"Iron Command Token?"
Emperor Qiyuan set down the memorial in his hands upon hearing this, nodding solemnly.
That token had been granted to the Shen family after Shen Yu had traded his left eye for peace in the southern borderlands.
When the Iron Command was issued, it represented the Emperor's supreme promise.
Shen Yu had left it to Shen Fuyan.
"You wish to seek a mutual divorce? Merely because the Xuan family took a concubine?"
Emperor Qiyuan found it utterly baffling.
The Shen family had always been of modest standing, and since Shen Yu's death in battle, they had gradually declined.
Shen Fuyan was now the daughter-in-law of the Left Chancellor and the mistress of the household.
"If you divorce, your status will plummet."
There was regret in his eyes.
A divorced woman of ordinary birth would likely never find such fortune again in her lifetime.
"A person's life is not lived for fleeting glory," Shen Fuyan raised her head, her expression solemn. "Your Majesty, Xuan Wenyang is in perfect harmony with his kept mistress, and their son is already four years old. My father-in-law and mother-in-law also admire the mistress's literary talent. Since they already have a better daughter-in-law candidate in mind, I have no wish to stubbornly stand in the way and play the villain."
"The Xuan family are scholars of the pure stream faction; this matter is truly improper, and it has placed you in a difficult position."
Emperor Qiyuan shook his head, clearly displeased with the Xuan family's actions.
"If I had known this would happen, I should never have bestowed this marriage in the first place."
He had heard vaguely that the Second Young Master of the Chancellor's mansion was fond of poetry and painting, and did not particularly care for his military-bred wife.
He sighed, about to issue the decree, when the chief eunuch suddenly entered.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from Suzhou—torrential rain through the night, the Wei River has burst its banks!"
"What?"
Emperor Qiyuan was startled, and Shen Fuyan's eyes widened slightly as well.
If the Wei River had burst, someone would certainly need to be sent to manage the floods and provide disaster relief…
Her heart sank suddenly.
The last time a flood occurred, it was Chancellor Xuan himself who had led the efforts, taking Xuan Wenyang along to successfully control the waters.
And now…
Sure enough, Emperor Qiyuan turned to look at Shen Fuyan, his gaze growing complicated.
"Your Majesty!"
There was pleading in Shen Fuyan's eyes.
"I have matters of state to discuss. Everything else must wait for now!" Emperor Qiyuan rubbed his brow and waved his hand without mercy.
"Lady Shen, this way please."
The eunuch at Qiyuan's side immediately guided her out.
No matter how unwilling she was, Shen Fuyan could not defy the imperial command. She could only follow, slowly making her way out.
After she had walked some distance, a group of attendants surrounded a woman wearing a peony phoenix hairpin as they arrived at the entrance to the imperial study.
"Which household's lady is that, coming to see the Emperor?"
Empress Yao watched Shen Fuyan's graceful retreating figure.
"Your Majesty, that is the Second Young Madam of the Chancellor's mansion, Shen Fuyan."
"A daughter of the Shen family?"
Empress Yao was momentarily taken aback, and the matron at her side immediately reminded her.
"Yes, Your Majesty, she is General Shen's daughter."
At the mention of Shen Yu, Empress Yao's expression flickered with a moment of distant recollection.
She still remembered how, back then, an enemy spy disguised as a dancer had rushed the high platform during the palace banquet. Shen Yu, then a guard, had flown to meet the threat, holding off five attackers alone and taking a sword to his right shoulder to shield her.
What a pity that such a loyal subject had died so young.
That night, Empress Yao summoned her informant.
"Have you found out—what did Shen Fuyan seek from His Majesty?"
The palace maid curtsied: "Your Majesty, Lady Shen came to request an imperial decree of mutual divorce."
"Mutual divorce?"
Being a woman herself, Empress Yao naturally understood what an arduous path lay ahead after a divorce.
She sighed softly: "Madame Shen did not care for her, which instead fostered this self-reliant nature in her. Well then—since she has raised the matter with His Majesty, I should not interfere further."
Seeing Empress Yao's troubled expression, the matron knew she was thinking of her own past with the Emperor, and could not help but offer words of comfort.
"Your Highness, Miss Shen is intelligent and refined. If you favor her, you can extend your care to her in other ways. That way, even if she goes through a Mutual Divorce, no one would dare show her disrespect out of consideration for you."
Empress Yao pondered this. "You speak truly. Let us observe a while longer, and see whether this Shen Fuyan is as upright and honorable as her father—whether she is worth my trouble."
Shen Fuyan returned to the Prime Minister's residence in a daze and collapsed onto her bed.
After a moment, the Huanhua soft pillow beneath her face was soaked through with tears.
She had been so close—so close to escaping this man-eating place.
Outside the door, the indignant voices of maidservants drifted into her ears.
"Lord Xuan the Second is truly shameless. Yesterday Old Madame personally instructed that Xu Mengyu, not yet taken as a concubine, could only sleep in the servants' quarters. Yet he took advantage of the Prime Minister's busy schedule to secretly bring that wretch into his own room."
"Just now I passed by the front courtyard and saw that wretch leaving Miss's gold-lacquered kingfisher-feather glazed screen out in the yard to be ruined. It infuriates me!"
With a creak, Shen Fuyan pushed the door open.
"Miss!"
Lürong and Lu Bai were startled and hurried over to support her.
"Has Miss rested well? Would you like to eat?"
"No," Shen Fuyan said, her face pale, speaking slowly. "Pick five of our household guards. I am going to Xuan Wenyang's courtyard to take back my dowry."
She had toiled with all her heart and blood in the Prime Minister's residence for three years—she was not without her own possessions.
At the very least, many of the servants had been handpicked by her, and most of their indenture contracts were held in her grasp.
After Lu Bai selected five guards, Shen Fuyan led them in a grand procession to Xuan Wenyang's courtyard.
Before she even entered, she heard a burst of joyful laughter.
Xuan Wenyang and Xu Mengyu had set out warm wine and fruit platters in the courtyard—one playing the flute, the other the zither, as if they wished to dance with the moon.
What a lovely scene of marital harmony beneath the moon! If only one could ignore the fact that all of it was her dowry, it would be even better.
"What are you doing here?"
The moment he saw her face, Xuan Wenyang's expression darkened. He walked to Xu Mengyu's side and shielded her.
"You vicious woman, did you go to the imperial city today to complain to His Majesty, hoping to use the opportunity to tear me and Mengyu apart!"
His face was full of contempt and fury. "I tell you, nothing in this world can tear apart the bond between Mengyu and me!"
"Don't get excited. I did not mention either of you. My audience with His Majesty was for other matters entirely."
Shen Fuyan looked indifferently at the two of them leaning against each other.
Sitting on her dowry couch—it was utterly unbearable to look at.
"Move it out."
At her command, Lu Bai produced a list and, pointing to each item in the courtyard, announced in a clear voice: "Gold-lacquered kingfisher-feather glazed screen, cherry-wood root-carved round-backed armchair, white jade lotus-petal patterned covered censer, Floating Light Zither…"
The guards had already received their orders. Whatever Lu Bai pointed to, they stepped forward to carry away.
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind!"
Even the low couch that Xuan Wenyang and Xu Mengyu had been sitting on was lifted up. He let go and jumped in front of Shen Fuyan.
"Shen Fuyan! Have you gone mad?"
What wife would dare to storm into her husband's courtyard and start seizing things by force?
"Lord Xuan the Second, my mistress has merely come to retrieve her own dowry."
Lu Bai spoke with a sharp tongue.
"Since ancient times, a woman's dowry has always been hers to decide. I used to lend my dowry to you for your use. Now I find my own courtyard bare and wish to move it back."
Shen Fuyan spoke coldly.
"Besides, my things—the belongings of a vicious woman—merely offend your eyes here. I will take them away right now."
“When she had selected servants in the past, she had always used the soldiers around Shen Yu as her standard, choosing sturdy and honest men. Now, facing this group of rough men, Xuan Wenyang simply could not stop them.”
“You! How can you be so petty and haggle over every ounce?”
Xuan Wenyang’s gaze showed disgust.
“Had I known this, I should never have married you, the daughter of a military officer—rash, lacking virtue, neither worthy nor refined!”
He spoke with surging anger, seemingly having forgotten how he had once repeatedly praised Shen Fuyan for her frank and straightforward nature, unlike other noble ladies who were affected and pretentious.
“Since you detest me so, why don’t we seek a Mutual Divorce?”
Shen Fuyan suddenly spoke, and Xuan Wenyang abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
“What did you say?”