The atmosphere in Taiji Hall was somewhat solemn.
Even though the princes were born into the royal family and had teachers from a young age,
when it came to certain matters, nothing was as direct as hearing from the Great Wei Emperor himself.
"The sage books usually teach you to be benevolent and kind as rulers.
But the premise is to rid this throne of all its thorns and smooth them out!"
The Great Wei Emperor pointedly addressed the core issue.
"Over the years, the Shen Family seems to have many strange schemes.
The troops stationed to the east may not recognize me as the Emperor a few years from now.
In such circumstances, do you think I should remain benevolent?
If benevolence continues, one day troops will besiege the city, and rebellions will rise everywhere.
Once a rebellion cannot be suppressed, numerous aristocratic families and forces will follow suit.
If I cannot suppress the Shen Family, next there will be the Zheng Family, Shao Family, Sima Family, Beitang Family..."
The princes seem to have come to some understanding with these words.
The seat of high power doesn’t seem to be that easy to sit on after all.
Seeing the serious expressions on the princes’ faces, the Great Wei Emperor said no more.
"What I said today was rather shallow.
You still have much to learn; sometimes what I teach may not always be applicable.
In the future, you should contemplate more on your own."
After speaking, the Great Wei Emperor asked everyone to take another look at that throne.
Then he returned to the back garden the same way, to draft an edict.
On the first day of next month, sacrifices to heaven will be held, and Shen Han will be bestowed the title of Marquis, inheritor for a hundred generations undiminished.
Prince Qingyuan also nodded in agreement.
Only when the title of the Shen Family falls onto Shen Han does the real handling of the Shen Family begin.
Shen Qingshan has three sons.
The second son, Shen Lingyong, and the third son, Shen Lingsheng, occasionally return to Yun’an City.
But the eldest son seems not to have returned home for many years.
Previously, Shen Lingyong was stripped of his general’s title for speaking nonsense; the person sent was killed again.
The message sent back said an assassin from Yan Country carried out the attack, killing him on the spot.
For years, Shen Family people stood against Yan Country, but the direct descendants nurtured by the Shen Family have not died.
If anyone was from the court sent over, they didn’t meet good ends.
This opportunity with Shen Han must be used to thoroughly investigate the Shen Family.
More than two days later, the edict arrived at Shen Mansion in Yun’an City.
Though he knew it would come sooner or later, Shen Qingshan couldn’t help but feel a twinge in his heart when he saw the edict.
After receiving the edict, he sat alone in the great hall of Shen Mansion.
Until noon, when no one saw Shen Qingshan, they went to find him for lunch.
But all they saw was the once-fierce General Shen, now looking dejected.
"Master... it’s noon..."
Madam Shen walked up to Shen Qingshan cautiously speaking.
In the past, Madam Shen had always had some cover, her exceptional grandson, Shen Ye.
Previously, when Shen Qingshan was angry, he would think that Madam Shen managed to groom such a grandson as Shen Ye.
At most, he would scold her, after which his anger would dissipate.
But now it seems, the foolish things done by Madam Shen affect far more...
"Master, last night you ate only a little, you should have some lunch..."
Seeing Shen Qingshan not respond, Madam Shen pressed again.
This time, Shen Qingshan raised his head slightly, looked at her for a while before finally speaking.
"Don’t eat lunch yet, go call everyone, I have something to say."
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen nodded and walked out of the hall.
Originally, she could have had the maids inform everyone, but she didn’t want to be alone with Shen Qingshan, unsure of what more she would hear.
About two quarters of an hour later, the hall was finally full of people.
Except for the eldest Shen Lingwei and Shen Ye, everyone else was present.