Today was Shen Qingshan's birthday. He sat in the main seat, watching his descendants bustling around for him. He was in a great mood.
Some officials came to offer their congratulations. They congratulated the eldest grandson of the eldest branch of the Shen family on winning the top place in the imperial examination. He was the first person in the Great Yong Dynasty to achieve the rare feat of winning the top place in all six levels of the imperial examinations. Moreover, it was also Prime Minister Shen's birthday, so it was a double blessing.
The corners of Shen Qingshan's mouth twitched upward. He could hardly hide his joy. He pretended to be modest and said, "It's nothing. My grandson can't be called a genius."
The birthday banquet began, and everyone presented their gifts one after another.
Shen Qingshan was very satisfied and nodded repeatedly. Just when the atmosphere on the scene was at its peak, it was Shen Yunfeng's turn to come with his three children to present gifts. They were the eldest son, Shen Heqing, the second son, Shen Haiyan, and the youngest daughter, Shen Baozhu.
Shen Haiyan was handsome and elegant, very much like a member of the Shen family. He stepped forward holding a wooden box. "Grandfather, this is a gift I've prepared for you. It's very valuable."
These words piqued Shen Qingshan's interest. Shen Haiyan's mother, his third daughter - in - law, was a princess. Relying on her father's wealth amassed during his military campaigns, her family was quite wealthy. From time to time, she would send money to the Shen Mansion to show her filial piety.
With such a mother, Shen Haiyan had lived a life of luxury since childhood. If he said it was valuable, it must be something precious.
Shen Qingshan happily asked Shen Haiyan to come forward and personally opened the wooden box.
At just one glance, Shen Qingshan felt a chill run down his back. He instinctively tried to close the box, but it was too late. Shen Danqing inside the box had already crawled out.
Shen Haiyan pointed at Shen Qingshan and laughed wildly. "Hahaha, you old man still want to be the prime minister. Have you forgotten about Shen Danqing?"
"Less than half a year after the late emperor's death, Shen Yunfeng indulged in pleasure and even brought a dancing girl back to the mansion, resulting in a bastard son. This is a great crime of disrespecting the late emperor and despising the royal family!"
These words made Shen Qingshan panic. He roared angrily, "Nonsense! It's sheer nonsense!"
Shen Haiyan sneered and stepped forward, one on each side with Shen Danqing, and tore off the prime minister's official robe that Shen Qingshan was wearing.
As soon as the official robe left Shen Qingshan, it flew onto a person at the banquet. That person stood up, bowed his hands and thanked, "Thank you, Prime Minister Shen. I have no choice but to accept the position of prime minister."
Shen Qingshan watched helplessly as his official robe became someone else's. He shouted, "The prime minister's position is mine! It's mine! Sima Bai, give it back to me. Give the prime minister's position back to me!"
Watching Shen Qingshan's embarrassed appearance, Shen Haiyan laughed heartily beside him. Just as Shen Qingshan was about to confront him, he nimbly dodged.
In just a moment of turning around, he changed from a young scholar in a blue robe to a young general.
Shen Qingshan pointed at Shen Haiyan and roared, "You've even learned martial arts? You're no Shen at all!"
Unexpectedly, Shen Haiyan spread his hands and replied indifferently, "Then I'm not. If I hear you speak ill of my grandfather again, I'll set the whole Shen Mansion on fire!"
"You, you, you, you, you!" Shen Qingshan was so angry that his heart ached. It took him a long time to blurt out, "You scoundrel! I'm your own grandfather. The Mu family is just an outsider. You side with him and defy me. You're a complete scoundrel."
After angering Shen Qingshan enough, Shen Haiyan turned around and left.
Then it was Shen Heqing's turn to present his gift. He held the gift box but hesitated to step forward.
Just as Shen Qingshan was about to scold him, Shen Heqing threw the gift box to the ground. He took Shen Baozhu's hand and stepped forward. He pointed at Shen Qingshan and said to his sister, "Baozhu, remember this man. Stay away from him in the future. You're my dearest sister, and no one can bully you."
Shen Qingshan stared at this scene with wide eyes. He almost couldn't catch his breath. He defended himself, "I didn't bully her."
"You're a sexist. You won't let Baozhu eat pastries. You've subtly insulted her for being as brainless as her grandfather. Every year, the birthday gifts you give her are the leftovers after your precious great - grandson has chosen... You dote on your great - grandson, but Baozhu is also the apple of my eye. Since you've treated Baozhu badly, I'll cut off all ties with you!" With each word, Shen Heqing took a step forward, forcing Shen Qingshan back until he had nowhere to retreat.
Shen Qingshan gasped for breath. He couldn't figure out how Shen Heqing knew about the birthday gift incident, which he had done secretly.
Not only did Shen Heqing leave with Shen Baozhu in his arms, but he also tore down the double - happiness character on the wall before leaving.
As the red double - happiness character cut from paper was torn down, Shen Qingshan felt dizzy. He finally remembered that the person with the talent of a top scholar and the chance to win the top place in all six levels of the imperial examinations was not his beloved eldest grandson of the eldest branch, but Shen Heqing.
His eldest grandson had long been good - for - nothing. After decades of hard work, he was just a low - ranking scholar, not a bit as good as Shen Heqing.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingshan quickly got up and chased after Shen Heqing. But no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't catch up with Shen Heqing.
Suddenly, Shen Yunfeng blocked Shen Qingshan's way. He pushed Shen Qingshan away and said angrily, "It's okay that you've doted on the eldest brother since childhood. But you embezzled the relief supplies and were reluctant to let the second brother dispose of the stolen goods. Instead, you sent me to the Xiangyun Kingdom to sell them. A total of 300,000 taels of silver were all deposited in the bank by you."
"In order to sell those things, I was on the verge of death in the Xiangyun Kingdom. Thanks to Rou'er who saved me, but you tricked me back, which made it impossible for me and Rou'er to be together. It's all your fault. It's all your fault that you ruined my love."
Facing Shen Yunfeng's accusation, Shen Qingshan was very helpless. He sighed and said, "Later, when you brought a dancing girl into the mansion and the emperor wanted to punish you, it was me who exchanged my position as prime minister to save your life. Son, I've been making up for you."
Over the years, whenever Shen Yunfeng complained about Shen Qingshan's unfairness, Shen Qingshan would bring up this matter. But the words that used to be very effective now sounded extremely weak.
Shen Yunfeng laughed just like Shen Heqing. "Liars! All of you are liars! The emperor has long been unhappy with you. Even without me, he would have found your faults. You can't blame me for losing your position as prime minister. Don't shift the blame onto me."
"You paved the way for the eldest brother to become a Hanlin academician. Even when he owed gambling debts, you helped him pay them off. What about me! You're also partial to the eldest brother's children. If it weren't for Heqing's talent, you probably wouldn't even know his name."
"I'll tell the emperor that you not only embezzled but also lent money at usurious rates, forcing many people to sell themselves into slavery!"
"Shen Qingshan, I'm telling you, you're finished!"
Shen Yunfeng's figure gradually became transparent, but his words kept echoing in Shen Qingshan's ears.
Shen Qingshan looked around in horror. Watching all the things that belonged to him gradually disappear, he reached out his hand to grab them, but it was of no avail.
In an instant, he went from a prime minister envied by everyone to a man with nothing.
"No! Don't!"
Shen Qingshan shouted out. He opened his eyes and found that he was covered in cold sweat and was in a cold prison cell.
The emotions of great joy and great sorrow in the dream were brought into reality. Shen Qingshan was in a state of half - dream and half - reality, unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Just then, it was dawn, and the jailer was distributing breakfast.
The jailer put two pieces of cake into a bowl and kicked it in front of Shen Qingshan. This was a special request from above to treat Shen Qingshan well.
Unexpectedly, Shen Qingshan reached out and tightly grabbed the jailer's foot. His eyes were blood - red. "I'm the prime minister. I'm the prime minister. Do you know? I'm the prime minister. I'm the prime minister..."
The unexpected action startled the jailer. He dropped what he was holding and ran away as fast as he could.