After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 468 I was born with royal blood

Zhu Yixuan was drenched in cold sweat, trembling all over, and unable to utter a single word.

Cen Mingzhu was even more bewildered. She still couldn't figure out how she had been discovered, and why the Sixth Prince was here.
Seeing their silence, Murong Chen coldly curled the corners of his lips and said, "Guards, give them thirty strokes of the cane."

Cen Mingzhu snapped out of her daze and cried out in terror, "You can't do this to me! I'm the Second Prince's woman, I gave birth to his son, you can't just do whatever you want to me!"

Everyone in the lobby was stunned.

Shen Yi and Tang Yu exchanged a glance. Oh no! It seems they've overheard some incredible secret!
Murong Chen slammed his fist on the table in anger, “Cen Shi! What nonsense are you spouting? How dare you make such wild accusations about royal blood! I think you have a death wish!”

"I didn't! I didn't! Zhu Yixuan has been in mourning for three years, and we haven't been together at all. My child is the Second Prince's! I swear!" Cen Shi retorted, giving Zhu Yixuan no chance to speak.

If he were to reveal the truth now, the most likely outcome would be that Cen Mingzhu would succumb to the shock and die here, and the Sixth Prince would use their alleged confusion of the royal bloodline as a pretext to raid the Zhu family, putting his life in grave danger.

Whether you speak or not, the outcome is the same. If you don't speak, you can at least prolong your life and fight for a glimmer of hope.

So he fell silent.

Murong Chen's expression was inscrutable. He couldn't get involved in such a big matter as a royal scandal, so he immediately ordered, "Someone, prepare to return to the capital immediately! Tang Yu, you stay here to oversee the imperial examinations."

Tang Yu and the other two hurriedly went down to make arrangements.

After Zhu Yixuan and Cen Mingzhu were taken away, Master Zhu and the steward were given sixty strokes of the cane before being released.

Exhausted from all the work, Lu Tong trudged to Shen Yi to drink alone. “I used to dream of getting promoted and becoming a superior person, but now I realize there’s always someone above you! One wrong move and everything can be ruined!”
The Zhu family had hoped to climb the social ladder, but now it seems their fate is sealed!

Shen Yi straightened his back and earnestly advised, "Lord Lu, as long as you act uprightly and sit honestly, you have nothing to fear from ghosts and gods! Zhu Yixuan's current situation is due to his excessive ambition, and has nothing to do with anyone else! Do you know why I brought up the Cen family's affairs?"

"I'm all ears!" Lu Tong sat down. He knew that Shen Yi had a grudge against the Zhu family, but he never thought that Shen Yi would deliver such a fatal blow to the Zhu family.

Shen Yi smiled and said carefully, "Because the Zhu family can no longer tolerate me. If I don't take action, once Zhu Yixuan gains power, he will make sure I never have a chance to recover."

Of course, these are secondary; the most important thing is Lady Shen, the concubine of the Sixth Prince.

Cen almost killed the Sixth Prince's concubine back then. The Sixth Prince wanted to avenge her, and I also want to avenge her!

Shen Tian was injured because of their family back then. Although the matter is over, his guilt has not lessened at all. If he has the chance to kill Cen Shi, how could he possibly let it go!
Lu Tong suddenly realized what was going on, but ultimately said nothing more.

Before they knew it, the day of the imperial examination arrived.

All the candidates who passed the preliminary test went to the county town.

The test center is located on the newly built street. Some of the shops there have already been sold, but no one is opening them for business; they are all vacant.

As long as people are stationed at the street exits, this place can easily serve as a natural examination venue, accommodating thousands of candidates.

Su Tai accompanied Shen Congrong to the exam and ran into Xiong Feng again.

Xiong Feng greeted Shen Congrong and then said nothing more.

Su Tai secretly observed for a while, and as soon as Shen Congrong entered the examination room, Yu Dong immediately took her to find Shen Yi.

Because of his two sons' involvement in the competition, Shen Yi had to avoid the situation and was currently sitting in a teahouse, leisurely enjoying his tea.

Su Tai went upstairs and sat down opposite him. "I met a candidate today named Xiong Feng."

“Xiong Feng?” Su Tai nodded. “That’s right, just like you thought! After Xiong Kai died, Mo Chunxiang and the Zhu family searched for him all over the world. I heard they almost turned Zhaohua County upside down but couldn’t find any news of Xiong Feng. Now that the Zhu family is in trouble, he doesn’t need to worry about him anymore!”

Shen Yi thought for a moment and remained calm. "What happened back then has nothing to do with us. He's back, so be it. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, I won't interfere. But if he does commit a crime, I will not let him off easily."

"Wife, instead of worrying about other people's children, you should take better care of our two rascals. I'm not worried about the eldest, but I wonder what kind of mess Lord Xue has turned the second one into!"

He was so busy during this time that he didn't even have time to visit the twins.

Su Tai glanced at him amusedly, "I think you're jealous! Like a child! Don't worry! I saw Yu'er outside the examination hall. Lord Xue is indeed quite capable. The child seems much more composed. He'll definitely make you proud this time!"

Shen Yi liked hearing this.

The three days of exams went by quickly; now it's time for the last exam to finish.

Tang Yu ordered all the scrolls to be locked up, sealed, and sent back to the capital as soon as possible.

Tang Yu was saying goodbye to Shen Yi when Yu Dong suddenly rushed in with a pale face and reported, "Master, Old Madam Shen has passed away!"

Shen Yi and Tang Yu exchanged a glance, then hurried back to Shen Family Village without saying a word.

Murong Chen had come to visit Granny Chen.

Every prominent family in Zhaohua County knew that Granny Chen was no ordinary person, and her funeral was held with exceptional grandeur.

When Shen Yi and Tang Yu arrived, white silk ribbons had already been hung up at Shen Mu's house, and all the red lanterns had been removed.

The sound of crying could be heard both inside and outside the house.

When Huang Xinghua saw Su Tai, she hugged her and wailed in grief.

Su Tai hurriedly asked, "Auntie, please accept my condolences. Have all the burial items for Grandma been prepared?"

Huang Xinghua nodded. "My mother-in-law suffered her whole life. Her most treasured possession is the wooden hairpin that my father-in-law gave her when she married into the family. I put it in her hair. Besides that, she has saved all the gifts her children and grandchildren have given her over the years. She has never used any of them. I put them all in here."

Su Tai looked at them carefully and said, "Auntie, take these things and put them in too."

Huang Xinghua opened it, glanced at it, and quickly closed it again. "This...this is far too valuable!"

The box Su Tai gave contained gold, silver, and jade ornaments, which were clearly very valuable.

Su Tai said seriously, "After all, your family is the maternal family of the Sixth Prince's concubine. The burial goods cannot be meager, otherwise it would be a slap in the face to the concubine."

In fact, the Sixth Prince gave Granny Chen quite a lot of things, including many valuable items.

He didn't explicitly say what those things were for. When Granny Chen was alive, she probably distributed them to the younger generation. Su Tai didn't say anything, and she certainly wouldn't take the initiative to remind Huang Xinghua of the intricacies involved.

Shen Mu and Huang Xinghua were unfamiliar with these rules, and seeing that Su Tai and Shen Yi had arranged everything so meticulously, they dared not object.

They did whatever the couple told them to do.

Granny Chen's funeral was grand and magnificent.

This dealt another heavy blow to the already half-dead Master Zhu.