eurekapd Chapter 293 Bringing People into the Palace
Chapter 293 Bringing People into the Palace
Inside Shoukang Palace.
"Is the Empress Dowager feeling better now? I wanted to come to the palace to see you a few days ago, but I was unable to find the time." Shen Chuning bowed and asked softly after paying her respects.
The Queen Mother was seen leaning back on the couch, her face slightly pale. Upon hearing Shen Chuning's greeting, she sighed softly and said, "It's still the same as always. There are so many things in the palace, big and small, that require my attention. I'm afraid this illness will be difficult to recover from."
Shen Chuning hurriedly comforted her, "Your Majesty has already appointed a queen. The affairs of the palace will be managed by the queen herself from now on. There is no need to trouble you, the queen mother, with everything."
However, the Queen Mother snorted coldly and said nothing more.
In fact, the Queen Mother knew very well in her heart that the new Queen was still at the age when she only knew how to be jealous, and now she was pregnant with the Dragon Offspring. It was likely that there would be more and more troubles in the palace in the future.
At this moment, the Queen Mother's gaze shifted to the maidservant behind Shen Chuning and asked, "Why did Aning change her maidservant? Wasn't Birui always by your side in the past?"
Because she was going to bring Zhou Lin into the palace today, Shen Chuning only let Xuan Ying follow her.
Hearing the Queen Mother's question, Shen Chuning first turned her head to look at Birui, then smiled slightly and replied, "To answer the Queen Mother, An Ning betrothed Birui to someone else last month, and this Xuanying is the new maid."
The Queen Mother obviously didn't care whether Shen Chuning's maid was married or not. She asked this question just to take the opportunity to bring the topic to Shen Chuning.
She then showed dissatisfaction on her face and scolded, "You are the same, child. You haven't even arranged a marriage yet, so why are you so anxious to marry off your maids? You should know that our family has carefully nurtured them since they were young, intending to take them to your husband's house to serve you when you get married."
Shen Chuning just pursed her lips and smiled slightly, and said softly: "It's just a maid. I have several caring and capable people around me."
However, the Queen Mother gently shook her head, her gaze fixed on Shen Chuning, and she spoke earnestly, "I'm not talking to you about a little maid! What I want to say is that our family hasn't arranged a marriage for you yet. Look, even your grandmother is busy arranging a marriage for that illegitimate daughter. Why can't she worry about your lifelong affairs first?"
Hearing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. She asked, "Grandma has actually started to arrange a marriage for Sister Wan?"
The Queen Mother nodded, sighed softly, and slowly said, "A few days ago, your grandmother came to me and said she wanted to marry her concubine's daughter to Yuan Lang. Fortunately, I refused it outright."
Hearing this, Shen Chuning fell silent for a moment, but his mind was full of thoughts.
Recalling the past life, my grandmother had also begged the Empress Dowager to arrange a marriage for her with Xiao Yuanlang.
Unfortunately, at that engagement banquet, Shen Jingwan's unbearable incident suddenly happened, which eventually led to the two of them marrying into the Third Prince's mansion together.
Who would have thought that in this life, my grandmother would be so eager to arrange a marriage for Shen Jingwan.
Thinking of this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but lower her voice and asked with a hint of doubt, "Sister Wan has always been good at pleasing Grandmother and is deeply favored by her. It's understandable that Grandmother is a little partial to her. I just don't know why you, the Empress Dowager, are rejecting this marriage?"
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother snorted coldly and said with a look of irritation, "Even though she is only a concubine, she still carries the blood of our Shen family! A daughter of our Shen family must never be a concubine. With her status, she is certainly not qualified to be a principal wife. It would be better to find her a marriage with a family of lower status."
Shen Chuning shook her head slightly after hearing this and slowly responded, "I'm afraid it's difficult to deal with. Sister Wan has already been sent to Changye by the Imperial Concubine."
"What?" The Queen Mother was horrified when she heard this, and slammed her palm on the table in front of her, almost causing the teacups on the table to fall over.
"How dare she do this? Didn't your grandfather stop her?" The Queen Mother asked in disbelief, her eyes wide open.
Shen Chuning sighed softly and explained softly, "This wasn't forced by the Imperial Concubine. Sister Wan left of her own accord, and Grandmother helped cover for them. It wasn't until several days after they left that Imperial Concubine Qin informed Grandfather of this. Grandfather was furious when he learned of this and immediately sent several groups of men after them. Unfortunately, he was unable to bring Sister Wan back."
After hearing these words, the Queen Mother was so angry that her chest heaved violently. She took several deep breaths in succession. After a long time, her mood finally calmed down a little.
She covered her chest with her hands and said with a look of sorrow, "They acted so recklessly, completely disregarding your situation. You are both daughters of the Shen family. After this incident, I'm afraid your future marriage will become extremely difficult."
After saying this, the Queen Mother sighed again.
Shen Chuning hurried forward and gently helped the Queen Mother calm down, comforting her, "Grandma, please don't get angry and harm yourself. An Ning hasn't arranged a marriage yet, so I guess it's because fate hasn't arrived yet. An Ning believes that she will eventually find someone who doesn't care about these external reputations."
The Empress Dowager lovingly took Shen Chuning's soft little hand and patted it gently, saying with a tone full of pity: "My poor An Ning, there is no one in your family who can take the trouble to arrange a marriage for you. What should I do?"
Shen Chuning smiled slightly and said softly, "Don't worry, great aunt. My mother is still here. Besides, it's just that I don't want to get married so soon."
However, the Queen Mother frowned and shook her head disapprovingly, saying, "Even if you don't want to get married right now, you might as well take a look at the other women beforehand. You must learn to take the initiative in choosing. You must not sit back and wait for fate, becoming someone else's random pick, and certainly not become a tool for your family to consolidate its power."
Hearing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but widen her bright eyes and asked in surprise, "Common sense, shouldn't you advise me to consider the interests of the family more? Why would you say such a thing?"
The Queen Mother sighed softly, her gaze becoming distant and profound. She spoke slowly, "My sacrifices back then only earned the Shen family decades of prosperity. But now, with my body almost half buried, I feel that even without me, even if the Shen family couldn't reach its current status, it wouldn't be far behind. Was my sacrifice worth it? In this royal family, there's no such thing as true love between husband and wife or father and son. Ultimately, it's just a relationship between monarch and subject."
At this point, Shen Chuning couldn't help biting her lip. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Grandma, could it be that someone has mentioned Ah Ning's marriage to you recently?"
"You must have heard that Concubine Qin went to ask His Majesty to issue an order granting you a marriage with Yuan Lang, right?"
Shen Chuning nodded slightly, indicating that she had heard something.
"Later, your grandmother came to me in person to beg me, saying that anyone dared to come to my house to propose marriage. In order to stop these people, she hoped that I could issue an imperial decree to betroth you to Yuan Lang. I did not agree, so she turned to choose the concubine's daughter." The Queen Mother explained slowly.
"Why...why?" Shen Chuning asked with a slightly trembling voice, full of doubts.
The Queen Mother gently stroked Shen Chuning's head and spoke earnestly, "You once confided in me your feelings, expressing your reluctance to enter the palace. I must respect your wishes and prioritize your opinions. The Shen family's sacrifice alone is enough, and your personality is very much like my own in my youth, stubborn and strong-willed. Therefore, my wish is that you live a peaceful and smooth life, never to suffer any injustice again."
Hearing this, Shen Chuning suddenly realized that the reason why the Queen Mother granted her a marriage with Xiao Yuanlang in her previous life was not entirely out of consideration for family interests, but because she had a crush on Xiao Yuanlang at that time.
Thinking of this, tears could not help but fall from the corners of Shen Chuning's eyes. She choked and whispered, "Grandma..."
Seeing this, the Queen Mother quickly raised her hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheek, comforting her: "If you find someone you love in the future, just tell me. No matter their background or status, as long as I am still alive, I will definitely make the decision for you."
Upon hearing this, the tears that had been about to stop welled up in Shen Chuning's eyes, but instead surged forward. "Grandma, I'm sure you will live a long and blessed life!"