Rebirth of a Concubine's Daughter

Shen Yunzhi was brought into the palace by Lu Jiusi and met the emperor directly. When Shen Yunzhi was young, he had seen the emperor from afar, but when he saw him again this time, he felt that the emperor had aged a lot. Although his waist was still straight, his spirit was not as good as before.

The emperor made no secret of his love for Lu Jiusi. Despite his frail body, he personally came down to help Lu Jiusi up, his eyes full of fatherly love. He held Lu Jiusi's hand and asked him about every detail for a long time. When he learned about the difficulties Lu Jiusi faced at the border, a trace of helplessness flashed across his majestic face. He was comforted in time by the attentive Lu Jiusi, which made the emperor more determined to suppress the prince.

The prince knew that Lu Jiusi could not succeed to the throne, but he still used secret means to put him in trouble. This was simply playing with the destiny of the entire Nanling Kingdom. What would happen to the people of Nanling Kingdom if Lu Jiusi failed to stop the army of Xuansu Kingdom?

The emperor's disappointment was only momentary. Now that Lu Jiusi had returned safely, the emperor felt relieved. After the father and son exchanged greetings for a while, the emperor raised his cloudy eyes and looked at Shen Yunzhi.

"This child...I have never seen him before."

The emperor knew everyone around Lu Jiusi. Now that a strange face could be brought into the palace by him, it must be different from others. The emperor was also very cautious about the people around Lu Jiusi. After all, he had to guard against the prince's intentions.

When the emperor mentioned him, Shen Yunzhi hurried forward and knelt down to pay his respects.

"This is Shen Yunzhi, the second son of Lord Shen, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He accompanied me to the border this time. It was because of him and the grenades he made that we were able to capture three cities in Xuansu Kingdom in just half a month. Young Master Shen's contribution is indispensable."

Lu Jiusi had already explained this matter to Shen Yunzhi before entering the palace.

It is definitely not possible to capture three cities in just half a month with only 100,000 people. Moreover, the matter of the grenade cannot be concealed at all. Shen Nanyue cannot be exposed, so Shen Yunzhi has to take over. This not only provides an origin for the grenade, but also gives Shen Yunzhi a reliance for a smooth career.

"The Shen family, but the Shen Zongyuan family?"

"Your Majesty, Shen Zongyuan is my father."

"What is that grenade?"

"Your Majesty, it's something that can explode in a small area. It can cause damage to the enemy on the battlefield, and most importantly, it's very useful for breaking down city gates."

"Then shouldn't you be at the forefront?"

"Exactly. As long as we can blow open the city gate, His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai can lead his men straight in. This way, the enemy will have no chance to resist and will be forced to retreat step by step."

"Afraid?"

Shen Yunzhi didn't expect the emperor to ask this. Who wouldn't be afraid of fighting on the battlefield? But he couldn't answer like this. Suddenly, he thought of what Shen Nanyue said.

"Of course I am afraid, but a country is the foundation of a home. If we only covet life and fear death, then sooner or later this Nanling Kingdom will become someone else's world. I have been blessed by the Emperor for many years, and now I can do my part for the Emperor and the people of this world, and it is my duty."

The emperor did not respond, but a hint of admiration flashed across his eyes.

"Thank you for your hard work returning to the city today. You should go back and settle down first. I will hold a banquet to welcome you tomorrow!"

"Yes."

It was already 3 p.m. when Shen Yunzhi came out of the palace. He hurriedly said goodbye to Lu Jiusi and headed home. Lu Jiusi looked at his receding back and felt a little envious.

At the gate of the Shen family, Shen Zongyuan and everyone else had been waiting for a long time. Among them, only Shen Zongyuan and Aunt Su were happy from the bottom of their hearts. Mrs. Lu put on airs with a fake smile on her face, Aunt Lan held her bulging waist with a look of disdain, and Shen Lingxi and Shen Rongying just felt that it was meaningless. It was rare today that Tang Manrou was also called out, and her belly was smaller than Aunt Lan's.

Shen Yunzhi could see the people waiting at the gate of Shen Mansion from afar, and his horse ran even faster.

"Father, aunt, my son is back."

"Yunzhi!"

Aunt Su felt a lump in her throat and tears started to fall. She reached out and held Shen Yunzhi's hand, staring at her son without blinking, extremely excited.

"It's good to be back. It's good to be back. You've grown taller and darker, but you look more like a man now. Good, good."

Seeing that his son was different from before, Shen Zongyuan was also very happy. Although he was not as excited as Aunt Su, he was also very relieved.

"You're lucky to be able to come back."

Mrs. Lu walked down and muttered, but the expression on her face had changed.

"Yunzhi, you're finally back. It's worth it that I've been chanting sutras and praying to the Buddha every day for you, begging God to let you return safely."

"Thank you ma'am!"

Faced with Lu's false feelings, Shen Yunzhi just perfunctorily dealt with it, and the smile on his face was a bit fake. Lu was not the only one who could act out the drama of loving mother and filial piety.

"Hurry... hurry in and pay your respects to your grandmother. She's sent people to ask about you several times and she's been thinking about you."

"Yes, father."

A group of people surrounded Shen Yunzhi and entered the mansion. Lu stared at Shen Yunzhi's back with vicious eyes, which made Shen Yunzhi feel a chill. But when he turned around, he only saw Lu's fake smile.

Tang Manrou, who was at the outermost edge, looked at Shen Yunyi, then at Shen Yunzhi, and felt a little disappointed. Shen Yunzhi was good in every way except that he was too dull. If she had gotten together with him that day, she would not have lived such a life.

After she entered Shen Yunyi's courtyard as a concubine, she realized that there were no clean girls in Shen Yunyi's courtyard. No matter whether they were servants or personal maids, they had all been abused by Shen Yunyi, not to mention Cuizhu from Lu's room, the maid who warmed the bed, and even the actors brought back from outside. It was even comparable to a brothel. But now she had no choice but to wait for the child to be born to get a status, or find a way to become Shen Yunyi's wife.

Tang Manrou, with her sharp eyes, did not notice that the way she looked at Shen Yunzhi was seen by Aunt Lan. She also knew something about what happened in Shen Yunzhi's yard years ago. At that time, she wanted to please Aunt Su, so she didn't care about it. But if Tang Manrou really had this idea, don't blame her for having other thoughts.

Before entering Luxiangzhai, Nanny Yin came to greet her with a smile, saying that the old lady kept muttering, and while speaking she glanced at Aunt Su a few times.

Although the poison in the old lady's body had not been completely cleared, she was now better and could sit up and talk. When she saw her grandson enter the room, she was so excited that she wanted to stand up. Shen Yunzhi hurried forward to support her and sat down next to the old lady, letting the old lady look at her carefully for a long time.

Seeing her grandson return safely, the old lady's complexion seemed to be much better. She talked to her son for a while before letting him go. When everyone turned around, the old lady asked Nanny Yin to bring a lot of things to Aunt Su. Aunt Su did not refuse, but she accepted them cautiously. It seemed that there was a grudge between her and the old lady, and they were no longer as good as before.