The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

When Shen Jiemin heard that it was his future father-in-law who came, he thought it was someone from the Qinghe Cui family.

Thinking that he was fast enough, he must have traveled all night, so he did not dare to delay, packed up his things and hurried to the flower hall.

After meeting Mr. Jin Shiliu and his wife, I realized something was wrong. I had seen Mr. Cui when I delivered the betrothal gifts, and he didn't look like this!

When Mrs. Jin saw Shen Jiemin, she rushed over and started fighting without saying a word. Shen Jiemin was not paying attention and his face was scratched by Mrs. Jin's long nails, leaving several bloody marks.

"You shameless playboy, you seduced my daughter, I will beat you to death!"

Whenever Mrs. Jin thought about this morning, her eldest daughter came back crying and complained that her younger sister had gotten into such a bad rap and that her mother-in-law and husband were both not happy with her.

Jin Shiniang has a younger sister, so it seems difficult to propose marriage.

This bastard has brought great harm to the entire Jin family.

The servants of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion hurriedly pulled the two apart. Although Shen Jiemin was in a state of embarrassment, he did not spare them and cursed, "Shrew, shrew.

It was your daughter who seduced me, and you wanted me to marry her? Bah, dream on! "

Master Jin Shiliu ignored the two people's quarrel and asked Master Shen: "Master Shen, may I ask how the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion plans to deal with this matter?"

Master Shen didn't know what to do. His original plan was to marry the daughter of the Cui family and then take Jin Shiniang as his concubine.

This would not be considered as injustice to her. But now that Jin Shi Niang was pregnant, he could either refuse to acknowledge her, or if he did, he would have to bring her into the mansion before the wedding.

Master Shen looked at the bloody scratches on Shen Jiemin's face and carefully considered his words.

He said, "In that case, let's carry Miss Jin into the mansion first."

"Master Shen means that the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion wants my daughter to be a concubine?" Master Jin Shiliu said unhappily with a gloomy face.

"She is a concubine. The Bo family is willing to accept Miss Jin as a concubine."

"What a mess. A concubine is still a concubine. I am just a poor baron. My daughter can be the wife."

Jin Shiliu did not take the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion seriously. In his opinion, Master Shen had neither money nor power. He just had an empty title.

Master Shen was shocked to see that Master Jin Shiliu actually belittled the Bo Mansion in front of him.

He was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Master Jin Shiliu with a trembling finger, wanting to curse but unable to say anything.

Seeing that they couldn't reach an agreement no matter how much they talked, Jin Yuxin lost his patience.

She simply said, "If I want to be your concubine, I want to be your legal wife."

Shen Jiemin glanced at Jin Yuxin and said cautiously, "But I'm already engaged to Cui's daughter, and I'm going to marry her in June.

I'm afraid it would be difficult for Shi Niang to become the principal wife."

Shen Jiemin also learned his lesson. He did not refuse directly, but said it in a roundabout way.

Shen Baozhao reminded him, "Second brother, yesterday Minister Cui and his wife seemed to say that the Cui family wanted to break off the engagement with you."

Shen Jiemin glared at Shen Baozhao angrily, but did not dare to refute him. This cousin was a bit weird, and he still remembered the lesson of falling and getting bruised last time.

Jin Yuxin didn't waste time talking to them. He took out a deed from his lapel and handed it to Master Shen.

Master Shen was suspicious and opened it with trepidation. What he feared came true. It turned out to be the IOU for the loan he had signed.

Jin Yuxin swung his left foot on his right foot, one elbow resting on the armrest of the chair, his hand supporting his chin: "How about the Ning'an Earl's Mansion marrying Shi Niang and writing off the 20,000 taels of usury?"

Mr. Shen was tempted, but didn't want to give up the marriage with the Cui family.

He stammered, "But the Cui family's marriage cannot be cancelled."

"Since Master Shen is unwilling to marry into the Jin family, what if an imperial censor in the court impeaches you for being an official and breaking the law by borrowing money at high interest?

I wonder if the plaque of the Bo Mansion will be taken down and replaced with "Shen Mansion"? "

Threat! This is a naked threat!

But at this moment, Master Shen was like a dog stuck in a dead end, with no way out.

"As a co-wife, the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion is willing to marry Miss Jin as a co-wife. This is the biggest concession."

This is a great idea to have the best of both worlds, Master Shen really has an idea.

Before Jin Yuxin could speak, Steward Li came hurriedly, followed by the steward of the Cui family.

"Master, the Cui Mansion sent a steward to pick up the engagement letter." Steward Li reported with his head lowered, but there was unconcealable excitement in his tone.

The steward of Cui Mansion bowed to Master Shen and handed over a letter of engagement: "This is the letter of engagement of the second young master of your mansion. Please keep it well, Master Shen.

Please, Master Shen, return our young lady's engagement letter. As for the betrothal gifts, they will be sent to Kyoto tomorrow, directly from Qinghe to your residence intact."

Shen Jiemin and his son were dumbfounded. They did not accept the engagement letter and refused, "Absolutely impossible. The Ning'an Marquis's Mansion will never cancel the engagement!"

The manager of Cui Mansion did not argue, as if he was just here to inform.

It seemed impossible for Master Shen to return Cui Mingzhu's engagement letter. The steward put Shen Jiemin's engagement letter on the coffee table without saying anything and said goodbye.

Mrs. Jin snatched the engagement letter and opened it to take a look.

A comfortable smile appeared on his face: "My dear, I will take this engagement letter and will send Shi Niang's engagement letter to you tomorrow.

Since the Cui family is unwilling to marry into the Ning'an Marquis's family, isn't that just right? Our Shi Niang doesn't have to be a co-wife anymore and can just be the principal wife."

Jin Yuxin, along with a group of people from the Jin residence, left again.

Shen Baozhao watched a great show and leisurely took Qingkong back to Zhaoming Garden.

The flower hall suddenly became empty.

Master Shen saw Shen Jiemin with his head down, looking very depressed.

He was immediately furious and said, "I have already warned you not to let anyone find out about your relationship with the Jin family girl.

How could you be so impatient that you actually dared to do something shameful with her in the Princess's mansion?

And he was caught red-handed!"

Seeing that Master Shen's finger was about to poke him in the face, Shen Jiemin turned his head to avoid it.

He doesn't want to either!

He was not so reckless in normal times. Even if he had an affair with Jin Shiniang, he would have found a secluded place. How could he have lost his mind at that time?

He still hasn't figured it out, and asked blankly, "Father, what should we do now?

If we cancel the engagement with the Cui family, our Bo Mansion will become a joke."

Master Shen walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, panting.

"We cannot retreat. We will never retreat! They can't do anything to us."

"Yes, I won't retreat! This is the decree of Concubine Shu, and the Cui family has no say in it."

Shen Jiemin also chimed in.

The father and son discussed it and decided not to hand over the engagement letter tomorrow.

The Concubine Shu, who was relied upon by the father and son, was now kneeling on the bluestone slabs of the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace.

In front of her was a pair of broken porcelain pieces. The brown tea soaked the hem of Concubine Shu's skirt and slowly seeped to her knees.

Although it was May, Concubine Shu felt cold all over.

She dared not move, for fear of angering the Queen Mother again.

It was unknown how long she knelt. Empress Dowager Cui, holding the hand of a palace maid, slowly walked out of the inner room and stood in front of Concubine Shu.

"Shufei, you are so brave!"

Although the sound was not loud, it sounded like a ghost to Concubine Shu's ears.