klisemfg Chapter 259 The Sheng Family
Chapter 259 The Sheng Family
His Majesty has five sons and six daughters. The eldest is now twenty-three years old, and the youngest princess is still an infant.
The princes have all grown up and are already involved in court affairs. They are all eyeing that position. Xiao Qinian doesn't believe that the eldest prince has no ambitions at all.
He was loyal to the emperor, but none of this concerned him.
Xiao Siyue thought about the previous news. He had heard of this Consort Shu. She had followed Emperor Zhou before he even had a chance to reclaim the throne, and she had given birth to his first prince. She held some weight in Emperor Zhou's heart.
However, she wasn't particularly favored. After all, she was already quite old, only a year or two younger than Emperor Zhou. With so many young and beautiful concubines in the harem, Emperor Zhou had no time to spare for her.
However, to hold the position of a concubine, she must not be an ordinary person; otherwise, she wouldn't have survived in that cannibalistic place.
Although this Zhou emperor was a wise ruler, he never neglected himself when it came to women, and had many concubines in his harem.
After leaving Xiao Qinian's place, Xiao Siyue immediately went to the Sheng family.
She had been there once before. The people from the Sheng family who were guarding outside recognized her, and after she gave her name, they led her directly to Sheng Yashu's courtyard.
"Siyue, what brings you here at this hour? Please sit down." Sheng Yashu greeted Xiao Siyue warmly and invited her to sit down.
"Sister Sheng,"
Xiao Siyue didn't mince words and directly stated the purpose of her visit: "Sister Sheng, do you know the First Prince?"
Xiao Siyue stared intently at Sheng Yashu.
"Your Highness, I have met you once before. What happened?" Sheng Yashu looked at Xiao Siyue's serious face and also stopped smiling.
"You've only met him once?" No wonder the Crown Prince fell in love at first sight.
"Sister Sheng, it's like this. My father said that during the morning court session this day, the eldest prince asked His Majesty for permission to marry you."
"What?" Sheng Yashu was shocked and couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"But I've only met the Crown Prince once, how could he ask me for his hand in marriage?" Sheng Yashu asked, puzzled.
"Could it be that the First Prince has fallen in love with Sister Sheng at first sight?" Xiao Siyue voiced her guess.
“Impossible,” Sheng Yashu immediately denied.
“Why is it impossible? Sister Sheng is so outstanding. If she fell in love at first sight, it just means she has good taste.” Xiao Siyue felt that Sheng Yashu was the kind of person who could easily win people’s favor.
"Then I'll be frank with you, everyone says the Crown Prince is gentle and refined, humble and polite, and of impeccable character, but I know it's all an act, a facade for others to see." A hint of mockery flashed in Sheng Yashu's eyes.
"What happened?" Xiao Siyue immediately became curious.
“Once, I accidentally ran into the First Prince in an alley. I saw him whipping someone with an extremely vicious look in his eyes. The person was barely breathing. I wanted to leave, but I was afraid of being discovered by the First Prince, so I hid in a corner. From his words, I learned that the person had only accidentally bumped into him while passing by.” Sheng Yashu recalled the First Prince’s sinister eyes at that time, and her heart pounded with fear.
"Moreover, I also know that the First Prince is extremely lecherous, and he keeps several mistresses in a house on the outskirts of the capital." Sheng Yashu didn't believe that such a person would fall in love with her at first sight; he must have some ulterior motive.
"This prince is really good at pretending; no one even noticed," Xiao Siyue couldn't help but sigh. As expected of royalty, his acting skills are superb.
“Yes,” Sheng Yashu couldn’t help but feel sad for herself. How could she have been chosen by such a person? But the imperial decree was not to be disobeyed. He could not put his family in danger for his own sake.
Seeing the despair that flashed across Sheng Yashu's face, Xiao Siyue quickly said, "Sister Sheng, there's still a chance. Emperor Zhou hasn't agreed yet; he said he needs to think about it."
"Really?" Sheng Yashu felt a flash of light before her eyes, dispelling the haze.
"Yes, there's still a chance. Sister Sheng, you need to hurry. The First Prince definitely won't let this go." Xiao Siyue felt that the First Prince was definitely after the Sheng family's wealth. Sheng Yashu was the only daughter of the Sheng family, and marrying her would be equivalent to having the entire Sheng family in his hands.
As for whether he was attracted to Sheng Yashu's appearance, Xiao Siyue felt that the possibility was not very high. Sheng Yashu was indeed beautiful, but as the eldest prince, he had no shortage of beautiful and noble ladies. Moreover, given the eldest prince's hypocritical nature, he would not marry Sheng Yashu for this reason.
“Yes, Siyue, you’re right. I still have a chance.” A resolute look flashed across Sheng Yashu’s face.
"Sister Sheng, don't be anxious. Don't get yourself into a quagmire." Xiao Siyue was afraid that Sheng Yashu would marry just anyone to avoid marrying the eldest prince, and then fall into another vortex.
"Don't worry, Siyue, I won't." Sheng Yashu was very touched that Xiao Siyue cared about her so much.
"That's good. I'll be going now, Sister Sheng." Seeing that Sheng Yashu's complexion had improved a lot, Xiao Siyue decided to say goodbye. She had an appointment with Xi Ningzhi that afternoon.
"Okay, Siyue thanks you for today. I'll thank you again after I've finished dealing with things. But today, I can't properly entertain you." Sheng Yashu said with some guilt.
"Sister Sheng, you're too kind. I know that." Xiao Siyue smiled and got up to leave.
"Well, I won't say any more, sister." Sheng Yashu smiled gratefully.
After seeing Xiao Siyue off, Sheng Yashu immediately went to the main courtyard to find her parents and told them what Xiao Siyue had said.
"Ya Shu, is what Miss Xiao said true?" It's no wonder that Sheng's father was suspicious; none of them had expected that the eldest prince would propose to their daughter.
"Father, I believe in Siyue." Sheng Yashu trusted Xiao Siyue completely. This matter had nothing to do with Xiao Siyu, and there was no need for her to come and tell her. But Xiao Siyue still came. It could only be said that she valued loyalty and cherished the friendship between the two of them.
"Alright, then what does Ya Shu want to do?" Sheng's father's face was ugly, unable to vent his anger. This eldest prince has such great ambition and such deep schemes.
"Father, I remember you proposed marriage to me before, and I plan to get married immediately." Her father had proposed marriage to her before, but she didn't want to get married, so she refused.
"But didn't you say you didn't want to? Ya Shu, Dad doesn't want you to be unhappy." Looking at his daughter, Sheng's father felt a pang of resentment at his own incompetence in protecting her.
"Father, if I don't get married soon, I'll have to marry the eldest prince. If I marry the eldest prince, the Sheng family will probably be ruined. I guess I'll be abandoned after the Sheng family is gone," Sheng Yashu said with her eyes closed.
"That ambitious and treacherous eldest prince!" Sheng Yashu slammed her hand on the table in anger.
After calming down a bit, he sighed and said, "Ya Shu, then I'll make the arrangements for you."
"it is good"