If I were born again, I would marry a strong but short-lived husband.

Chapter 465 I have never believed in fate in my life

The one who was crying was Ruan Zhaorong.

The little girl curled up under the rockery, holding a brocade box in her hands, sobbing and looking so pitiful.

Shen Sui'an walked over slowly and stopped in front of Ruan Zhaorong.

"Where is the maidservant beside you? Why isn't she serving you? She's so lazy. I'll let my aunt take charge of you later." Shen Sui'an said in a stern voice.

Ruan Zhaorong's crying suddenly stopped.

She raised her head and looked at Shen Sui'an. Today was the first time that Ruan Zhaorong met the Princess of Chen. She was younger than she had imagined, and had an innate elegance and nobility. Her bright, dark eyes were like the sea of ​​stars, as if they could see through people's hearts.

"Greetings, Her Majesty." Ruan Zhaorong was afraid to bow.

Shen Sui'an reached out and held her wrist. "We are all family. There is no need to be so polite. Just call me sister-in-law like Xia Jie'er."

Ruan Zhaorong's eyelashes were stained with tears, and she whispered pitifully, "How can I compare with my elder sister? The servants in the mansion don't take me seriously now."

"You are also a girl from the Ruan family. If the servants neglect you, you should act like a master." Shen Sui'an looked at the little girl's tears and said softly.

"My mother did something wrong and everyone looks down on me." Ruan Zhaorong choked.

"Even my father wants to marry someone else. I...I know it's my mother's fault, but she is my mother after all."

Shen Sui'an raised his eyebrows slightly, "You feel sorry for your mother, but have you ever felt sorry for your father?"

Ruan Zhaorong nodded eagerly, "Of course I feel bad. I miss my father every day at my grandparents' house, but my mother keeps me from coming back to visit him."

Shen Sui looked at her quietly without exposing her lie.

She is not a two or three-year-old child, she is already eleven years old. If she really wants to see her second uncle, she has a way to do it.

"So what do you want now?" Shen Suian asked.

He lowered his eyes to look at the brocade box in Ruan Zhaorong's hand, "Why don't you point out the servant who neglected you, and I will take care of it for you today."

Ruan Zhaorong bit his lip, "What if he wasn't a servant?"

Shen Sui'an said, "Who is that?"

"I'm just worried that if my father remarries, I will have even less status in the family..." Ruan Zhaorong showed a pitiful expression.

"My second uncle is in his prime. What reason does he have not to remarry?" Shen Sui'an asked in a deep voice.

"It can't be Tan Jiao. If it weren't for her, my mother wouldn't have had conflicts with my father, and there wouldn't have been any misunderstandings with my father. Tan Jiao seduced my father, which made my mother so angry that she went back to her parents' home. It was because of her that my father never came to the Chen family to take us back." The tenderness and pity in Ruan Zhaorong's eyes were replaced by resentment.

Shen Sui'an: "Did your mother tell you this?"

Ruan Zhaorong bit her lip and said nothing. The answer was obvious.

"You were young and thought there were things you shouldn't know. Let me ask you, based on this misunderstanding, can your mother slander your father and fabricate evidence to accuse him of treason?"

"Do you know what treason is?"

"That means exterminating all nine generations of your clan. If your father is convicted, what good will happen to you? Either he will be beheaded or sold into slavery at a low price."

Ruan Zhaorong's lips moved, "Mother must have been threatened..."

"When your father needed family care the most, your mother took you back to the Chen family and never came back to see your father for two years. Do you know how your father has been living these past two years?"

"Ms. Tan is grateful and has been growing herbs at the Ruan family for two years, just to find a chance to cure your father's legs."

"You are deliberately pretending to be pitiful in front of me. Are you trying to use my identity to stop your father from marrying Miss Tan?"

Ruan Zhaorong's face turned slightly pale, and she lowered her head and did not dare to look at Shen Sui'an.

After all, she is young and cannot hide her dark thoughts.

She just didn't want to see her father marry Tan Jiao.

Maybe... maybe after a long time, my father will forgive my mother.

Ruan Zhaorong didn't know that Chen Suzhen had hanged herself in prison. He thought that Chen Suzhen was exiled thousands of miles away and would have a chance to come back in the future.

"If it weren't for Tan Jiao seducing my father..."

"You have not been home for two years. You have not seen with your own eyes how much Miss Tan has devoted to your father, nor have you seen the difficulties your father has gone through. What makes you think that Miss Tan has a bad character?" Shen Sui'an asked coldly.

She almost said clearly that the person with truly bad character was Chen Suzhen.

Ruan Zhaorong hesitated for a long time and could not say anything anymore.

She finally realized that from the very beginning, Shen Sui'an had seen through her intentions and had no sympathy for her at all.

She actually thought Shen Suian could help her.

Ruan Zhaorong knelt and bowed, "Princess, I am sorry to bother you."

Shen Sui'an watched her leave and sighed secretly in his heart.

When she returned to the house, Liang was standing in the corridor waiting for her.

"I heard from Mrs. Zhou that you were in the garden. Did something happen?" Liang asked in a low voice.

Shen Suian told Liang that Ruan Zhaorong was hiding under the rockery and crying secretly.

Liang took a deep breath.

The most feared thing happened.

"Chen harmed her daughter." She turned a good girl into a bad one.

"He's still young, maybe I can still teach him well," said Shen Sui'an.

Liang: "I discussed with the old lady and decided to keep her in the upper room. She will teach her."

If you can really teach well, that would be the best.

……

On the way back, Shen Suian told Fu Jinyuan about Ruan Zhaorong.

Fu Jinyuan frowned. He was not too soft-hearted. "Chen's backstabbing of the Ruan family is a lesson. If Ruan Zhaorong is taught a bad lesson, he may hate the Ruan family if he knows that Chen has committed suicide."

"What can we do? After all, she is my second uncle's biological daughter." He couldn't treat her the same way he treated Chen.

Shen Sui'an said, "Before, my aunt wanted to replace the maidservants around her, and she cried and disagreed. This time, my grandmother is in charge, and she will definitely replace everyone."

"Let's observe for a while. If there is any change, it will be a good thing."

Fu Jinyuan: "You can also send her away."

Shen Sui'an felt that it wouldn't come to that.

"By the way, there is one more thing about He Hongkui." Shen Suian told him what Cheng Zhiyun had told her.

"He Hongkui can't come himself, but he will send someone to take Sister Cheng and Brother Huan away." Shen Suian was still a little worried.

Fu Jinyuan said, "That boy has been arrested by the Pacification Bureau and has been locked up. He won't be able to escape anytime soon."

"Ah?" Shen Suian was stunned. When did this happen?

"I asked the guards from the Pacification Office to keep an eye on Zhou Zhou's clinic. That day, they discovered someone was following Huan Ge'er secretly. Du Youchuan directly arrested the person and took him to the Pacification Office." Fu Jinyuan explained.

He was just a servant, and Fu Jinyuan was so busy that he forgot to tell Shen Suian.

Shen Sui'an hugged his arm with satisfaction, "My Lord, you are really omnipotent, so amazing."

"Is this the only thing I'm good at?" Fu Jinyuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

"Of course not only that, she's amazing in every way." Shen Suian said with a smile, offering his soft lips actively.

Fu Jinyuan's Adam's apple rolled a few times, and his voice was hoarse, "Don't provoke me."

He was still in mourning and hadn't even had a sip of wine today, let alone touched her.

Although he had no feelings for Emperor Fu, he was his biological father, and mourning for him was the last family affection between them in this life.

As soon as they returned to the palace, the chief secretary came to greet them. After greeting them, he said, "Your Majesty, the Mu Mansion sent you an invitation today."

"Mu Mansion?" Shen Suian turned his head and looked at Fu Jinyuan.

Fu Jinyuan took the invitation and looked at it for a few seconds before chuckling, "It's Mu Chengtian."

"You will go with me then."

Shen Sui'an: "He invited you to his house, he must have something important to say, how can I go with him?"

Fu Jinyuan pointed at the words on the invitation and said, "It says Husband and Wife, so that means you are invited as well."

"Madam Mu and I...have only met once, and we didn't even say a few words." Shen Sui'an was surprised and puzzled. It was only after the death of the late emperor that she met Madam Mu in the palace.

There had never been any dealings between Prince Chen's Mansion and the Mu family before.

"Since the invitation has been delivered, let's go." Fu Jinyuan said.

Shen Suian agreed and asked someone to prepare gifts. It was his first time visiting someone, so he couldn't go empty-handed.

"Prepare the ginseng that the prince brought to visit General Mu last time." Shen Sui'an ordered.

……

Royal Palace, Kunning Palace.

Queen Ruan is discussing the relocation of the palace with the new emperor.

"Mother, I haven't gotten married yet, so you should continue to live in Kunning Palace." Fu Jinyi said. He felt that it didn't matter where his mother lived.

"The Empress Dowager is going to Wudao Mountain to continue her Taoism practice. The Cining Palace will remain. When the time comes, renovate the Shoukang Palace and I will move there." Queen Ruan said softly.

"Yier, you have already ascended the throne as emperor. It's time to think about appointing a queen." Queen Ruan said with a smile.

Fu Jinyi got a headache when he heard about the queen.

To be honest, he had never thought about getting married. All the imperial doctors had said that he would not live past the age of twenty. He thought that he was destined to die early anyway, so he would not harm other women.

So there is no thought of love between men and women at all.

Queen Ruan gestured, and Qingdai took out a bundle of scrolls from the side.

"These are all girls from noble families that I have carefully selected. There are also daughters from noble families. Take a good look and keep any that suit your taste."

"..." Fu Jinyi didn't expect that there was something like this waiting for him.

"Mother, I have just ascended the throne, and there are still many things I don't understand about government affairs. Let's wait a little longer."

Queen Ruan: "I just let you take a look, but I didn't ask you to get married right away."

Fu Jinyi smiled bitterly and had to let Changfu accept all the scrolls.

"Why does the Empress Dowager want to go to Wudao Mountain? Wouldn't it be better for her to stay in the palace and enjoy her remaining years?" Fu Jinyi talked about the Empress Dowager's plan to practice Taoism.

No matter how good Wudao Mountain is, it cannot compare to the comfort of the palace.

Queen Ruan didn't quite understand the Empress Dowager's interest in Taoism, but it was precisely because of this that she had such complete faith in Taoist Master Bu Xuanfeng.

"The Empress Dowager has made her decision. You go and persuade her. If that doesn't work, then arrange for more palace maids to be assigned to her," said Queen Ruan.

Fu Jinyi went to visit the Empress Dowager as soon as he came out of Kunning Palace.

The palace maids in the Cining Palace were busy packing up things, putting all the things that the Empress Dowager usually used into boxes.

"Grandmother, please spend more time with your grandson. I don't want to see you go to Wudao Mountain." Fu Jinyi said while holding the Empress Dowager's hand.

Since the death of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager has experienced the pain of losing her son. She seemed to have aged ten years. Only recently has her spirits improved a little.

She looked at Fu Jinyi with a smile, "You are already the emperor, why are you still so childish?"

"In front of the Royal Grandmother, my grandson is always a child," said Fu Jinyi.

The Empress Dowager said, "I have lived in the palace for most of my life. I just want to live a free life outside the palace when I am old. Wudao Mountain is not as harsh as you think."

"There is a temporary palace at the foot of the mountain. I live in it."

Fu Jinyi said, "Then I will personally send the Royal Grandmother to Wudao Mountain."

"Don't say childish words. You are the king of a country now and cannot leave the palace at will." The Empress Dowager said with a smile.

"By the way, I haven't told the prince yet that I'm going to Wudao Mountain. Tomorrow you can ask the prince and his wife to come to the palace so that I can say goodbye to them."

Fu Jinyi immediately said, "I will let Changshou go to Prince Chen's Mansion now. Brother will definitely be reluctant to let you go. He respects you the most."

When the Empress Dowager thought of Fu Jinyuan, she felt a little bitter.

When she saw Fu Jinyuan, she thought of her son.

"After I go to Wudaoshan, the Cining Palace will be renovated and Empress Dowager Ruan can move in," said the Empress Dowager.

"That won't work. My queen mother said that she lives in Shoukang Palace, which is close to Cining Palace. When you return to the palace in the future, she can talk to you every day." Fu Jinyi said.

There was a hint of sarcasm in the eyes of the Empress Dowager. "She has a heart."

Empress Dowager Ruan was indeed concerned about the Grand Empress Dowager and was talking to Taoist Master Bu Xuanfeng at the moment.

Taoist Master Bu Xuanfeng was wearing a Taoist robe. He had a tall and slender figure, and looked like a banished immortal. Although his hair was already gray, his facial features were still handsome, and his actual age was completely invisible.

"Has the Queen Mother got what she wished for now?" Bu Xuanfeng looked calm and composed, standing in front of the Queen Mother Ruan, without any nervousness or fear at all.

Queen Mother Ruan looked at him with a smile, "Master, you have helped me a lot, I know it all."

"I am telling the truth." He did not deliberately make up a lie to help Queen Ruan.

"You mean, the return of Prince Chen is the revival of the emperor's star and it is not fake?" asked Queen Mother Ruan.

The one who has ascended the throne now is Fu Jinyi. If Bu Xuanfeng talks about the so-called revival of the emperor's star again, it will not be a good thing for the new emperor and Prince Chen.

Taoist Master Bu Xuanfeng: "Everything that has happened now is the best arrangement of God."

Empress Dowager Ruan curled her lips and smiled; "Master, I have never believed in fate in my life."

"If this is my fate, I will change my luck against all odds."

Bu Xuanfeng lowered his eyes slightly, "The Queen Mother is a rare and extraordinary woman."

"You saved my life, and I have helped you. There is no cause and effect between us. I will practice in Wudao Mountain in the future and will no longer be concerned with worldly affairs."

Queen Mother Ruan sighed, "The Taoist priest is as wise as the Prime Minister, but he is just a Taoist priest. What a pity."

"Everyone has his own destiny." Bu Xuanfeng said in a low voice.

"Master Taoist, please calculate again for me. Is the Purple Star bright and in the right position now?" said Queen Mother Ruan.

Bu Xuanfeng: "The stars are not bright today, so I can't calculate it."

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother doesn't believe in fate, so why would you care about the stars?"

Queen Mother Ruan smiled when she heard this, "That's true. Even if you say something I don't like to hear, I will only do what I want to do."