Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Shen Jingzhan hid a lot of things from her?

Even Jiaohui, who was paying close attention to Zhu Yinluan, didn't notice anything, let alone the busy Madam Shen.

The wives of the second and third wives have also been helping out these days, so there is indeed a shortage of manpower. Zhu Yinluan’s abilities are okay, but Madam Shen is still concerned about her pregnancy.

"If you feel bored, find someone to play cards in your yard. There are many people here. What if someone bumps into you?"

Mrs. Shen's first reaction was still that it was not possible, so she directly rejected her and told her to go back quickly.

After waiting for so many years, Shen Jingzhan finally got married and had a child in such a short time. He was surprised but also felt uneasy. Although everyone in the family had given instructions, there must not be any mistakes.

More importantly, Shen Jingzhan also reminded me not to let him down.

"Mother-in-law, I don't like playing cards." She came here today not just to help with the accounts, but to find someone.

If there are loopholes in Fang Zhongyue's words, it proves that there is something wrong with her.

If Fang Zhongyue has problems, then... could it be that Shen Jingzhan has also hidden a lot of things from her?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yinluan was distracted for a moment, and Mingya next to her moved her, reminding her that Madam Shen was talking to her.

"If you can't find anyone to accompany you in the capital, I will organize a party for you and invite someone to play with you."

Mrs. Shen also knew that Zhu Yinluan rarely left the house and had basically no friends.

He is only closer to Shen Kouyu.

But Princess Feng'an is here these two days, so it's better not to let the two of them get too close to avoid any accidents.

The second wife said, "Sister-in-law, why bother? Just ask the wives to come over and play with Brother Zhan's wife. If Brother Zhan's wife doesn't know how to play, let them teach her."

Mrs. Shen thought about it and felt that it was okay.

The people at home could also feel more at ease, after all, they all knew that Zhu Yinluan was pregnant.

Now that the Shen family is hosting a banquet, it is not easy to send invitations to people. The main thing is that the guests still need to be entertained. What if there is no one and the hospitality is not good enough?

Just as he was about to ask someone to call them, Zhu Yinluan said no, she just wanted to find something to do and really didn't like playing cards.

Zhu Yinluan has said twice that she doesn't like playing cards, so it doesn't seem like she is lying.

Mrs. Shen shouldn't force others to do things against their will.

"Then you can sit here and watch." She asked someone to bring a rosewood armchair to Zhu Yinluan, and also instructed that it be padded with goose down satin, in two pieces.

Not long after Zhu Yinluan sat down, Madam Shen started to get busy with the second wife again.

At this time, the third wife brought people to get the silk. The maids next to her were looking at the size and were cutting it. After comparing the numbers, they found that it was not enough. It turned out that the maid who followed them was dazzled and took too little.

The third wife felt it was too much trouble to scold people, so she took a sip of tea, turned back with her people, and went to get it again. The second wife said she wanted a night-shining pearl, and some jasmine tea leaves, and they should hang them together in the corridor to get the good meaning of "Mo Li".

But the third wife and her people left in a hurry. The second wife, who had sent someone to pass on the message, thought about it and followed them.

Suddenly, only Mrs. Shen was left.

Mrs. Shen was even busier, her abacus was clacking, and a bunch of people were waiting for her reply.

Zhu Yinluan was thinking about what loophole she could exploit to make Madam Shen give in.

She had been sitting there for quite a while and had eaten a few pieces of cakes, but she still had no idea what to do and was feeling worried.

Suddenly, I heard the person in charge outside coming to the door with a letter, saying that the Duke's wife was here to visit.

This could not be neglected, so Madam Shen could only put down the work in her hands and let the person in charge keep an eye on it while she went to receive the guests. Zhu Yinluan's eyelashes twitched and she was about to stand up.

But she moved slowly on purpose. Mrs. Shen was going to take her to see someone, but she thought she was not feeling well and asked her not to move.

"You can keep an eye on it for me. I'll be back soon."

The Duke's wife came early, which proved that she couldn't come on the wedding banquet. No matter what the reason was, no matter how busy Madam Shen was, she had to go and sit down and chat with her. She couldn't let the other party think that the Shen family was holding a grudge.

Zhu Yinluan was delighted, but her face remained calm, "Mother-in-law, please go. My daughter-in-law is here."

"Be quick and be careful when people come in and out, don't let the young lady get tired." Madam Shen said in a hurry and left.

Zhu Yinluan sat for a while and just stood up to help, and Mrs. Shen’s old mother, who had been to her before, quickly told her not to move.

"Give me the account book. I'll just take a look at it. I won't touch it." Zhu Yinluan pointed at the account book not far away. She had seen it before. It contained a list of the servants in the Shen Mansion.

Whenever the Shen family holds a banquet, the servants in the mansion have clear division of labor. Those who do a good job will receive particularly high rewards. There is a list in every book, and you can tell by just flipping through it.

The old mother didn't move at first, but after Zhu Yinluan's persuasion, she finally took it and placed it next to Zhu Yinluan.

Zhu Yinluan was nervous but her movements were slow.

But the more she looked at it, the more she couldn't help but frown.

Because she couldn't find this person.

Fang Zhongyue's mother's surname was not Fang, but next to the list of Shen's family members were the number of people in the family and their names. She had looked through almost all of them, but could not find this family.

Zhu Yinluan recalled what Fang Zhongyue had said at the time. At that time, she said that her mother was in charge of the Shen family and had some say.

Although there are many maids in charge of the Shen family's eldest house, there are only a few of them.

There is no such person at all.

Will he be transferred?

Zhu Yinluan stroked the account book and looked at it again, but still couldn't find it.

The old lady next to her was confused, thinking that something was wrong with the account book, and asked her, "Madam, what happened?"

“No…” Zhu Yinluan forced a smile.

She added, "It's just that I haven't looked at the accounts for a long time, and now I feel a little tired."

So that's how it is, the old mother smiled and said, "You are now pregnant and of noble status, don't worry about these things."

Zhu Yinluan just smiled and didn't respond. She lowered her eyelashes, rolled her eyes, and tried to find out what her mother was saying. She asked her, "I heard that the uncles and aunts have sent people to the eldest house to help these days. Doesn't that mean there is a vacancy at home?"

"I want to see if the mothers who come to help run errands have been recorded separately. We must not neglect them."

The old lady smiled, "Young Madam is indeed very good at what she does, and she always pays attention to the details. Don't worry, all the people employed by the second and third branches of the family have been registered in a separate register."

Zhu Yinluan asked where it was. She wanted to see it, but the old lady didn't suspect anything and quickly found it for her.

It was indeed a new booklet. Zhu Yinluan asked casually while flipping through it, "Did the eldest branch of the family send anyone to help?"

The old lady said no, "Miss Yu is going to marry, and the eldest house is in urgent need of staff, so no one was sent over."

She also told Zhu Yinluan that unless something big happened to the relatives from the second and third branches, Madam Shen would send everyone over.

"Why are you asking this, Madam?" The old lady was also an experienced person and she immediately felt something was strange.

The eldest son's family is hosting a banquet and looking for people to go out, so why are they still sending people out?

"I'm just curious. I'm worried that there will be vacancies around the uncles and aunts in the second and third rooms."

"So that's how it is." The old mother suppressed her doubts.

As they were talking, Zhu Yinluan had already finished reading the account book. She felt uneasy because there was no such person in the Shen family.

Fang Zhongyue lied.

Zhu Yinluan calmed down and thought carefully. She realized that there was no need to look at the account book. Fang Zhongyue whispered in Pang Shi's ear that her mother was in charge of the Shen family.

But the people in charge of the Shen family have basically never changed, they are just those old women.

It has been a few months since she married into the Shen family. The last time she helped Madam Shen to check the accounts, she had seen that the women in charge did not have such a person at all.

Moreover, Fang Zhongyue also said that her mother had been seconded to help out in Old Lady Shen's yard, which was not true.

Old Madam Shen has a high status, so the people who serve her cannot be careless. They are all trusted confidants who have been employed over the years. There are more than enough people, so why would there be a vacancy or need to second them to help?

After all, those who can be seconded to serve in Old Madam Shen's room have to follow the rules and have status, otherwise they are not qualified.

But she carefully looked at all the qualified people in the Shen family, and found that they were not at all like the "mother" described by Fang Zhongyue.

Why did Fang Zhongyue lie? Who instructed her to do so?

Since she is not a member of the Shen family, how can she know so much about the Shen family? Not only the Shen family, but she even knows that Shen Jingzhan has someone he likes? She also said that she heard it from Old Lady Shen.

The people around Old Lady Shen are very tight-lipped. Even if there are people on secondment, who would dare to gossip about the newcomers?

At that time, she didn't care about the Shen family's affairs and didn't take it to heart. Now, looking back, Fang Zhongyue's words were full of loopholes.

Who on earth instructed Fang Zhongyue to deliberately slip these words into her ears?

Yes, no wonder Fang Zhongyue said "take a look at her" at that time. On the surface, he was talking to Pang Shi, but actually he was talking to her, right?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yinluan became more confused.

The feeling of walking in the fog came again, and this time it was not just fog, she even felt panic.

It seemed as if something she didn't know about was surfacing.

The news she accidentally learned from Fang Zhongyue and Old Lady Shen, the loopholes in Shen Jingzhan's words, and Fang Zhongyue's lies were like a door shrouded in fog that she accidentally pushed open.

She looked at the bottomless hole at the door and felt a little frightened and at a loss.

"Young Madam, what's wrong with you?" Ming Ya, who was standing next to her, noticed that her face looked strange.

Zhu Yinluan quickly said seriously, "…I feel a little hungry."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were hungry?"

As it was almost time for dinner, the servants only brought her some exquisite snacks.

Mrs. Shen didn’t come back, but Shen Jingzhan came back first.

Although Zhu Yinluan had adjusted her mood, she was still a little dazed when she saw the gentle and jade-like face in front of her.

If it was really all done by Shen Jingzhan, then this is also his mask?

He lied to her to get close to her, and ordered Fang Zhongyue to do those things. What exactly did he want to do?

Zhu Yinluan couldn't figure it out.

At that time, she and Shen Jingzhan didn't even know each other. To say that he liked her and was plotting against her was a bit far-fetched.

"Luan'er, what's wrong with you?" She was just distracted for a moment, but Shen Jingzhan noticed it.

Zhu Yinluan quickly came back to her senses, "I was just looking at the account book, there were too many words, I was a little overwhelmed."

"Mother told you not to do it, so why did you come here, huh?" He reached out and stroked her hair.

The man's fresh breath hit my face, and his gentle and magnetic words lingered in my ears.

His face was as beautiful as a flower and as handsome as a jade tree, and his eyes were slightly smiling. She couldn't take her eyes away and just wanted to stare at him.

"I..." Zhu Yinluan quickly glanced away.

"I just can't sit still and want to help my mother." Shen Jingzhan put his arm around her waist and walked to the main hall.

Zhu Yinluan lowered her eyes and looked at the two people, their shadows overlapping under the glass lamp.

Shen Jingzhan had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and was tall. She was shorter than him, and was completely overshadowed by him.

It was as if she was kept in the dark and she had no idea what was going on.

Do you want to ask Shen Jingzhan directly?

If she asked him directly, how would he explain it to her? Would he say that he remembered it wrongly and gave it to someone else? Did he not know Fang Zhongyue? But all the facts pointed to him.

Zhu Yinluan was in a state of confusion and had no way to calm down.

Shen Jingzhan noticed her absent-mindedness, gathered her shawl closer, and with a twinkle in his eyes, asked her if she had heard any rumors.

Zhu Yinluan was startled, thinking that he had figured it out again, and asked in surprise, "What did you mean?"

"Luan'er, doesn't you know about the Wei family's affairs?" he said.

"What's the matter with the Wei family?" Zhu Yinluan asked him if it was about Wei Ruzhuo's impotence.

“No.” Shen Jingzhan said.

"What is that?" He looked at her expression, confused and puzzled. It seemed that she really didn't understand.

Although Yue Yu doesn't care about the Wei family's affairs, why does she frequently lose focus?

Shen Jingzhan didn't like things getting out of control, especially when it concerned her.

Since it’s not about the Wei family, then why did she lose her mind?

"Husband, what happened to the Wei family?" Zhu Yinluan asked.

Shen Jingzhan stopped talking halfway through.

"It's not a big deal. I went back to the courtyard after dinner and told Luan'er about it."

He was afraid that Zhu Yinluan would lose her appetite after hearing this.

The wife of the Duke and Mrs. Shen were close friends. This time, the Shen family's wedding banquet coincided with her family's ancestral relocation, so the wife of the Duke came specially in advance and said that she was not free on that day.

Madam Shen comforted her and said it was okay.

The wife of the Duke brought generous gifts and personally presented Chen Kouyu with a pair of jade bracelets with excellent water content. Madam Chen asked Chen Kouyu to come over to meet the guest and thank her for the gift.

Chen Kouyu became much more depressed. Although she was smiling on the surface, she didn't look very happy in her heart. The Duke's wife knew what was going on and coaxed her with a few words.

Not only did she bring gifts for Chen Kouyu, but the Duke's wife also brought gifts for Zhu Yinluan and Old Madam Shen.

The gift to Zhu Yinluan was a gift for a baby’s pregnancy, and the gift to Mrs. Shen was a gift for visiting her when she was sick.

With the presence of the Duke's wife, the main house became more lively.

Princess Feng'an was not present today. Chen Kouyu said that the Duke's wife's son, Junyi, had a past relationship with Princess Feng'an.

I don’t know why, but it happened anyway, and it wasn’t pretty.

Therefore, it was better not to meet, and Princess Feng'an did not come to the main hall for dinner.

“…”

Zhu Yinluan was preoccupied with things and didn't eat much.

Shen Jingzhan asked her if she was feeling unwell, and she said that she had eaten some pastries and snacks before the meal and couldn't eat anymore.

Mrs. Shen also paid attention to Zhu Yinluan's appetite. Seeing that she didn't eat much, she was afraid that she would be hungry at night, so she asked the kitchen to prepare dishes and make food for her at any time.

After hearing Mrs. Shen's meticulous instructions, Zhu Yinluan still felt a warm current in her heart even though she knew it was because of the child.

To be fair, her life after arriving at the Shen family was much better than her life at the Wei family.

She had thought that the Shen family was of high status, and that the people in the family were difficult to get along with, so they would definitely look down on her. However, she had not expected that basically no one would embarrass her. This was, after all, also due to Shen Jingzhan's partiality.

Because of his care, she was honored in the Shen family, and no one dared to neglect or despise her.

Having said that, Zhu Yinluan thought of those things again, "..."

After returning to the yard and taking a shower, Zhu Yinluan suddenly remembered to ask what happened to the Wei family?

Shen Jingzhan was about to enter the study room, but when he turned a corner, he said, "I thought Luan'er wouldn't ask."

"I didn't expect it. You're still thinking about it?"

Zhu Yinluan felt something was not right with what he said.

She had been with Shen Jingzhan for a long time, and he had made her very straightforward. She asked him,

"Are you jealous of what my husband said?"