"Miss, we've arrived."

Shen Jintang loosened her clenched fingers slightly and stepped down.

The Grand Tutor's Mansion was far less grand than the imperial palace, and even somewhat shabby, though the vigorous calligraphy on the plaque did give it a touch of scholarly elegance.

"Young lady, please follow this old servant."

The steward of the Grand Tutor's mansion led Shen Jintang into the mansion. He was taciturn and his expression was somewhat indifferent.

After passing through several noisy courtyards, he led her to a quiet little courtyard.

The butler turned to the side, his gaze sweeping over her lightly, showing neither obvious coldness nor excessive enthusiasm.

He pointed to the courtyard and said, "This courtyard has been empty for a long time, but someone comes to clean it every day. The young lady's arrival was sudden, and the master did not give any prior instructions. Therefore, she will stay here for now, and we will discuss it further when the master returns from the palace."

Although Shen Jintang had many doubts in her heart, she did not want to cause any more trouble, so she nodded slightly to thank the butler and then stepped inside.

However, the moment her feet touched the ground, a sharp, sarcastic voice rang in her ears: "Oh, where did this wild girl come from, daring to step into the Shen family's doorstep?"

Shen Jintang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman in a pink dress looking up arrogantly with her nostrils pointing to the sky, her tone full of contempt.

Upon seeing the woman in pink, the butler immediately beamed with a smile, a stark contrast to his previous coldness towards Shen Jintang, and went to great lengths to flatter her: "This is the madam's niece, our cousin. She has just arrived in the capital, and the master instructed me to help her settle in."

The butler hurriedly called out to Shen Jintang, "Why aren't you here to greet the Third Miss?"

With a quick glance, Shen Jintang knew the other person's identity: Shen Wanwan, the third young lady of the Grand Tutor's mansion, born to Grand Tutor Shen's most beloved concubine, Qiu, and who was extremely pampered in the mansion.

"Greetings, Third Miss." Shen Jintang gave a slight curtsy, her smile perfectly balanced, neither obsequious nor impolite.

"What brings Miss San here?" the butler asked obsequiously.

Shen Wanwan ignored the housekeeper and moved in front of Shen Jintang, looking her up and down with disdain in her eyes.

"The lady's niece?"

Shen Wanwan proudly raised her chin and said, "But now, my mother is in charge of the household affairs. No matter if you are a cousin or a young lady from the same family, you have to pay your respects to my mother first!"

She glanced at Shen Jintang with hostility and said coldly, "What an ill-mannered country bumpkin."

Shen Jintang didn't want to get entangled with her, so he pretended to be obedient and said, "What you say is very true, Miss. However, I have traveled a long way today and have not yet dressed up. I am afraid that I may offend Aunt Qiu. How about this, I will bathe and change my clothes today, and I will definitely go to pay my respects to Aunt Qiu first thing tomorrow morning to show my sincerity. Is that alright?"

Shen Wanwan sized up Shen Jintang, seeing her docile and easily bullied appearance, and thought to herself that there would be plenty of opportunities to teach her a lesson, so there was no need to rush. Besides, her father had been in a bad mood these past few days, so she needed to be careful in her actions to avoid displeasing him.

Thinking of this, Shen Wanwan snorted and said, "That's more like it." After saying that, she turned and left, with the butler following behind obsequiously.

After everyone had left, Shen Jintang entered the courtyard. The courtyard was simply furnished, but she didn't care at all.

All she cared about was her future path, how to save her life, and how to establish herself in the capital.

Gao Xi said that she is now a cousin of the Grand Tutor's family. Although she doesn't know what exactly happened, at least her identity has become public and the emperor knows about it.

Therefore, even if Grand Tutor Shen wanted to remove this stain from her record, he could not take action in the near future.

Not only that, they also have to treat her well.

Otherwise, if something were to happen to the Grand Tutor's cousin as soon as she arrived at the Grand Tutor's residence, it wouldn't sound very good.

At that time, Grand Tutor Shen's reputation, which he always valued highly, would be completely ruined.

Therefore, her life is not in immediate danger.

Moreover, being the cousin of the Grand Tutor's family was actually a good outcome for her, as this status allowed her to do far more than a slave could.

Having figured these things out, Shen Jintang breathed a sigh of relief.

However, she seemed to have vaguely forgotten something.

Well, since I've forgotten, it must not have been anything important. I'll gather more information later and then make a decision.

As soon as she relaxed, a wave of fatigue washed over her. After two sleepless nights, she was utterly exhausted.

After taking off her shoes and lying on the bed, she tried not to think about anything and soon fell asleep.

Shen Jintang slept for three or four hours. When she woke up, it was already dark.

The housekeeper didn't arrange for anyone to serve her, and she was all alone in the courtyard, which she was quite happy about.

She stretched her neck, got up and went to the kitchen to boil water, intending to take a hot bath to relax.

After preparing clean clothes, pouring in hot water, and closing the door latch, Shen Jintang entered the bathtub. Not long after, she suddenly heard a noise coming from the door.

"who?"

Shen Jintang didn't dare to hesitate. She immediately got out of the bathtub, put on her clothes, and looked warily at the door.

Who could it be?

People from the Shen family?

That shouldn't be happening!

Her current predicament is not good for the Shen family.

"Bang—"

Before Shen Jintang could get dressed, the window was suddenly smashed open, and a figure rolled in.

The night was hazy, the lights flickered, and the person, covered in frost, approached her. A chill swept over her, and Shen Jintang couldn't help but shiver.

"His Royal Highness?"

Shen Jintang seemed to realize that she had forgotten something; she had forgotten this纨绔世子 (a spoiled and dissolute young master).

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