It's all their fault, mother and daughter.
Otherwise, she could have become Yun Xuan's principal wife.
Although concubines are also listed in the Imperial Jade Tablet, while they are called "concubines" to put it nicely, they are actually just concubines of noble status. To put it bluntly, they are still concubines.
But what's done is done, so she could only hurry forward to express her gratitude.
Emperor Yuanjing dismissed the Shen family members from their kneeling. Then, Emperor Jingyuan, Yan Linghan, gave Empress Lin Wanrou a meaningful look. Having been married for many years, Empress Lin naturally understood Emperor Jingyuan's meaning and smiled, saying...
"Today I acquired a red coral that is half a person tall. Ladies and young ladies, please come with me to the side hall for a cup of tea and take a look."
"We will obey Her Majesty the Empress's decree."
After speaking, the women stood up and followed Empress Lin Wanrou to the side hall.
As for the Second Prince Yan Yunxuan and the Shen family, these matters will be dealt with later.
As soon as everyone left, the Marquis of Changping Shen Changyuan, along with his eldest son Shen Qinghong and fourth son Shen Qingbo, knelt at the center of the main hall.
"Your Majesty, please forgive us!"
After saying that, they knelt down and remained motionless.
Emperor Jingyuan, looking up at the Shen family, didn't say anything, simply making them kneel. Then he turned to the assembled ministers and said...
"Those who can hear, stand to the right; everyone else, stand to the left."
Some ministers didn't know what Emperor Jingyuan was talking about, but others quickly stood on the right, while the others naturally stood on the left.
Seeing that most of the ministers were standing on the right, especially the six ministers, the prime minister, and the general, he nodded and ordered the ministers standing on the left to leave the main hall and wait in a side hall on the other side.
The ministers all did as instructed.
After everyone had left the main hall, Emperor Jingyuan looked at Marquis Changping and said in a distant voice,
"Speak."
Only then did Shen Changyuan slowly begin to speak.
Your Majesty, ever since my daughter Shen Mingzhu fell into the water during her coming-of-age ceremony, a system named Guagua has appeared. It often chats with Shen Mingzhu.
I have observed carefully that none of the maids, old women, guards, or servants in the manor can hear my daughter Shen Mingzhu's inner monologue.
Only her family can hear her true thoughts.
So my family is actually quite relieved.
I never expected that today in the main hall...
The result is self-evident.
The key point is that Shen Mingzhu at home only gossiped about trivial matters such as which steward had embezzled or which old woman had bullied others. They verified that everything was true, and the Marquis of Changping's mansion even punished a group of servants as a result.
The ministers in the capital had heard about the Changping Marquis's handling of his servants, but since it was a family matter, no one paid much attention to it.
So that's the root cause.
According to Marquis Changping Shen Changyuan, they originally intended to remind Shen Mingzhu, but they couldn't say the words. The more they tried to speak, the more suffocated they felt. Since only their family members could hear them, they just let her be.
Unexpectedly, Shen Mingzhu gave them a big surprise today!
They might all be wiped out!
Knowing other people's private matters, especially royal secrets, can certainly lead to your death!
After hearing this, Emperor Jingyuan thought that if things didn't work out, he would kill Shen Mingzhu as a demon. Then he felt he couldn't say it!
Emperor Jingyuan: ...I can't move!
Suddenly, he thought of the Second Prince Yan Yunxuan and smiled meaningfully.
Seeing Emperor Jingyuan's smile, the Shen family felt a chill run down their spines.
They had a feeling their heads are about to hit the ground.
On the other side, Shen Mingzhu was happily drinking pre-Qingming Longjing tea and eating various pastries.
Consort Li, Su Bao'er, looked at Shen Mingzhu with disgust. "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat. You're really from the countryside; you've never seen anything good before."
It's really unfair to her son, Xuan'er.
He actually got engaged to someone like that!
However, considering that she was the biological daughter of Marquis Changping and the granddaughter of General Xie, she decided to let it go.
Once Xuan'er achieves his great ambitions, she can simply be made a concubine and kept in the harem. She won't lack for a meal anyway.
Empress Lin looked at Shen Mingzhu's excellent appetite and smiled lovingly. "She can really eat a lot. She's such a lucky girl."
As if she had thought of something, a faint sadness appeared on his face.
Soon, Wang Defu, the chief eunuch beside Emperor Yuanjing, entered and whispered a few words to Bai Zhi, the head palace maid serving the Empress. Then the Empress smiled and looked at everyone.
"Let's go, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet should start at any moment."
"As you command, your Majesty."
The group then arrived at the main hall, which had been restored to its original state.
However, Shen Mingzhu felt something was off, and had a bad feeling about it.
Her premonition soon came true!
At the very top, the Emperor took a sip of tea, and the Grand Eunuch Wang Defu beside him shouted,
"Prince Xuan, step forward to receive your decree."
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Shen Jiaojiao, the second young lady of the Marquis of Changping, is dignified, virtuous, diligent, gentle, kind, and pure. She is of a gentle nature, adept at domestic duties, and possesses virtuous character. Therefore, she is hereby conferred the title of Concubine of the Prince of Xuan. This is the imperial decree!"
After hearing the imperial edict, Xuanwang Yan Yunxuan's heart skipped a beat.
He originally wanted to wait a while and negotiate with his father to give Jiaojiao the position of principal wife.
Now that the imperial edict has been issued, the matter is settled.
He looked at Shen Jiaojiao with some guilt, having already promised her that she would become his principal wife!
Looks like he broke his promise!
Moreover, tonight's events were a huge shock to him!
Something unexpected happened to Shen Mingzhu, and he wanted to investigate further, but unexpectedly, his father issued an imperial edict.
Xuanwang Yan Yunxuan and Shen Jiaojiao got up to express their gratitude.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Father Emperor."
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with tender affection.
As soon as the two returned to their seats, people around them came up to congratulate them and offer auspicious words. Shen Jiaojiao glanced at Shen Mingzhu, smiled slightly, and a flash of smugness crossed her eyes.
Soon, Wang Defu produced another imperial edict.
"Shen Mingzhu, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changping, receive the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing her name called, Shen Mingzhu quickly stepped forward to receive the imperial decree.
I reckon it's an imperial decree to compensate her.
The Prince Xuan was engaged to her, and now that the marriage had been arranged for Shen Jiaojiao, it was in accordance with his son's wishes, so he would definitely have to appease her.
"By the grace of Heaven and the Emperor, it is decreed that: Shen Mingzhu, the eldest daughter of the Shen family, is gentle, virtuous, graceful, elegant, dignified, wise, self-disciplined, cautious, and pure. She is hereby conferred the title of Crown Prince's Consort, effective immediately. This is the imperial decree!"
Shen Mingzhu was stunned!
Many ministers understood the emperor's intention after a moment's thought.
Shen Mingzhu was extremely excited.
[The emperor is truly shrewd, with a thousand schemes in his head. He bestowed such a fine girl like me upon his beloved crown prince. Indeed, children born of true love are different; even when bedridden, a father's deep love for his son still compels him to snatch the best girl home!]
"Cough cough cough~~~"