The Wei family's dinner was postponed for a long time, and Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu finally arrived.
Mrs. Wei saw that although Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu looked normal, they both seemed to be cold. She focused her attention slightly, glanced at Shen Chen, and said, "Because it's a family dinner, there's no need to set up a screen. They're all family friends, and it's common, so we don't have to stick to those rules..."
After saying this, she invited everyone to take their seats. Seeing the Second and Third Madams busy ordering the maids to serve the dishes, she looked at Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu and said, "You stayed in the palace for one night, why are you leaving so late today?"
We are all family, so there is no need to be so cautious when speaking.
Chu Jingwu did not pick up the chopsticks. Seeing that Shen Chen did not speak, he looked at Wei An and Old Lady Wei and said, "As soon as I entered the palace, the emperor kept me there. He told me many things about Fujian and the Maritime Customs. Because Japan sent envoys to ask for peace, the emperor ordered that this matter be handed over to him as well..."
This time the Japanese invasion was completely eliminated, and Japan was afraid of being retaliated against, so it took the initiative to ask for peace and pay tribute and sent an envoy to Beijing. This was something she heard when she was in Fujian. Old Lady Wei knew that Emperor Longqing believed that pacifying the Japanese pirates was an unprecedented achievement, so she was not surprised that Emperor Longqing was so happy. Seeing that Chu Jingwu had not finished speaking, she nodded slightly, motioning for him to continue.
Chu Jingwu then continued: "Originally, I stayed for dinner and then left the palace, but later..."
He stopped talking in annoyance.
It was really an unlucky thing to say. Marquis Rongchang took the initiative to go to the palace, cleared the grievances for Kong Gongfeng, explained the whole story, and begged Emperor Longqing to let Feng Shuyuan go.
Emperor Longqing was furious and felt that Feng Shuyuan's murder of her own brother was so cruel and unforgivable. Even if it was because of her disagreement with her brother's wife, it was too much. He originally wanted to punish her severely, but because of Marquis Rongchang's plea, he agreed to Marquis Rongchang's request to confine Feng Shuyuan.
Things had been going smoothly up to this point, and Chu Jingwu also knew that Wei An and Young Master Lin were behind this. But not long after he heaved a sigh of relief, Marquis Rongchang had just left when the nanny of Princess Yonghe came, saying that she wanted to see Emperor Longqing for important matters.
Princess Yonghe actually hanged herself!
The palace was in turmoil over this matter all night.
After all, she was raised by Empress Fang, and Emperor Longqing loved this daughter the most and still had some feelings for her. In addition, Concubine Peng De said a lot of good things about her. Emperor Longqing felt that she had realized her mistakes after more than half a year of suffering, so he was very tolerant of her.
She wanted to hang herself, and Emperor Longqing was shocked and angry. But after hearing the reason, he was not so angry anymore.
Princess Yonghe used to be very competitive and wanted to be the first in everything. She wanted to monopolize Shen Chen when she liked him. She was also tit-for-tat with Wei An and refused to give in. She was very arrogant.
Emperor Longqing also thought that she was too ignorant at the time and did not take her thoughts to heart - it was just the likes of young girls and would pass after a while.
But he didn't expect Princess Yonghe's love to be so long-lasting.
Princess Yonghe changed her strategy this time. She cried in front of Emperor Longqing for a while, confessed to him what she had done to Wei An last year and the reason why she framed Wei An. Finally, she held Emperor Longqing's arm and sobbed pitifully: "I know Shen Chen likes Wei An, and I also know that my father has approved this marriage, but I really can't let go of Shen Chen. If I could let go, I would have let it go in the past six months..."
Seeing that Emperor Longqing was listening and didn't seem angry, she brought up Empress Fang and said, "My mother also said that Shen Chen is a good person, and that the prince consort my father chose for me is very good..."
The worse Emperor Longqing's health became, the more he missed the days he spent with Empress Fang.
Those were good days. He was young and strong, and Queen Fang was as fresh as a flower...
He couldn't help but sigh, and his heart softened a little: "But Shen Chen just told me that he wanted me to agree to the marriage so that he could propose..."
Princess Yonghe burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. It took a long time for her to raise her head: "Father, you once mentioned Ehuang and Nvying..."
Chu Jingwu said this with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes and eyebrows: "A princess like you can actually say such things. It really broadens my horizons."
The whole room was silent. No one expected Princess Yonghe to be so humble.
Old Madam Wei also frowned and sneered: "How could she come up with such an idea? Ehuang and Nvying? She didn't even ask Shen Chen if he was willing to be Shun!"
A woman who used all means to frame her love rival for a man and involved so many innocent people, her love was no longer pure, and now she can lower herself to this level, which is really a disgrace to the royal family.
But the Emperor Longqing is getting older and more confused. Old Madam Wei looked at Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu with a gloomy face, then looked at Wei An, and then asked: "Has the emperor agreed?"
Because Consort Shu and Princess Zheng were also there at the time, Chu Jingwu knew the news very accurately. Upon hearing this, he shook his head solemnly and said, "I didn't agree immediately, but Princess Yonghe is so persistent..."
The fact that Emperor Longqing did not reprimand her on the spot already showed his attitude.
Times have changed. Now that Shen Chen has done such a big thing for Emperor Longqing, everyone in the court and the public knows that Shen Chen is now a favorite of Emperor Longqing. Emperor Longqing no longer needs to promote Shen Chen to divide the Linjiang Palace. Instead, he should think about how to tie Shen Chen down tightly.
He obviously felt that the Wei family was not important enough.
If it was my own daughter...
Shen Chen has to lean towards him a little more, right
It was inevitable that he would be tempted.
The second master and the third master looked at each other, frowned and couldn't speak for a long time.
Princess Yonghe is making such a fuss now because she can't achieve her goal. If she really succeeds, Wei An and she will never let it go.
Now Princess Yonghe is pointing her finger at the Third Lady. Who knows what trouble she will come up with next.
The third master was extremely worried, and the second master was even more frightened. They had dealt with the third house before, and now it was probably the second house's turn. If this really happened, it would be fatal.
Mrs. Wei looked at Shen Chen, and seeing that Shen Chen had not spoken, she asked him, "What did you say?"
Shen Chen looked at Wei An, then at Old Madam Wei, his eyes full of undisguised murderous intent. He paused, then said, "I'm thinking of a way to solve this problem once and for all."
For example, let Princess Yonghe have some accidents.
This kind of one-sided crazy love is too heavy a burden for those who don't like her, not to mention that Princess Yonghe is a person who always wants to destroy herself if she can't get what she wants.
She knew that marrying Shen Chen would not help, Shen Chen would not even look at her, but she just wanted to disgust Shen Chen and Wei An, and not let them live a good life. This kind of person...