RWNEFE -Chapter 669 Each of the Three Brothers Has His Own Thoughts

They did not stay long in the palace. Cheng Zheng arrived carrying soup, and anyone with a bit of sense knew they should not disturb His Majesty’s private time. After exchanging a few more polite words, the Shen family left with their rewards.

On the way back, perhaps because his sons were with him, Shen Conglian found it hard to hold his tongue.

“Cheng Zheng looks rather sickly. Do you think he damaged his health back in Jinmen?”

In truth, Cheng Zheng did not look nearly as frail as Shen Conglian implied. All of them were married men and understood the meaning behind his words.

They knew Cheng Zheng’s background better than anyone. When His Majesty had rescued him, everyone on that ship had been barely human in appearance. Even when they crossed paths upon disembarking, none of them dared step forward to greet him.

His tongue and legs had both been ruined—so was that part of him useless as well?

“Father, don’t speak carelessly,” Shen Yuanxu warned with a frown.

Whether he had suffered such injuries or not was not something they should discuss.

Was their father actually planning to put on the airs of an elder and suggest that His Majesty further fill the harem?

“Second Uncle, isn’t there another person at His Majesty’s side?” Shen Yuanjing asked.

Shen Conglian glanced at his nephew. “That’s old news. The other one returned to his hometown long ago. I heard His Majesty gave him a great deal of money to settle down. Around that time, quite a few people, openly and secretly, tried to offer themselves to His Majesty.”

“Really?” Shen Yuanhao was astonished. After all, His Majesty was a woman.

Though not an ordinary woman, to imitate men with multiple consorts still seemed somewhat improper.

Shen Conglian chuckled. “His Majesty didn’t accept. After that, no one brought it up again.”

Shen Yuanxu fell into thought and said nothing more all the way back to the Shen residence.

Over the years, Hu Jinyu’s frequent childbirths had not only altered her figure but also made her complexion worse than that of women her age, giving her an aged appearance.

“Huan’er, has my husband returned?” Hu Jinyu asked, forcing her tired eyelids open.

“Madam, there’s no news yet. He’ll probably be a while longer,” the maid Huan’er replied in a clear voice.

Listening to her voice, Hu Jinyu quietly looked her over from face to figure, then waved her hand wearily.

“You may go. Tell the kitchen not to let the fire die. The master may return at any time and will need hot soup.”

“Yes, Madam.”

When she had first married into the Shen family, she had been delighted by the rule that the men could not take concubines. But after bearing four children in succession, she had begun to feel some regret.

In her current state, standing beside Shen Yuanxu, anyone with poor eyesight might think she was his mother.

Shen Yuanxu had treated her well all these years, and she had always been willing to bear him children.

But when she looked at her aging reflection in the bronze mirror, bitterness welled up in her heart, a feeling she could not put into words.

If women in households filled with concubines heard her thoughts, they would surely tear their handkerchiefs in envy.

Today she had already seen the woman Shen Yuanhao brought back. To be honest, she looked down on her a little.

But compared with the woman Shen Yuanjing brought back, that one called Lian’er at least seemed mentally sound.

Lost in these thoughts, Shen Yuanxu entered the room.

“The master has returned!”

Hu Jinyu was just about to get up to remove his cloak when he pressed her back onto the couch.

“You’re tired. No need to get up—rest.”

Hu Jinyu was already used to Shen Yuanxu’s thoughtfulness. Seeing that he had removed his cloak himself, she lay back down.

“Did His Majesty say anything when you saw her today?”

Shen Yuanxu’s expression was grave. Ever since being posted away from the capital, his face had grown more and more stern, until he had become a man who rarely smiled.

“No. His Majesty gave some rewards and spoke about arrangements after the New Year.”

Hu Jinyu quickly asked, “Did she mention Chengfeng?”

“No.”

“Did Yuanjing mention Emei?”

“No.”

Hu Jinyu lowered her eyes in thought. After all, His Majesty and Shen Yuanjing were born of the same mother; compared with their own branch of the family, she was more tolerant of the main branch.

Even so, if the main branch had not pleaded on Shen Emei’s behalf, how could they, a collateral branch, overstep?

“Chengfeng is, after all, a man,” Shen Yuanxu explained quietly. “If Yuanjing didn’t plead for Emei, and we pleaded, it would make it seem that our Chengfeng is inferior to a girl.”

Hu Jinyu looked at her husband’s face, far younger than her own, and a wave of bitterness rose in her heart.

“My lord, His Majesty once said that the sons of the Shen family may take concubines in the future. If there is a woman you favor…”

Before she could finish, Shen Yuanxu interrupted her.

“Even imperial words can change overnight.”

Hu Jinyu hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Seeing her like this, Shen Yuanxu was preoccupied with other matters and did not ask further.

After washing and lying down, Hu Jinyu drowsily felt movement beside her. Two breaths later, when she reached out again, the space beside her was already empty.

Turning over, tears rolled uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Imperial words—what a pleasant phrase. But there was also another saying: deceiving those above and concealing from those below, secretly crossing the river.

Men were all the same. Shen Yuanxu was no better than Shen Yuanhao.

“General, I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. I saw a doctor—he says I’m pregnant again.”

In the past, Shen Yuanjing would have been overjoyed. Today, however, his smile was somewhat forced.

“Tomorrow I’ll speak to the household and have our room kept warmer. After the New Year, I’ll request an imperial physician from the palace to examine you.”

Ever since their mother passed away, all the imperial physicians stationed at the residence had been recalled to the palace. The current household doctor had been hired from outside.

Thinking about how His Majesty had shown no special favor today, Shen Yuanjing felt anxious.

After all, they were siblings of the same mother. His Majesty should be closer to him than to others.

Having just returned to the capital, he did not dare rashly inquire about the details of their mother’s death. After the New Year, once he began moving about in court, it would be easier to investigate.

“General, this is wonderful. I finally have another child with you. Counting the children left by the two elder sisters before, we now have ten children in all. Just thinking about it makes the house feel lively.”

Shen Yuanjing forced a faint smile. “Tomorrow we still have to distribute gifts to the children. Let’s sleep early tonight.”

“Alright.”

Lian’er waited uneasily in the room for Shen Yuanhao to return.

His Majesty was known to be ruthless, especially toward her own relatives. Thinking of what she had heard earlier that day—that one must observe two years of mourning and could not take concubines—Lian’er’s face turned paler and paler.

At that time, she truly had not known the general was still in mourning for his wife. Had she known earlier, she would certainly have delayed having children.

Now her two children were clearly not much younger than the one in the main household. If His Majesty pursued the matter, what would she do?

His Majesty had even executed her own uncle.

And the old madam of the family—people outside said she had hanged herself, but who knew what the truth really was?

After all, the old madam had once helped Fourth Master Shen scheme for the imperial throne. A person so ruthless—would she have spared anyone?