Chapter Seventy-Four: Fasting

  "What's it to you?" Chu Xinyang shook her off.

  "Shut up!" Chu Song raised his hand and slapped Chu Xinyang, "Go back to the house and reflect on yourself!"

  "Fine, I'm leaving!" Chu Xinyang dodged and kicked, "I'd rather die than be caught, you can just wait for the authorities to come and collect my corpse!"

  "Old master..." Madam Chu's tears fell down suddenly.

  "What's going on?" Chu Xinyi suddenly realized that from the moment she entered, the atmosphere in this living room was different.

  Chu Song sighed and told Chu Xinyang about the situation, "It must be Anqing Hou who is secretly manipulating things, trying to force General Shen to surrender."

  "The general has said it, if you don't take care of your brother's affairs." Chu Xinyi was both angry and annoyed.

  Chu Shang shook his head, "This matter involves Xiao Zhongtang, and with General Shen's personality, he won't ignore it."

  Chu Xinyi sat up straight, "So let Anqing Hou force him into marrying his daughter?"

  Then let her be little for life?

  Madam Chu burst into tears, "Yi'er, for goodness' sake, save your younger brother, he's the only descendant of our Chu family."

  Chu Xinyi's lips were bitten until they bled.

  "Yi'er, don't worry, the general will never form an alliance with the Anqing Hou Mansion." Chu Song changed the subject, "Instead, Yi'er, at this time you must not be separated from the general. You should return tonight and accompany him, coaxing him well."

  "Father!" Chu Xinyi cried out.

  "Even if the old lady wants to form an alliance with Anqing Hou, it's not that simple!" Chu Song sneered coldly, "The general is loyal to the emperor, and as long as he can be forced to divorce you immediately, then someone just needs to give him a little push, catch him off guard, and for the sake of showing loyalty to the emperor, avoiding the disaster of having his family's property confiscated, he will definitely immediately make you legitimate. To shut up all the gossip."

  Mantis stalks cicada, unaware of oriole behind!

  Chu Xinyi's eyes rolled around and a hint of a smile appeared.

  ……

  Gu Quan sat down on the chair with a thud, "...... Shen Zhong Jue is stubborn and hard, loyal to the emperor to death." This guy is simply a stone in a thatched hut, trying to persuade him to surrender is more difficult than teaching a mother pig to climb a tree.

  Gao Yuming glanced at Anqing Hou and chuckled, "Don't be discouraged, Director Gu. Old Lady Shen has already agreed to an alliance with the Hou family through marriage. We just need to wait for Shen Zhongge's divorce, then we can send over the betrothal gifts immediately."

  Marry Shen Zhongjie?

  "Brother Gao, spare us the theatrics. Shen Zhongjie won't fall for such tricks!" Gu Ding was taken aback for a moment before bursting into cold laughter. "In the past, when Duke Zhengguo tried to win him over by offering him a position in the imperial court as a condition, he convinced Minister Zhen to arrange for his only daughter, who was not yet eleven years old, to be betrothed to him. And wasn't Minister Zhen's wife renowned as the most beautiful woman in the capital? Could her daughter possibly be any less remarkable?" He glanced around the room. "So what happened in the end?" He laughed mockingly. "Duke Zhengguo fell from power, and Minister Zhen's entire family was slaughtered. The precious gem was left to gather dust, and wasn't Zhen Shi, the beauty who captivated the city, also abandoned by him in some rural backwater?" Seeing that Gao Yueming and Anqing Hou were both smiling at him, he looked taken aback. "What? Was I wrong?"

  Anqing Marquis Chao Gaoyu Ming nodded, "...... you tell him."

  "Governor Gu only knows one but not the other, and Marquis Hou giving his tenth daughter to General Shen is not to win him over." Gao Yueming paused with a hint of mystery. "As soon as the news of the alliance between the General's Manor and the Anqing Marquis Manor spreads, the Emperor will immediately become wary of Shen Zhongjie." He smiled leisurely. "This is exactly what we want - the Emperor's suspicion!"

  Yes, at a critical moment, as long as Wan Sui dares not to give Shen Zhongjie an imperial edict, looking around the Great Zhou, who else has the ability to stop him from attacking the Forbidden City?

  Gu Xuan suddenly realized and repeatedly said "good".

  Zhang Sheng also nodded and said, "Since it's like this, it's better to do it sooner rather than later."

  It's late. Once the empress is demoted to a concubine, those turncoats in the imperial court will immediately switch sides and surrender to others.

  "Peaceful blessing!" shouted Marquis Anqing.

  Guan Jia Ping Fu pushed open the door and came in, "Young Master Hou."

  "Any news about Moon Lady?"

  Yue Niang was secretly planted by Anqing Hou in the General's Mansion, seven years ago to assist the Crown Prince in ascending to the throne. After Zhen Shi Niang married into the Zhuangyuan Mansion, Anqing Hou changed her name and placed her beside the elderly lady, specifically to drive a wedge between Zhen Shi Niang and Shen Zhongjie's mother-son relationship, preventing Shen Zhongjie from being seduced by Zhen Shi Niang's beauty and defecting to the side of the Duke of Town.

  Time flies, and now Yu Niang has become an important internal connection for Anqing Hou to spy on the news of the General's Mansion.

  "...General Shen's attitude is tough and he refuses to separate."

  Anqing Hou and Gao Yuming looked at each other in surprise.

  Shen Zhong's filial piety was unmatched, and he had never dared to disobey Mrs. Shen. It wasn't until they reached this point that they devised the plan to form an alliance by taking advantage of the old lady, but they truly hadn't anticipated things would turn out like this.

  After a moment's thought, Anqing Hou ordered decisively, "Let Yueniang intensify the coercion of Madame Shen, and force Shen Zhongge to agree to divorce immediately!"

  "Why bother with such trouble?" As soon as Anqing Hou's voice fell, Gu Ding shook his head, "I heard that Zhen Shi Niang lives in the countryside, it's better to investigate clearly and kill her with one knife."

  Hao Yueming's eyes lit up.

  He looked at Anqing Hou, "This plan is also feasible!"

  Anqing Hou nodded in agreement, "This is also a way to go." He then called out to the housekeeper, "Have Yueniang immediately find out where Zhen Shi Niang lives?"

  The housekeeper retreated at the sound of his voice.

  Anqing Hou looked at Gu Ding and said, "If Shen Zhongge still refuses to divorce within two days, then we'll have to trouble General Gu to make a trip."

  This matter must be done quickly, Shen Zhongge may have trusted the old lady with all his heart, but he is extremely intelligent and once he discovers a clue, they will immediately suffer a setback.

  ……

  For two consecutive days, Shen Zhongjie did not return to the General's Mansion.

  "...Doesn't Xiao Zhongtang know the general's whereabouts?" After hearing Lai Shun's report, the manager of the inner courtyard, Gao Quan, anxiously wrung his hands, "The old lady has been fasting for two days, but the general is nowhere to be found, what can we do?"

  "Or else..." Gao Quan said with a smile, "I'll go invite Xiao Zhong Tang to come and persuade Old Madam?"

  That's not a bad idea.

  Xiao Yu and Shen Zhongjie were sworn brothers, Shen Zhongjie often went out to battle for many years. Every year during the festivals, Xiao Yu would come to pay his respects to Old Madam, taking his place in showing filial piety to her, and she listened most to his words.

  But Gao Quan's eyes dimmed as he looked down, "...how can we speak of such things to outsiders?"

  It's all going downhill from here.

  Just then, a young servant rushed in and said, "The general has returned!"

  "Hurry, hurry, where is it?" Gao Quan lifted his foot and walked out, instructing Lai Shun to "hurry and inform Lady Chu and the old lady."

  Gao Quan hadn't even reached the second gate when he saw Shen Zhongjie walking towards him, dusty and disheveled. "Two days without seeing you, General, how did you end up like this?" Seeing Shen Zhongjie's sunken eyes and haggard face, Gao Quan felt a sudden jolt in his heart and quickly stepped forward to greet him.

  "What?" Shen Zhong's expression changed drastically as he stood up abruptly, "Mother hasn't eaten for two days?"

  "The aunts had been persuading her for a long time, but the old lady just wouldn't eat." Gao Quan carefully observed Shen Zhongke's expression.

  "Mother, what are you trying to do!" Shen Zhongge let out a low growl, his eyes filled with worry and red threads, he turned around and instructed Rong Sheng, "......send the things to the study." He lifted his foot and headed towards the Yangxin courtyard.

  "General, you..." Rong Sheng called out, wanting to say that he hadn't slept for two days, but swallowed his words back as he gazed at Shen Zhongjie's hastily retreating back.

  The old lady has been tossed about like this, how can her general sleep soundly?

  Led by Da Yiniang, the five yiniangs stood silently in the corridor. Seeing Shen Zhongge enter, Chu Xinyi's eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to call out, but remembering that the old lady was fasting inside, she quickly covered her smile and put on a worried expression. "General, where have you been for the past two days?" Looking at the east wing, "The old lady...".

  Before he could finish speaking, Shen Zhongge had already pushed open the door and entered the old lady's room.

  After a moment of hesitation, Chu Xinyi stepped forward and followed him in.

  The big aunt and others looked at each other and followed in a line.

  The old lady sat on the kang with her back to the door and heard the sound of the door, her body shook slightly, and then she sat there motionless again.

  Looking at the old lady, then looking at the cold food on the table, Shen Zhongge sighed and slowly walked to the old lady's side and sat down. "What's wrong, Mother?" He forced a smile as he reached out to pull the corner of her clothes. "You should eat something."

  Older people can't take this kind of thing.

  "......Two days without a word, not even a greeting, do you still consider me your mother?!" The old lady slapped him away.

  "Things are too urgent, I forgot to greet my mother."

  It wasn't intentional, he really was too busy and forgot.

  The old lady only noticed that Shen Zhongge had lost a circle in two days, his cheeks were covered with stubble, and his eyes were filled with red threads. She couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, thinking that the threshold of the Anqing Houfu was almost worn out by people seeking marriage, if she didn't ask for a matchmaker to propose soon, Miss Ten would become someone else's wife immediately. She suppressed her emotions again, her face sank, and she wiped away tears with her handkerchief, "Don't try to comfort me with words, I know I'm old and useless, it's better to die early and not hinder your happiness."

  "What's going on, Mother? What are you saying?" Shen Zhongge got up and knelt down, "What have I done wrong? Just scold me or punish me if you must, but how can I bear it when you speak like this?"

  When Shen Zhong's bell fell, Chu Xinyi and others also knelt down with a thud.

  "You are a great general, how can you be so weak? What's there to be afraid of?" Seeing Shen Zhongge finally kneeling down, the old lady's eyes flashed with a hint of satisfaction, and her mouth curled into a sneer. "It's me, this old woman who won't die, living too long, nagging and bothering you, hindering your actions... rather than waiting timidly to be controlled by others, it's better to die early and go to the underworld to accompany your father..." As she spoke, thinking of her late husband, the old lady burst into tears.

  Shen Zhong became even more perplexed.

  What does Mother mean by this? She was fine, who is controlling her now?

  In this general's mansion, she is the only one who doesn't cause trouble, who dares to upset her?

  Seeing Shen Zhong's puzzled expression, the old lady only cried and didn't speak, Chu Xinyi gave Biyue a signal.

  Bixue's eyes rolled around, "Old Madam is worried that after Eldest Madam returns, she will continue to bully her like before." Suddenly, Shen Zhongjie's face changed color, and he added vinegar on his own, "The General doesn't know, Old Madam has been so tense these past two days that she's having nightmares every day."