and father, and His Majesty has borne a sea of blood and vengeance on her back. No wonder she became Emperor,” people said—rather than any man of the Shen family.
So it turned out the Shen family men were simply not qualified.
Messenger pigeons and hawks rose into the sky like dark clouds, flying in every direction to carry the news.
In the Shen Family
Shen Conglian, Shen Congli, and the others sat in the main hall, stunned and speechless.
Shen Congli muttered repeatedly, “So that’s how it was… so that’s how it was…”
No wonder, after ascending the throne, she had not bestowed titles upon the Shen family. They had no real relation to her at all.
She was of imperial blood; they were merely commoners.
“Second Brother, Eldest Brother hid this from us so bitterly!” Shen Congli began complaining again.
Shen Conglian still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.
“Such a huge matter—how could Eldest Brother not tell us?”
“No wonder when His Majesty ascended the throne, Eldest Brother had no reaction. That position… was hers to begin with.”
They had once believed that by a change of fate they had become imperial relatives overnight.
Thinking of it now, it was all a joke.
The only true member of the imperial clan was Shen Lanxi alone. At most, they were… they were…
“Second Brother, what are we now? What is our Shen family now?”
Madam Miao pinched herself hard before finally speaking: “Even if we are not imperial relatives, we are still benefactors of the Emperor. If Eldest Brother had not taken in the Empress Dowager, how would His Majesty be where she is today? Our family has rendered great service to both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.”
Madam Liu added, “A tremendous service.”
Madam Miao nodded quickly. “Yes, yes.”
After thinking it over, Shen Congli felt relieved. As long as no one came looking for trouble, that was enough.
Shen Conglian rubbed his forehead and said, “Yuanjing and the others are, after all, brothers of the same mother as His Majesty, and they grew up together with the children of this household. We are still her relatives—this cannot be denied.”
But there was one point: the descendants of the second and third branches would, from now on, have no relation whatsoever to Shen Lanxi.
At the thought, resentment surged up like an underground river.
That night, before going to bed, Shen Conglian specifically ordered the servants not to deliver any more wine to Eldest Brother.
Unexpectedly, when they went to see him the next day, they found that, just like their late father before him, Shen Congwen was already unable to move his body and could not speak.
“Physician! Call the imperial physicians at once!”
Although Shen Lanxi had severed relations with the Shen family, she had not withdrawn the imperial physicians assigned to the residence. They were still serving there.
“Physician, how is my elder brother?” Shen Conglian and the others asked anxiously, talking over one another.
After taking pulses and examining him in turn, the physicians reached the same conclusion.
“Lord Shen has drunk excessively for a long time. Grief and depression accumulated into illness, and irregular diet caused bodily weakness. The internal fluids stagnated and eventually became a hidden danger.”
It was the same illness as the old patriarch before him: a stroke—and even more severe.
“Physician, can my elder brother be cured?”
The physician shook his head. “It is hard to say. We can only do our best to treat him, but the results…”
Seeing the physicians repeatedly shake their heads, the Shen family understood—even without hearing it plainly—that Shen Congwen’s best possible outcome would be no better than this.
“What should we do? The Empress Dowager has only just entered the palace,” Shen Conglian said, at a loss.
Shen Congli added, “The Empress Dowager leaves, and right after that Eldest Brother falls ill. If outsiders find out, won’t that look bad?”
Rumors could easily twist the truth.
“We must send word to the palace.”
“Physicians, please do not make public my elder brother’s illness for now.”
The brothers repeatedly urged them—better safe than sorry.
It had only been one day since the Empress Dowager’s grand celebration; such misfortune would cast a shadow over it.
“Of course, of course,” the physicians agreed.
Imperial physicians were always discreet. Besides, even if it spread, everyone in the capital already knew Shen Congwen was addicted to alcohol.
In the Palace
After Shen Lanxi received the news, she immediately ordered that a message be sent to the Cining Palace.
This Cining Palace had been newly prepared. The previous one had been sealed ever since the old Madam Shen had taken her own life there.
“Empress Dowager, a message has arrived from His Majesty,” a palace maid reported.
“Let them in,” Zhou Xinrou said, preparing to reorganize the inner palace.
After bowing, the eunuch said:
“Shen Congwen has suffered a severe stroke. He cannot move and cannot speak. His Majesty has issued a decree: matters of the Shen family are to be decided by the Empress Dowager.”
Since Shen Lanxi had publicly severed ties with the Shen family, the only remaining link was Zhou Xinrou.
From now on, affairs concerning the Shen family would be arranged by her.
Zhou Xinrou immediately understood the meaning. Inwardly, she cursed Shen Lanxi for being cold-blooded and heartless, cutting off even her own kin.
“I understand. Tell His Majesty that I will send imperial physicians.”
But the eunuch had more to say.
“His Majesty also said: the Shen family has, after all, shown kindness to both mother and son. She hopes that the Empress Dowager will personally visit the Shen residence, so the people will know that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are not ungrateful.”
Zhou Xinrou felt displeased—was Shen Lanxi instructing her how to behave?
“Empress Dowager…” the matron reminded softly.
Zhou Xinrou suppressed her irritation and said coldly, “Go back and tell His Majesty that I will prepare generous gifts and go.”
Half an hour later, the phoenix carriage left the palace. Behind it followed more than twenty palace servants carrying brocade boxes, proceeding in grand procession toward the Shen residence.
At the Shen Residence
“Great-uncle, how is Grandfather?” Shen Emei asked through tears, looking at the man lying on the bed.
She wanted to write to her father:
Grandfather is ill. Grandmother has entered the palace. And Aunt Emperor… is no longer our aunt.
Father, please come back quickly!
The other children of the Shen family felt the same.
They had heard people say that the Emperor-Aunt was no longer their aunt. Could they still call her that in the future?
Would she still let them enter the palace?
Would she still teach them martial arts?
Would she still smile at them?
The children were uneasy and frightened.
Other News
Reports arrived from Jinmen: Liu Mingxin had reached Jinmen and took an immediate dislike to Xiao Fang. At their first meeting they got into a fight; Liu Mingxin accidentally injured his leg and was unlikely to return for at least a year or more.
Shen Lanxi immediately issued orders: Yuan Lang was to take concurrent charge of Tongzhou, and Liu Mingxin was assigned to oversee the local scholars’ imperial examinations—this year Jinmen must send at least two hundred candidates to the exams.
Two imperial edicts were issued in succession. Soon afterward, letters came back from the northwest and other regions.
Shen Yuanjing, Shen Yuanjun, and Shen Yuanqing jointly submitted a memorial requesting permission to return to the capital to visit the sick.
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