Duke Jing's younger sister

Seeing that persuasion was of no use, the two elders had no choice but to turn their attention to Yang, hoping that she could step forward and mediate.

No one knows a son better than his mother. How could Yang not guess what her son was planning?

He always kept his word, so she was afraid that it would be a waste of words if she said anything, so she simply didn't say anything.

She sighed softly and said to Mr. Shen, "Well, let him be."

Seeing that even her mother agreed, Shen Zhiyan knew that the decision-making power of this matter was in Shen Beiqi's hands. She took two steps forward, grabbed his sleeve, and pleaded,

"Brother, Ah Li has no family, but now you want to remove her from the family tree. Are you going to let her live on the streets?"

"It's just that I'm removed from the family tree, but I'm not expelled from the family."

Shen Beiqi said slowly, "When I brought Ah Li back home that year, I actually kept it a secret from all the elders. Ah Li is not an orphan on the street. Her surname is Jiang, and her father is Jiang Minzhi, who was once the governor of Changzhou."

Jiang Minzhi?

As a small civil servant, Shen Chuanzhi had certainly heard of Jiang Minzhi's name.

He lost his composure now and asked in surprise, "Are you talking about Jiang Minzhi, who angered His Majesty by making irresponsible remarks while drunk and was later convicted by His Majesty and exiled to Liangzhou with his entire family?"

"Yes."

Shen Li's true identity was not hidden from everyone in the Shen family.

At least Shen Beiqi's parents knew about it at the time.

Yang originally did not agree to adopt the daughter of a criminal, but Shen Beiqi insisted on doing so, and since the old Duke had given the order, she agreed.

For the Yang family, it was just a matter of supporting one more person, but for the Shen family, it was nothing at all.

However, it is inconvenient to tell others Shen Li's true identity, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

So they all lied to the outside world, saying that Shen Li was an orphan who had drifted here from the south, and that her parents had both died in a flood. Shen Beiqi saw that she was so young and pitiful, so he took her home and adopted her as his sister.

It was also because of this that Ren Jiaorui kept calling Shen Li a beggar in private.

Later, this matter reached Shen Beiqi's ears. After he punished Ren Jiaorui, she never dared to slander Shen Li in front of her again, and could only curse her secretly in her heart.

Ren Jiaorui thought to herself that no matter how humble her family background was, her father was just a minor local official, which made her much more noble than Shen Li, who was born a beggar.

Little did people know that she was actually the legitimate daughter of Jiang Minzhi of Changzhou.

After all, my third uncle is old and he is a retired minister.

After listening to just two sentences, he figured out the key point, leaned on the cane in front of him with both hands, and asked,

"So, you are deliberately removing Li Yatou from the Shen family tree because the Jiang family is going to be revived?"

"Third Uncle has a keen eye, that's exactly it!"

Shen Beiqi nodded slightly and said, "The Jiang family is now on their way back to the city. His Majesty has issued a secret decree that Jiang Minzhi will be transferred to Jiangdu after his rehabilitation and serve as a third-rank cabinet scholar. Compared to his previous position, it is even one level higher, which shows that His Majesty values ​​him."

Third Uncle understood it all and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your Majesty was eager to establish your authority when you first ascended the throne, but you overlooked the position of Jiang Minzhi in the hearts of the Western School students. Now, Lin Zewen and the Eastern School are the only ones in the court. I am afraid that he has already lost the emperor's favor. Your Majesty must take precautions before it happens!"

Shen Chuanzhi: "So, Jiang Minzhi will definitely not stop at the third-rank scholar. Since he wants to compete with Lin Zewen, he must go up one level and be on equal footing with Lin Zewen!"

Shen Beiqi nodded in agreement and turned the topic back on track.

"Lord Jiang has only one son and two daughters. Apart from Jiang Li and her brother Jiang Cheng, there is another concubine daughter who is missing. Seeing that the Jiang family is not prosperous, how can we, the Shen family, force Shen Li's name to remain in the Shen family tree?"

Shen Zhiyan understood that Shen Li was not expelled from the family tree because he had done something wrong.

But because her family is coming back, so she wants to be returned to the Jiang family.

Shen Zhiyan was happy for Shen Li from the bottom of her heart, but she couldn't help feeling a little melancholy. Wouldn't she have to move out of the Shen family soon?

Moved back to her own home?

But it didn't matter, since they lived in the same city of Jiangdu, it would be convenient for them to meet each other. Thinking of this, she suddenly understood something.

Shen Li didn't know what Shen Zhiyan was thinking. She just listened quietly, feeling mixed emotions of sadness and joy.

eight years.

From the age of 14 to the age of marriage.

She couldn't remember how many times she had looked back to her hometown in the northwest during these eight years, and how many times she had looked at the boundless sky, like a lone goose that had left its hometown and was trying to find its own nest.

The bright moon waxes and wanes, waxes and wanes.

The image of her father and brother in her mind had also begun to become gradually blurred.

When she first arrived at the Shen Mansion a few years ago, whenever she missed them, she would often carefully draw their eyebrows and eyes on rice paper.

But no matter how she drew, the portrait on paper looked nothing like the father and brother in her mind.

Even later on, she could only draw a circle, with the tip of the pen lingering on the rice paper for a long time, but she could no longer remember their voices, faces, and smiles.

But she believed that as long as they came back from Liangzhou and stood in front of her again, she would be able to recognize them at a glance!

She didn't want to cry on such a happy occasion.

But the tears still fell from her eyes, dripping onto the bluestone floor, silently shattering into crystal tears.

Shen Chuanzhi pondered to himself that if what Shen Beiqi said was true, then the Shen family should not force Shen Li to stay any longer.

He turned to his uncle and asked, "In that case, should Shen Li be returned?"

The Southern Wu Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, and the status of literati was very high, especially literary masters like Jiang Minzhi.

Although His Majesty has only appointed Jiang Minzhi as a third-rank official, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Jiang Minzhi will likely rise to a high position in the future.

Since Shen Li is a daughter of the Jiang family, she should be returned.

Regardless of whether her last name is Shen or not, her memories of living in the Shen family for eight years cannot be false.

There has always been a bond between the Jiang and Shen families. Although Shen Beiqi commands a large army and disdains to form cliques with others, it is better to have each other's support in the court.

Third Uncle nodded: "Yes, I agree."

After explaining the situation, everyone now understood.

No one was trying to stop us anymore and the process went much faster.

Shen Li knelt on the mat and bowed deeply to worship his ancestors. After explaining the situation to them, his third uncle took out the Shen family genealogy from behind the tablet.

Yueyang presented a red lacquer brush, and his third uncle personally wrote out Shen Li's name from the Shen family tree.

From now on, she is no longer Shen Li, but Jiang Li.

Shen Beiqi also gave a few instructions to everyone present. Only a few ministers in the court knew about the restoration of the Jiang family.

Therefore, before the day when the Jiang family actually returns to Jiangdu City, I hope that everyone present can pretend to be ignorant.

Shen Chuanzhi frowned slightly, quite puzzled, "Then why are you so anxious to remove Li Yatou from the list? It won't be too late to make arrangements after the Jiang family enters the city!"

Shen Beiqi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. It will take some time for the Shen family to enter the city, but he cannot wait even a day longer to see Shen Li removed from the family tree.