The queen's mind raced. When she raised her eyes again, they were filled with pity.
She took the initiative and grasped the hand of the Countess of Jingning. "Shen Yunfeng is really too much. Don't be anxious. When we see His Majesty today, I'll ask His Majesty to seek justice for you and teach Shen Yunfeng a good lesson."
The Countess of Jingning had been observing the queen's expression. Hearing this, she understood the queen's intention. She sighed inwardly while feeling fortunate that she had made full preparations for this visit to the palace.
Before long, the emperor was invited to the Fengyi Palace.
The emperor was extremely tall and imposing. Just standing there, he could make people feel intimidated.
The queen stepped forward to greet him before the Countess of Jingning. She whispered a hint, "Your Majesty, annul the marriage."
Then she said loudly, "Your Majesty, you must seek justice for Lan Yue. The Shen family is really outrageous. They've bullied her like this!"
After briefly recounting the whole story, the emperor's face darkened. He felt more anger towards the Shen family.
Just as the emperor was about to speak and classify this as a family matter, the Countess of Jingning suddenly stepped forward and took out three blueprints from her sleeve. "Your Majesty, I've newly obtained these blueprints. I came to the palace today specifically to present them to you."
The Countess of Jingning unfurled the rolled - up blueprints and handed them to the emperor.
The pattern drawn on the white paper caught the emperor's eye. It was clearly a crossbow.
Under the emperor's puzzled gaze, the Countess of Jingning introduced it. "Your Majesty, this crossbow has been improved by a great expert. It can shoot five arrows at once, and its range is twice as long as that of an ordinary crossbow."
"With this improved crossbow, our military strength can be greatly enhanced!"
The emperor paused and began to think about how to punish Shen Yunfeng to vent the Countess of Jingning's anger.
"The second blueprint is for a catapult. Compared with the current catapults in Dayong, the improved one can throw larger boulders, and it's faster and more labor - saving."
Although Dayong didn't need catapults for the time being, they would surely be useful in the future. This was a good thing. The punishment for Shen Yunfeng could be even heavier.
The emperor still looked expressionless, but in his heart, he was imagining Shen Yunfeng suffering all kinds of tortures.
"The third blueprint is also a crossbow, but it's a ballista. It can be used for attacking cities and requires thirty people to pull it. It's not only powerful but also has a range of a thousand steps."
"I have a few more blueprints. After I've sorted them out, I'll present them to you, Your Majesty."
The emperor stared at the three blueprints, not daring to blink for fear that they would disappear.
Just listening to the Countess of Jingning's description, he could imagine the power of these three blueprints. If all three things were made...
Hearing that there were other blueprints, the emperor's eyes almost glowed green. "Queen, what did you say just now? Sister Lan Yue wants to annul the marriage?"
The queen noticed the change in the emperor's attitude. Her heart skipped a beat. She repeated what the Countess of Jingning had said just now and added a little embellishment.
She emphasized that Shen Yunfeng was crazy about his mistress and was even willing to use his children as stepping - stones.
The emperor and the queen had been a couple since they were young, and their relationship was very deep. The queen knew the emperor well. These words really hit the emperor's soft spot.
Back then, the late emperor had helped his favorite concubine poison the emperor. If the emperor hadn't been lucky enough to escape, he would have died long ago.
Listening to the queen's description, the emperor felt a chill down his back. He subconsciously put himself in Shen Heqing's shoes. His own father would harm him for a woman outside, and he didn't even spare his five - year - old younger sister...
When she was getting emotional, the queen took the Countess of Jingning's hand and hinted, "Shen Yunfeng is a cruel man. If he can harm his own children now, who knows what he'll do in the future."
Back then, the late emperor had arranged the marriage because he had taken a fancy to Shen Yunfeng's lack of interest in fame and fortune. He had hoped that the Countess of Jingning and Shen Yunfeng would be a carefree couple. But now, Shen Yunfeng was cruel and calculating.
If he were really a person who was indifferent to fame and wealth, how could he have come up with such cruel tricks as hiding his mistress for many years and harming his own children?
The emperor would never allow such a cruel person to be General Mu's son - in - law!
The Countess of Jingning seized the opportunity and revealed the identities of Bai Xinrou and Xie Xiner.
"Oh my god! Shen Yunfeng even dared to shelter a criminal and didn't care about family ties. He even sacrificed his own cousin!" The queen pointed out the key point.
The Countess of Jingning nodded with tears in her eyes. "Cousin Xiner is also a poor girl. She fled all the way to the capital. She reported to the government and wanted to go home, but unexpectedly, her identity was stolen. Without a household register or identity, she could only make a living by selling water at the city gate."
"The Xie family is a prominent family. If cousin Xiner could have gone home earlier, she wouldn't have suffered so much."
Listening to the queen and the Countess of Jingning, the emperor's eyes fell on the blueprints. He gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Shen Yunfeng is so rebellious. I'll issue an edict now to annul your marriage."
A flash of surprise passed through the Countess of Jingning's eyes, and she quickly covered it up. But what she wanted wasn't just the annulment of the marriage. "Your Majesty, the imperial examination is coming up next year. I'd like to ask for a favor. Please issue the imperial edict after my son Heqing finishes the imperial examination."
Since the emperor had agreed to issue the edict to annul the marriage, it didn't matter whether it was earlier or later. The emperor casually agreed and then couldn't wait to pick up the blueprints and examine them carefully.
After briefly scanning the three blueprints, the emperor was in a good mood. "With these three things, we don't have to worry about external enemies!"
"Lan Yue, who is the great expert who made these?"
Seeing that the emperor had a desire to recruit talent, the Countess of Jingning didn't reveal too much. She just said that the expert didn't want to expose his identity. They could talk about other things after the remaining blueprints were drawn.
The emperor wasn't surprised. It was normal for capable people to have some quirks.
...
Sujiacun.
"Brother, this flower cake is so delicious! Can I take a few back?"
In front of the house, Shen Baozhu was nibbling on the flower cake in her hand. She thought it was extremely delicious. It had a sweet but not cloying taste. Third brother would surely like it!
Third brother Shen Haiyan had the most similar taste to Shen Baozhu. When he was at home, the two of them often fought over food.
Even though they were eating the same meal, they always thought the other's bowl was better.
Either Shen Haiyan coaxed his sister into giving it to him obediently, or Shen Baozhu acted coquettishly and snatched it from her brother.
Thinking of her third brother who hadn't been home for a long time, Shen Baozhu ate the flower cake reluctantly. If she couldn't take it back, she would eat less and leave the two remaining cakes on the plate for her third brother.
And Shen Heqing, who was sitting on Shen Baozhu's left, was chatting with the villagers of Sujiacun and didn't hear Shen Baozhu's words at all.
The villagers' words could be summarized into two sentences: "General Mu is a peerless hero."
"Mr. Shen is General Mu's grandson. He is also a peerless hero."
These words made Shen Heqing feel a bit dizzy with pride. Since he had been closer to the Shen family since childhood, a thought suddenly popped into his mind. It seemed that the Mu family was better than the Shen family?
At this time, Shen Baozhu finished the flower cake in her hand. She looked at the plate in front of her in distress.
She should leave the remaining flower cakes for her third brother. Well... third brother just wanted to taste it. One piece would be enough!
After some villagers left, Shen Heqing sighed. "Baozhu, this is the first time I've known that my grandfather is so amazing. This feeling is so wonderful..."
"Brother, is half a flower cake enough for third brother?" Shen Baozhu stared at the flower cakes and thought seriously.