It's just a pity.
There was a fatal stupidity in her shrewdness.
"You can't give me what I want, Miss Shen Er, and you don't have the ability to make a deal with me. Now I'm here to lend you a helping hand."
Shen Xiyao raised her eyebrows.
"Do you have a grudge against Shen Xining?"
Shen Xiyao sighed inwardly, she was indeed a fool, making enemies everywhere and even offending the princes in the palace. No wonder she was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall a few days ago just because she followed the Fourth Prince out. It was probably the Fourth Prince's doing.
A hint of sarcasm flashed across Xie Zhaoan's eyes.
"Whether you have it or not is not your concern."
Shen Xiyao nodded, thinking that she had guessed most of his thoughts, and felt quite satisfied, but...
"Will the Shen family be implicated by this?"
laugh.
Xie Zhaoan smiled, and this time he really smiled. It was noon and the sun was at its brightest. He was frail but tall, and his whole body was hidden in the sunlight. His face could not be seen clearly, but he was inexplicably charming. Shen Xiyao swallowed unconsciously.
"Second Miss Shen, is the Shen family important to you?"
Xie Zhaoan's fingers tapped unconsciously on the jade flute. The sound was not loud and the rhythm was steady. People who were familiar with him knew that this was his way of issuing an ultimatum.
"Miss Shen, I'm here to help you. Are you sure you want to keep asking?"
Shen Xiyao's long nails dug into her palms, causing a pain. Without thinking, she nodded and spoke.
"Okay, I agree to your terms."
By then, when she becomes the queen, what will the Shen family have to do with her, her mother, and her brother? As long as she ascends the throne that everyone wants, not to mention the Shen family, even countless families will be her playthings.
Among the people in the world, some people ascend to the supreme throne with selfish intentions from the very beginning, while others only care about the lights in thousands of homes and the joy in the hearts of the people from the very beginning, because they know that when the people are united, the country will be stable.
Shen Xining took another walk outside to calm himself down before returning to the banquet hall. However, when Shen Xining returned to the banquet hall, Shen Xiyao had already returned. She was leaning intimately against the queen's side, and the two were talking, looking very intimate.
I wonder when these two got together
Seeing Shen Xining coming back, the queen smiled widely.
"A Ning is back. She's been gone for a long time. Are you feeling better now? Xiyao and I were just talking about this. I heard that you're good at riding. The royal family will hold a hunting party in a while. You two sisters can ride with the prince and go together. I think Xiyao is a good match for me, so I took the initiative. A Ning, you won't blame me, right?"
Shen Xining quickly submitted.
"Your Highness, you are joking. How could Xining not be willing? Xiyao is my younger sister. It would be great if she could accompany me. I am afraid I am so happy that I can't wait."
"That's the best thing."
As she spoke, the queen actually sighed.
"Now the empire is not settled, and the emperor is in poor health. Today, our dynasty has the Shen family by its side, and the Jiang family has pacified the territory. This is a blessing for our dynasty. However, Xining's marriage is always a big worry for me. Now that Xining's health has almost recovered, we should quickly ask someone to choose an auspicious day to settle your marriage. What do you think, Xining?"
Shen Xiyao was a little flustered.
"Empress, my sister has been taking Chinese medicine for treatment recently. The doctor said that although her face looks much better, her internal structure is still weak. I think the engagement cannot be carried out for the time being."
The queen glanced at Shen Xiyao with a meaningful look in her eyes.
"In that case, then there is no need to force it."
The queen took Shen Xining and Shen Xiyao's hands and spoke with regret.
"I have not had a sister since I was young. Seeing you two today, I feel a lot more sad. It would be the best if I also had a sister who was always by my side. It would be great if you sisters could stay together more often in the future. It would also be a fulfillment of the sisterhood."
Shen Xiyao was stupid and hadn't understood her meaning yet, so she just nodded.
"The Queen is kind and generous, and a person of great virtue."
Shen Xining just sat aside and smiled, feeling a chill on his back.
The Queen's banquet today was very interesting. On the one hand, she kept silent about Shen Xiyao putting on a dancer's outfit to seduce the prince to damage the Shen family's reputation. She just wanted to warn Shen Xining to complete the marriage contract as soon as possible, otherwise, she was not the only lady in the Shen family, and she was not the only one who could marry into the palace. On the other hand, since the Shen family played such a big role in the prince's ascension to the throne, and Shen Xiyao's wolfish ambitions were now obvious, it would be better to marry the two ladies together, so that the prince would have a bigger handle in his hands.
The emperor stood up for some unknown reason and came to the banquet. He looked decadent, his back was hunched, and he coughed after taking two steps. It was true as people outside said that his good days would not last long. But after all, he was an emperor who had been on the throne for decades, and his majesty was evident. He sat down and looked at Shen Xining.
"Are you the eldest daughter of the Shen family?"
"It's your Majesty, I hope you are well."
"Well, after Ning An passed away, I was always in grief. She grew up in the palace and was the princess's study companion. She was like my own sister. Now that I see you have grown up to be so graceful, it seems that Ning An's painstaking efforts are not in vain."
When Shen Xining heard his mother's name from the emperor, his eyes moistened slightly. His grandfather's family were important officials in the court, but they were few in number and the males died on the battlefield, so that now Shen Xining was the only bloodline.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It is a blessing for Xining."
The emperor coughed and nodded again.
"Quickly stand up. I heard that Xining has been learning to read and write under Ning An's lap since he was young, and is proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Today, why don't we show it to you?"
The queen frowned on one side, seeming unhappy.
Shen Xining's face changed slightly. It was really inappropriate for a daughter of a noble family to dance in front of everyone. Even if she married a member of the royal family in the future, she would be looked down upon, not to mention being the mother of the country in the future. The emperor's move was really a humiliation and even a blame. What did he mean? The emperor and the queen were not on good terms, and he was even more dissatisfied with this marriage? But wasn't it the emperor's own order
The emperor clapped his hands on the armrests, his expression serious.
"Why, my words are useless? Could it be that you have already regarded me as a king who has lost his life?"
The music stopped abruptly, and the dancers and musicians knelt down one after another. The palace maids and important officials knelt down one after another. The whole room was filled with people kneeling. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The emperor's blood was boiling, and he coughed more and more violently. His face was flushed red.