Shen Qiujun was scolded by Shen Zhaoying sternly. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart. She was afraid that she and this eldest brother would never be able to compete with each other again in this life. Thinking of this, Shen Qiujun glanced at Zhuang Chengrong, then greeted his children to eat, and didn't mention it anymore. A nonsense sentence.

After Zhuang Chengrong watched the show, he already had an idea in mind. In fact, even though he had the intention of suppressing Shen Zhaoying and promoting Shen Zhaoning that day, he still had some hesitation in his heart.

If Zhuang Chengrong had not become the emperor, he would naturally be emotionally inclined to Shen Zhaoning, who had a good relationship with his wife, and hoped that he would take over the Shen family. However, once everything is involved with royal power, some things cannot follow his temper. Coming.

As a queen, Shen Qiujun's love alone is not enough, because he hopes that Shen Qiujun will look down on the world side by side with him. In this way, he must have a strong natal family to avoid being looked down upon by the ministers of the court.

Now that Shen Hou is old, Shen Qiujun only relies on his two elder brothers. But back then, Shen Hou decided to appoint his two sons: the eldest son wanted to inherit his title and also meant his mantle, so Shen Zhaoying was the eldest. Years of experience were spent abroad, while the second son Shen Zhaoning stayed in the capital, where he could not only be close to his parents and honor his parents, but also strive for wealth and no worries.

This can be regarded as having both internal and external support. It is a pity that Shen Zhaoying, who can be Shen Qiujun's biggest arm, has a bad relationship with Shen Qiujun. However, Shen Zhaoying is extremely lucky. This time in the battle with the Northern Barbarians, he can be considered as sitting on the throne. After stabilizing his title, he also consolidated his power and authority. However, Shen Zhaoning's strength was a bit weak and he could only be a conservative and wealthy prince. Therefore, Zhuang Chengrong had to consider letting Shen Zhaoying be his wife's strong backing.

At first, Zhuang Chengrong still had some illusions: Since Shen Zhaoying abandoned the wise king that day, if she was so smart, she would have known to cling to Shen Qiujun. Who would have thought that Shen Zhaoying was actually a bit resilient, and she still has not changed her attitude toward Shen Qiujun until now? attitude. In this case, it is no wonder that he followed the original plan to plot against Shen Zhaoying.

Zhuang Chengrong just ran through it in his mind for a moment, then he patted Shen Zhaoying on the shoulder and laughed: "It's just a family talking casually, and it got involved in interfering in government affairs. , you are too cautious."

Shen Zhaoying hurriedly laughed and said: "Every elder brother is like a father. It's very disrespectful to say this. After all, the Queen is my sister. Although she said she is married, there is nothing wrong with this. I can advise you but I should advise you. Second, the emperor said it was a family banquet, so I should do this even more."

Zhuang Chengrong smiled and said: "What an elder brother, like a father. I happen to have something that I can't decide on. After dinner later, you and I, the monarch and my ministers, should discuss it carefully."

Shen Zhaoying hurriedly stood up and said with a smile: "Thank you Your Majesty for the banquet. I have already eaten. Please take care of your Majesty's instructions."

Shen Qiujun knew the reason a long time ago. Shen Zhaoying's words and deeds just now made her realize that she was still intolerable to Shen Zhaoying's heart, so she let Zhuang Chengrong do what she did.

After dinner, the monarch and his ministers came to the imperial study. Shen Zhaoying looked at Zhuang Chengrong with a smile on his face, but there seemed to be a hint of calculation in his eyes. She couldn't help but beat her heart. Without waiting for Zhuang Chengrong to speak, she hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "I don't know what's wrong with the emperor." It's a matter of making a good decision. If I can help the Emperor to resolve some of his worries, I will not dare to shirk it."

Zhuang Chengrong smiled and said, "You are the only one who can help me with this matter."

Seeing that Shen Zhaoying was listening attentively, Zhuang Chengrong sighed: "It is difficult for an upright official to deal with household affairs. What I am worried about is the matter of the former virtuous princess. After all, she is your biological sister and the queen's sister. How to deal with her? , it’s really hard for me.”

Shen Zhaoying was shocked and said hurriedly: "Now that the deposed crown prince Xian Wang and others have been questioned, the matter is considered over. Why are there still unresolved matters on her? She is just a woman who lives in the back house. She is doing things where men are fighting for power and profit. What's wrong with her? Besides, she has been demoted to the status of a commoner, and now she is just living under someone else's roof."

Zhuang Chengrong saw Shen Zhaoying's eager face, so he brought tea and sipped it slowly. When Shen Zhaoying was unsure and her face became more and more panicked, he slowly said: "Whether she was involved in it or not, I think the Queen On the surface, I didn't check whether they were relatives. I should be merciful in some matters. However, when the ministers of the DPRK and Central Government sent a petition to send away the wives and concubines who were to marry him, they said it plausibly. Although I am the emperor, I cannot do whatever I want, so I have no choice but to agree if I can't refute it. Now the deposed prince's wife and concubines have long been married, but here, the virtuous king..."

When Shen Zhaoying heard this, she became even more anxious. Zhuang Chengrong had married the deposed prince and the virtuous king's wife and concubines. Because he cared about his sister, he was naturally very concerned about this matter. But how could his sister marry again? His Shen family was also worried. I can't afford to lose this person.

Not to mention that Shen Lijun was originally the first wife of the wise king. Now that the wise king is still alive, Shen Lijun also has a pair of grown-up children. How can she get married at this age? Where can she find a girl with the same identity as her sister? Go with the right person? I'm afraid that in the end, she will be randomly sent by the government to marry a country boy like an abandoned princess, and become the laughing stock of everyone.

Shen Zhaoying thought for a moment and said hurriedly: "This is absolutely impossible. She can't be married off so casually. The emperor showed mercy that day, and the Shen family saved a little face. Naturally, they are grateful to the emperor. Now it's over. If we continue to do this for a long time, I'm afraid it will bring disgrace to the Empress, and I believe that the Empress also doesn't want to see her sister, who is a compatriot, fall into that kind of situation."

Zhuang Chengrong glanced at Shen Zhaoying with a half-smile, and said: "The queen naturally begged for mercy, but after all this is not a family matter, but a state matter, and she cannot be allowed to intervene. As the saying goes, this prince is guilty of breaking the law and the common people are guilty. , should I just say to the ministers in the court: This is the queen's biological sister, so my previous decrees do not count? This goes against what you said about women not being allowed to participate in politics. Doesn't it damage the Shen family? Family tradition?”

When Shen Zhaoying saw Zhuang Chengrong blocking her mouth with what she just said, she fell silent for a moment and didn't know how to plead for her sister.

Seeing this, Zhuang Chengrong smiled again and said: "But what you said makes sense. After all, we are all relatives. If the eldest sister is really randomly married by the government, the Shen family will lose face, the queen will lose face, and my face will also lose face." No luster."

Shen Zhaoying couldn't help but raise her head in surprise and asked: "What does the emperor mean..."

Zhuang Chengrong smiled and said: "Actually, there are exceptions among them. For example, the Bian family, one of the concubines of the virtuous king, because her father and brother gave their future in exchange for freedom."

Shen Zhaoying felt a chill in her heart. Is Zhuang Chengrong trying to suppress the queen's family? The Bian family is not considered a powerful family in the capital. Naturally, they can easily give up their official positions. However, the Shen family has been doing everything in the capital for so many years, just to replace Shen Lijun. A few years of freedom suddenly fell from the clouds into the dust. My father had followed Taizu and the Supreme Emperor for many years, and he fought to the death on the battlefield to kill enemies and perform meritorious deeds. Is this just for this?

Shen Zhaoying lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "I have no say in this matter. I have to discuss it with my father. Besides, the Shen family has lost their titles and official positions and has become a commoner. I'm afraid that the Queen and His Highness the Prince will not be there either." It looks good, please give the Shen family some time to consider this matter."

Zhuang Chengrong sneered secretly, despising Shen Zhaoying very much in his heart. Although Shen Zhaoying looked down on Shen Qiujun, he never forgot to mention Shen Qiujun whenever there was a difficult situation.

Zhuang Chengrong smiled and said: "I have thought about this carefully before. Marquis Yongning was the savior of Taizu and the Supreme Emperor, and he also followed them for many years and made great contributions to the Qi Dynasty. How could I bear to let him end up in such a miserable state in his later years? So I had to give up, but you just reminded me that an elder brother is like a father, so I asked you to come over and discuss it."

Only then did Shen Zhaoying realize that it turned out that Zhuang Chengrong was planning to become the Duke of his own country, and his heart was suddenly filled with anger. He knew that Zhuang Chengrong and his wife must have wanted to renege on their promise to refuse to acknowledge the reward that day. This Shen Qiujun was really a man who was trying to hide everything. She actually helped an outsider plot against the Shen family. I'm afraid she still regrets her sword attack back then. She is really short-sighted. Without the Shen family, she thought that by pleasing Zhuang Chengrong, she could really succeed in the previous court. Is the harem tenable?

But should she give up her title for Shen Lijun? Shen Zhaoying secretly wondered in her heart.

Shen Zhaoying couldn't help but think of how haggard, helpless and pitiful Shen Lijun was when she saw her yesterday. She also thought of the warm and harmonious relationship between the two of them playing at her grandmother's knees. Shen Zhaoying secretly sighed in her heart: Come on, come on, this It seems that the Duke wants to let Zhuang Chengrong go. As a minister, what can he do except accept it? Even if he doesn't take it from him today, I'm afraid it won't last in the long run. Why not take this opportunity to do something for his sister? Let's just repay a little for betraying her. At least for now, Zhuang Chengrong still wants to keep the title of the Shen family. He is just staying put and still being his own Yongning Prince.

Shen Zhaoying made a decision in her mind and said resolutely: "Since there is no perfect solution, I am willing to exchange the title of Duke of the State, which was personally conferred by the emperor on that day, in exchange for Shen Lijun's freedom."

After saying these words, although Shen Zhaoying felt a little regretful about the title of the Duke, she felt a little relaxed in her heart.

Zhuang Chengrong smiled and said: "Since I said that I would make you the Duke of the country, how could I go back on my word? This title must be granted, but it is only at the cost of three generations of inheritance. What do you think? As for the loss of three generations of inheritance, it is only temporary. , when you make further contributions in the future, it will not be too late to reward you."

When Shen Zhaoying heard this, she was overjoyed to know that she could still receive the title of dukedom, so she naturally agreed in a hurry.

At this point, both the monarch and his ministers relaxed, and after another conversation, Shen Zhaoying retired.
Chapter completed!