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

"Is something going to happen to our Shen family?"

Shen Huaizhong looked at Shen Chuning in surprise and asked, "Why do you ask this suddenly?"

Shen Chuning frowned slightly, biting her lower lip as she spoke slowly, "Grandfather didn't disagree with Sixth Brother's marriage, but he insisted on letting Sixth Brother marry into the family. This behavior is really strange... I guess Grandfather might be trying to preserve the bloodline of the Shen family..."

At this time in her previous life, she had already married into the Third Prince's mansion and was pregnant.

Xiao Yuanlang kept saying that he was afraid of disturbing her pregnancy, so he didn't allow her to have any contact with the outside world.

Even the personal maids around her were punished for making the slightest mistake.

Birui was tortured to death by the eunuch around Xiao Yuanlang.

Cuiwei was sent to the palace by Xiao Yuanlang to cook meals for Concubine Qin. When they got married, she did not object to it in order to show her filial piety.

When her life in the previous life was about to come to an end, she learned from Shen Jingwan that the Shen family was about to fall.

Now if I calculate carefully, it is probably only a few months away from now.

She had previously simply thought that all these things were planned by Xiao Yuanlang, so she racked her brains to design it in Changye.

In this way, he was far away from the capital, and naturally could not reach the Shen family.

However, everything that happened at this moment forced her to re-examine her previous judgment. It seemed that the various incidents in the previous life were not caused by Xiao Yuanlang alone.

Shen Huaizhong sighed heavily and spoke slowly, "The Minister of Personnel has been replaced by Prime Minister Su's men. Recently, I have recommended several candidates to Your Majesty to fill the vacancy, but without exception, they were all rejected."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but frown, and thought thoughtfully: "Could it be that because our Shen family has too many officials in the court, His Majesty is wary and wants to use this method to balance the forces of all parties?"

Shen Huaizhong shook his head slightly in denial, then said solemnly, "It should be related to Prime Minister Su sending his granddaughter to the palace to serve His Majesty."

Shen Chuning's eyes widened upon hearing this, her face filled with astonishment, and she blurted out, "But that Su Yue'e?"

Shen Huaizhong nodded slightly and replied, "It is this woman."

Shen Chuning was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. She thought to herself, if she remembered correctly, her sixth brother once pretended to be the fifth brother and wrote a letter to a woman, and that woman happened to be Su Yue'e from the Su family.

At that time, the fifth brother did not stop it, probably because he had feelings for this young lady from the Su family.

Who could have expected that things would develop to this point today!

"Has Miss Su's title been decided?" Shen Chuning asked.

Shen Huaizhong frowned slightly and replied, "With Prime Minister Su's status in the court, she will be granted the title of consort at least. The Imperial Observatory has already drafted several titles and sent them to the palace."

Hearing this, Shen Chuning nodded thoughtfully and continued, "So, if this young lady of the Su family is granted a titled imperial concubine, she would only be below Imperial Concubine Qin and on par with Imperial Concubine Wei. However, Young Lady Su's family background is more noble than Imperial Concubine Wei. If she is ultimately canonized as an imperial concubine with a title, she would be above Imperial Concubine Qin. We must be very careful and vigilant."

Shen Huaizhong couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said worriedly, "How can we be on guard? The Queen Mother is ill and hasn't been involved in palace affairs for a long time."

Shen Chuning hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, "Grandfather, when I was in Shandong a few days ago, I happened to meet my fourth uncle."

Upon hearing this, Shen Huaizhong immediately looked puzzled and asked, "Why did Qingyuan go to Shandong? Since you met him, why didn't you persuade him to return home?"

Facing Shen Huaizhong's questioning, Shen Chuning shook her head helplessly and said with a wry smile, "You know Fourth Uncle's temper. I can't persuade him easily. My granddaughter mentioned this matter this time to tell you that Fourth Uncle can control Concubine Ying. If we really have to, perhaps my granddaughter can try to find Concubine Ying for help. I'm sure she'll be willing to lend us a hand."

However, when Shen Huaizhong heard what Shen Chuning said, he first shook his head slightly to express his refusal.

He slowly said, "There's no need to act this way for now. The Queen Mother is in charge of the palace. She's from our Shen family and is more trustworthy than that concubine whose origins are unknown!"

After hearing this, Shen Chuning shut up and stopped talking about this topic.

At this moment, Shen Huaizhong could not help but sigh deeply, and then continued, "Now that our Shen family is in such a difficult situation, our power must be gradually reduced. Unfortunately, this will make your marriage difficult. I'm afraid you will have to find a husband of lower status."

After saying this, he looked at Shen Chuning with guilt.

Upon hearing this, Shen Chuning raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile as she responded, "A Ning doesn't place much importance on family background. As long as the other person's family background is clean and simple, that's good enough."

After hearing his granddaughter's words, Shen Huaizhong nodded with a slight sense of relief and replied, "That's good, that's good. Grandfather will pay more attention to you. Also, if you have time, please persuade your sixth brother. In fact, marrying into the family is not a shameful thing. If our Shen family really reaches a desperate situation..."

Before Shen Huaizhong could finish his words, Shen Chuning interrupted him: "Grandfather, please rest assured. I will find a chance to persuade Sixth Brother. However, this is only because Sixth Brother likes it, not out of any consideration of leaving a legacy for the Shen family. Besides, we will always find a proper solution to the current difficulties."

Shen Huaizhong sighed deeply and said slowly, "Let's wait and see for now. The post of Shandong Provincial Governor is still vacant. Let's see which faction Your Majesty will send to take the position, and then plan the next steps."

At this time, Shen Chuning beside him said softly: "Grandfather, I was thinking, why don't we release Shen Jingwan first?"