strictlysupreme Chapter 369 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Chapter 369 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Chapter 369 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis's Marquisate VS The Frail and Early-Dying Eldest Son of the Marquis's Family (44)
Shen Huaizhi suddenly stood up, turned around and searched the bookshelf behind him. Soon, he found a book, quickly turned to the page he needed, and then returned to his desk.
Su Jinyue followed Shen Huai curiously back to the desk.
Su Jinyue saw that the pattern on the book Shen Huaizhi found was exactly the same as the pattern found from the Song family!
How is this going? !
Su Jinyue was puzzled, but Shen Huaizhi suddenly realized and understood.
"Husband, what's going on? Why is the Song family's waist tag recorded in the book?"
Shen Huaizhi snapped out of his reverie, a smile playing on his lips, and explained to Su Jinyue, “Since I was young, I was sickly and couldn’t leave the manor often, so I read a lot of books, and I usually collect all sorts of random books.”
Seeing the Song family crest, I felt a sense of familiarity, and then I remembered seeing it in a book.
Su Jinyue understood, pointed to the book in Shen Huaizhi's hand, and asked, "Is this the book? What is the origin of this clan emblem?"
"Then its origins are quite remarkable!" Shen Huaizhi sneered. "This family crest is the royal family crest of the dynasty that the Great Xia Dynasty overthrew!"
The previous dynasty's royal family was surnamed Mu, and over a hundred years ago, the Song family had a man who married into the family, and that man's surname was Mu!
Su Jinyue was genuinely surprised this time. She was stunned for a long time before she stammered, "So, the Song family is descended from the royal family of the previous dynasty."
Did the emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty, and Emperor Xinghe, know about this?
Shen Huaizhi didn't know whether Emperor Xinghe knew that the Song family was descended from the previous dynasty.
But Shen Huaizhi understood something. The fact that the Song family was dealt with so decisively by Emperor Xinghe eighteen years ago without causing too much turmoil in the court meant that he must have discovered something.
The Song family had been planning for decades in the Great Xia Dynasty and must have had many backup plans, as evidenced by Song Zhihua's ability to fake his death and escape from the palace without anyone noticing.
Song Zhihua is still in hiding, and his whereabouts are unknown. However, after eighteen years of management, the Song family's presence in the capital has become quite substantial, and they can now stir up trouble in the city.
Su Jinyue thought about the whole story in her mind and realized the seriousness of the matter.
The Song family is descended from the previous dynasty, and their target is the prince. Their intention is clear: to cause turmoil in the Great Xia Dynasty.
Only when the Great Xia Dynasty falls into chaos will the Song family have a chance.
The current leader of the Song family in the capital is Song Ming, but there must be an even more important figure behind him!
The Song family had planned this for a century, and they must have considered that things might be exposed one day, so they would have left themselves a backup plan.
However, all Su Jinyue and Shen Huaizhi could find out at the moment was Song Ming's recent assassination plan. Other matters, including the follow-up plans after the assassination, were beyond the reach of Su Jinyue, even with her honeycomb monitoring equipment.
This matter is beyond what Su Jinyue and Shen Huaizhi can handle.
Su Jinyue was capable of stopping Song Ming's assassination plan, but the Song family had too deep a network of connections in the capital. She wasn't confident she could eliminate everyone in the Song family, and besides, some of them didn't know much and their crimes didn't warrant death.
The people Ping An recruited were not capable enough to deal with the Song family.
The Song family's affairs involve the bloodline of the previous dynasty and Shen Huaizhi's background, so it's not appropriate to tell Feng Enchi's Chengen Marquis's Mansion, the Ning'an Grand Princess's Mansion, or Tang Ruihao's Zhuang Prince's Mansion.
This matter is far-reaching and requires careful consideration, but Emperor Xinghe's birthday banquet is just around the corner, and they don't have much time left.
Su Jinyue looked at Shen Huaizhi with concern. In this matter, Shen Huaizhi was the most innocent, but he was also in the most difficult position.
Shen Huaizhi was the child of Emperor Xinghe and Song Zhihua. While still an infant, he was taken out of the palace by Song Zhihua after she faked her death, thus losing his status as a prince.
He was poisoned as a child and bedridden for eighteen years. He lived as a concubine's son in the Xuanping Marquis's mansion for eighteen years, enduring humiliation. He finally got married and escaped the mansion, only to be drawn into an even bigger vortex.
His biological mother, Song Zhihua, knew he was poisoned but showed him no maternal love whatsoever. She only treated him as a pawn and even wanted him to be the scapegoat for the assassination plot.
If his biological father, Emperor Xinghe, knew about his background, he would definitely harbor resentment. Forget about the throne; even having the title of a prince would be uncertain.
Shen Huaizhi is such a pitiful little thing!
Thinking of all this, Su Jinyue felt indignant for Shen Huaizhi, and then she suddenly hugged Shen Huaizhi from behind.
"Shen Huaizhi, you still have me. I will always be with you!"
Not just in this life, but in all the lives to come, they will be together!
Shen Huaizhi was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood Su Jinyue's thoughts.
Actually, Shen Huaizhi wasn't that fragile inside; what he was thinking about most was how to proceed.
As for his biological parents, he never had high expectations.
Having never obtained something before, Shen Huaizhi was intelligent from a young age and had read so many books. He might feel regret, but he wouldn't obsessively want to get it.
Even if I get it by any means necessary now, what then? I won't get what I wanted as a child.
Shen Huaizhi now has someone he wants to protect, and he won't force anything else.
Shen Huaizhi grasped Su Jinyue's hand that was wrapped around his waist, rubbed it a couple of times, then turned around and hugged Su Jinyue face to face.
Shen Huaizhi nuzzled Su Jinyue's head with his chin and said with a smile, "I'm fine. I have enough of you. No one else matters!"
Su Jinyue raised her head and looked at Shen Huaizhi carefully for a long time before she was sure that he was not sad, and only then did she feel relieved.
Afterwards, Su Jinyue nestled back into Shen Huaizhi's arms and asked in a muffled voice, "So, what do you plan to do about this?"
Shen Huaizhi held Su Jinyue in his arms, remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said in a leisurely tone.
"I think I should have an open and honest talk with Lord Shen."
Su Jinyue abruptly pulled away from Shen Huaizhi's embrace, confirming in surprise, "Are you going to find Lord Shen?"
Shen Huaizhi nodded: "Yes, this is the most effective method I can think of right now."
Lord Shen is Shen Huaizhi's nominal father, and also someone who is in the same boat as Shen Huaizhi.
If Shen Huaizhi's true identity is revealed, Lord Shen will be held responsible, and even the entire Xuanping Marquis's mansion will not escape disaster.
If Shen Huaizhi becomes the scapegoat for the assassination attempt, the entire Xuanping Marquis's mansion will be implicated, regardless of whether they know about it or not; the emperor's wrath will not care about such things.
Shen Huaizhi, Lord Shen, and the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion all shared the fate of being in the same boat, rising and falling together.
This was destined from the moment Lord Shen accepted Shen Huaizhi as his concubine's son.