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

Chapter 531 Instigating Princess Qingkang
When Princess Qingfeng entered, the maid had just finished cleaning up the floor. She acted as if she hadn't seen her, and after exchanging a few pleasantries with Princess Qingkang, she revealed her purpose: "Sister, do you know that the girl from the Shen family who is engaged to Murong Jue has come to the capital?"

Princess Qingkang's expression darkened slightly as she looked up at Princess Qingfeng with a cold gaze. "Why are you bringing her up?"

Princess Qingfeng smiled and lowered her voice, "I just heard that the Empress Dowager intends to summon this Miss Shen. Aren't you curious, sister? If Furong hadn't had that accident back then, this marriage wouldn't have been possible for the Shen family. And Furong's death, although not caused by the Shen family, was indirectly caused by Shen Congrong."

Because of this, you and Wanyi have become estranged. Now Wanyi is living a life of vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist prayers in a Buddhist temple, spending her days with only the flickering lamp and ancient Buddha statues. Sister, are you content with this?

Princess Qingkang looked intently at Princess Qingfeng. "Qingfeng, what's your purpose in telling me all this? Has the Shen family offended you?"

Qingfeng chuckled and lowered his eyelids. "How could that be? I have no relation to the Shen family. I just can't stand seeing a pheasant rise to power and become a phoenix. Besides, I feel sorry for my sister."

The Zhao family was once so glorious, but now they have been so tragically harmed. Grand Tutor Zhao is no longer as powerful as before in the court. All of this is inextricably linked to the Yong'an Marquis's mansion. If this continues to be allowed to continue, where will Grand Tutor Zhao have a voice in the court in the future?

For the sake of the Zhao family, the elder sister should do something. The younger sister thinks that Zhao Moli, the second daughter of the Zhao family, is quite good. She has both beauty and talent.

The palace hasn't widely announced Murong Jue's marriage yet, and Princess Huai'an hasn't explicitly mentioned it either. Just pretend you don't know anything, take Jasmine to the palace to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager, and casually mention Furong, directly stating your intention to marry Jasmine to Murong Jue.

"You are a royal princess. Before you were married, the Empress Dowager doted on you the most. If you cry and say some nice things, the Empress Dowager might change her mind."

Princess Qingkang listened carefully and was quite tempted. Putting everything else aside, doing this would at least cause some trouble for the Shen family. Even if it didn't work out, she wouldn't lose anything. If it did work out, she would be the one who gained, and she could also severely humiliate the Shen family.

Seeing that she had taken her words to heart, Princess Qingfeng smiled and took her leave from Princess Qingkang.

After leaving Zhao Jia, Hongqin finally voiced her confusion, "Princess, why didn't you say so sooner? If you had said so earlier, it might have worked out."

Princess Qingfeng gave a cold laugh, feeling annoyed. "If only I had known earlier that the Emperor valued the Shen family so much! But it's not too late now."

When Shen Yi was first appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, no one thought much of it, assuming that the emperor was promoting the Shen family because of Princess Huai'an.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yi was quite capable. Not only did he handle his duties exceptionally well, but he was also promoted to Vice Minister of Works in just a few months, which shocked everyone.

The Vice Minister of Works was qualified to attend the morning court session and participate in political discussions.

Most importantly, the former Vice Minister of Works was a man of the Second Prince, but now that Shen Yi has taken over, their strength has been greatly diminished.

Grand Tutor Zhao has extended an olive branch to Shen Yi several times, but the other party either evades the question or makes excuses to decline. It is clear that he is not going to be used by them. Since he cannot be used by them, he must be destroyed.

The premise of ruining Shen Yi is to ruin the marriage alliance between the Shen family and the Princess of Huai'an's mansion.

Su Tai and her children had just arrived at the Yong'an Marquis's residence when Shen Yi and Shen Congrong came out to greet them.

People came and went on the street, all staring at Su Tai and her daughter as they stepped down from the carriage.

The twins had already snuggled into Shen Yi and Shen Congrong's arms, acting all cute.

Shen Congrong stepped forward and bowed to Su Tai.

Su Tai smiled and said with satisfaction, "Let's go inside and talk."

The gates of the Marquis's residence were closed, blocking the curious gazes of the crowd. Shen Yi led them to see Liu Laosan.

Liu Laosan looked at the three children carefully, grinning from ear to ear. "Good, good, good! These three children are all outstanding. They truly deserve to be my grandchildren. The housekeeper has already arranged for your accommodations to be ready."

"Just stay here peacefully. The palace should summon Yuezhang in a few days. Princess Huai'an has sent a governess beforehand to teach her some manners, so she won't be criticized when she enters the palace."

Su Tai raised an eyebrow.

Liu Laosan nodded to her, "It's just as you think. Shen Yi has done an excellent job in the past six months and has been promoted. Others can't reach his position even after several years of hard work. There are many people in the officialdom who are jealous and are trying to trip him up. Naturally, the women in the family won't let you off so easily."

Su Tai's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stood up and curtsied, saying, "Daughter-in-law understands."

Liu Laosan was extremely satisfied and asked Shen Yi to take them back to rest.

Once inside the courtyard, Su Tai couldn't wait to ask, "What happened? You were promoted in just six months? Is it because of Princess Huai'an?"

Shen Yi chuckled and shook his head. "The Emperor isn't senile. Why would he promote me so much just because of Princess Huai'an? It was after I took office that I was flipping through some scrolls from the Ministry of Works and accidentally helped the Minister of Works solve a big problem."

They also discovered some problems, and the Emperor followed the clues and caught several corrupt officials in the court. When the position became vacant, he put me in charge.

I pride myself on having a clear conscience, but it's inevitable that I'll offend people. Fortunately, the Minister of Works is a very shrewd and capable person. He may not be the most loyal, but at least he's not confused about important matters. Now that I'm the Vice Minister of Works, he's the only one above me, so my job is quite easy.

However, your interactions with your family members are probably not that simple.

The inner quarters are a microcosm of the imperial court. Men fight in the officialdom, while women compete in the inner quarters. Sometimes, the methods used in the inner quarters are more insidious and ruthless than those in the imperial court, making them impossible to guard against.

Su Tai is now not only the wife of the Vice Minister of Works, but also the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, and has become related to Princess Huai'an by marriage.

Staying home is impossible; if I lose face, it will affect the reputation of three families.

Su Tai glanced at Shen Yi and teased, "You're really something. You gave me such a big gift as soon as I arrived. You really caught me off guard."

Despite saying that, Su Tai showed no sign of panic.

Shen Yuezhang, standing to the side, remained calm and composed. Shen Yuean, needless to say, entered the room and began to play with the ornaments on the display shelf, completely ignoring what Shen Yi had said.

Seeing their good attitude, Shen Yi didn't know whether to worry or laugh.

Turning to Shen Yuezhang's dowry, he said, "I originally wanted to take you to live in the Shen residence, but my godfather disagreed. He said that if I moved out, it would be unfilial. Also, my godfather has prepared a courtyard for Yuezhang to store her dowry, and he will also provide her with a dowry later."

Once the dowry list is finalized, it will be sent to Princess Huai'an for review.

In their area, a woman's dowry has nothing to do with her husband's family. The amount and quality of the items are irrelevant to the husband's family. Giving too little will result in being ridiculed by the husband's family, while giving too much will earn praise from them.

Upon arriving in the capital, I learned that wealthy families did not allow any mistakes in marriage arrangements, and the groom's family was also involved in the bride's dowry.