The atmosphere turned tense and silent for a brief moment.
It was Empress Cui who finally spoke, breaking the deadlock before them.
“Your Majesty, perhaps it is best to follow heaven’s will and grant Duke Jing this marriage.”
“Perhaps Eldest Miss Shen is better suited to marry a commander like Duke Jing.”
The Empress weighed the matter carefully. If Shen Zhao truly possessed the fortune of a Phoenix Star, then such incidents would not have occurred during her coming-of-age ceremony.
A heaven-ordained Phoenix Star would naturally be protected by heaven’s mandate.
Perhaps…
Shen Zhao was simply someone without fortune.
She felt she should trust Imperial Preceptor Lianping’s words.
Even Lord Shangguan of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau believed the same.
In the end, Emperor Jingle said, “Very well. I shall grant your marriage with Eldest Miss Shen.”
At dawn, the imperial decree of marriage between Shen Zhao and Xie Chenyu was delivered to both the Xie and Shen residences.
When Shen Zhao accepted the decree, Cui Xuenian’s expression became extremely unpleasant.
Eunuch Cao, who had delivered the decree, said, “Her Majesty the Empress also has another decree for Eldest Miss Shen to prepare herself.”
“In the next few days, you are to travel to Ziyun Temple for three months of cultivation to dispel your evil fiend aura. Only then may you return to the Shen residence.”
Shen Zhao tightly gripped the marriage decree between herself and Xie Chenyu.
She knew all of this was the Crown Prince slandering and manipulating matters behind the scenes.
What she did not know…
Was that the Empress’s decision happened to suit her perfectly.
She bowed obediently and answered, “Yes.”
Eunuch Cao then departed from the Shen residence and headed to the Xie residence to deliver the decree there as well.
Once the gates of the Shen residence closed
Cui Xuenian’s expression toward Shen Zhao immediately turned cold again.
She blamed Shen Zhao.
“You should not have acted so stubbornly during your coming-of-age ceremony and displeased His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Shen Zhao knowingly asked, “Daughter does not understand Mother’s meaning.”
Her second brother, Shen Cong, said, “Zhaozhao, during the ceremony, you should have soothed His Highness first instead of joining Old Madam Xie in embarrassing him.”
Her third brother, Shen Kuai, also added, “Otherwise, His Highness would never have punished you by making you marry Xie Chenyu.”
Punished her by marrying Xie Chenyu?
Ridiculous.
Shen Zhao had already seen through the true faces of these so-called relatives.
Faced now with their cruel words, her heart had become as cold and hard as stone.
“Duke Jing is the Great Yan’s God of War. At such a young age, he has already been granted nobility and military command. Marrying him is a proper match in status and family standing. How is that a punishment?”
Cui Xuenian clenched her handkerchief tightly, faintly frowning.
“You have delicate skin and were raised tenderly. He is a rough military man. If you marry him, you’ll inevitably suffer hardship.”
“Perhaps one day he’ll die on the battlefield, and you’ll spend the rest of your life as a widow.”
Shen Zhao had long known her mother was heartless, but she had not expected her to completely stop pretending and openly speak such vicious words.
If it were her previous life, Shen Zhao would surely have been frightened to tears by Cui Xuenian’s words and gone begging the Crown Prince for mercy.
But now…
She would never satisfy Cui Xuenian by doing something so foolish as clinging to the Crown Prince again.
Shen Zhao spoke directly:
“Mother, am I truly your biological daughter?”
Cui Xuenian froze in shock.
Shen Zhao turned to Shen Cong and Shen Kuai.
“Second Brother, Third Brother, am I truly your biological sister?”
Both brothers were stunned speechless.
Shen Zhao continued:
“Is becoming Crown Princess the only way I can remain your daughter and sister?”
“If one day…”
“The Crown Prince ordered you to kill me, would you obey him without hesitation and kill me?”
As she asked those questions, Cui Xuenian unconsciously took a step backward.
For just now, in Shen Zhao’s eyes, she had seen the resentment of a ghost crawling back from hell itself.
It frightened her so badly that her heart trembled.
How could Shen Zhao look at her own mother with such eyes?
Once she steadied herself, Cui Xuenian angrily snapped from humiliation:
“Zhaozhao, how can you question the care and effort Mother devoted to raising you?”
“Mother cherished and protected you like the apple of her eye. Have you forgotten that entirely?”
“I dare not forget.”
It was precisely because she dared not forget that, before her death, she had felt such unbearable pain and shock.
Even a vicious tiger would not devour its own cubs.
Yet her own family had sacrificed her life to climb the Phoenix Platform and seek greater power and status.
She had trusted them too much, never once doubting their love for her.
The truth was
Even now, in the dead of night, she could still feel the heart-rending agony from the moment she hovered at death’s edge.
She had been pampered and treasured by the entire Shen family since childhood.
Yet they had made her suffer so terribly, tormenting her to death alive.
Even after death, they refused to leave her corpse in peace, forcing her into a ghost marriage with a man she had never even known.
That was why, immediately after her rebirth, she had first investigated her own origins.
Sadly…
She truly was the daughter of Cui Xuenian and Shen Huaiming.
There really were parents, brothers, and sisters in this world who valued power and status more than the life of their own flesh and blood.
“I will never forget Mother’s upbringing. I do not dare forget it.”
Shen Zhao’s gaze was icy as she emphasized every word heavily.
Cui Xuenian had never seen her daughter like this before.
With a pained expression, she said:
“Zhaozhao, you could have remained by His Highness’s side.”
“But the way you are now…”
“Mother has never seen such jealousy in you before. Right now, you look hideous and frightening.”
“You should go beg His Highness the Crown Prince. This matter is not without room for reversal.”
After all, Xie Chenyu would not live longer than three months.
The Crown Prince would soon take Xie Chenyu’s life.
Shen Zhao understood the meaning hidden in Cui Xuenian’s words.
Unfortunately…
In this life, Xie Chenyu would no longer suffer as they wished, gravely injured on the Yanqing route,
nor die in the southern frontier.
Shen Zhao calmly said:
“Mother, the imperial decree granting my marriage to Duke Jing has already been issued.”
“The matter is settled. How could I still do something as foolish as desperately clinging to the Crown Prince?”
“Before Grandmother left the Shen residence, she once taught Daughter this: in all things, one must know how to take and how to let go. One must not force what cannot be forced.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t beg you and put you in a difficult position.”
Shen Zhao lowered her eyes and gently stroked the imperial decree.
Then she added, “I will follow heaven’s will and go to Ziyun Temple for three months of cultivation. Once Duke Jing finishes handling his official affairs, he can bring your daughter into his household.”
After speaking,
Shen Zhao gave a respectful curtsy and turned to return to Qionghua Pavilion.
Incidentally, before dawn today, Cui Xuenian had already ordered servants to move all of Shen Zhao’s belongings back into Qionghua Pavilion.
But now, it seemed…
In this lifetime, she was destined not to stay in Qionghua Pavilion for long.
After Shen Zhao returned to her courtyard, Cui Xuenian was furious.
“I raised and educated her all these years, planning everything for her sake, and this is how she repays me? Truly chilling.”
Cui Xuenian clutched her chest while being supported by Madam Yao.
Shen Cong and Shen Kuai were also quite angry at Shen Zhao’s attitude.
Soon after, Shen Rong and Shen Huaiming returned from court.
Seeing Cui Xuenian’s ugly expression, the father and son stepped forward to ask what had happened.
Shen Cong merely said, “Zhaozhao talked back to Mother just now and angered her terribly.”
Shen Huaiming frowned. “Zhaozhao talked back to your mother?”
His eldest daughter had always been sensible since childhood, respectful of hierarchy and propriety. Shen Huaiming had never once seen Shen Zhao behave rudely.
In front of Cui Xuenian, she hardly even dared breathe too loudly.
The eldest daughter he had watched grow up how had she suddenly dared to speak back to Cui Xuenian?
Cui Xuenian explained the reason.
“The imperial decree granted marriage between Zhaozhao and Duke Jing. I was worried she’d stubbornly run herself into a dead end, so I told her to soften her attitude toward the Crown Prince…”
Before she could finish speaking, Shen Huaiming rebuked her sharply.
“Nonsense!”
Cui Xuenian froze.
Then she saw Shen Huaiming’s face darken grimly.
Shen Rong explained, “Zhaozhao cannot enter the palace now, much less approach His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Huh?” Cui Xuenian tightly furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why?”
Shen Rong answered, “Last night, both the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the Imperial Preceptor recalculated Zhaozhao’s and Second Sister’s fate charts.”
“Zhaozhao’s Heavenly Fiend Star belongs to Yin Fire a sign of great calamity. The baleful energy around her is extremely heavy. If she approaches His Highness again, I fear His Highness may continue to suffer misfortune.”
“Father and I left the palace early under Her Majesty the Empress’s orders to quickly send Zhaozhao to Ziyun Temple.”
“Otherwise…”
Before Shen Rong could finish speaking, cheerful laughter suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
It was Nanny Zhou.
“Madam, Second Miss has returned!”
“Second Miss… she can speak now!”