After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 459 Extra Chapter: Exquisite Dice and Red Beans 3

After Li Gui finished laying out the mat, he looked up and saw Shen Shixi looking at him with a half-smile. He shuddered and knelt down.

Shen Shixi said, "Get up. You're not one of my people, so there's no need for you to treat me like this. Some things need to be presented to you in writing, and some things are enough to be said in person. I know what I'm doing."

"Take what I say with you if you can, but it doesn't matter if you can't. I know you're doing this for the Emperor's good. You're clever; you know what's truly good and what's just flattery!"

"This servant deserves to die! This servant thanks Second Miss for her guidance!"

Li Gui returned to the palace and recounted the entire incident in detail. He secretly glanced at the Emperor and immediately felt a pang of heartache.

"All the letters she wrote to me were formal reports, not a single word of private conversation," Li Yuanke said with a self-deprecating smile.

A young eunuch came to report that Consort Shu requested an audience with the Emperor. At this moment, Li Yuanke had no desire to see her at all. "Ask her what it is," he said, "I have state affairs to attend to."

Shen Shiyan had only come over after hearing that Li Gui had gone to the hot spring villa.

Li Gui went there personally and came in a while later. "Your Majesty, Consort Shu heard that Grand Tutor Shen has returned. She is not feeling well and wishes to visit him."

Li Yuanke approved it.

Shen Shixi was playing chess with her grandfather when she heard that Consort Shu had come to visit her. Not wanting to see her sister, she put away the chess pieces and avoided her.

When Consort Shu entered, Grand Tutor Shen was about to perform a grand ceremony for her. After the ceremony, she took two steps forward to help her grandfather up, but Grand Tutor Shen stepped back two steps, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Consort Shu then dropped the matter, saying, "Wasn't my second sister here just now? Why did she avoid me as soon as she heard I was coming? What's the reason for that?"

Grand Tutor Shen had lost all affection for his eldest granddaughter. Back then, she had cried, made a scene, and even threatened suicide to marry Li Yuanke. That little bit of kinship had been worn away.

He also told Li Yuanke that the Shen family had no other requests, only that no matter what Shen Shiyan did in the palace, it would not implicate the Shen family.

Grand Tutor Shen wasn't worried at all. With his two granddaughters around, and given Li Yuanke's character, he would never implicate the Shen family.

It was only the second granddaughter who suffered.

"Your Majesty has come; what brings you here?" Grand Tutor Shen asked.

Consort Shu waved her hand, and everyone below left, leaving only two personal female officials. She said, "Grandfather, I only asked my second sister a question. What is the meaning of your protection like this?"

Am I wrong? I was only thinking of our sisterly bond, and considering it's not easy to leave the palace and meet her, my second sister is avoiding me. What, is she afraid I'll have to bow to her?

She gave a sneer. "Grandfather didn't say I shouldn't bow, so what's the logic behind her avoiding me?"

Grand Tutor Shen trembled with rage, wishing he could point his finger at her and berate her, "What does Your Highness mean? It was Your Highness who wanted to enter the palace in the first place. Now, with these words, in what way has the Shen family wronged Your Highness?"

Consort Shu grew angrier the more she thought about it. "Only now do I realize that my own sister, who shares the same mother, is so vicious! She couldn't marry the Emperor herself, so she harmed her own sister!"

Grand Tutor Shen felt a surge of metallic sweetness rising in his chest, his blood pressure soaring to nearly 300. "Your Majesty, please watch your words!"

If this gets out, wouldn't it only drive Xi'er to her death?

"Grandfather, wasn't it she who told you to make that wretched woman from the Pei family the empress, and to make me give up the empress's position? Grandfather, can you swear to heaven that this never happened?"

Grand Tutor Shen was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood, pointing at Shen Shiyan, "You...you...how dare you say such a thing!"

Shen Shiyan was even angrier than the old Grand Tutor, "If she can do it, why can't I say anything? Back then, how old was she? She was already thinking about men..."

Grand Tutor Shen, unable to bear it any longer, slapped her across the face. "This old minister has been disrespectful to Your Majesty, and I will apologize to the Emperor. Your Majesty, please leave!"

Shen Shiyan covered her face in disbelief. "Grandfather, you actually hit me! In the palace, I had to bow to that vile woman Pei, and you still have the nerve to hit me! Without the Shen family, there would be no Emperor today. Why can't I be Empress?"

"Get out, get out!"

Grand Tutor Shen clutched his chest, unable to catch his breath, and collapsed to the ground.

Shen Shiyan turned and left in anger, not seeing the Grand Tutor convulsing and spitting blood on the ground behind her.

When Shen Shixi arrived, she saw her grandfather lying unconscious on the ground, surrounded by servants who dared not move. She quickly had her grandfather carried to the bed and summoned the imperial physician.

In the middle of the night, the Grand Tutor woke up. Shen Shixi didn't dare to ask anything. The Grand Tutor sent everyone out and spoke to Shen Shixi.

"Back then, Grandfather was soft-hearted and agreed to let your sister enter the palace. Firstly, she wanted to take this path herself, and secondly, at that time, Grandfather thought that Xi'er was still so young, and entering the palace would be like entering a deep sea. Grandfather really couldn't bear to see you, at such a young age, confined within those small red walls; the Emperor has no interest in your sister, and if she causes trouble in the future, the Shen family will still have to rely on you!"

The Grand Tutor was filled with regret. If he had known, he would never have allowed his eldest granddaughter to enter the palace. He truly hadn't expected that she would not only be incompetent but also dare to have ambitions.

The Shen family is in grave danger.

Shen Shixi said, "I know even if you don't say it. You've always been the one who loves me the most. If you get better, I want to go to Beisha, Xiling, and Quanzhou. I want to go see them all. You have to take me with you."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened.

Grand Tutor Shen pities his second granddaughter. The position of Empress should not belong to Pei Shi, much less Shen Shiyan. It should truly belong to his second granddaughter, but to say such a thing is treasonous.

He knew his beloved granddaughter had no interest in this, and that the eagle should not be confined within the red walls.

He looked at his granddaughter with deep regret, "It's such a pity that Xi'er isn't a boy!"

Shen Shixi said, "Grandfather, you're wrong. What's wrong with girls? Can't girls achieve great things? Preferring boys to girls is unacceptable."

Grand Tutor Shen was amused and started coughing, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.

As Shen Shixi watched, her heart tightened, and an overwhelming sadness surged within her.

The night after Grand Tutor Shen was moved back to the city, the emperor came to the Shen family. He was able to learn about Grand Tutor Shen's condition from the imperial physician. Originally, it was said that Grand Tutor Shen's health was fine with proper care, but unexpectedly, he became seriously ill overnight.

Shen Shixi didn't know what they talked about. Li Yuanke and Grand Tutor Shen had a private conversation for a while. After he came out, he didn't immediately return to the palace. Instead, he followed the route he had taken many times before and came to Shen Shixi's courtyard.

Inside the room, Bai Ping whispered, "Miss, the Emperor has arrived. He's waiting outside."

Shen Shixi lay on the tatami mat, hands behind her head, legs crossed, and said, "I'm not seeing you!"

What should we say when we meet?

What can a brother-in-law and sister-in-law say to each other?

Li Yuanke didn't stay long; he left after only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The next day, the Grand Tutor began to meet with his students and old friends, and less than two days later, the Shen family was in mourning.

Shen Shixi also learned from her grandfather's page what Shen Shiyan had said to her grandfather that day. Even if she was angry, she could not seek revenge on Shen Shiyan. If this matter were exposed, the Shen family would lose face.

My grandfather didn't say a single word from beginning to end, and that's why.

After her grandfather passed away, Shen Shixi stopped staying with the Shen family. She rode her big donkey and traveled to many places, trying to find her way home.

From north to south, through countless life-or-death experiences, in the end, he did not achieve his wish.

A year later, news spread throughout the palace that Consort Shu had died suddenly.

A year later, Li Yuanke issued an imperial edict ordering her to be selected for the imperial harem.

(This provides background information.)