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

Mr. Zhou said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, you and... the deposed crown prince are not father and son."

For a moment, he couldn't think of how to address Zhou Jianyuan.

Emperor Xuande was not surprised by this result, as he had already prepared for it before the test.

But the moment I heard the result, a surge of anger still rose to the sky.

"Zhou Jianyuan intends to rebel, behead him."

"The virtuous concubine caused chaos in the harem and confused the royal bloodline. She was executed by slow slicing."

Zhou Jianyuan's sentence was changed from imprisonment to beheading, and Concubine Xian's sentence was changed from beheading to slow slicing to death, which shows how angry the emperor was.

But Emperor Xuande still felt unsatisfied and continued, "According to the previous agreement, the Leng family will be expelled from the capital, and their descendants will never be allowed to serve as officials. In addition, the reason will be noted in the Leng family tree."

The virtuous concubine fell to the ground in despair. She was so clever that she killed her own son and also harmed the entire Leng family.

The deposed Crown Prince Zhou Jianyuan also looked pale and depressed. Was he not his father's child?

No one cares about the mood of the mother and son at this moment.

Emperor Xuande waved his hand, and all the people kneeling in the middle of the hall were taken away.

But everyone present knew that the change of crown prince had just begun. For a period of time afterwards, the court would experience a catastrophe until the deposed crown prince and the virtuous concubine's party were completely eradicated.

Some are scheming and want to make a new career, while others are timid and want to retire and return home.

Afterwards, Su Yuanzhou took his leave from Emperor Xuande on the spot and was about to leave the palace and rush back to the northern border, without even planning to see his relatives.

I was very lucky to return to the capital without an imperial edict and the emperor did not blame me. If I asked for anything else, it would be too unreasonable.

Emperor Xuande didn't say much and nodded to allow him to leave Beijing.

After the matter of treason was dealt with, Emperor Xuande remembered something and asked Song Zan, "Who taught Hong Shen before? I have to find a good teacher for him."

Without waiting for Song Zan to speak, Song Hongshen said, "Father, I have been taught by Lord Shen before. I have always admired his knowledge and character. Can he be the prince's tutor?"

Emperor Xuande agreed and ordered Shen Zhixiu to teach the prince. The selection of the officials for the Chancellery was also decided by Shen Zhixiu.

In addition, he ordered the Ministry of Works to renovate the East Palace, and Song Hongshen would temporarily live in Prince Gong's Mansion. When the East Palace was renovated, he would move into the palace.

Afterwards, Emperor Xuande kept Song Hongshen in the palace, while the others left the palace and returned home.

Song Zan and Shen Zhixiu walked side by side toward the outside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, whispering about what was happening behind. They walked slowly, more like they were strolling leisurely.

The other officials naturally did not dare to go past the two men and followed behind them.

These two are now well-connected figures in the capital. One is the prince's uncle and adoptive father, with a large army under his command. The other is the prince's teacher, the chief minister of the cabinet, and the head of all officials.

It is no exaggeration to say that he is second only to one man and above ten thousand men.

There were officials from the deposed prince's faction who wanted to step forward and ask for a way out, but they couldn't find any opportunity.

Shen Zhixiu didn't give anyone a chance to talk. After leaving the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he got into the car and went back to the Shen family.

When he returned to the Shen family, everything had returned to normal.

Even the bloodstains outside the gate had been washed away.

Shen Zhixiu stood at the bottom of the steps and first looked up at the Shen family's vermilion lacquer plaque. The efforts of several generations of the Shen family have brought him to where he is today, and he has lived up to everyone's expectations.

I walked up the stairs and it was Jiang Qi who opened the door.

Seeing Shen Zhixiu return safely, Jiang Qi choked up and said, "Third Master."

Shen Zhixiu nodded and asked, "How many casualties are there in the mansion?"

As Jiang Qi welcomed Shen Zhixiu in, he reported, "Fifteen of our brothers were injured, but fortunately, none of them were seriously injured. Only one was seriously injured, but he managed to survive."

"only……"

When Jiang Qi hesitated, his tone became much lower.

Shen Zhixiu said coldly: "Speak."

Jiang Qi took a deep breath and continued, "Miss Feicui blocked an arrow for the fourth young lady of the Su family and died of poisoning."

Shen Zhixiu stopped and asked, "Is it jade?"

Jiang Qi nodded and said, "Yes, Madam...I am very sad. I am in the main courtyard now."

Shen Zhixiu felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, and thinking of Su Qingyu, he immediately quickened his pace.

When he entered the inner room of the west courtyard of the Shen family, Su Qingyu was lying on the bed with her eyes red and swollen from crying.

Shen Zhixiu sat down beside the bed, and stroked Su Qingyu's cheek with his large palm. He gently stroked the corners of her red and swollen eyes with his fingertips, "Don't cry, be careful not to hurt yourself."

When Su Qingyu heard his voice, she cried even louder, as if she wanted to vent all the pain and grievances in her heart.

Shen Zhixiu had no choice but to bend down, hold the person in his arms, and comforted him softly: "Don't worry, everyone who harmed Feicui was beheaded, even the prince was no exception."

"Qingyu, you still have me and our child."

He knew that it was natural for Su Qingyu to be sad. They were nominally master and servant, but in reality they were like sisters. Feicui was gone suddenly, and no one would be able to accept it for a while.

But Su Qingyu was pregnant, and he was really afraid that she would hurt her body.

Su Qingyu knew that Shen Zhixiu was doing this for her own good, and she understood the reason.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, she would see Feicui's appearance before her death, and she would feel a pain in her heart as if it were being cut by a knife.

"Where is the body now? What should we do with the funeral?" Shen Zhixiu asked again softly.

Su Qingyu picked up the cotton handkerchief beside her, wiped the tears from her face and eyes, and then said in a sobbing voice: "My mother is old, it is not easy to hold the funeral in the mansion."

"I had a villa that was part of my dowry but it had been empty for a long time, so my fourth sister and third cousin took the person there. We also found a master to pray for Feicui for a few days."

"In the past few days, anyone in the mansion who has a good relationship with her will have a place to go and pay tribute to her."

There is a saying in the capital that the more people worship a person after his death, the more noble his status is, and the more blessed he will be in the next life.

Shen Zhixiu thought for a moment, then stood up, took her clothes and cloak, and said, "I'll go with you to burn some incense for Feicui."

Su Qingyu looked at him in disbelief, "Third Master, are you serious?"

Shen Zhixiu had already brought the clothes and was about to help her change.

Hearing this, he said, "Of course it's true. She is loyal to her master, so it's okay for me to go and pay my respects to her."

Su Qingyu's eyes turned red again, and she said, "Thank you, Third Master."

She knew that Shen Zhixiu did all this for her. Shen Zhixiu was not a frequent visitor to pay respects to the funeral of a family of an official in the capital, let alone when the deceased was a maidservant.

After the two of them were dressed, they did not say anything and only took two trusted people to the villa.

When they entered the house, the mourning tent had already been set up. Su Shunci was holding back her grief and preparing the funeral rites for Feicui.

Seeing Su Qingyu and Shen Zhixiu coming in, Su Shunci stepped forward and saluted, "Big sister, brother-in-law."

When she looked into Su Qingyu's eyes, she couldn't help choking up. But she knew Su Qingyu was pregnant, so she couldn't be too sad.

Then she held back her tears and said, "It's freezing cold, why is elder sister here? My third cousin and I are here, and my third cousin has gone to find a cemetery for Feicui. He said that she will be buried on the mountain of the Lin family, and when the descendants of the Lin family pay homage, they will also pay homage to her."

Su Qingyu said in a hoarse voice: "The Third Master wants to burn incense for the jadeite."

Upon hearing this, Su Shunci immediately took the incense and handed it to Shen Zhixiu.

After the two of them burned incense, Su Shunci asked them to go back quickly.

Seeing that Su Qingyu wanted to stay for a while longer, Su Shunci pulled her aside and advised: "Big sister, you should go back. Your brother-in-law has just been promoted to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. If someone with ulterior motives knew that he was offering incense to a maid, it would be bad."

"Also, the old lady of the Shen family was also frightened today. You must go back and comfort her."

Su Qingyu knew that what she said made sense, so she turned around and walked to Shen Zhixiu, "Third Master, let's go back."

Feicui's body was kept for seven days before being buried. A few days after her burial, Song Hongshen officially performed the canonization ceremony.

For a time, the Shen family became the most powerful family in the capital. Shen Zhixiu was naturally busy all day long. Within half a month, the entire court and the cabinet had been purged.

All officials under the crown prince were either demoted or sent to other places.

The vacant position would naturally be filled by Shen Zhixiu and Song Hongshen's confidants.

Su Chengxun was promoted two levels and directly became the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the second rank.

It was the beginning of February, and Su Qingyu was due to give birth in a month. These days, the people who served her closely were extremely cautious.

That day, she was packing the child's clothes with the servants, when suddenly a little maid came in and reported, "Madam, the third cousin is here."

"Please go to the side hall for tea."

Su Qingyu gave the order, wondering why her third cousin came here at this time.