After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 263 The Loving Wife Persona

The Eighth Princess pouted and whispered to Shen Zhiyi, "The storyteller in this teahouse only tells the same story all day long. I don't know why so many people seem to never get tired of hearing it."

The Crown Princess coughed and turned her head to look at the Eighth Princess.

"Eighth Brother, watch your words."

"Oh."

【Huh? Why do we have to be careful what we say? Do we pay to listen to a storyteller and not even have the right to complain?!】

Shen Zhiyi was greatly shocked.

And expressed complete incomprehension.

No, no, the Crown Princess isn't that kind of person.

The Crown Princess secretly breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, Shen Zhiyi understood her!

[There's only one possibility that could make the Crown Princess speak so cautiously: this teahouse was secretly opened by the old emperor, haha.]

Everyone:...

Soon, the Crown Princess noticed very low coughing sounds coming from the other private rooms and even downstairs.

Goodness, quite a few new faces have arrived at Mengyun Teahouse today.

She turned to look at Shen Zhiyi, who was clearly there for Shen Lang.

At this moment, the old emperor, who was inside the Zichen Hall, felt a heaviness in his shoulders.

Chen Decai stepped forward considerately: "Your Majesty, would you like me to massage your shoulders?"

"Let me massage it for a while. I don't know why, but my shoulders are a bit sore today. Maybe it's just that I'm getting old."

Shen Zhiyi thus gleefully made a huge blunder for the old emperor.

[Let me see, what is the old emperor trying to do by opening this teahouse? If he wants this storyteller to tell love stories, he should be telling stories about him and the Empress, why does he keep telling other... huh?]

Shen Zhiyi's inner thoughts briefly disappeared.

Everyone present instantly understood that Shen Lang was finally going to clear the old emperor's name.

Oh, so this teahouse is owned by General Zhongwu.

[So, in that case, it's the Crown Prince's concubine and this young lady's father, right? Cough cough, no wonder the Crown Princess told the Eighth Princess to be careful with her words. Isn't this just openly criticizing someone to their face? Haha, as expected of the Eighth Princess, she never criticizes others behind their backs, but she does it right there in public.]

For the first time, the Eighth Princess felt uneasy.

However, she has always been one to criticize people to their faces, so it's impossible for her to change.

Therefore, those of lower status than her should just put up with it for now.

[Hey, the love story the storyteller is telling down below is about him and his wife.]

Both the Crown Prince's concubine and the young lady from General Zhongwu's family couldn't help but raise the corners of their lips.

[Oh, the name Mengyun in Mengyun Teahouse is actually the name of General Zhongwu's wife.]

The Crown Prince's concubine and the young lady from General Zhongwu's household silently drank tea as a cover.

Their father just loves doing these things. Their mother has told him off several times, but their father just can't help showing off their affection.

[Who knew that General Zhongwu was such a devoted husband in public? Tsk tsk tsk, don't let him start believing it himself.]

The Crown Prince's Consort and the young lady: ? ? ?

What does Shen Zhiyi mean by this?

Their father truly loved their mother; there's no question of it being an act.

Honestly, if you're going to act, can't you at least act for the rest of your life? And if you're going to act, at least do it thoroughly.

[And then there's this storyteller recounting his love story with his wife? Tsk tsk tsk, people who flaunt their love too often usually end up in trouble.]

I want to see when this image of a loyal and devoted general and his loving wife will crumble.

Those present who could hear Shen Zhiyi's inner thoughts couldn't help but start whispering among themselves.

"Is the story of General Zhongwu's beloved wife a lie?"

"This, this can't be right. Every time we invite General Zhongwu out for drinks, he's the only one who doesn't need any girls to accompany him. He says he can't let his wife down. He can tolerate all this, so he must love his wife."

"But Shen Lang couldn't possibly be mistaken."

"But the fact is that General Zhongwu doesn't even have a concubine."

At this hour, General Zhongwu will definitely be going out. To maintain his public image, he certainly can't go out at night, so he has to go out during the day.

Everyone looked completely bewildered.

What did Shen Zhiyi mean by that?

After a while.

[We've arrived! General Zhongwu went to a small courtyard he had bought.]

The Crown Prince's concubine loosened her tense grip.

She knew that small courtyard; her father had some rough-and-tumble military friends there, and they would often get together.

My mother goes to bed early, and gatherings at home might disturb her, so my father specially bought a small courtyard house outside.

She and her mother were worried that her father might be keeping a mistress, so they went to check on him a few times under the guise of delivering food.

No problem!

Shen Zhiyi must have made a mistake this time.

[Unexpectedly, while General Zhongwu's wife was quite at ease with her husband, the Crown Prince's concubine was not so comfortable. She dragged her mother along a few times, but after finding no problems, she stopped.]

【Sigh, Your Highness's concubine, you're right to be worried!!!】

The Crown Prince's concubine slightly raised her eyes.

At this moment, a group of people could hear Shen Zhiyi's inner thoughts.

"What? General Zhongwu really kept a mistress?"

"No way, I've been to that little courtyard, and I didn't see a single woman's hair."

“I’ve been there too. There’s definitely no mistress in that courtyard. Even the two or three servants inside are men.”

"To be honest, I really admire General Zhongwu for only keeping his wife by his side. Such a loving couple, how could you, Shen Lang, spread rumors about them?"

"Pooh."

The person who just accused Shen Lang of spreading rumors had his head slapped so hard it was ringing.

The man was filled with rage, and a curse was about to be uttered when he looked up and realized it was actually the Crown Prince.

Everyone was shocked and immediately tried to kneel down, but the Crown Prince stopped them.

He had come to pick up the Crown Princess, but he didn't expect to hear Shen Zhiyi's inner thoughts as soon as he arrived at the door.

He was talking as if he were his concubine's father.

He has to listen carefully.

Who would have thought that as soon as they entered, they would see someone daring to question Shen Zhiyi.

"When did Shen Zhiyi miss out? Who gave you the audacity to question her?"

"Your Highness, I dare to speak presumptuously. Everyone has seen General Zhongwu's beloved wife. If Shen Lang comes out and says it's fake, what if he's wrong? Isn't that just slandering someone's innocence for no reason?"

The Crown Prince scoffed, "No one's spreading it around, yet they're just talking to themselves and slandering someone's innocence."

Everyone: What blatant favoritism! They don't even try to hide it.

Everyone felt a pang of sadness, but what could they do?

[This loyal and valiant general is really going all out. To maintain his decades-long image of being a devoted husband, he always sneaks around when he goes out to see other women. But recently, this old man thinks he's found true love, and to see her more often, he dug a tunnel in his small courtyard that leads directly to the flower shop.]

Flowers, flower shops?

Is it the flower shop they're thinking of?

Since the last emperor cracked down on brothels, many officials have not set foot in such places for a long time.

They were terrified that someone would seize upon their weakness and report it to the old emperor, which would jeopardize their career.

But the flower shop and General Zhongwu don't have anything to do with each other.