Chapter 262 - Shen Dong Died

Shen Ninghua suddenly felt warmth on her body. She turned around and saw the cloak draped over her shoulders. A smile flashed across her eyes. “You finished talking?”

Chu Junyi nodded. “Well, too many things happened today. It is not suitable to have a long talk. I told mother that I will go to the Palace to have a good chat with her another day.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Well, let’s go back. It’s getting late.”

Chu Junyi paused for a moment and then looked at Shen Ninghua apologetically. “I was so happy that I forgot you have been busy for the entire day. Let’s go.”

Pregnant women were easier to get tired. This day was filled with shock and terror and was really tiring. Shen Ninghua nodded and did not try to be brave.

After getting on the carriage, Shen Ninghua leaned into Chu Junyi’s arms and soon fell asleep. Chu Junyi held her in his arms, and the guilt in his eyes became more obvious. He did not wake her up after getting off the carriage and directly carried her back to Huajun Pavilion. After personally helping Shen Ninghua wash up, he covered her with the quilt and pulled her into his arms.

Looking at her quiet sleeping face, Chu Junyi did not feel sleepy at all. He only felt that his heart was almost overflowing. In the end, he could not help but laugh silently. It was so good, so good…

When Shen Ninghua woke up again, the sky was already bright. Chu Junyi had already returned from court and was sitting on the soft couch in the room reading a book. When he heard Shen Ninghua wake up, he called Bai Ruo in to help her wash up.

“You were already asleep when we got home yesterday, so I didn’t wake you up. After dressing up, quickly eat something. You haven’t had a decent meal since yesterday afternoon.”

Shen Ninghua also felt very hungry. She ate an extra bowl of porridge before feeling full. “Didn’t we plan to enter the Palace yesterday? Why haven’t you gone there yet?” Chu Junyi had just met his mother Bu Yunqing, so they should have a lot to say.

There was a happy smile in Chu Junyi’s eyes, and his handsome face was even more eye-catching. “It should be very chaotic in the Palace right now. It is not suitable for me to appear. I will go there later. ”

Shen Ninghua nodded and sighed. “I’m afraid there is already a commotion outside?”

Hong Ling walked in, and the envelope in her hand was much thicker than usual. “Miss, this is what the imperial son-in-law… Uh…” It seemed inappropriate to call him imperial son-in-law now…

Chu Junyi laughed in a good mood. “You can just call me imperial son-in-law. Now my identity has not recovered. Even if it has been recovered, I will not punish you because of a title.”

Hong Ling smiled embarrassedly. “Yes. Yesterday, imperial son-in-law’s identity was exposed. Today, there were more movements in the capital. Until now, nothing could be seen on the surface. In private, it was almost as chaotic as a pot of boiling porridge.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Is there any movement in the Zhao Family?”

“The Empress is grounded, and the Crown Prince should have already informed the Zhao Family. However, the Zhao Family did not have any reaction. It seemed as if they did not care about the Empress being grounded at all.”

Shen Ninghua lowered her eyes slightly. “I’m afraid it’s not that they don’t mind, but they are planning something big.”

“Miss, what should we do to deal with this?”

“I still don’t know how the Zhao Family will act, so we cannot react. What about Bu Jinglan and Bu Tinghe?”

“After the two of them returned from the Palace yesterday, the guards of the embassy were changed. According to the performance, they should be from the Dragon Scale Army.”

Chu Junyi smiled. “It seems that Father Emperor is determined to shut their mouths.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Chu Junyi. “Well, this way, I’m afraid the Third Prince will be anxious.” The third Prince was always thinking about Bu Tinghe. Now that he could not see the beauty, he would probably be tossing and turning on his bed.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, waiting to see what would happen next.

After lunch, Chu Junyi was about to enter the Palace when Hong Ling ran over in a panic. “Miss, something happened. Old master, he…”

Shen Ninghua’s hand that was holding the chess manual suddenly stopped. “What happened?”

Hong Ling bit her lips. “I just received news from the Palace that old master passed away in prison.”

Shen Ninghua was stunned. The book in her hand fell to the ground. “Father passed away?”

Hong Ling was anxious. “Miss, don’t be too sad…”

Shen Ninghua was stunned for a moment. After restoring her senses, her eyes trembled violently. Ever since she had heard Consort Yun talk about what had happened before, she had been mentally prepared. It was just that as time passed, all grudges turned into dust. When she truly faced the truth, she could not help but feel grief. “Bai Ruo, help me with my makeup. I will enter the Palace to ask Father Emperor for an imperial decree.”

Chu Junyi stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulder. “Ninghua, I will go with you.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. There were no tears but unconcealable sadness in her eyes.

Baili Qingcang seemed to have expected them to come. Before Shen Ninghua said anything, he gave her an imperial edict. The content was very simple: Shen Dong had once been a first-rank official and had done a great service to Da’an. Although he made a mistake, he could have a funeral according to the funeral standards of first-rank officials.

“Thank you, Father Emperor.” Shen Ninghua took the imperial edict and bowed to Baili Qingcang with Chu Junyi.

Baili Qingcang looked at the two of them with a complicated expression. “Ninghua, Junyi is my son, and you married him. Logically speaking, you should be my daughter-in-law, but I still treat you as my daughter. Do you understand?”

Shen Ninghua nodded. Since she was the Emperor’s daughter, then she did not have to wear mourning clothes for Shen Dong as his daughter and host the funeral. With the Emperor’s words, no one dared to accuse her of being unfilial.

“Yes, I understand. Thank you, Father Emperor.”

Because of Shen Dong’s death, Chu Junyi did not go to the harem to see Consort Yun. Instead, he accompanied Shen Ninghua to the Shen Mansion.

At the door, Bai Ruo and Qing Que were standing with Shen Xuanlin.

Shen Xuanlin kept his head down. When he saw Shen Ninghua coming over, he quickly ran over and held Shen Ninghua’s sleeve without saying anything.

Shen Ninghua looked at his red eyes and her heart ached. “Xuanlin, now, you are the pillar of the Shen Family. From today onwards, you represent the entire Shen Family. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Eldest Sister.” There were tears in Shen Xuanlin’s eyes, but his expression was particularly firm. He wanted to win glory for the Shen Family and make the Shen Family become an aristocratic family again. He wanted to do honor to the family and support Eldest Sister!

The Emperor issued a decree, and the Internal Affairs Department handled things very quickly. Not long after, someone escorted Shen Dong’s coffin over.

The people from the second and third branches of the Shen Family quickly rushed over. Madam Su ordered people to set up a mourning hall. When she saw Shen Xuanlin, who was taller than Shen Ninghua, she couldn’t help but sigh. When Shen Dong was alive, he would never have thought that the one who would wear mourning clothes for him in the end was this concubine-born son whom he had always looked down on.

Shen Dong’s funeral was very simple. Although it was held according to the mourning ceremony of a first-rank official, he was still a convicted person. Many officials only sent people to pay their condolences and then quickly leave. They did not even attend the banquet.

In the evening, all the guests had left. Madam Meng from the third branch left early using her health conditions as an excuse. Madam Su had wanted to accompany Shen Ninghua and Shen Xuanlin, but was persuaded by Shen Ninghua to go back.

“Then I will go back first. Ninghua, you have to take care of your body. After all, you are going to be a mother.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “I will. Aunt, don’t worry.”

Only Shen Ninghua, Chu Junyi, and Shen Xuanlin remained in the mourning hall. She personally lit the incense and inserted it into the incense burner. Then, she stood in front of Shen Dong’s tablet and slowly knelt down.

Chu Junyi felt a pain in his heart. Although she did not shed a single drop of tear, she was equally sad as others. He walked over to Shen Ninghua and knelt down beside her. “Ninghua, if you feel sad, you can cry.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. After a long silence, she said, “When I was a small girl, I admired him. When I heard the servants say that I was ugly and not his biological daughter, I would hide in a dark place and cry. I don’t know how many times I saw him holding Shen Linghan and raising her high above his head happily. I always felt jealous and inferior at the same time, trying to get his attention. But no matter how hard I tried, he only had Shen Linghan in his eyes. Even after knowing that she had framed me many times, he still pushed me forward in the face of danger…”

Chu Junyi pulled her into his arms. “Ninghua…”

“I hate him. I hate him for being cold-hearted and ruthless. I hate him for being biased. I hate him for letting my mother down. I hate him for turning a blind eye to me. I hate him for being greedy for power. Now, Father Emperor has personally decreed that I have nothing to do with him. Why should I be sad?”

Chu Junyi raised his hand to wipe away the tears on her face. You said that you didn’t care, but why were you still crying…

Shen Ninghua buried her head into Chu Junyi’s arms. Shen Family, Shen Linghan, Zhao Yunxiang, Shen Dong…they were all finally over. She was not a saint, and she had hatred in her heart, but she did not lose her mind because of hatred. She had planned to destroy the Shen Family, but she had never thought of taking Shen Dong’s life. Now that he had passed away, everything was over. The stone hanging in her heart slowly turned into powder and disappeared without a trace.

About five or six days after Shen Dong’s funeral, an imperial edict regarding Chu Junyi’s identity was issued. It caused chaos in the court.

Baili Qingcang did not restore Bu Yunqing’s identity. Instead, he welcomed her back to the harem in the name of Noble Consort Xian.

The decree said that she was Baili Qingcang’s savior whose face was ruined when she saved the Emperor. Originally, the Emperor wanted to bring her into the Palace, but they were separated by accident. Only now did they get united. Chu Junyi was the son of the Emperor and Noble Consort Xian.

No matter how the people and officials guessed, no one dared to express their suspicions at this time. After all, this was a private matter of the royal family. Discussing it in private was a fatal crime. Therefore, even if they had a lot of questions, they had to endure and hold them back.

Chu Junyi was renamed Baili Junyi. He was now the Fifth Prince and titled Prefectural Prince Yi, and Shen Ninghua was a prefectural princess. The ceremony would be held later on an auspicious day.

The people did not know what to say. At first, they thought that if something happened to the Shen Family, Shen Ninghua would also be unlucky. They did not expect that she would be conferred the title of Prefectural Princess Zhaohua and sever all relations with the Shen Family. Although she had been framed many times, the heavens had eyes. Not only did she successfully prove her innocence, but she also performed meritorious deeds and was conferred the title of Princess Zhaohua. Her choice of a husband was even more amazing. It turned out that Chu Junyi was the Peerless Duo Master, a rising star in the court and a favored and trustworthy official.

Now that he even became a prince who had been lost among the people, those who had seen Shen Dong pass away and were planning something suddenly became quiet. Shen Ninghua turned from the Emperor’s adopted daughter into his daughter-in-law. It seemed that her status was lowered on the surface, but in reality, she got real benefits. The baby in her belly became a real member of the royal family. Who dared to do anything to her?

This kind of experience could already be called a legend, and if written into a script and put on stage, the play couldn’t be finished in three days.

Volume Four: Princess and Legitimate Daughte