Granny Dai's heart seemed to stop beating in fright!

"Second Miss, you wouldn't dare to speak carelessly. This is absolutely untrue!"

"The old lady is your grandmother, how can you make such assumptions about her?"

"Someone must have done this on purpose..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Qiyin interrupted her in a low voice: "Is it Grandmother's distant cousin from her hometown of Hanzhou?"

Granny Dai's eyelids suddenly twitched!

She forced a smile, a smile more like a grimace: "W-what distant cousin? Where did you hear this nonsense, Miss?"

"Don't listen to what others say."

"The old master passed away early. As the saying goes, there's always gossip around a widow's door. The old lady raised the children alone, so it's inevitable that there would be some idle talk. But you are a junior, so there's no reason for you to take it seriously!"

Shen Qiyin looked at her calmly for a while, seemingly assessing the veracity of what Granny Dai had said.

After a long while, she sighed softly and slowly got up.

Seeing this, Granny Dai was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard her say, "Fine, since Granny doesn't want to say, I won't force you. I'll just go ask Grandmother directly."

Granny Dai was shocked: "What are you asking?!"

Shen Qiyin, with an innocent air, said, "Of course, I should ask her if she still has any contact with that cousin."

"Oh dear, but this might put you in danger, Granny."

Granny Dai looked puzzled.

Shen Qiyin "kindly" explained to her, "How could I know about the affair between that cousin and my grandmother? Do you think my grandmother would think I just guessed it out of thin air?"

"Or is it that you, Granny, weren't discreet and let it slip?"

Granny Dai vehemently denied it: "I didn't! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

Shen Qiyin chuckled: "Why are you so nervous, Granny?"

“Of course I know you’re innocent, but I know it’s no use. You have to convince Grandmother that.”

"But if you were in that situation, would you believe it?"

Granny Dai thought to herself, "Of course I don't believe it!"

Who would have thought she could guess so accurately!

Seeing the worry written all over Dai Mama's face, Chen Qiyin sat back down on the stool by the stone mill and slowly continued, "Mama is in a difficult situation now and has never thought of using this secret to blackmail Grandmother to make her life more comfortable. I'm sure you know that if the old matter is brought up again, Grandmother will definitely not let you off the hook."

Even if you get the money, you probably won't live to spend it.

"If I bring this up in front of my grandmother now, the first person she'll suspect will still be you! And it will only be you!"

Granny Dai was on the verge of tears: "...What...what are you trying to do?"

"Your mother is barely able to take care of herself, yet you still care about what I need to do. I'm so touched." Shen Qiyin looked pleased, but then immediately asked, "So, are you going to tell me or not?"

Granny Dai: "I was blinded by greed before and offended you, Second Miss. I have already been slapped, and now I have been kicked out of the manor. Please be merciful and spare my life."

“I’ve let it go.” Shen Qiyin’s gaze was gentle: “If you tell me about your grandmother, I won’t go directly to her to verify, and she naturally won’t suspect you. Wouldn’t you be safe then?”

"Besides, I didn't ask for nothing. I even prepared some silver for you. Otherwise, if I poured a dose of poison down your throat, how long do you think you could last, Granny?"

Shen Qiyin's tone was too casual and ordinary, without any of the fierceness or evil that one would use to threaten someone. But the gentler her attitude was, the more creepy it became for Granny Dai.

Indeed, she is still willing to spend money and speak nicely to me now. What if she loses patience and turns on me later?

Thinking back on the old lady's various actions ever since the second young lady had someone beat her, Granny Dai felt heartbroken.

Caught between two pressures, Granny Dai finally gritted her teeth and said, "...Fine, I'll talk!"

It turns out that when Madam Shen was young, she had a childhood sweetheart, a distant cousin named Guo An.

He was a good student and aspired to become an official in the imperial court. That year, he went to the capital to take the imperial examination.

Who knew that after this departure, there would be no further news from them.

As for Madam Shen, she had reached marriageable age and could not be delayed, so her parents arranged for her to marry Shen Qiyin's grandfather.

Unfortunately, fate intervened and Mr. Shen passed away prematurely, leaving Mrs. Shen a widow who was unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.

Just then, Guo An returned home in glory to pay respects to his ancestors, and brought his mother and children to the capital to take care of them.

As a result, the care they provided ended up being taken care of together.

Then, Guo An's career took a downturn, and he was demoted and sent to Yanzhou, at which point the two broke off their relationship.

“Yanzhou is a thousand miles away from the capital. They never saw each other again after that.” Pulling herself out of her memories, Granny Dai sighed, “Thinking about it now, it’s been more than ten years.”

"According to you, Guo An takes such good care of Grandmother, didn't Father notice anything amiss at all?"

“...At first, the master was still young and didn’t understand these things.” Granny Dai looked a little embarrassed. “Later, although he grew up, the old lady and Madam Guo had a good relationship, and it was normal for the two families to exchange gifts, so he didn’t think much of it.”

Shen Qiyin: "..."

So Guo An has a wife!

She's been rambling on and on without mentioning it.

Also, her grandmother had a good relationship with that Mrs. Guo, and then secretly slept with her husband.

What kind of mess is this?!

Having said everything that needed to be said, and having received the silver as she wished, Granny Dai couldn't help but ask as she saw Shen Qiyin off, "This servant still doesn't understand, Second Miss, how did you know about that Old Master Guo?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!