Chapter 74

Madam Shen's courtyard was completely dilapidated, with weeds growing taller than those in her aunt's courtyard, indicating that it had not been tended to for a long time.

There wasn't a single maid or servant in the entire courtyard. She went straight into Madam Shen's room, and the somewhat pungent, bitter smell of medicine made her frown.

The room was fairly clean. Madam Shen lay motionless on the bed, with Qingzhu guarding her side.

Upon seeing Shen Qingnian enter, Qingzhu was startled and quickly bowed. Madam Shen, who was lying on the bed, remained motionless.

Shen Qingnian gestured for Qingzhu to get up. She came to the bedside and saw Madam Shen, whose face was ashen.

"You wretched woman..." Madam Shen rolled her eyes and turned her head back. She was barely breathing and looked emaciated.

This appearance is very similar to that of Aunt Liu from before.

Shen Qingnian smiled and said gently, "Mother, I am getting married in two days. I came to see you before I leave."

Madam Shen has been taking the medicine for some time now, and because she already had injuries, the medicine is working very quickly on her.

Shen Qingnian was overjoyed that Aunt Liu had taken several years to achieve her current appearance.

"Do you think that after you successfully give birth to your eldest son, Shen Zheng will let you go?" Madam Shen wanted to sow discord between Shen Qingnian and Shen Zheng.

Shen Qingnian tilted her head, her gentle tone tinged with cruelty: "Daughter thanks Mother for her concern, but daughter no longer needs Mother to worry about her."

Mother, please take better care of yourself. Your younger brother is still at the border. I heard from you that he wrote to me a while ago, and he was very concerned about you.

I don't know if my mother will ever see my younger brother again before she dies.

She was Shen Zheng's pawn, and her younger brother, Shen Zheng's eldest son, was even more so.

When Shen Zheng was thirteen, he was sent to the military camp by Shen Zheng, supposedly for training, but in reality, he was sent to earn merit. Although he was Shen Zheng's only son, he could not escape the fate of being a pawn.

The Shen family mansion is somewhat different from other mansions. At least Shen Zheng is not afraid of dying out his lineage. If he can impersonate a legitimate daughter, then he can certainly do the same for a legitimate son.

As long as they are easy to control, what does it matter if they are not related by blood? This was Shen Zheng's thinking. He held power in his hands, so what kind of son did he not have?

Of course, it would be best if Shen Zheng could make a name for himself in the military. Shen Zheng would pave the way for him in the future, provided that he could fight his way out.

Upon hearing Shen Qingnian's words, Madam Shen's breathing became slightly rapid. She wanted to rebuke Shen Qingnian and even wanted to beat her severely.

But her power was already gone, and she could only be a fish to be slaughtered.

Shen Qingnian bent down and slapped Madam Shen twice hard across the face, leaving her no strength to resist.

She shook her hand, finding it utterly boring.

Shen Qingnian then instructed Qingzhu beside her: "Increase the dosage of medicine for Mother and gag her so she can't speak."

She knew that the drug would eventually leave a person without the strength to even speak.

Green Bamboo softly agreed.

Madam Shen, her face marked with red marks, was furious. She finally understood why her body was getting weaker and weaker—it turned out that Shen Qingnian had drugged her!

But she lay on the bed, unable to do anything, completely powerless...

There is no greater tragedy in the world than this.

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Soon, the wedding day arrived—