Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Do you think you can criticize the royal princess?" Shen Huaizhong scolded.

Old Madam Shen was startled by this sudden scene. It was not until this moment that she realized that she had said the wrong thing in her hasty words.

However, when she saw the younger generations sitting at the table, the stubbornness in her heart made it impossible for her to admit her mistake. She could only bite the bullet and argue, "I was just saying it casually at home. What's the big deal?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Huaizhong became so angry that his face turned blue. He glared at Old Madam Shen fiercely, his eyes looking like they were about to spit fire.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Talk about it at home? Do you think our Shen family has been too successful? If His Majesty knew about your remarks, I'm afraid we wouldn't even need to wait until the end of this meal before he would accuse us of disrespect!"

When Mrs. Shen heard this, she was so frightened that her face turned pale and she could no longer utter a word. She just shut her mouth awkwardly and lowered her head, not daring to look at Shen Huaizhong.

Shen Huaizhong, still furious, glanced around at everyone present and sternly warned again, "If anyone dares to leak even a single word about what happened today, don't blame me for tracking it down and punishing them severely!"

For a moment, the hall was completely silent, and everyone was as frightened as a cicada.

Then, Shen Huaizhong turned to look at Shen Chengliu and said sternly, "I also disagree with you marrying Princess Jiahe."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bolt from the blue, striking Shen Chengliu's heart.

He opened his eyes wide in disbelief, his face filled with astonishment, and asked in a trembling voice, "Grandfather... why are you like this?"

Shen Chengliu has always believed that his family is quite open-minded when it comes to the marriage of younger generations.

The sisters-in-law that several of my brothers married had to get to know each other and interact with each other before they got married.

Moreover, no one had ever given them any trouble regarding marriage.

How could I have expected that now that it was my turn, this marriage would become so difficult?

Shen Huaizhong frowned and said, "In your generation, our family has many brothers. If you marry a princess, how will the sisters-in-law in this family get along?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but curl her lips and muttered softly, "Jinyu and the sisters-in-law are not nosy people, so why can't they get along? After Sixth Brother got married, he lived in the Princess's Mansion, so Jinyu didn't need to spend too much time with the sisters-in-law. Besides, the relationship between people is all about fate. If you can get along, it's good. If not, then forget it. You can't let some outsiders ruin your happiness."

However, as soon as she finished speaking, she felt a sharp gaze shooting at her like an arrow.

Shen Chuning was startled and looked up, only to see her father Shen Huaizhong staring at her seriously.

She couldn't help but shudder and instantly became obedient.

Seeing this, Shen Huaizhong sighed helplessly and said slowly: "The current situation of our family is really not suitable for marrying a princess."

Hearing this, Shen Chuning suddenly remembered that her grandfather once said that His Majesty believed that the Shen family had too much power and had already become suspicious of the Shen family.

However, on second thought, she felt that precisely because of this, marrying a helpless princess would be less risky than marrying a lady from a prominent family.

After all, Princess Jiahe has no biological brothers, so the Shen family will not have the problem of taking sides openly.

Moreover, her maternal family was the An family of the Minister of Rites. An Zhiyao, the most promising member of the An family to marry into a high-ranking family, was given to the late crown prince as a concubine.

But who would have thought that the former prince passed away before his wedding.

From then on, An Zhiyao of the An family was useless, and even the marriages of other girls in the An family became difficult.

Because of this, for the Shen family, there is no risk of forming a clique for personal gain in the matter of Shen Chengliu and Princess Jiahe.

Therefore, Shen Chuning was really puzzled as to why her grandfather would object.

Full of suspicion, she cast her gaze towards Shen Huaizhong. At this moment, she heard him say, "If you are truly interested in Princess Jiahe, there is still some room for maneuver."

Shen Chengliu, who originally had a lonely and dejected look on his face, became ecstatic the moment he heard these words, as if a long drought had finally brought rain.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen Huaizhong expectantly, with excitement flashing in his eyes.

But the next words that came out of Shen Huaizhong's mouth were like a basin of icy water poured over Shen Chengliu's head.

"You can marry into the family. After the marriage, you will no longer have any connection with our Shen family."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, striking Shen Chengliu directly.

The originally surprised expression on his face had not even had time to disappear, and his whole body was like being cast under a spell, standing there in a daze, unable to move.

You know, even if he doesn't live up to his expectations in his daily life, he is still the young master of the Prime Minister's Mansion!

What's more, his father was a high-ranking official of the second rank in the imperial court. With such status and position, how could he do something as disgraceful as marrying into the family's family?

"If grandfather doesn't agree, then forget it. Why bother saying anything about letting your grandson marry into the family?" Shen Chengliu's face was gloomy and his voice was very low, as if these few words had exhausted all his strength.

This meal, which should have been lively, was eaten in unusual silence. Everyone chewed the food silently, occasionally looking up to carefully assess the expressions of others.

Shen Chengliu kept his head down from beginning to end, drinking one glass of wine after another.

Yun Shuxuan hesitated several times to speak, his heart full of worry.

She reached out her hand several times to dissuade him, but when her eyes met Shen Chengliu's face full of pain and unwillingness, she finally sighed helplessly and slowly withdrew her hand.

Just like that, the banquet ended abruptly in a suffocating atmosphere.

In the end, Shen Chengliu was drunk and unconscious.

Fortunately, several brothers came forward in time to support him and sent him all the way back to the third room.

After dinner, Shen Chu followed Shen Huaizhong to his study.

As soon as she entered the room, before she could speak, Shen Huaizhong spoke first: "Want to plead for your sixth brother?"

Shen Chuning was slightly stunned, then shook her head gently, "A Ning came here to ask... Is something going to happen to our Shen family?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Huaizhong looked at her deeply.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "Why do you ask?"