Chapter 743 True Friends

Shen Wantang raised her head blankly: "An alliance? What kind of alliance?"

Qiao Zhiyu smiled and said, "If you help me gain a foothold in the Duke's mansion, speak well of me to Madam Gu and my brother-in-law, help me when I'm in trouble, and cover for me when I go to my brother-in-law so my cousin doesn't catch me, I promise you I will never appear in front of Gu Qianhan and will not do anything to damage your relationship!"

"It sounds like I'm the one doing all the work for you, and you haven't done anything for me at all!"

"Isn't the biggest favor I can do for you by not showing up in front of Gu Qianhan?"

"It's alright, just show up in front of him. I'm curious, I can't get into his study, but can you?"

Qiao Zhiyu stomped her foot angrily: "You!! How can you be so stubborn! With your confidence and arrogance, be careful that Gu Qianhan is really snatched away by someone else. Even without me, my cousin will arrange for someone else to get close to him. Your alliance with me is the best choice!"

Shen Wantang looked completely unconcerned: "I think your cousin should be more worried about whether her own husband will be stolen away than finding a woman for my husband!"

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Qiao Zhiyu turned around and left in anger.

After she left, Shen Wantang's expression returned to its usual calm.

After taking a sip of tea and eating a piece of chestnut cake that Qiao Zhiyu had been craving, she washed her hands and sat down at her desk.

"Cuckoo, grind the ink."

"Young Madam, are you practicing calligraphy? Why are you practicing calligraphy at this hour? Are you upset by Qiao Zhiyu?"

Shen Wantang chuckled: "How could I be angered by her? I'm not practicing calligraphy, I'm writing a complaint."

Du Juan asked in surprise, "A complaint? What complaint? Who are you going to sue?"

Shen Wantang did not explain, but waited for Du Juan to grind the ink before picking up his brush and writing.

But before he could finish writing a few words, Gu Qianning arrived.

"Ah Tang!"

Gu Qianning rushed in like a gust of wind, and was taken aback to see her sitting at her desk writing as if nothing had happened: "Are you alright?"

Shen Wantang asked in confusion, "What do you want?"

"I heard that your sister-in-law brought her sycophantic cousin to cause you trouble, so I came to help you right away!"

Shen Wantang laughed: "I knew I made the right friend. No matter what happens, you always side with me without even asking questions!"

Gu Qianning looked at her reproachfully: "What do you mean by not distinguishing right from wrong? It's as if you're the one who's wrong. I know everything that happened yesterday. It was my sister-in-law and second brother who were in the wrong. You did nothing wrong!"

After she finished speaking, she took a box from the maid and placed it in front of Shen Wantang.

"What's this?"

"Blood bird's nest!"

"For me?"

"Yes, I see you seem to really like this. I don't eat this, so I'm giving you mine!"

Shen Wantang opened the box and saw that it was full of top-quality bird's nest. It was probably given to her by Madam Gu, but she had put it away and hadn't eaten any of it.

It's clear she really doesn't like eating this.

So last night, Shen Wantang gave gifts to this person and that person, but not to Gu Qianning, because she remembered that Gu Qianning had said that she did not eat bird's nest.

Shen Wantang didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the gift directly. She smiled and bowed to Gu Qianning, saying, "Then thank you very much, Miss Gu!"

"Don't be so polite with me!"

Gu Qianning pulled her aside and whispered, "What did your sister-in-law bring her cousin here for? Did she take advantage of being your sister-in-law to make things difficult for you?"

"No, don't worry, even if she makes things difficult for me, I can handle it."

"Really not?"

"No, really."

"Impossible, right? You know, your carriage broke down yesterday, and you sent someone back to tell the manor to send a carriage to pick you up. But your sister-in-law deliberately refused to see Steward Pang, so he didn't send a carriage to pick you up! I didn't even know about this until my brother came back. Otherwise, there would have been no need for her to send a carriage; I would have gone to pick you up myself long ago!"

Shen Wantang was somewhat surprised: "I guessed she did it on purpose, but how can you be so sure that she deliberately avoided seeing Steward Pang?"

“It’s very simple. This has never happened before. My carriage has broken down before. I sent someone to deliver a message, and Steward Pang immediately took the initiative to send a carriage to pick me up. The other masters in the manor are the same. Such a small matter doesn’t need to be reported to my sister-in-law at all! If my sister-in-law had to personally handle something like sending a carriage, wouldn’t she be exhausted?”

Shen Wantang sighed softly, "So that's how it is!"

She had only been married into the family for a short time and truly did not know how the Duke's mansion managed its affairs.

She thought that Meng Yunlan liked to do everything herself, and that she had to handle all the mundane affairs of the Duke's mansion personally, and that the stewards had to report to her on everything. That was why she was so tired that she was depleted of qi and blood, and exhausted both physically and mentally, which made it impossible for her to conceive.

Because that's how Meng Yunlan acted in front of Madam Gu.

When she went to pay her respects in the morning, she would casually mention some small matters in the mansion, making people feel that she personally cared about even the small things in the Duke's mansion and was particularly attentive to managing mundane affairs.

Every time she said that, Madam Gu would praise her and be very understanding of her difficulties, feeling sorry for her.

Recalling all this, Shen Wantang smiled sarcastically: "I really thought that Butler Meng Yunlan was hardworking and dedicated, but it turns out she was only working hard and dedicated to me."

“If someone else’s carriage breaks down, we can just go and pick them up. But when it’s my turn, Steward Pang has to go and report to Meng Yunlan first.”

"It is clear that she had already instructed the managers that they must report to me before taking any action. No one would dare to act on their own without her permission."

Seeing that she had already seen through the trickery, Gu Qianning looked guilty: "I'm sorry, A-Tang. I didn't know that my sister-in-law was like this before. I even told you how good she was, but she's so petty that she wouldn't even send you a carriage."

Shen Wantang patted her hand reassuringly: "Why are you apologizing? It has nothing to do with you. You have done nothing wrong to me. On the contrary, you are the person who has treated me the best. It is a blessing from several lifetimes that I can have you as a friend!"

Gu Qianning still felt guilty: "I hope you don't mind the troubles that come with marrying into my family. I originally thought that you could just enjoy a peaceful life after marrying into the family, but who knew... who knew that one or two of them would cause you no peace of mind? My sister-in-law bullies you, and even my second brother has lost his mind. I feel especially sorry for you."

Her guilt was genuine and heartfelt, because when Shen Wantang married into the Duke's mansion, she faced not only being bullied by her own people, but more importantly, she was actually taking a huge risk, and she might be implicated and lose her life.

She felt that she had to treat Shen Wantang even better to make up for the risks she had taken.

As it turned out, Shen Wantang suffered setbacks one after another yesterday. First, Gu Qianhan's men blocked Shen Wantang from entering the study, and then Meng Yunlan deliberately did not send anyone to pick Shen Wantang up and take her back to the mansion, leaving her standing in the rain for an hour.

The only thing that made Gu Qianning feel relieved was that her older brother was as reliable as ever, and he brought the person back.

Without the eldest brother, this family would probably fall apart.