When Shen Lixue returned to the bamboo garden, Dongfang Heng was sitting on her bed reading a book. When he saw her come in, he didn't even look up, his gaze still lingering on the book: "Are you still willing to live in a house like this?"
"Such an exquisite mansion, how could I possibly be worthy of living here?" Shen Lixue said softly, quickly walking to the wardrobe, taking down a large box from the top, opening the lid, and taking everything out of the wardrobe and throwing it into the box: "Pack your things, we're leaving soon. Stop reading and help me pack!"
Dongfang Heng put down his book and slowly walked up to Shen Lixue: "Let's go stay at the Holy King's Mansion!"
"No need!" Shen Lixue shook her head, quickly packing her things without stopping. "We're not married yet, it's not appropriate for me to go to the Holy King's Mansion. I can just find any house!"
A hint of sadness flickered in Dongfang Heng's dark eyes. He glanced at the sky outside the window, took Shen Lixue's small hand, and quickly walked outside: "If I had known you wouldn't go to the Holy King's Mansion, I would have found you another place to live..."
"Where are you taking me!" Shen Lixue turned around and looked at the clothes scattered on the ground; she hadn't packed her things yet.
"Go find Shen Minghui!" Dongfang Heng said, gripping Chen Lixue's hand, his grip tightening unconsciously.
When Shen Lixue arrived at the ancestral hall, it was filled with people. Apart from Shen Yingxue, who had fainted from anger, Lei Shi, Shen Caixuan, Shen Caiyun, Aunt Zhao, Aunt Jin, and Aunt Li were all there.
Lei glared at Shen Lixue with a cold look in her eyes. Shen Caiyun and Aunt Li lowered their eyes and remained silent. Aunt Jin and Shen Caixuan looked at Shen Lixue with schadenfreude in their eyes. Aunt Zhao looked at Shen Lixue, sighed silently, and shook her head at her.
Shen Minghui's condition has improved; although his complexion is still very bad, the pain in his chest has subsided.
Seeing Shen Lixue walk in, Shen Minghui glanced at her coldly, held three incense sticks, and respectfully bowed to a pile of ancestral tablets: "Ancestors above, Shen Minghui, the thirty-second generation descendant of the Shen family, has failed to properly educate his daughter, causing her to repeatedly commit evil deeds and harm countless people. According to the Shen family rules, she shall be severely punished with one hundred strokes of the cane and expelled from the family. From now on, she is no longer a member of the Shen family!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, and Shen Minghui, enraged and embarrassed, wanted to kick her out of the manor!
Shen Minghui bowed respectfully, placed the incense sticks into the incense burner, turned to look at Shen Lixue with icy eyes, and said angrily, "You rebellious daughter, kneel down and accept your punishment!"
Shen Lixue curled her lips into a cold smile: "Shen Minghui, you're senile. After I returned to the Prime Minister's residence, I never entered your family ancestral hall, nor was I registered in your family's ancestral register. I'm not a member of your Shen family at all. Apart from blood ties, we have no relationship whatsoever. What right do you have to use your Shen family's rules to discipline me?"
Shen Minghui was taken aback. He had forgotten about this matter, but how could he, the dignified Prime Minister of Qingyan, be rendered speechless by this disobedient woman? "If I don't punish you with a beating or enforce family rules, you can continue to live in the Prime Minister's residence. Is it because you've lived here for so long that you can't bear to leave?"
Shen Minghui's eyes were full of mockery: "You're not registered in the ancestral home, you're not in the ancestral hall, this Prime Minister's mansion isn't your home, get out of here right now!" You've harmed Yingxue, hurt him, and you still want to continue living a life of luxury? Dream on.
Shen Lixue scoffed, "Prime Minister Shen, do you think your Prime Minister's residence is a paradise where everyone would want to live? I've wanted to leave for a long time, but you kept urging me to stay, which is why I'm still here now."
Shen Minghui's face turned ashen instantly. He had tried to keep her there for the sake of the Prime Minister's reputation, but now that Yingxue's reputation was ruined and the Prime Minister's family was implicated, he was trying to imply to everyone that all the bad things were done by Shen Lixue, and that even if Shen Yingxue was in trouble, it was because of the schemes of this rebellious girl from the countryside.
"I will leave the Prime Minister's residence, but I have one condition!" Shen Lixue said coldly, walked to the table, picked up paper and pen, and wrote a few words.
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Shen Lixue forcefully blew the ink off the paper, picked up one of the sheets, and handed it to Shen Minghui: "This is a letter of severance. Sign your name, Prime Minister Shen, and we will have absolutely no relationship between us!"
Chapter 108: Conferring the Title of Princess, the Scumbag Father Spits Blood in Anger
Shen Minghui's face was so black it could drip ink. No wonder she agreed so readily and even signed a letter of severance with him. So that's what she was up to. Lin Qingzhu's half of her dowry was no small amount, and making him collect it within a month was simply making things difficult for him.
"You are no longer a member of the Shen family, so please return the Shen family heirloom jade pendant!" Shen Minghui repeated the same tactic, stretching out his hand in front of Shen Lixue and demanding the family heirloom jade pendant from her without any politeness.
“Once you return my mother’s dowry to me, I will naturally give you the Shen family jade pendant!” Shen Lixue didn’t care about that family heirloom jade. She kept holding back from giving it to Shen Minghui to deliberately annoy and embarrass him.
"A month is too short!" Shen Minghui frowned deeply. The dowry had been sold and scattered throughout Qingyan. Even if he had extraordinary abilities, it would be impossible to collect it all in such a short time.
"Then two months it will be, that's the longest I can go!" Shen Lixue said calmly, taking out the family heirloom jade pendant, gently pinching the red string and holding it up to Shen Minghui's eyes: "When Prime Minister Shen hands over his dowry, that will be the day this jade pendant returns to the Shen family. We'll be even!"
Shen Minghui gritted his teeth as he looked at the emerald green jade pendant swaying back and forth in front of him. This rebellious daughter was deliberately provoking him by waving the jade pendant in front of him, making him see it but not be able to grasp it!
His chest was brimming with anger, his eyes blazing with fury. He was filled with rage and hatred, but he couldn't vent it. He glared at Shen Lixue, forcing back his anger as he roared, "Fine!"
Two months is enough time for him to gather some gold and silver jewelry to pass for the real thing and exchange it for the Shen family's heirloom jade pendant. The most urgent task is to drive Shen Lixue out of the Prime Minister's residence and let the world know that she was the one who plotted against Yingxue!
"Then I'll be going now, until we meet again!" With the matter settled, Shen Lixue showed no lingering attachment, casually putting away the jade pendant and turning to leave.
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice, characteristic of eunuchs, rang out from outside the door: "Imperial edict has arrived!"
Shen Minghui was taken aback. He had neither made any merits nor demerits in court recently, and Caiyun's matter had already been resolved. Why did an imperial edict suddenly arrive? With doubts in his heart, he still led everyone to kneel down and listen to the edict.
The person delivering the imperial decree was right in front of her, but Shen Lixue hadn't even left the ancestral hall yet. She casually knelt down with everyone else.
Eunuch Zhao entered the ancestral hall with a whisk in hand. He glanced at the kneeling crowd, opened the bright yellow imperial edict, and loudly proclaimed: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Shen Lixue, daughter of Prime Minister Shen, is intelligent, clever, gentle, and kind. She has won the favor of the War King and has been adopted as his goddaughter. She is hereby granted the title of Princess Lixue and awarded a thousand taels of gold and a thousand bolts of silk. This is the imperial decree!"
Shen Minghui felt a sudden thud, his mind went completely blank, and a voice kept echoing in his ears: "Bestow the title of Princess Lixue!"
This imperial edict wasn't issued to him, but to Shen Lixue. She was favored by the War King and adopted as his goddaughter. The Emperor also specially issued an edict to bestow upon her the title of Princess. How could this be?
Lei glanced at Shen Lixue furiously, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger. How did this country bumpkin suddenly become a princess? What was going on?
Shen Caixuan, Shen Caiyun, and Aunt Zhao all stared at Shen Lixue in shock. She had become the adopted daughter of the War King and had been granted the title of Princess. Had they heard correctly?
As the person directly involved, Shen Lixue had just as many doubts as those of outsiders. Why would the Emperor suddenly issue an edict to bestow upon her the title of Princess? Thinking of that imposing, aloof, and unapproachable elder, she had only met him three times and had always kept her distance. How could he have thought of taking her as his goddaughter?
"Congratulations, Princess!" A high-pitched voice rang out from above, and a bright yellow scroll was presented to Shen Lixue. She instantly snapped back to her senses, respectfully accepted the imperial decree, and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch!"
"Serving the Emperor, I dare not complain of being tired!"
Eunuch Zhao chuckled and looked at Shen Minghui: "Prime Minister Shen, Prince Zhan has no children and wishes to have Princess Lixue live in the Prince Zhan's residence so that she can be by his side. The princess is still your daughter and will come back to visit you whenever she has time. These gifts are a token of Prince Zhan's goodwill, so please accept them, Prime Minister Shen!"
Eunuch Zhao waved his hand, and twenty or thirty guards carried in more than a dozen large boxes. Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, they opened the lids of the boxes, and instantly, priceless treasures were revealed. Their dazzling light in the morning sun stunned everyone's eyes. Wow, so many treasures, priceless! Prince Zhan is truly generous!
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. The Prince of Zhan was of noble status, yet he was neither arrogant nor impatient. He had taken her in as his goddaughter and allowed her to live in the Prince of Zhan's mansion, which meant she could no longer fulfill her filial duties to Shen Minghui. He was giving Shen Minghui these priceless treasures as compensation.
Prince Zhan had spent half his life on the battlefield, achieving countless military exploits. The emperor had directly bestowed upon him many tributes from defeated nations. The treasures in the box were rare in the capital. Even though Shen Minghui and Lei Shi had seen countless treasures, they were greatly tempted, their eyes gleaming. The value of these treasures was more than twice that of all the assets in the Prime Minister's mansion: "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Zhao!"
Shen Caiyun's gaze darkened, and she remained silent.
Shen Caixuan and Aunt Jin secretly glared at Shen Lixue, gritting their teeth. How could she be so lucky? She was actually adopted as a goddaughter by the Prince of Zhan. Why wasn't it her (Caiyun) who was adopted?
Shen Lixue looked at Shen Minghui and Lei Shi's eyes, which were filled with surprise and greed, and smiled coldly: "Eunuch Zhao, are these treasures for Prime Minister Shen or for my father?"
Eunuch Zhao was taken aback: "What's the difference?" Prime Minister Shen is Shen Lixue's father, and Shen Lixue's father is Prime Minister Shen.
Shen Minghui was startled, guessing her purpose. His gaze darkened, and he was about to stop her when Shen Lixue smiled and spoke up: "Of course there is a difference. If the treasure is for Prime Minister Shen, I will not interfere. If the treasure is for my father, Eunuch Zhao can take it back and return it to Prince Zhan."