"My parents often talk about you two, saying you're so lovely and your aunt is so clever. They regret not taking you both with them to the border." Although conditions at the border are tough, being together as a family means you can look after each other!
As Lin Yanqing spoke of this, her bright eyes dimmed, and her kind smile carried a hint of sadness: "If we had known you would suffer so much, your parents would have taken you to the border, and your aunt wouldn't have died so young from overwork." Over the years, they, mother and daughter, must have had a very difficult time.
How could Shen Minghui be a husband and father? His wife and daughter waited for him in Qingzhou for fifteen years, and he didn't even realize they were still alive. If Li Xue hadn't found the Prime Minister's residence, he probably would have forgotten about them long ago.
"It's alright!" Shen Lixue smiled, but there was a hint of contemplation in her smile. Lin Qingzhu, Shen Lixue's life was indeed very bitter. She endured fifteen years, but before she could see her husband (father), she passed away.
Lin Yan pulled himself out of his thoughts, sighed softly, and looked at Shen Lixue: "Why did you suddenly ask this question?"
Shen Lixue paused for a moment, then told Lin Yan everything that had happened after she returned to the Prime Minister's residence. Lin Yan was calm, upright, and a man of principle. He was also Shen Lixue's cousin, so asking him for help with certain matters was definitely the right thing to do.
Lin Yan frowned deeply, growing angrier with each word. By the end, his refined, handsome face was filled with fury, his gaze so sharp it seemed to want to tear someone to pieces. His large hands clenched into fists, trembling slightly uncontrollably.
“You are Shen Minghui’s biological daughter. Even if you grew up with your aunt and are not close to him, he should not have sided with Shen Yingxue to frame and punish you. His actions do not make him worthy of being a father.” Shen Minghui is the Prime Minister of Qingyan. He usually seems alright, so how could he be so heartless to his own daughter at home?
"Is there some conflict between Shen Minghui and my mother that makes him dislike me?" Shen Lixue probed indirectly.
Actually, what she originally wanted to ask was, is it possible that I am not Shen Minghui's biological daughter?
Shen Lixue had the original owner's memories and knew that Lin Qingzhu was a very proper woman. Considering Shen Minghui's personality, if this body wasn't his biological daughter, he would have kicked her out long ago. Why would he raise someone else's daughter for nothing? Therefore, she didn't ask this obvious question.
“My aunt is gentle and kind. I never saw her lose her temper when I was a child. Logically speaking, there shouldn’t be any major conflicts between her and Shen Minghui!”
Lin Yan tried to calm himself down, his gaze deep and unfathomable: "Of course, it's inevitable for couples to have disagreements. Even if he had a conflict with your aunt, it's impossible for it to continue for fifteen years and then involve you. You are your aunt's daughter, and you are also his daughter!"
Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows. Lin Yan's words were indeed reasonable, but Shen Minghui's actions were truly incomprehensible: "Does my name have any special meaning?" Otherwise, why would Shen Yingxue and the Lei family scheme to change her name?
“This… Li Xue, it sounds like an ordinary name, it shouldn’t have any special meaning!” Lin Yan pondered for a moment, but couldn’t figure it out, and said, “Your name was given to you by your grandfather, if it has any special meaning, he’ll know best…”
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "Lixue was the name given by my maternal grandfather, not by Shen Minghui?"
"Of course not!" Lin Yan shook his head, his expression arrogant. Fifteen years ago, Shen Minghui was just an unknown minor official who followed high-ranking officials around every day. How could he possibly be in charge of naming the granddaughter of the Duke of Wu's family!
"On the day of your full moon celebration, your grandfather, after attending the celebration, went into his study with great enthusiasm and wrote the three characters 'Chen Lixue' on Xuan paper!" The words were sharp and contained hidden brilliance. When the guests who came to congratulate him saw them, they all praised them. It was the glory of the Duke of Wu's mansion. Lin Yan, who was only three years old, remembered this scene firmly.
"Unfortunately, on the second day after your full moon celebration, a major event occurred in the capital. Your grandfather was the first to be affected and suffered a shock. That very night, he passed away!"
Lin Yan's voice gradually lowered. He couldn't help but feel sad when he thought of the white banners and desolation filling the room. His grandfather had passed away, his father had been demoted, and he had moved to the border with his parents when he was young. The once prosperous Duke Wu's mansion had fallen into decline.
"What major incident has happened that has implicated Grandpa?" Shen Lixue frowned. It seemed that Shen Minghui was also demoted to Qingzhou because of that incident.
"I don't know about that. For over a decade at the border, my parents kept their mouths shut and never mentioned that matter!" Lin Yan shook his head, a layer of confusion clouding his clear eyes. What exactly happened back then? Why were his parents so reluctant to talk about it?
Shen Lixue frowned. Fifteen years had passed, and those who had committed the crime back then had all been demoted to various parts of Qingyan. The high-ranking officials and nobles who remained in the capital were also very wary of this matter, and no one was willing to bring it up again. It would be difficult to investigate.
"Cousin Yan, do you know how my father and mother met and fell in love?" Shen Lixue's dark eyes held a hint of curiosity.
Fifteen years ago, Lin Qingzhu and Shen Minghui were from completely different backgrounds. It was incredible that these two people would become husband and wife. There must have been a very special reason behind it.
Would a woman as exceptionally talented as Lin Qingzhu choose to marry a poor, impoverished scholar like Shen Minghui, instead of a noble and handsome young master from a prestigious family in the capital? While such a possibility exists, it is extremely small!
“I was very young when my aunt got married and don’t remember anything. I know even less about how she met and fell in love with Shen Minghui. Why would you ask this question?” Lin Yan looked at Shen Lixue with a puzzled expression, then suddenly realized something and said with a half-smile, “Does Lixue also think that Shen Minghui is not good enough for my aunt?”
Perhaps it was because Shen Minghui's incompetence was deeply ingrained in his mind fifteen years ago that Lin Yan always felt that Shen Minghui was marrying above his station with Lin Qingzhu. Even though Shen Minghui had become the Prime Minister of Qingyan, he still felt that Shen Minghui was not worthy of his beautiful and noble aunt.
Shen Lixue smiled brightly and radiantly: "In Qingzhou, although life was hard, my mother treated me very well. After coming to the Prime Minister's residence, life became better, but there were also more troubles. Shen Minghui has no fatherly affection for me at all and helps others bully me. Naturally, I don't like a father like that!"
A hint of sadness flashed in Lin Yan's clear eyes. If the Duke of Wu's mansion were still there, how could Shen Minghui dare to let others bully Li Xue? Even if Li Xue was bullied, she could come to live in the Duke of Wu's mansion, and no one would say anything.
But now, the Duke of Wu's mansion no longer exists. Although he has a courtyard in the capital, he is the only man there. If he were to invite Li Xue to live there, it would certainly damage her reputation: "Li Xue, are you... going to marry Prince An?"
In Lin Yan's mind, there was only one way for Shen Lixue to leave the Prime Minister's residence: to get married!
Prince An is aloof, but he is someone you can entrust your life to. However, he is seriously ill and only has three months left to live. If Li Xue marries him again, Lin Yan doesn't know whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing...
"I haven't reached marriageable age yet, so it's too early to talk about marriage!" Shen Lixue smiled. In the month or so she had been in Qingyan, she had experienced mostly conspiracies and schemes, and had devoted all her energy to dealing with these things. She had no interest in matters of love and had not thought about marriage for the time being.
Lin Yan looked at Shen Lixue and sighed heavily: "The marriage that Grandpa arranged for you was originally a good match, but unfortunately, Prince An was seriously injured while guarding the border..."
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "What did you say? My marriage was arranged by my maternal grandfather?" Not by Shen Minghui?
"Your marriage was arranged by Grandpa and the Holy Prince, and has nothing to do with Shen Minghui!" After learning about Shen Minghui's bias towards Shen Lixue, Lin Yan was even more displeased with him. Back then, Shen Minghui was just a nobody. If he hadn't married his aunt, no one in the capital would even know he existed. How could he have been qualified to discuss his children's marriage with the Holy Prince?
Fifteen years later, Lin Yan only remembered the general outline of the events, but whenever he thought about that day, he couldn't help but smile. It was truly a lively and extraordinary day:
"When the Holy Prince brought the Holy Prince's heir and Prince An to your full moon celebration, for some reason, my grandfather and the Holy Prince discussed your marriage with the Holy Prince's heir in front of everyone. They wanted you to be the Holy Prince's consort. However, the Holy Prince's heir is five years older than you, which is not quite right. Just then, Dongfang Heng stood in front of the bed, holding you tightly. My grandfather saw that you and Dongfang Heng were destined for each other, so he betrothed you to him!"
Shen Lixue was instantly speechless. Fifteen years ago, Dongfang Heng was only a three-year-old child. How could he have carried her when she was a month old? Even if he could, he was carrying the original owner of the body, which had little to do with her.
Speaking of Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue also thought of Shen Minghui and Shen Yingxue.
The marriage arranged by the Duke of Wu for his granddaughter had absolutely nothing to do with the other daughters of the Shen family. Shen Minghui thought that as the prime minister, he could be on equal footing with the royal family and could give orders to have Shen Yingxue marry into the Holy Prince's Mansion in his place. He was extremely foolish, shameless, and of the lowest character.
I really don't understand how a shameless scoundrel like him, who is morally corrupt, selfish, and cold-hearted, became the Prime Minister of Qingyan!
"Li Xue, you won't be of marriageable age until the sixth day of the ninth month, there are still five months left!" Lin Yan sighed. Prince An has less than three months left. The two of them are destined to be apart. How could Grandpa have seen that they were destined to be together?
"Cousin Yan, the sun is about to set, so I won't disturb you while you're handling your business!" Seeing that Lin Yan was trying to steer the conversation toward her marriage to Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue smiled and said goodbye, quickly leaving the study.
The day after the Duke of Wu was given his name, the truth came out and he died. This matter seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it, but Shen Lixue couldn't quite put her finger on what was so suspicious. She just felt that the matter was not simple and that there were many people in the capital who knew about it. With a slow investigation, the truth would eventually come out.
As for the reason why Lin Qingzhu married Shen Minghui, she will find out!
In the Minister's residence, Zhuang Kexin sat on the soft bed in her boudoir, leaning lightly against the headboard, her eyes half-closed. Her white fur trousers were half-undone, and she was enjoying the servants' service with great comfort. Fragrant ointment was applied to her legs, and the wounds felt cool and comfortable. Zhuang Kexin sighed softly.
"Kexin!" Shen Yingxue hurriedly entered the room under the guidance of her maid. Her beautiful face was full of sorrow, and her eyes were brimming with tears. She looked at the maids in the room, but hesitated to speak.
"You may all leave!" Zhuang Kexin opened her eyes and waved her hand. The maids all curtsied and left.