C63

Drunken Immortal Tavern was the biggest restaurant in the capital. When Shen Qi first heard this name, he was shocked.

Just like all the brothels, they were called the Yi Hong Courtyard. One could tell what they were called by their names, so they were quite familiar with it.

Shen Jiayan had even invited Shen Qi here, the background of the Drunken Immortal Tavern was very complicated, up till now, no one knew who the backer was, and they just knew that it was not a small place, and no one dared to offend him, otherwise, it would not be the biggest in the capital.

All the rooms in the Intoxicated Immortal Restaurant needed to be booked in advance. It didn't matter who you were, as long as you didn't have a reservation, you would either change the time or stay in the main hall.

Shen Qi brought Forou, Zi Zhu, and the bodyguards from the Duke Palace who were in charge of protecting her directly to the private box. The moment they entered the door, a waiter came to lead the way, and the moment they heard the name of the private room, they immediately led the way.

When Shen Qi came over, Shen Jiayan was already there. and Shen Jia Yao were also present in the room.

"I'm late?" Shen Qi tilted his head and smiled, opening his eyes wide as he looked at them and asked.

Shen Qi smiled as she walked in, then greeted her three brothers and sat down beside Shen Jiayan. Shen Jiayan poured a cup of tea for her, then laughed and pushed it in front of her, "Are you alright?"

"Good." Shen Qi did not say much. He was only worried that King Duanren was not in the capital, so it would not be good for Queen's Consort, but seeing how calm and collected she was, he knew that she must be having a good life.

After ordering some of the signature dishes in the restaurant, the few of them started to talk about Shen Jiayan, "When is Third Brother's time?" Shen Qi asked first.

"The fifth day."

"So fast?" Today was the second day of the new year, so there was less than three days left. "Isn't it a little early?" Shen Qi asked in confusion, there were many places that were cold, and the people of the capital did not dare to take off their clothes.

"It's getting late, we still have to rush back in June to attend second brother's wedding." Shen Jiayan looked at Shen Jiazhen and mocked.

Shen Jiazhen had already arranged for her to be married a long time ago. She was the daughter of the Cabinet s Grand Scholar Xia Liangcheng, and because three years of filial piety had been delayed to this day, she was already nineteen years old. In the ancient times, she could already be considered an old lady.

Xia Ying was also a famous talented girl in the capital. She was known even earlier than Shen Jianing, and she was different from Shen Jianing who was aloof and cold. Xia Ying was a very gentle girl, and her soft words and voice were like a breeze that caressed one's face, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

The aura around her body was gentle and elegant, even when they met each other for the first time, no one would feel uncomfortable. She gave Shen Qi a special feeling, which was why she had a deep impression of her.

The young lady was very filial, both families were already betrothed to each other, but Madam Xia suddenly passed away and messed up everything, Xia Ying was afraid that Shen Jiazhen would take the initiative to cancel the engagement, and it was Shen Jiazhen who stopped her from doing so, saying that he was willing to wait until she was done with her.

This was because the Lady Xu still had some complaints about her, leaving her with a bad impression before anyone else could marry in. Shen Qi was actually quite worried for her future life.

In May of this year, Xia Ying was going to be filial, so the marriage for Shen Jiazhen was set for the beginning of June. Of course, Shen Jiayan would not miss second brother's marriage, so by June, he had to come back no matter what.

When Shen Qi heard this reason, she smiled at her second brother, "At that time, I must properly add some makeup for big sister Xia, I remember seeing her once when I was young, big sister Xia would always accompany me when I was being treated coldly, it was so warm and gentle that it had the demeanor of a big sister. I was just thinking how great it would be if she was my big sister!"

Thinking about everything that Shen Jiahui had done, her teeth couldn't help but turn cold. At that time, even an outsider who had no relatives or relatives could treat his little sister so well, yet his own sister had framed him in every possible way, and wished that Shen Jiahui could kill her.

Shen Jiahui's heart was warped so much that she didn't know how to cultivate it? Normally, there wouldn't be so many private matters in the family, so how did Shen Jiahui learn this?

Of course they didn't know that Shen Jiahui had such an experience, Shen Qi did know that but she would definitely not say it. This matter was too unimaginable, but seeing how her brothers were silent, Shen Qi immediately changed the topic.

"Who are the people that Third Brother is going with this time?"

"Don't worry. I'm with the Zheng Family's caravan this time. Little gongzi Zheng is my classmate, so we can get along very well." Shen Jiayan also knew that Shen Qi had purposely changed the topic and continued with a smile.

"That's good." Shen Qi said with a smile. The Zheng Family was an imperial merchant, and although they were a merchant, no one dared to offend them, because their family was backed by the Emperor. Furthermore, the eldest daughter of the Zheng Family was the imperial concubine, a beautiful, gentle and intelligent woman, who had a very low profile.

At this time, the waiter came in to serve the food, interrupting their conversation. Seeing the delicious dishes, they had no desire to talk.

After dinner, he thought of a practical problem and couldn't help but ask: "What about father and mother's attitudes?" She knew that Lady Xu had always been unwilling to see Third Brother run outside.

Shen Jiazhen slanted his eyes at Shen Jiayan, and then looked at Shen Jia Yao sympathetically, "Leave this matter to Fourth Brother."

Shen Yao was sipping her tea when she suddenly heard a question: "Ah?" He pointed at his nose and confirmed, "Me?"

Shen Jiayan patted his shoulder in a good mood, laughing without any burdens, "Right, it's you. There are many capable people, and mother likes you the most. In the end, she even gave him a "I think highly of you" look.

As if she had lost her parents, Shen Jiayao dejectedly said, "It's me again. The last time was me. Mom gave me a good scolding." His childish face wrinkled into a bun, making people want to pinch him. Fourth Bro was really cute!

Shen Jiayan and Shen Jiazhen laughed on the side without the love of brothers. After all, Fourth Brother could not escape from this matter.

In the end, Shen Jiazhen could not take it anymore, he patted his shoulder to comfort him, "Alright, there will be still second brother at that time. second brother will not watch on helplessly as you ignore him." He could only close his eyes and not watch!

Shen Jiyao didn't believe him at all. She snappily snorted. At least, she knew that these people didn't know anything about caring for their brothers. When something happened, they would just push themselves away.

Shen Jiazhen and the others ignored him as well, and turned to Shen Qi instead. "You have to be careful of anything if Duke Xiang isn't here, don't leave any evidence behind for others."

Shen Qi nodded her head, "I know what to do, second brother does not need to worry about me, when the prince leaves, he will leave many guards behind for me, if there is anything, they will take care of it."

Wherever the barbarians went, they would burn and loot. The women were brutally murdered by the soldiers, and the better ones would be taken to the enemy's side. The rest of the elderly and children would not let go of them, and the women would be killed in a single stab without a single survivor.

Blades and guns have no eyes. If Prince Xian had a good side, how would his sister be able to deal with him? Every time Shen Jiazhen thought about it, his dissatisfaction with the Shen Fei became even more intense.

Although Shen Qi didn't know what he was thinking, it was true that he was worried about herself, so she smiled and said: "Actually, there are benefits to marrying into the King's Mansion, and I just happen to meet the requirements for this year's general election. If I were to enter the palace and become your concubine, I might as well marry Duke Xian."

At least King Duan didn't have that many women, and a bunch of girls from the harem was too much for Shen Qi to accept, especially when the Shen Fei was still her eldest sister and the Emperor was her brother-in-law. Even if Shen Qi didn't have much relationship with the Shen Fei, it was still too much for her to accept.

Moreover, if they had done it well, it would become a beautiful story for everyone to hear. However, Shen Qi was truly unable to accept it, no matter how long she had stayed in the ancient times, how much time had passed, how much time she had spent with her bones unchanged, even if she had to compromise with her three wives and four concubines for the sake of survival, she would still not forget her bottom line.

For example, he wouldn't lose his heart, wasn't willing to be a third party to another person, and more importantly, he didn't want to have any emotional conflicts with his sister. Whether it was because of her hypocrisy or her innocence, Shen Qi would persevere and never change his way of doing things.

The palace was like a woman's cage, it was hard to come out after entering. No matter how innocent a woman was before, she would be dyed black in a few years' time by this vat. Otherwise, the only thing waiting for them was death.

In truth, the Zheng Family did not want their daughter to enter the palace as an imperial concubine at all. However, they had no choice but to do this for the sake of their family, so when Shen Jiahui insisted on marrying the crown prince, the people of the Shen Family were all against it.

The Zheng Family was inevitable. Their daughter was destined to die soon after she was born. If not, the wealthy imperial merchants would never be at ease. In order to reassure the emperor, they would have to sacrifice the happiness of their first daughter.

The family that doted on their daughter wouldn't be willing for her to enter the palace as an imperial concubine. Although she had an illustrious status, everyone was well aware of what sort of life she was leading.

That's right, if not for her hastily marrying King Duan, she would have definitely entered the palace to participate in the talent competition this year.

Seeing that their expressions had relaxed, Shen Qi laughed in his heart. Humans fear comparison the most, as long as there is one that is even worse than right now, you will definitely think that it's good, and be glad in your heart, glad that it's not the worst result.

Shen Qi was an optimistic person, she was always able to keep the dead end. Even if the road ahead was tough, she would definitely be able to build her own mentality and live this life in her heart.