Upon hearing this, Pei Zhixuan stared silently at Shen Yunjiao with a chilling gaze.

The fact that the prime minister's daughter is so extravagant shows that the prime minister himself is also quite greedy for personal gain.

Thinking of this, Pei Zhixuan clenched his fist tightly.

The treasury of the Great Yong Kingdom is in deficit, yet this Shen family woman is always fond of wearing gold and silver; it's truly ironic.

Shen Yunjiao calmly accepted the lashing from everyone, especially Pei Zhixuan's cold and sharp gaze.

Hilarious! A bracelet alone is enough to make everyone around drool and point fingers.

If she hadn't read the novel and known that Prime Minister Shen wasn't a bad person, she would have really thought that Shen's father was a greedy and treacherous minister who plundered the people's wealth.

"Second Aunt, you probably haven't heard that living well is the best cosmetics for a woman." Shen Yun glanced at Madam Pei with a charming smile, deliberately feigning a troubled expression. "Second Aunt, how am I supposed to teach you this?"

After saying that, Shen Yunjiao gave Master Pei, who was sitting next to the Second Madam, a blatant look of disdain.

As everyone here knows, the Second Master Pei of the Duke's Mansion loves to indulge in pleasure and has a particular fondness for taking concubines. His second wife can't control him and can only constantly fight with his concubines, making the house a complete mess.

Therefore, Shen Yunjiao's words were deliberately aimed at hitting the Second Madam's sore spots.

Madam Pei's face immediately turned ashen, and she pointed at Shen Yunjiao, "You!"

"Am I right?" Shen Yunjiao gracefully picked up a piece of lotus root with her chopsticks and gently put it into her mouth.

"Enough!"

"Madam, please stop talking!"

The two men in the Pei family spoke at the same time.

Pei Zhixuan had already shown his displeasure. "Shen Yunjiao, you should respect your elders."

Hearing this, Shen Yunjiao laughed in anger: "Your Highness, please tell me. Where have I disrespected my second aunt? I was just telling her not to focus her attention on me."

Master Pei was still wary of trouble. He had just secured a good position in one of the Six Ministries in the capital, and now was the time to establish himself firmly.

At this critical juncture, he was determined to avoid making enemies of the prime minister's daughter, who held great power in the court and influenced the direction of the government.

"They're just kids, joking around." He laughed and smoothed things over, putting some food on his wife's plate and giving her a wink. "Madam, please eat and try the food from the Ci'an Hall kitchen."

Although Madam Pei's expression was not good, she understood the implication in her master's words and could only grit her teeth and glare at Shen Yunjiao.

There's plenty of time in the future; I'll definitely make that little bitch suffer a setback at my hands.

Looking at Pei Zhixuan, whose lips were pursed tightly, Shen Yunjiao felt much better.

Although she doesn't like Pei Zhixuan right now, she hasn't reached the point where she wants to break off all ties with him.

At this moment, Xu put a piece of steamed chicken in wine into Pei Zhixuan's bowl, then put down her chopsticks and deliberately sighed heavily.

"What's wrong, sister?" The Duchess's younger sister, Madam Xu, was always good at reading people's expressions. As soon as she saw her sister looking like this, she quickly asked with feigned concern.

Madam Xu glanced at Pei Zhixuan, a touch of sadness appearing on her face: "My son, for the sake of the country, volunteered to go south to manage the floods. He has become so thin after two years. Unfortunately, there is no one in the family who can take care of him. It pains me to think about it."

Pei Zhixuan lowered his brows slightly and gently grasped Xu's hand. "Your son is doing well, Mother, you don't need to worry."

The second madam glanced at Shen Yunjiao, covered her mouth, and turned to Master Pei, saying, "This Shen Yunjiao insisted on marrying me back then, but she doesn't even know how to serve her husband. It's truly laughable."

Upon hearing this, Xu's cousin frowned and said to Chen Yunjiao with dissatisfaction, "The Crown Princess should be more considerate to her cousin."

Shen Yunjiao knew what Madam Xu was trying to achieve by making this fuss.

Isn't it just to find a reason to bring Pei Zhixuan's cousin into the household so as to keep her in check?

My cousin has just been awarded the title of Princess Pingning because of her father's military achievements. She is now the most outstanding noblewoman in the capital. She has been in love with Pei Zhixuan for a long time and has been reluctant to agree to any other marriage proposals.

It's a pity, Pei Zhixuan's heart is probably not with his cousin now.

Shen Yunjiao slowly took a sip of osmanthus honey wine.

She guessed that Xu was getting impatient.

Sure enough, the next second Xu said, "How about letting Rong'er marry into our Pei family!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rong couldn't contain her joy and looked at her mother. The latter patted her hand secretly and replied with a smile, "It's Rong'er's good fortune to be able to come and take care of Zhixuan. If Zhixuan agrees, the young mistress won't have any objections, right?"

“As the matriarch of the household, one should be broad-minded. How could you disagree?” Xu said.

Pah!

But Pei Zhixuan can marry as many wives as he wants; it's none of her business.

Shen Yunjiao raised her face, her eyes shimmering, and feigned a pained and hesitant expression. "If my husband agrees, I have nothing to say."

Upon hearing Shen Yunjiao's words, Pei Zhixuan's originally calm and relaxed eyes suddenly stirred.

Why did Shen Yunjiao agree so quickly?

In the past, she probably would have smashed the whole table of food.

This seems somewhat unusual.

“This is unacceptable. I only have brotherly and sisterly feelings for my cousin, and I have absolutely no other thoughts. I hope Mother will not mention this again.” Pei Zhixuan put down his chopsticks and said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, both Jiang's mother and daughter turned pale, and Jiang Rong's eyes quickly reddened.

Shen Yunjiao stole a glance at her and found her cousin's tearful beauty quite charming.

From this perspective, she is much better than Fang Ziyu.

When Pei Zhixuan saw Shen Yunjiao looking lost in thought, he assumed she looked dejected, and a strange emotion flashed through his mind.

He says he doesn't care at all, yet he puts on such a pitiful act; he's utterly hypocritical!

Pei Zhixuan withdrew his gaze and turned to Chen's mother solemnly, saying, "Mother, regarding the matter of recruiting people into the household, I have something to say."

Xu's hand holding the silver chopsticks trembled slightly.

She knew what Pei Zhixuan was going to say.

She had received news that Pei Zhixuan was bringing a female physician back to his residence on his way back to the capital.

That's why she deliberately didn't invite anyone else to this family dinner, for fear that her son would bring that woman to the banquet.

This woman comes from a humble background and is plain-looking. Bringing her back to the mansion would only make us a laughingstock.

How can she save face?

Xu cursed the unseen female doctor in her heart for teaching her son to disobey her.

"What does Xuan'er want to say?" Madam Xu took a sip of water and asked, feigning calmness.

"On this trip back to the manor, I brought back a young lady named Fang Ziyu."

“When I was in Jiangnan, I was infected with the plague. It was Miss Fang who took good care of me for a long time and saved my life.”

"I want to marry Miss Fang as my second wife!"