The noisy main hall fell silent instantly.

The expressions on Shen Jing and Shen Wan's faces also fell into a deathly silence.

The old lady had just called Shen Jing into the inner room to speak with him alone when he left. The old lady then hanged herself, putting Shen Jing on the brink of execution so that he would bear the reputation of having driven the old lady to her death.

Furthermore, the old lady broke off her engagement to marry the old master as his second wife to repay the late old lady for saving her life, and to take care of Shen Jing. If the old lady really hanged herself, Shen Jing would probably be half drowned by the spittle of the entire capital.

Shen Jing's face turned so green that words failed to describe it.

Shen Wan was furious. How could the old lady, in order to protect her grandson and the third branch of the family, actually force her father like this?!

How could she possibly die by hanging herself in her own room in front of a bunch of maids and servants?!

Once the label of "unfilial piety" is attached to him, even though his father holds military power, he cannot withstand it.

The third master and his wife were the first to react and quickly went into the inner room. The second master followed, then the fourth wife. The fourth master glanced at Shen Jing before following them.

Shen Wan was definitely going to go and see as well. Before she even entered the house, she heard the old lady say heartbrokenly, "Don't stop me! While our parents are alive, we won't divide the family property. But once I'm dead, I'll close my eyes and not care how you brothers divide it!"

Shen Wan's eyes were cold.

The old lady forbade her father from beating Shen Dian to death, and her father already took a step back by demanding that the third branch of the family separate from the Marquis's mansion. Yet the old lady still threatened to kill herself, showing that she was determined to protect Shen Dian and the third branch of the family to the end.

No!

The old lady's duty was not only to protect the third branch of the family and Shen Dian.

She also wanted to use her father to establish her authority!

So what if he's a marquis? If the old lady forbids it, he can't do it either.

From now on, who in the Marquis's mansion will dare to disobey her, the old lady? Not to mention others, even Father wouldn't dare to threaten suicide.

Shen Jing also came over, but he didn't go inside. After hearing what the old lady said, he left with a gloomy face.

It didn't say how to punish Shen Dian...

But Shen Wan knew her own father well. If a powerful general with military authority were to be controlled by an old lady, he would never be able to lead troops into battle again.

Shen Wan was very angry, but she was also very happy. In her previous life, such troubles had never occurred in the Marquis's mansion. Her father never broke ties with the old lady until his death. In this life, because of the infighting between the second and third branches of the family, her father finally understood the old lady's true nature: selfish and protective of her own. She even forced him, the head of the family, to do this for the sake of an unworthy descendant.

Although the division of the family property did not succeed, Shen Wan did not expect to be able to separate the second and third branches in one or two attempts. As long as her father had this idea, it would be accomplished sooner or later.

The old lady threatened suicide to prevent the third branch from being separated from the Marquis's mansion. However, the old lady did not dare to disrespect Shen Jing at all. She acted as if nothing had happened to Shen Dian and ordered him to be flogged forty times in the courtyard of Qinghui Courtyard.

The sound of the paddle hitting Shen Dian was so loud that it could be heard outside Qinghui Courtyard. But Shen Wan knew that although the paddle hitting Shen Dian was loud, it didn't hurt much.

The old lady protected Shen Dian to the point of risking her life to coerce the Marquis. Only when the old women in Qinghui Courtyard were tired of living did they dare to beat Shen Dian to death.

Although the beating wasn't too severe, Shen Wan still stood there and watched the forty strokes of the cane, not letting the old woman off even once. After the last stroke landed, Shen Wan turned and left.

Shen Wei and Shen Wan left together. The Fourth Master and Fourth Madam had already left. After they left Qinghui Courtyard, Chunlan walked over quickly. Shen Wei asked in a low voice, "I asked you to eavesdrop. Did my father find out?"

Chunlan, "..."

Chunlan had nothing to say.

The girl's courage hadn't grown in over a decade, but now that it had, she felt as if she could see the grass growing on her own grave.

The girl dared to let her follow along and eavesdrop on the master and mistress's conversation. If she were discovered, even if the mistress liked her, she would beat her half to death.

Chunlan didn't speak, and Shenwei just looked at her. Chunlan shook her head, "The master didn't find out, but he didn't hear anything either."

Shen Wei looked disappointed. "Couldn't you have come a little closer?"

Chunlan shook her head again.

It wasn't that she didn't get closer, but rather that the Fourth Madam asked the Third Young Master what he had done at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion that had enraged the Marquis, but the Fourth Master didn't say.

Not only did he not say anything, he also scolded the fourth wife a couple of times, telling her to stop asking about things she shouldn't be asking about.

This rebuke stunned the Fourth Madam and terrified Chunlan. The Fourth Master and Fourth Madam had a very good relationship. Usually, the Fourth Master would never say a harsh word to the Fourth Madam, but today he rebuked her directly. Even the Fourth Madam didn't need to ask, let alone the Fourth Miss and her little maid.

Chunlan told Shenwei everything, and although Shenwei felt like she was being scratched by a cat, she could only suppress her curiosity.

Shen Wan knew that Shen Wei had asked Chunlan to eavesdrop, but she didn't expect Chunlan to find out anything. The Marquis's mansion was in such a mess that Shen Wan had no desire to stay any longer, so Shen Wei saw her out of the mansion.

As soon as the two reached the front yard, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Wu standing there with livid faces, seemingly waiting for something, looking anxious and uneasy, and with a hint of anger.

A hint of doubt flashed through Shen Wan's mind. Then she saw Madam Wu take a few steps to the right. Shen Wan followed her and looked to the right. She saw two servants carrying a person over. The person had been beaten black and blue. If Madam Wu hadn't been there, Shen Wan would never have guessed that the person was Young Master Wu.

Madam Wu was both angry and heartbroken. She yelled at the two servants, "Who beat my son like this?!"

The two servants also had tempers. When Madam Wu got angry, the two servants threw Young Master Wu to the ground. They didn't treat Young Master Wu as a cousin of the Marquis of Pingyang, nor as a son-in-law of the Marquis of Pingyang.

To treat someone's son like trash in front of their parents is tantamount to slapping the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Wu in public.

Mr. Wu's face turned green, and he stepped forward to stop Mrs. Wu from about to lash out.

Having been through the officialdom before, they were even able to get away with giving the servants of the Marquis's mansion a hard time. This showed just how much trouble their son had caused and what the Marquis of Pingyang's attitude towards them was.

The servants of the Wu family quickly helped the eldest young master up, while Madam Wu gritted her teeth and said, "Take the eldest young master back to the manor!"

Mrs. Wu was very angry.

She knew her son was good-for-nothing and often frequented brothels, but she hadn't done anything to him. Did the Marquis of Pingyang's family have the right to discipline him?!

Is it her son's fault for corrupting the third young master?

Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. Someone who can be easily led astray by her son can't be upright at heart!

Seeing her son beaten to the point of near death, Mrs. Wu was heartbroken. If it weren't for Mr. Wu holding her down, she would definitely have started cursing. Now, she was anxious to get a doctor for her son and left quickly.

Shen Wan looked at Shen Wei and asked curiously, "Who ordered the beating of Young Master Wu?"

Shen Wan was certain that her own father wouldn't discipline his son on behalf of the Wu family, and neither would the Third Master and Third Madam. Firstly, the Wu family was the Third Madam's maternal family, and secondly, Shen Rong was in the Wu family. If she hit their precious child, what if the First Madam of Wu took advantage of Shen Rong? She was afraid of hurting the innocent.