Chapter 132 Birthday (1)

It was the third day of November, and the weather was sunny. Such a nice day was rare in winter, and it happened to be the occasion of Mrs. Shen’s seventieth birthday banquet.

The general's residence had been cleaned inside and out, and the government had also provided funds for new items. The birthday banquet was naturally held in the East Courtyard, a tranquil and elegant setting, with neatly trimmed flowers. The maids wore clean, neatly decorated skirts, their manners unconventional, and each one graceful and well-behaved. The moment one entered, one felt the atmosphere worthy of a wealthy family.

Old Madam Shen sat high in the main hall of Rongjing Hall, where many ladies and young ladies had come to greet her. The Shen family was, after all, a family of first-class military commanders in Mingqi, so dignitaries would often come to her out of favor. Ren Wanyun was also busy greeting guests.

Although Chen Ruoqiu was now temporarily managing the household, in previous years, Madam Shen's birthday celebrations had been entirely entrusted to Ren Wanyun. As for dealing with these noble ladies, Ren Wanyun could do a better job than Chen Ruoqiu. While Chen Ruoqiu maintained a certain air of a scholarly family, Ren Wanyun handled the situation with grace, and for a time, Rongjing Hall was filled with laughter and joy.

Shen Yuanbai snuggled up to Old Madam Shen and ate honey lactose. The ladies below would often compliment him on his cleverness at such a young age, saying he would achieve great things in the future. Old Madam Shen was beaming, and even Ren Wanyun's heart, which had been gloomy because of Shen Qing for the past few days, was swept away by these compliments.

Chen Ruoqiu, however, felt uneasy when everyone praised Shen Yuanbo and Shen Yuan, who was away on a post. The third wife was most wary of the topic of sons. Everyone knew that Chen Ruoqiu had been married to Shen Wan for many years, but apart from Shen Yue, she had no sons. Shen Wan, on the other hand, had no interest in other women. Old Madam Shen had tried to give Shen Wan more concubines to expand his family, but was rejected by Shen Wan. Old Madam Shen, therefore, took her anger out on Chen Ruoqiu. Compared to Chen Ruoqiu, Ren Wanyun clearly enjoyed Old Madam Shen's favor.

"But why didn't I see the eldest and fifth daughters of the Shen family today?" Mrs. Yi said with a smile.

Ren Wanyun was in charge of receiving these ladies, while Shen Yue naturally went to get close to the young ladies from noble families. She took them to the garden for tea and snacks. But today, Shen Miao and Shen Qing were still nowhere to be seen.

Upon hearing this, Ren Wanyun and Old Madam Shen's faces darkened at the same time, and Chen Ruoqiu curled the corners of his mouth.

Shen Qing's health hadn't fully recovered yet, but now that she was finally able to speak rationally, she kept insisting that she would tear Shen Miao into pieces. However, these words couldn't be heard by outsiders. These days, Ren Wanyun had been comforting Shen Qing, trying to prevent her from having suicidal thoughts. As for how she comforted her, Chen Ruoqiu could guess it; it was nothing more than promising Shen Miao a tragic end.

As for Shen Miao, she had heard from somewhere that Old Madam Shen had secretly accepted the engagement letter from the Wei family for her. From that day on, she had broken her previous silence and resisted like crazy, even threatening to resist the marriage, or even run away. This was a terrible thing for Old Madam Shen to hear. Ren Wanyun and Old Madam Shen thought that now that Shen Miao's inner rebelliousness was gradually emerging, her talk of resisting and running away from the marriage was indeed possible. However, Shen Miao must not be in trouble now. If she was in trouble, her plan to marry the Shen Qing sisters would be in vain.

So, ever since Shen Miao threatened to resist the marriage, Old Lady Shen and Ren Wanyun had her imprisoned in the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall was located in the southwestern courtyard of the Shen Mansion, usually out of sight. The number of guards outside had been increased by at least half, and Old Lady Shen had found the indentures of every maid in the west courtyard, including Shen Miao's four personal maids, and held them tightly in her hands.