Chapter 1193 The Meal Replacement Lady is Not Likeable (8)

Yuan Shichu and Zhan Shulin left Old Madam Zhan's yard and walked towards their own yard.

Zhan Shulin recalled Yuan Shichu's expression when he apologized to Chen. For some reason, he always felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't find it. After thinking about it, he finally asked Yuan Shichu directly.

"Yuanshi, why did you suddenly ask whether your sister-in-law has any grudge against her eldest cousin? Is there any hidden story behind this?" Zhan Shulin asked Yuan Shichu as they walked.

Yuan Shichu looked at him with some surprise. He didn't expect that this man was so perceptive. He actually thought that there was a reason why he suddenly said that, and it was not intentional to do something bad to sow discord between Chen and her cousin.

But his sharpness was useless. After all, the opportunity had passed and Yuan Shichu was too lazy to reveal the secret of the bracelet. So she just smiled and said innocently, "It's nothing special. I just think that although the golden nanmu bracelet is a treasure, there is nothing wrong with giving it to my sister-in-law as a wedding gift. It's just that the style and material are a bit old-fashioned and don't seem to be worn by a young woman. So I misunderstood that my sister-in-law's eldest cousin was deliberately trying to annoy her, so I asked if the two of them had a grudge against each other."

When Zhan Shulin heard what she said, he looked at her half-believingly. What she said seemed to make sense, but if this was really the only reason, wasn't it too serious to say "grudge"?

"Is this really the only reason?" he asked again.

"Of course this is the reason. Could there be any other reasons?" Yuan Shichu lied with his eyes open without any guilt. Seeing this, Zhan Shulin had to suppress the doubts in his heart.

Yuan Shichu thought to herself that although she and Chen were sisters-in-law, their relationship was ordinary. They only became relatives because they married into the same family. If they put aside this relationship, they would be strangers.

Moreover, it is obvious that there is no conflict of interest between them and they can live in peace, but Chen insists on suppressing her in front of everyone, trying to be superior and to compete with Yuan Shichu. I don't know what the benefit of this fight is, and why it is worth it for her to step on Yuan Shichu to highlight her own reasonableness.

Yuan Shichu was not a saint who repaid evil with kindness. She was petty and vindictive. After being bullied by Chen, it was naturally impossible for her to help her solve the problem of the contraceptive bracelet. After all, she had to help to clear her debt, and not helping was her duty. What's more, Chen was not worthy of help. She herself said that she had a deep sisterly relationship with her eldest sister. Why should Yuan Shichu be the bad guy who destroyed their sisterly relationship?

Chen's golden nanmu bracelet was very interesting. Yuan Shichu discovered while observing it that the beads were obviously hollow and filled with several kinds of medicinal powders. The ones that Yuan Shichu identified included musk, saffron and holly leaves. These three were all contraceptive drugs, which were made into powder and filled into the beads of the bracelet that she wore every day. The medicinal effects seeped out from the beads little by little and were absorbed by Chen's skin after contact with it for a long time. It would be strange if Chen could get pregnant.

No one knew what grudge her eldest cousin had against her, but she gave her such a powerful contraceptive bracelet as a wedding gift. Tsk tsk, was she going to make her infertile for the rest of her life?

"Zhan Shulin, who is my sister-in-law's cousin? Which family did she marry into?" Yuan Shichu couldn't hold back his curiosity. He wanted to know why Chen's eldest cousin gave his younger cousin a contraceptive bracelet, so he asked Zhan Shulin.

Zhan Shulin thought carefully for a while, and then replied: "It seems that the eldest daughter of the Chen family married into the Li Wang Mansion as a concubine seven or eight years ago. My sister-in-law has a good relationship with her. The concubine would send gifts to our family during festivals, and my sister-in-law was very happy every time."

Yuan Shichu rolled his eyes and asked him again: "Did Prince Li's original wife have any children?"

Zhan Shulin nodded: "Yes, she gave birth to two sons and a daughter. Otherwise, she would not have married my sister-in-law's cousin as her second wife. After all, the status of my sister-in-law's family is quite different from that of Prince Li's Mansion."

Yuan Shichu was suddenly excited. She felt like she was following the clues step by step to investigate the case. She was just one key clue away from finding out the truth and solving the case. So she suppressed her excitement and slowly asked Zhan Shulin, "Does my sister-in-law's eldest cousin still have no biological child of her own?"

Zhan Shulin looked at her strangely: "How do you know? The Concubine has indeed not given birth to a child, but she treats the three children left by the original wife as her own and is very virtuous."

"Haha... She is indeed very virtuous..." Yuan Shichu agreed, but in his heart he was excited, no wonder she gave her sister a contraceptive bracelet, because she was jealous of her sister, she must be thinking, why can you have a child when I don't have one? We are all sisters, you should suffer with me! So she gave Chen a contraceptive bracelet, and we all share the hardship...

Yuan Shichu was very satisfied after having guessed most of what Chen's eldest cousin was thinking and satisfied her curiosity. She now felt quite proud of herself for being the only one sober while everyone else was drunk. It was a pity that she couldn't share this happiness with others, which reduced her happiness a bit...

Yuan Shichu recalled this happiness and felt that the Concubine of Prince Li might have given Chen more than just a contraceptive bracelet. She might also have given her a contraceptive vase, a contraceptive screen, or some contraceptive bowls and plates... Otherwise, why would she be so diligent in sending holiday gifts to the Zhan family?

However, it is impossible for Chen to keep all the gifts for herself, she might give them to other family members... When Yuan Shichu thought of this, he took a deep breath. My goodness, is that the Concubine of Prince Li going to make the Zhan family extinct?

"Zhan Shulin, did my sister-in-law's cousin, the Consort of Prince Li, give any of the holiday gifts to our mansion?" Yuan Shichu asked Zhan Shulin solemnly.

Zhan Shulin thought for a long time before saying, "It seems like there are some, but most of the gifts she sent were stored in the warehouse. The few that could not be kept for a long time, such as some fabrics and ingredients, were taken out and shared among everyone, used or eaten... Of course, my sister-in-law is her younger sister, so naturally some gifts were tacitly given to her. I'm not sure about the others."

"That's good." Yuan Shichu felt relieved when he heard his words. It seemed that he no longer had the contraceptive gift sent by the Prince Li's concubine. Even if she didn't want to have children, she would only take measures herself instead of being plotted against unknowingly.

As for the fabrics and ingredients... they were all eaten by the Zhan family themselves. She had only been married for less than a month, and the Princess Consort of Prince Li had not yet come to send her any festival gifts. It was impossible for her to get them even if she wanted them, so Yuan Shichu was relieved.

(End of this chapter)