As Shen Wan and Shen Wei walked toward the center of the garden, many young ladies from prominent families came over to greet them. Shen Wan was the Princess Consort of Ling, and Shen Wei was the future wife of the Duke of Wei. Even if they were envious and jealous, they still had to give face to the wife of the Duke of Wei.

However, those young ladies from prominent families only greeted her briefly before leaving. It would be too much to ask them to lower themselves to chat and flatter Shen Wei, the daughter of a fourth-rank official. They were also afraid of being accused of being obsequious, since she hadn't actually become the wife of the Duke of Wei's heir yet, and the marriage might fall through.

Shen Wan didn't want to get too close to these scheming young ladies from prominent families, and Shen Wei was even less willing. She was glad that Shen Wan had come to the Duke of Wei's mansion today, otherwise she was afraid she wouldn't even have anyone to talk to.

The two strolled around casually. Shen Wan was a little tired, so she found a quiet pavilion to rest. Once she sat down, she didn't want to move. After drinking half a cup of tea, Shen Wei went to wash her hands. Shen Wan didn't go with her but waited for her in the pavilion.

After finishing a cup of tea and eating two pastries, Shen Wan still hadn't seen Shen Wei return. She couldn't help but worry. She had only gone to wash her hands, so why had she been gone for so long?

Worried, Shen Wan stood up to go find Shen Wei, but as soon as she stepped out of the pavilion, she saw Shen Wei leading a child towards her from afar.

Shen Wan, “…???”

The child was not very big, only about two or three years old. He was dressed in fine clothes, with a gold and jade longevity lock around his neck and a small rattle in his hand. Could this be the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion?

Thinking this way, Shen Wei brought the child over. Shen Wan didn't even need to ask to know that he was the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion. He looked almost exactly like the Duke of Wei's heir, so how could he not be the Duke of Wei's heir's son?

No wonder the Duchess of Wei wanted her son to marry a less assertive second wife to ensure that the young master's title wouldn't be taken by his second wife. The Duchess of Wei must have liked her grandson, who looked just like her son, from the bottom of her heart.

Shen Wan was looking at the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion. The little boy was craning his neck and looking at Shen Wan with difficulty. Shen Wan's heart melted at the sight. Because Fu Shu died in childbirth, she had always had a great psychological shadow about childbirth. Now, seeing such a pink and tender little person, it seemed that her fear had faded a lot. If she could give birth to a child who looked exactly like Xie Jingyan, she would be willing to give her life.

Thinking of this, Shen Wan's ears burned. She looked at Shen Wei, who only had her maid Chunlan behind her. Shen Wei asked curiously, "Why did you bring the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion here?"

Shen Wei said, "I went to wash my hands just now, and the young master was running around. The wet nurse chased after him and accidentally sprained her ankle. The wet nurse was worried about leaving the young master with someone else, so she asked me to help look after him for a while."

Shen Wan frowned upon hearing this.

She looked down at the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion again. With such small arms and legs, how fast could he run? However, even walking on flat ground, he might twist his ankle. Shen Wan didn't think much of it, but the wet nurse was worried about entrusting the young master to someone else, to Shen Wei, which made Shen Wan worry.

How could the wet nurse trust Shen Wei to take care of the young master? If the wet nurse were someone of the deceased Lady of the Duke of Wei, she would be too busy guarding against Shen Wei. Even if the wet nurse were someone of the Lady of the Duke of Wei, knowing that the Lady of the Duke of Wei liked Shen Wei, she would not dare to entrust the child to Shen Wei rashly. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover, and if something happens, the wet nurse cannot bear the responsibility.

The wet nurse dared to do this because someone must have instructed her behind the scenes.

Moreover, her intuition told her that it was the Marquis of Wuding's family that instructed her to let the Duchess of Wei see what kind of character the second wife she had chosen for the Duke of Wei's heir was. But using the child to test Shen Wei, Shen Wan suspected that the Duchess of Wuding had forgotten to bring her brain with her when she came to offer birthday greetings.

Although the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion was two and a half years old, he was not very good at speaking. He just stared at Shen Wan and Shen Wei with his dark eyes, but he was not timid. He looked very smart.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Shen Wan had seen this child. The thought of him dying of smallpox this winter filled her with unbearable sorrow. She hoped that in this life, the child would be safe and sound.

Seeing that Shen Wei's gaze was fixed on the child, Shen Wan shook her head and laughed. Did the Marquis of Wuding's family think that by handing the child over to her fourth sister, her fourth sister would be tempted to do something bad? They underestimated her fourth sister's kindness and overestimated her courage.

Shen Wan said to Shen Wei, "You haven't married the Duke of Wei's heir yet, so it's not appropriate for you to get too close to this young master. Let's have someone take him away."

Shen Wei's face flushed red. She... she hadn't gotten close to this young master. She just found it amazing that someone could look exactly like the heir of the Duke of Wei. The heir of the Duke of Wei was calm and reserved, rarely smiling. She wondered if he was like that when he was a child...

Shen Wei said, "The wet nurse asked me to look after the young master for a while, and she will send someone to take him away."

She looked around but saw no one coming.

Shen Wan said, "Send it to the Duchess of Wei."

Shen Wei immediately shook her head. She dared not send it there; she couldn't bear the sight of so many people watching.

However, Shen Wei only shook her head before Shen Wan stopped her with a look. Even if she wanted to give it to her silly fourth sister, the people in the shadows wouldn't give her the chance.

Sure enough, after leading the young master for only twenty or thirty steps, the person who came to take him away appeared, and it was none other than Zheng Ruyi.

Seeing the young master being led by Shen Wei so obediently, Zheng Ru was immediately furious and her face showed a mocking expression, "I really underestimated Miss Shen, she knows how to please people!"

She strode over and pulled the young master from Shen Wei's arms. The little boy stumbled and almost fell over.

This rude behavior made Shen Wan's eyes turn cold. The third young lady of Zheng actually vented her dissatisfaction with her fourth sister on a two or three-year-old child. What's ridiculous is that she did it under the guise of doing what's best for the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion.

However, Miss Zheng is the younger sister of the late Lady of the Duke of Wei, and the young master's aunt. These outsiders, no, have even more complicated identities than outsiders, so it's not appropriate to interfere too much.

Zheng Ruyi didn't say much. When the young master struggled to stop her from pulling him, she simply had the maid pick him up, glared at Shen Wei, and then took the young master away.

Watching Zheng Ruyi take the child away, Shen Wan sighed inwardly. In her previous life, she had no connection with the Marquis of Wuding's family. She only knew that the Marquis of Wuding's family was targeting the remarriage of the Duke of Wei's heir because of the death of the young master, but she did not know that the people of the Marquis of Wuding's family were so difficult to deal with. Fourth Sister's personality needs to be stronger, otherwise...

Just then, Shen Wei's voice came, "The rattle drum has fallen. Chunlan, take it to the young master."

Chunlan took the rattle drum from Shenwei and chased after the direction in which the young master of the Duke of Wei's mansion had been taken away.

The birthday banquet was expected to start in a while, and Shen Wan didn't want to walk any further, so Shen Wei accompanied her back to the pavilion. The two chatted for a short while, and then Chunlan returned, rubbing her arm.

Seeing that her dress was a little dirty, Shen Wei quickly asked, "What happened?"

Chunlan said with a wronged expression, "This servant was delivering a rattle drum to the young master when a clumsy maid bumped into me on my way back and I fell to the ground. It hurt so much..."

The most painful part wasn't my elbow, it was my butt. I was afraid of being seen, so I didn't dare to rub it on the way back.

Chunlan rubbed it quietly, and the pain made her forehead tremble.