vrcanaries Chapter 1181: Letter from Shen Maoxue (131 million reward points plus additional content)
Chapter 1181: Letter from Shen Maoxue (131 million reward points plus additional content)
Master Xingchen walked calmly to the bedside, clasped his hands together, and bowed slightly. "I, Xingchen, pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Buddha bless you and may the Empress Dowager recover soon!"
Empress Dowager Liu stared at him with her cloudy eyes, her expression extremely complicated, carrying the last stubbornness of a dying person and a hint of hidden madness.
Her breath was short and she said with difficulty: "Everyone... go away... Madam Yuan... stay..."
"Yes."
The palace maids and eunuchs standing in the hall retreated quietly as if they had been pardoned.
The heavy palace door was gently closed, blocking everyone's view.
There were only three people left in the bedroom, and the air was so stagnant that it was suffocating.
The sandalwood burned silently in the Boshan stove, and the green smoke rose straight up, but when it approached the canopy above the bed, it was disturbed by the invisible air flow and became erratic.
Empress Dowager Liu's gaze never left Master Xingchen's face, as if she was using up her last bit of strength to carve him into her eyes.
She took a sharp breath, her chest heaving violently.
Nanny Yuan hurried forward to support her, and used a pillow to barely raise Empress Dowager Liu.
"you……"
Empress Dowager Liu's voice, with the rasp of a broken bellows, was remarkably clear: "Your life... was saved by me... at the cost of my life!"
Every word she spoke seemed to be forced out from her heart. Her skinny fingers tightly clenched the corner of the quilt, her knuckles pale. "If it weren't for me... you and... your mother... would have been crushed to ashes together!"
"It was I who...sent you to the temple...and kept you alive...until today!"
Master Xingchen listened quietly, with a compassionate and calm expression on his face, without the slightest change.
But in the depths of those clear eyes, there seemed to be very subtle ripples, so fast that it was impossible to capture.
He still stood with his hands folded, like a jade-carved Bodhisattva, waiting for the believers' prayers.
Empress Dowager Liu panted rapidly, greedily absorbing the air, her eyes fixed on Master Xingchen: "Now... is... the time for you to repay me!"
She used all her strength, enunciating each word with an unquestionable command and the desperate gamble of a dying man: "The Liu family... The Liu family must not be destroyed!"
"I want you to... protect the Liu family... the last bloodline... at all costs!"
"Protect...Duke Dingguo's mansion...that little bit of blood and flesh!"
The four words "Duke Dingguo's Mansion" were squeezed out from between Empress Dowager Liu's teeth, with an obsession and unwillingness that penetrated deep into her bones.
Nanny Yuan was horrified as she listened, and she lowered her head even more.
Master Xingchen slowly raised his eyes and met Empress Dowager Liu's eyes, which were burning with flames and full of coercion and pleading.
After a moment, he nodded slightly: "I understand."
……
The wheels rolled over the thin ice on the official road, making a slight squeaking sound.
Shen Maoxue was a civil official and not a young man favored by the emperor, so he did not participate in the autumn hunt.
However, the important officials already knew the whole story of Duke Dingguo's rebellion.
On his way back to Beijing, Shen Zhinian received a letter sent by Shen Maoxue at full speed.
She was wrapped in a silver fox cloak, leaning on the brocade cushion in the spacious carriage, watching quietly.
The letter was written on the gold-sprinkled paper Shen Maoxue had become accustomed to using after his rise to prominence. The writing was so powerful that it pierced through the paper, with an almost cold, methodical clarity.
"...Nan Qiao is rebellious and has committed such a heinous act. He is truly a disgrace to the Shen family and deserves death! Such an evildoer deserves no pity in death!"
The letter begins with Shen Maoxue's thunderous anger.
Shen Zhinian's eyes swept across calmly, without any ripples.
Shen Maoxue's reaction was within her expectations.
In the second half of the letter, the subject suddenly changed, revealing his actuarial calculations: "However, after all, his identity is related to the Empress's bloodline."
"If this case is handed over to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the three courts for joint trial and made public, the Shen family's reputation will be completely ruined! Even the queen's good name will inevitably be affected by rumors."
"As a father, I believe that the most urgent task is to preserve the dignity of the royal family and the honor of the queen."
"How about...giving her poisoned wine or white silk in a secret place, causing her to die quietly. Tell everyone that she died of a cold in the enclosure."
"In this way, the Shen family can save face, and Your Majesty can be spared from the gossip of the public."
The corners of Shen Zhinian's lips curled up in a cold arc. His fingertips gently traced over the words "blood-related" and "passed away quietly."
This is her father.
A civil official who puts family interests and official reputation above family ties.
This is not wrong.
But every word he said seemed to be for her honor, but in fact it was for the Shen family's reputation and to prevent his own official position from being affected.
In his eyes, Shen Nanqiao was no longer his daughter, but a stain that had to be wiped away immediately to avoid tarnishing the family reputation.
Fuqiu, who was sitting opposite, called out softly, "My Lady..."
Although she had not seen the content of the letter, she could guess a little from Shen Zhinian's sudden silence.
Shen Zhinian did not respond immediately, but looked at the dead branches and willows rapidly retreating outside the car window.
The cold wind lifted a corner of the car curtain, bringing in a chilling sense of clarity.
Shen Maoxue's words are not entirely unreasonable in terms of cold political politics.
The public trial of a sister who intended to poison the imperial concubine would be a storm for the Shen family and her reputation, no matter what the final verdict was.
Rumors will firmly label the Shen family as a family of sisters killing each other and a family of misfortune.
Some people even maliciously speculated whether Shen Zhinian had been unkind to his elder sister, which led to such revenge.
This is indeed a hidden danger for her who is about to be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.
What my father wanted to protect was the Shen family's glorious and untarnished reputation.
For this, he would rather sacrifice Shen Nanqiao and let everything end silently in the darkness, as if it had never happened.
But what Shen Zhinian wanted was never just superficial decency.
She slowly withdrew her gaze and gently folded the letter in her hand. Her movements were graceful, yet carried an unquestionable determination.
"What my father said was well-considered."
Shen Zhinian's voice had returned to its usual calm, but it was as cold as the ice beneath a deep pool. "If Shen Nanqiao had quietly 'died' from illness, it would have temporarily silenced some people and saved the Shen family's shaky reputation."
Fuqi and Handan felt a little nervous.
"However……"
Shen Zhinian changed the subject, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, like a blade being unsheathed: "This case is not just about Shen Nanqiao?"
"Who's standing behind her? It's Liu Shixiu! It's the Duke of Dingguo! It's the traitor who's trying to kill the king, usurp the throne, and overthrow the country!"
"Their minions are reaching out to me, hoping to use me as a sacrifice!"
"Now that the traitor has been executed and his minions apprehended, if even this murderer, who is clearly visible, is to be let off lightly for the sake of so-called decency and dealt with in secret..."
At this point, Shen Zhinian paused, his tone heavy with power: "Your Majesty, why did you destroy the Duke Dingguo Mansion with thunderous means?"