A concubine enters the mansion? Reborn, three matchmakers and six engagements to marry the Prime Min

Emperor Xuande rolled his eyes at him with a smile, "These snacks were sent by your Li family. Do you still need to come to me to ask for them?"

Li Yunzhou took a look at the snacks and said with a smile, "I cannot eat these snacks. Mother only makes them for Father."

"I still don't understand. Why did my mother say that she was taking care of my uncle on behalf of my mother?"

The mother he was talking about was Princess Yongjia, and her mother was Princess Yongning.

Emperor Xuande told Li Yunzhou about the time when Princess Yongning was alive, and said that only Yongning could make these snacks. Even Yongjia could only make them after Yongning passed away.

Li Yunzhou recalled the scene from his childhood, when Princess Yongjia made some snacks and Li Yunsi and his friends all rushed to eat them. At that time, the little Li Yunzhou stood in the corner and could only watch timidly.

The family laughed and played, Li Chaoyun even rode on Li Jingchuan's neck. But he even had to look at Li Jingchuan secretly.

For boys, it is the age when they long for father's love. After Li Yunzhou tried to please his father several times but was scolded in return, his heart gradually grew cold.

He remembered what Li Jingchuan said at that time: Your mother and I became lovers because of these three dishes of dessert. After we got married, she never made it for me again, saying that she was afraid that I would get tired of it. How could I get tired of it? I begged her with great difficulty and she made it for me again. It still tasted the same.

Li Yunzhou was suspicious, wondering why the emperor's words were different from Li Jingchuan's. But he remained calm and continued to accompany the emperor in reminiscing about Princess Yongning.

Shen Zhixiu, who was sitting on the side, looked normal on the surface, but he was actually thinking about his family. Shen Zhao was considered a criminal, so no funeral was held. But the funerals of his eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law had to be held.

As soon as he entered the palace, all the responsibilities fell on Su Qingyu. And he didn't know what happened to his mother.

Li Yunzhou raised his eyes and saw Shen Zhixiu looking at the dripping copper kettle not far away, and he understood.

Taking advantage of the gap between finishing one thing, he suddenly asked Shen Zhixiu, "Sir Shen, what are you going to do about your master's funeral? I'll go and help tomorrow."

At this point, Li Yunzhou suddenly looked sad and sighed, "Although sister Shen Yue and I haven't officially gotten engaged, I accept this marriage. For me, it's like my father-in-law and mother-in-law passed away together, so I have to go and help."

Only Li Yunzhou dared to have such a mournful expression in front of the emperor. If it were someone else, he would probably be blamed.

Shen Zhixiu said, "I haven't decided what to do yet."

He didn't say anything else, and it was obvious that he was waiting for the emperor's instructions.

Li Yunzhou suddenly remembered something and asked, "Should Sister Shen Yue observe mourning for three years?"

Emperor Xuande was afraid that it would delay Li Yunzhou's marriage, so he quickly said, "You can get married during the mourning period. How about this? The Shen family will hold the funeral for a month, and let them get married within a hundred days."

"As for Shen Zhao, let's just say he died suddenly. Shen Zhiheng suddenly lost his son and suffered a heart attack, and his wife also committed suicide for love."

Shen Zhixiu breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down to express his gratitude.

It doesn’t matter whether people outside know the truth or not, and it doesn’t matter what they guess in their hearts. What matters is the emperor’s attitude.

What the emperor said was equivalent to not pursuing the Shen family, and the matter was over.

Emperor Xuande naturally had his own selfish motives. Li Yunzhou's future wife was from the eldest branch of the Shen family. If the eldest branch of the Shen family was convicted, the girl's reputation would be ruined.

He could have arranged another marriage for Li Yunzhou, but seeing how deeply in love the boy was, he couldn't bear it.

In addition, Shen Zhixiu was loyal to the country, so the merits and demerits of the Shen family could be offset.

Afterwards, Emperor Xuande thought of the Ning Palace, which was still under renovation. He turned around and told Hu Lu, "Tomorrow you will go to the Ministry of Works to convey the order to repair the Ning Palace as soon as possible. If you need people, find them. If you need money, go to my private treasury to get it. Within a month, I want to see the Ning Palace completed."

The three-month construction period was forcibly compressed into one month. Hu Lu even felt a little sympathetic towards the officials in the Ministry of Works.

After thinking about Li Yunzhou's marriage, Emperor Xuande waved his hand and said to Shen Zhixiu: "You should leave the palace and take care of these things. I also need to rest."

Seeing this, Li Yunzhou also took his leave and left the palace with Shen Zhixiu.

In the carriage, Li Yunzhou and Shen Zhixiu sat opposite each other.

"Teacher, after what happened with Shen Zhao, I'm afraid you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will fight to the death."

Not to mention the Crown Prince, anyone would have to find a way to root out this kind of thing, let alone a powerful official like Shen Zhixiu who holds great power and is alienated from the Crown Prince.

Shen Zhixiu was leaning against the wall of the carriage, closing his eyes to rest. Hearing Li Yunzhou's words, he spoke in a low voice, "It doesn't matter. The more anxious he is, the more mistakes he will make."

His thoughts were now wandering, as he was thinking about the confrontation with the prince later and recalling the scene of his brother's death.

Li Yunzhou didn't say anything more. The Shen family's top priority right now was to take care of the funeral.

After the carriage entered the Shen family's gate, Shen Zhixiu and Li Yunzhou got off.

Su Qingyu had obviously been waiting, and came forward to ask, "How should we prepare it? What did the emperor say?"

After getting off the car, Shen Zhixiu looked around. There was not a single white curtain hanging in the entire Shen family's home. All the red lanterns in the corridor were taken down.

Not far away, there were piles of white curtains lying on the ground, obviously waiting for news from Shen Zhixiu.

How to handle the funeral was entirely up to the emperor. All Su Qingyu could do was to prepare in advance, but there was no sign of a funeral. Even the bodies of the three people were still on the farm outside the capital.

Shen Zhixiu said, "Just celebrate the funeral as normal, but... don't be too high-profile."

Su Qingyu nodded upon hearing this, turned around and instructed several managers to set up the mourning tent and inform various places.

Soon, the Shen family was dressed in white, and the servants all changed into mourning clothes.

Shen Zhixiu patted Li Yunzhou on the shoulder and said, "You've been busy all day. Go back first and come back to pay tribute tomorrow morning."

Seeing that everything was done, Li Yunzhou could not help much, so he nodded. He told Su Qingyu to send someone to find him if she had any questions, and then turned and left.

Shen Zhixiu asked Su Qingyu in a low voice, "How is mother?"

Su Qingyu shook her head and said, "Not very well. I asked Mr. Zhou to prescribe a prescription to strengthen the body and replenish the vital energy. My second sister-in-law is with me now."

"Let's go too. We have some things to discuss with mother." Shen Zhixiu said.

After the two arrived at Qingyuanju, Shen Zhixiu asked Su Qingyu and Yang to discuss how to entertain the female members of the inner house tomorrow, while he and the old lady went to the inner room.

After entering the room, Shen Zhixiu helped the old lady to sit down, and he knelt in front of the old lady properly.

The old lady was puzzled for a moment and asked him to stand up and speak if he had anything to say.

Shen Zhixiu did not stand up, but knelt down and told what happened today. Including how Shen Zhao colluded with the prince, how he secretly arranged it, and how he was shot by the prince in the end. And how Shen Zhiheng died, nothing was concealed.

After finishing speaking, Shen Zhixiu said in a deep voice: "Mother, I am responsible for this matter. If you are angry, just beat me and scold me."

After hearing this, the old lady sat by the bed for a long time with her eyes downcast and silent.

In her hand was the jade pendant that Shen Zhiheng often wore when he was alive. The string of the pendant was broken by an arrow today, so Su Qingyu picked it up and brought it back.