Rebirth of Poisoned Empress, by 颜若优雅

Chapter 98

"By the Heavens decree, and through the Emperor's edict, the third main son of the Marquis Donglin Manor, Shen Liang has displayed a noble and befitting temperament. He is intelligent and clever, and appropriate for the bestowment of marriage to the Duke of Qingping as the Qingping Wangfei. The decree is such!" To everyone's shock, they didn't even have to wait until the next day before the Imperial decree arrived in the middle of the night. In the main courtyard of the Marquis Donglin Manor, a large crowd of people knelt before the edict. Even Liu Shuhan, who had been placed in confinement, had to come out, much less the old madame and those from the second and third family. Of course, Shen Liang, as the main protagonist, could not be absent as well. When they heard that Shen Liang had been conferred marriage to the Duke of Qingping Manor, everyone but Shen Liang all displayed their shock and disbelief. 

"Marquis Shen, why don't you accept the edict?" the chief eunuch, Yang An, had personally came to proclaim the decree in person. He called out to Shen Ruiting and reminded him with a smile as his smiling gaze rested on Shen Liang, who was kneeling beside Shen Ruiting.

"This... Eunuch Yang, why did His Majesty suddenly decide to pass an edict in the middle of the night?" When Shen Ruiting recovered from his trance, he didn't immediately accept the Imperial edict, but instead, inquired with lingering fear. During the day when they were still at the Duke's Palace, he had indeed sense the emperor's temptation, but shouldn't he at least give Shen Ruiting a notification beforehand as Shen Liang's father? For him to suddenly pass this edict, wasn't this too unreasonable? Unless something occurred without their knowing?

"Perhaps Marquis Shen is unaware, but His Majesty has been perturbed by the duke's affairs and been thinking about it since. If it isn't handled well, I'm afraid he'd be unable to rest well tonight," Yang An deliberately revealed a troubled expression. When he saw Shen Ruiting lost in thought again, he once again ushered: "This is good news. In the future, your son will be the Wangfei. Marquis Shen, come on over to accept the edict now. We still have to pay a visit to the Duke of Qingping Manor."

"...." Shen Ruiting still made no inclinations to move as he subconsciously passed a glance toward Shen Liang. The latter had his head lowered and expression hidden from view. Just as Yang An was prepared to urge him for the third time, Shen Ruiting finally cupped his fists together: "This minister accepts the Imperial Decree and gives my blessings to the emperor!"

"Congratulations, Marquis Shen!" the Imperial decree was placed in his hands as Yang An revealed a blossoming smile on his face.

"Eunuch Yang has worked hard," Shen Ruiting's reply was slow and gradual. Sun Jing, who was temporarily placed in charge of the back courtyard had long since prepared the monetary rewards to give the entourage. Throughout the entire process of handing out the rewards, she greeted the eunuchs and entourage members with a smile the entire time but didn't dare to speak a single word. 

"Not at all. Not at all. This must be Young Master Shen? Truly is a beautiful boy. It is no wonder that the duke would be so biased towards him," waving a hand, Yang An's gaze looked past him and landed on Shen Liang, who had stood up, again. 

No one could see any emotion from him as he responded: "Eunuch Yang flatters me."

"The Duke of Qingping's circumstances are special. Perhaps their manor will send someone over tomorrow with their marriage proposal formally. Marquis Shen should make the appropriate preparations. This servant won't bother you any further. 

Yang An accepted Shen Liang's polite courtesy words with his usual characteristic smile before he retracted his gaze. He made the motion to leave when Shen Liang suddenly called out to him. He strode forward and walked up to the eunuch before raising his head and inquiring indifferently, "It has been said that the duke's circumstances aren't looking very well. Since His Majesty has conferred this marriage, it shouldn't pose a problem for Shen Liang to head over and take a look then? I won't hide my situation. This one has been interested in medicine since young and had the opportunity of meeting a wandering physician those years I was at the countryside. He saw that I had fate in this field and displayed talent for the skills and taught me many things. Perhaps I'd be of help to the duke."