One second to remember [Brushstroke Pavilion] [Free of charge, read the wonderful novel!]
A warm feeling suddenly enveloped his body. Shen Ninghua turned around and saw the cloak draped over his shoulders. A smile flashed across his eyes. "Are you done talking?"
Chu Junyi nodded. "Yes, we have too many matters to discuss for too long today. I've already spoken to my mother about it, so I'll be going to the palace with her some other day."
Shen Ninghua nodded and said, "En, then let's go back. It's getting late."
Chu Junyi paused for a moment, then looked apologetically at Shen Ninghua. "I was too focused on being happy to forget that you've worked all day. Let's go."
Shen Ninghua fell asleep in Chu Junyi's arms after a while. The guilt in Chu Junyi's eyes grew even stronger as she held her in her arms. She didn't even wake up from the carriage. She directly carried Shen Ninghua back to the Hua Jun Pavilion and personally washed her face and hands before pulling her into her arms under the quilt.
Seeing her peaceful sleeping face, Chu Junyi didn't feel sleepy at all. Her heart was so full that it felt like it was about to spill out of her chest. She couldn't help laughing out loud. "Good, good …"
When Shen Ninghua woke up again, the sky was already bright. Chu Junyi had already returned. She was sitting on the soft couch in her room, reading a book. Upon hearing Shen Ninghua wake up, she called Bai Ning in to help her wash up.
Shen Ninghua also felt very hungry. She only felt full after eating an extra bowl of porridge compared to usual. "Didn't you say yesterday that you'd enter the palace? Why haven't you gone there yet?" He and Bu Yun had just met, so there should be a lot of things to say.
Chu Junyi's eyes were filled with a amicable smile, and her handsome features were even more eye-catching. "We'll go back later. The palace should be in a mess by now, so it's not appropriate for me to go in."
Shen Ninghua nodded and said with a slight sigh, "I'm afraid that the outside world is already in an uproar, isn't it?"
Hong Ling walked in and the envelope in her hand was much thicker than usual: "Young miss, this is the Prince Consort's … "Hmm …" It didn't seem appropriate to call him Prince Consort now …
Chu Junyi smiled happily. "You can call me Prince Consort. I haven't even recovered my status, so even if I did, I wouldn't punish you for calling me a prince?"
Hong Ling smiled embarrassedly, "Yes. Yesterday, the identity of Prince Consort Ma was revealed. Today, the capital is bustling with activity. Until now, you can't see much on the surface, but in private it has almost turned into chaos."
Shen Ninghua nodded his head and asked, "Is there any activity with the Zhao Family?"
"The empress has been grounded. The crown prince should have already informed the Zhao Family, but the Zhao Family didn't have any reaction. They didn't seem to care about the empress being grounded at all."
Shen Ninghua lowered her gaze slightly. "I'm afraid it's not that I don't mind, but I'm preparing some big move."
"Miss, what should we do to deal with it?"
"I still don't know how the Zhao Family will make a move, but it's hard to say. What about Bu Jinglan and Bu Tinghe? "
"After the two of them returned from the palace yesterday, the guards at the inn had a new batch. According to those people's performance, they should be members of the Dragon Scale Army."
Chu Junyi laughed. "Looks like Imperial Father is preparing to seal their mouths."
Shen Ninghua looked at Chu Junyi. "Mm. If this happens, I'm afraid the third prince will be worried." The Third Prince was always concerned about Bu Tinghe, and now that he couldn't see the beauty, he might be tossing and turning.
They smiled at each other and waited to see what would happen next.
After lunch, Chu Junyi was about to enter the palace when Hong Ling ran in to them in a flurry. "Miss, something has happened. The lord …"
Shen Ninghua's hand that was holding the chess board suddenly stopped. "What's wrong?"
Hong Ling bit her lips, "Just now, the palace sent a message that Master passed away in prison."
Shen Ninghua stared blankly for a moment. The book in her hands fell to the ground with a "pa" sound, "Did father pass away?"
Hong Ling was anxious, "Miss, don't be too sad …"
Ever since she heard Yun Fei talk about what had happened the previous day, she had been mentally prepared for this. However, as time passed, the grudges and grudges in her heart had turned into smoke, and when she really faced the truth, she could not help but feel sorrowful in her heart, "Bai Yu, help me get dressed. I will enter the palace to request for an imperial decree from royal father."
Chu Junyi put her arm around her shoulder. "I'll go with you, Ning Hua."
Shen Ninghua nodded. There were no tears in her eyes, but an unconcealable sadness could be seen.
Before Shen Ninghua even opened his mouth, he had already given her an imperial edict for mercy. The contents of the edict were very simple: Shen Dong was a rank 1 official of the imperial court who had helped the Great An Nation in the past. Although he made a mistake later on, since he had already passed away, he could hold a funeral according to the rank 1 official's funeral.
"Thank you, Imperial Father." Shen Ninghua received the imperial edict, and together with Chu Junyi, they bowed towards Baili Qingfeng.
"Ning Hua, Jun Yi is my son, and you've even married him. Logically speaking, you should be my daughter-in-law, but I still view you as my daughter. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand. Thank you royal father."
Because of Shen Dong's matter, Chu Junyi did not go to the harem to see Yun Fei. Instead, she accompanied Shen Ninghua back to the Residence of Shen.
At the entrance, Bai Yu, Bluebird and the others were standing by the side of Shen Xuanlin.
Shen Xuanlin had been keeping his head down the entire time. When he saw Shen Ninghua approaching, he hurriedly ran over and grabbed Shen Ninghua's sleeve without saying a word.
Shen Ninghua looked at his bloodshot eyes and felt a great pain in his heart, "Xuanlin, now that you're the pillar of the Shen family, from today onwards, you represent the entire Shen family. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Big Sis." Tears welled up in Shen Xuanlin's eyes, but his expression was exceptionally resolute. He wanted to bring honor to the Shen family. He wanted to make the Shen family once again become an aristocratic family, so that they could shine and support their eldest sister!
The emperor had given the order, and the Internal Affairs Division was extremely quick. Not long after, someone came over to escort Shen Dong's coffin.
The Su Clan ordered people to set up the mourning hall. Seeing that Shen Xuanlin was already taller than Shen Ninghua, their hearts were filled with emotion. When their big brother was still alive, they could never have imagined that the one who would send him to the grave in mourning, dressed in his birthday suit, would actually be this bastard that he had always looked down upon.
Shen Dong's funeral was very simple. Although it was done in accordance with the death of a first rank official, he was, after all, a sinner. Many officials only sent people over to express their condolences before leaving.
In the evening, the people had already left. The third branch Meng family had long since left due to inconvenience. The Su family originally wanted to accompany Shen Ninghua and Shen Xuanlin, but they were persuaded by Shen Ninghua to return.
"Then Aunt will go back first. Ning Hua, you have to be careful of your body. After all, there are two people now." Shen Ninghua nodded, "I will. Auntie, don't worry."
Only she, Chu Junyi, and Shen Xuanlin were left in the mourning hall. Shen Ninghua personally lit an incense stick and inserted it into the incense burner. Then, he stood in front of Shen Dong's spirit tablet and slowly knelt down.
Chu Junyi's heart ached. Although she hadn't shed a single tear, she was still hurt. She walked over to Shen Ninghua and knelt beside him. "Ninghua, you can cry if you feel bad."
Shen Ninghua shook her head and remained silent for a while before saying, "When I was very young, I really admired him. When I heard people say that I was ugly and that I wasn't his biological daughter, I just hid away and secretly cried. I don't know how many times I have watched my father playing with Shen Linghan high above my head, holding her in his arms. I was always envious and felt inferior, trying my best to get his attention. "No matter how hard I try, he only has eyes for Shen Lingghan. Even after knowing that she has framed me many times, he still pushed me to the front even in the face of danger …"
Chu Junyi held her in her arms. "Ning Hua …"
"I hate him, I hate him for his lack of love and righteousness, I hate him for being disloyal, I hate him for letting my mother down, I hate him for turning a blind eye to me, and I hate him for being greedy. Now, even the Emperor himself has said that I have nothing to do with him, so why should I be sad?"
Chu Junyi raised a hand to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. "You can't say, but why did you cry …"
Shen Ninghua buried his head into Chu Junyi's bosom. The Shen family, Shen Lingghan, Zhao Yunxiang, Shen Dong … It's finally over, she's not the Holy Mother, she hates him, but she hasn't lost her mind because of it. She planned to destroy the Shen family with one hand, but she never thought of taking Shen Dong's life. Now that she's dead, it's all over.
After Shen Dong's funeral, about five to six days later, the imperial edict regarding Chu Junyi's identity was announced. It caused a huge uproar within the court.
Baili Qingfeng did not regain his status as Bu Yunqing. Instead, he used the title of Imperial Concubine Xian to welcome her back to the Imperial Palace.
She said that she was the savior of Baili Qingyuan, and because she had saved the emperor's face, she had wanted to bring him into the palace. However, she was suddenly separated from him and only returned to the emperor's side now.
No matter how the commoners and officials guessed, no one dared to voice any doubts. After all, this was a private matter of the imperial family. Talking about it in private was a great crime that could be punished by the nine clans. Thus, even if he had a huge question, he had to endure it.
Chu Junyi had changed his name to Baili Junyi. He was the Fifth Prince of the Great An Kingdom, and he had bestowed the title of Royal Highness to Shen Ninghua.
The commoners didn't know what to say anymore. At first, when they thought that something had happened to the Shen family, Shen Ninghua would also have bad luck, but they didn't expect her to break off their relationship with the Shen family once she was conferred the title of a princess. Although she had been framed many times, she couldn't go against the will of the heavens.
The people who had been watching Shen Dong's death and preparing to do something immediately quietened down. It seemed like Shen Ninghua's status had dropped since she was promoted from a princess to a princess' consort, but in reality, it was a huge bargain. The child in her stomach had already become a real dragon, a phoenix, so who would dare to act rashly?
Such an experience could already be called a legend. He wouldn't be able to finish it even after three days.