Hearing this voice, Shen Mu saw everyone's expressions and closed her eyes, feeling that their Shen family was doomed!
Fortunately, she had two sons in the Northern Territory, and her father would protect them so they could survive.
Shen Fu, upon hearing this voice, felt as if he were hallucinating.
Did he just hear his rebellious daughter insulting a prince?!
Although the Second Prince's public proposal to marry Jiaojiao was inappropriate, she still shouldn't have scolded him!
Shen Changyuan felt as if the entire Shen family's heads were hanging by a thread.
He wanted to step in and reprimand Shen Mingzhu, but then he saw his grandmother.
"Ahem!"
The Jingyuan Emperor scanned the room below, his expression unchanged.
[Hmph! Don’t think being a prince makes you special. If you don’t want me, I don’t want you either! Cheating while engaged and still acting so righteous—who do you think you are? A hypocrite with no moral integrity! A rotten Gua Gua! A dog of a man! May you become a eunuch sooner or later! I despise you!]
At this moment, Shen Mingzhu was shouting in her heart:
[Don’t bully a young girl for being poor; my fate is in my hands, not heaven’s! Today, you ignore me, but one day, you won’t be worthy of me. Let’s go!]
[Down with the scumbag dog!]
Feeling the collective gaze of everyone, especially the Emperor, Empress, and Consort, Shen Mu felt her precious darling was doomed. This time, she couldn’t protect her beloved daughter.
Her mind raced for a solution.
What if her father surrendered his military power? Would that work?!
The family still had an Imperial Certificate of Merit—she could give it to her darling.
Her dear daughter is still young; she can’t die!
At this moment, the Second Prince, Yan Yunxuan, was still in shock. Did Shen Mingzhu just loudly curse him?
He couldn’t believe it.
Did she have a death wish?!
Shen Mingzhu cursing him? Had the sun risen from the west?
"Shen Mingzhu, how dare you!"
Shen Mingzhu looked at the suddenly enraged Yan Yunxuan with an innocent expression.
Trembling and fearful, she stood up and knelt.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, this subject’s daughter is wronged! The Second Prince has been bullying me just because he’s a prince. I am so pitiful. I beg Your Majesty and Your Highnesses to uphold justice!"
The ministers: …
What a talent!
Especially those officials at odds with Shen Changyuan, who watched gleefully, waiting for his downfall.
Suddenly, Shen Fu, Shen Changyuan, stepped forward and knelt.
"Your Majesty, this old subject’s daughter Mingzhu grew up in the countryside and has always been unruly. These past few years, it was my negligence for not disciplining her properly. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness!"
Li Consort looked at Shen Fu’s demeanor and snorted lightly.
Did he think he could escape unscathed after insulting her Xuan’er?
Shen Mingzhu watched as her father knelt, followed by her mother, her two brothers, and everyone from the second branch, all kneeling.
[Gua Gua, what’s going on? If a prince breaks the law, he is punished like a commoner! Is the Second Prince so arrogant? Would the Emperor unreasonably favor his own son?]
[Host, don’t be afraid, it’s fine! The Jingyuan Emperor is a wise ruler. He is fair and just and won’t tolerate a prince bullying a minister. Especially since your father is the Minister of Revenue, an important official!]
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu felt relieved.
[That’s good, then I’m reassured!]
While no one was looking, she glared fiercely at Yan Yunxuan.
Dog of a man!
[Gua Gua, this Second Prince is truly despicable. Tell me, what dirt do you have on him?]
[Host, there really are several pieces of gossip about the Second Prince here. Which one would you like to hear first?]
[Just pick one randomly for now.]
[Alright.]
The Jingyuan Emperor was quite pleased to hear the young girl below praising him as a wise ruler. He had originally planned to brush it off with a laugh, but then he overheard gossip about the Second Prince.
He decided to wait and listen carefully.
"Gossip?"
Suddenly, everyone felt that the young lady from the Changping Marquis Manor could wait a little longer. They wanted to hear this gossip first.
With the Jingyuan Emperor at the highest seat remaining silent, everyone lowered their heads pretending nothing was happening, but in reality, they were all straining their ears, afraid to miss a single word.
[Host, actually, the Second Prince Yan Yunxuan and the commoner girl Shen Jiaojiao have already been together. The reason he's so determined to marry Shen Jiaojiao now is purely because he feels they're highly compatible. Additionally, your eldest brother and fourth brother share a deep bond with Shen Jiaojiao and secretly support her. So, considering that your eldest brother Shen Qinghong will inherit the Marquis Estate, marrying Shen Jiaojiao would essentially pull the entire Changping Marquis Manor into his faction. That's why he wants to make her his principal consort.]
[Wow! Our family has two traitors!]
[Host, don't put it so harshly! Don't forget, your second and third brothers secretly support you. From Shen Jiaojiao's perspective, given their twelve years of sibling-like affection, wouldn't that make them traitors too!]
Shen Mingzhu immediately retorted upon hearing this.
[What are you talking about! Second Brother and Third Brother are not traitors—Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother are! Hmph!]
Shen Qinghong and Shen Qingbo, hearing Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts, flushed bright red with shame.
This time, in front of the entire Manchao Wenwu, the two brothers were publicly shamed as "traitors"!
They wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
The ministers below nodded in agreement after hearing this, and the Jingyuan Emperor took note of their reactions.
Shen Mingzhu thought for a moment and continued chatting casually with the Gossip System.
[Gua Gua, don't forget that my four brothers and I are biological siblings, born from the same mother. They actually abandoned their own blood sister to support an adopted sister with no blood relation—aren't they foolish? It's downright brainless!]
[Host, they've lived together for twelve years. Twelve years—even raising a dog would create a bond. So, don't take it too hard. You still have a mother who loves you, a grandfather who cares for you, and two brothers fighting abroad. Isn't that good enough? You can't expect everyone to like you.]
Shen Mingzhu found this reasoning quite sound and nodded.
True.
That really makes sense.
Yan Beixuan, hearing Gua Gua expose the unspoken truth between him and Jiaojiao, realized he had no choice but to marry her now!
Ignoring everything else, he steeled himself, knelt down, and kowtowed three times.
"Father Emperor, Empress Mother, Imperial Concubine Mother, your son and Jiaojiao are deeply in love and have long been kindred spirits. I beg you to grant us your blessing."
Seeing Yan Yunxuan's demeanor, the Jingyuan Emperor sighed softly. Just as he was about to consent to his son's request, he overheard Shen Mingzhu's inner thoughts.
[Hah! Illicit relations are illicit relations. An improper union without matchmakers, and you call it 'deeply in love'? If everyone who claimed to be in love could just be together directly, then what's the point of parental arrangements and matchmakers? They might as well just jump into the bridal chamber the moment they lay eyes on each other! Shameless, trying to dress up your actions so elegantly—what a scoundrel!]
The Jingyuan Emperor reflected that it was indeed improper for Xuan'er to be with the second young lady Shen Jiaojiao before even annulling his engagement with the legitimate daughter Shen Mingzhu of the Shen family.
But after all, Yan Yunxuan was her own son.
With a soft sigh, she spoke,
"The second young lady of Changping Marquis Manor, Shen Jiaojiao, is betrothed to the Second Prince Yan Yunxuan as Xuan Prince Side Consort, to enter the manor on a selected date."
Shen Jiaojiao clenched her palms tightly, closing her eyes with resentment upon hearing the words "Side Consort."
Fifteen years of cultivating a good reputation and image had only earned her the position of a Side Consort.
She was still unwilling!
Lifting her gaze to look at Shen Mu in front of her, her eyes were bloodshot, revealing a trace of resentment.