Lin was unaware of what she had said wrong; she felt both wronged and embarrassed that her second sister-in-law had spoken to her in this way.

Madam Gu also came from a scholarly family, and of her three daughters-in-law, she was the one she was most satisfied with.

Although Zhao was born into a high-ranking family, she had few children and refused to arrange for her husband to take a concubine. As for Lin, the third son's wife, she was even more problematic. Although the third branch of the family had the most children, apart from Shen Anzhang, none of the concubines had given birth to any sons; they were all illegitimate daughters, which caused her a lot of headaches.

Only this Gu woman, who had given birth to two sons and a daughter, acted prudently and was well-liked by her.

Even if she didn't care about Lin's reputation, she still had to give Gu's reputation some face. Since she had said that, the old lady took the opportunity to back down.

"You are usually very thorough in your work, so I'll leave this matter to you. I'm getting old, and the last thing I want to see is brothers fighting and sisters bickering. I think the girls in the third branch of the family still need to work on their upbringing, so you'll have to take good care of them."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin immediately sensed something was wrong. Sure enough, after the old lady finished speaking, she looked at her and said, "The third branch has many children, and Shuchun is not at home, nor is Madam Liu. You are too busy to manage everything, so it is understandable that you might neglect the upbringing of your children. From now on, let Anzhang study with Anqing at the eldest master's place!"

"As for Ming Shu and the others, your eldest sister-in-law is in charge of managing the household, and your second sister-in-law is the most learned. Let the girls learn needlework and etiquette from their second aunt."

As if slapped hard across the face, Lin's head was buzzing, and she didn't know how to answer for a long time.

Her son was sent to her uncle's house, and her daughter was sent to the second wife's house. This was undoubtedly putting her out of control. Moreover, her daughter would be getting married in a year at most. In such a short time, the old lady did not allow her and her son to stay together. This was more painful for her than being fined her monthly allowance.

"Mother……"

Lin opened her mouth as if to say something more, but the old lady had already coldly dismissed them and, supporting Tian Mama's hand, slowly returned to her inner room.

Inside the room, incense was burning to clear the mind. The snow-white cat was lying comfortably on the kang (a heated brick bed) by the window. The old lady held it in her arms and gently stroked its fur, and the cat purred softly.

Granny Tian knew that the old lady was really angry, so she couldn't help but say a few words of advice: "Madam, please don't get angry over such a small matter."

As he spoke, he poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to the old lady. The old lady took the tea and placed it on the kang table before letting out a soft sigh.

"The Lin family is truly despicable. In all these years of marriage into the Shen family, the biggest mistake I made was choosing such a marriage for Shuchun!"

Her regret was palpable. Granny Tian sighed and picked up a gilded ruyi from the shelf beside her, gently massaging the old lady's legs.

"But do you think there might be some other story behind this?"

The old lady opened her eyes, her cloudy but shrewd eyes narrowing slightly. She knew what Granny Tian meant, but she smiled dismissively: "It's not impossible, but doing so wouldn't do her any good. In the end, it's because Lin Shi is so useless that she caused this trouble. A legitimate daughter, so petty and unruly, no wonder no good family has come to propose marriage to her yet."

Granny Tian dared not respond to this. No matter how incompetent Shen Mingshu was, she was still the legitimate daughter of the Shen family. She could not say anything more about what the old lady had said.

"I never expected that Consort Zhen would give birth to such a daughter. Once she enters the palace, if she is clever and wins the favor of the Empress Dowager, it might not be a bad thing for her marriage. However..."

The old lady lay on the large bolster, seemingly thinking of something, and hesitated about what she had just said.

"Does the old lady have some concerns?"

A gust of wind outside the window rustled the leaves in the courtyard, and the jade bells under the half-rolled bamboo curtain jingled, adding a touch of liveliness to the quiet room.

She thought of the situation in the palace. The imperial court and the harem were often inseparable. The emperor had only recently ascended the throne and was not the empress dowager's biological son. In the harem, the empress dowager held absolute power. Consort Jin and the other concubines from the previous dynasty had barely survived and still had to submit to her, living a very stifling life.

Nowadays, the Emperor's harem is full of beauties sent by the Empress Dowager. It is said that the Emperor dotes on these concubines and spends all his time in these gentle pleasures, except when he is dealing with state affairs in the court.

As a mother herself, and coming from a prominent family, she has some understanding of these intricacies.

The Empress Dowager is not his biological mother, so she must be suspicious of her son, the Emperor. The Emperor, in turn, cannot possibly love and respect her as he would his own mother. The current balance is merely a result of the balance of power between the two sides.

How things will develop from here depends on who comes out on top.

If Shen Mingxi enters the palace and gains the favor of the Empress Dowager, the Shen family will likely also catch the Emperor's eye. If anything happens, the Shen family will also be implicated...

This is why she suddenly felt uncertain about the future.

After a long silence, a long sigh echoed in the room: "Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of good fortune."

Inside Cuixuan Residence, Shen Mingzhuang was removing the pearls and jade ornaments from his head.

Lost in thought, Manhuan accidentally pulled too hard, causing Shen Mingzhuang to cry out in pain. Realizing her mistake, she hurriedly apologized to Shen Mingzhuang in a flustered manner, "Are you alright, Miss? I was clumsy and lost my focus for a moment, and I hurt you!"

Seeing the ashamed look on her face, Shen Mingzhuang couldn't bear to blame her. He glanced at Xue Rongqiu and Ruyi, who were standing to the side, and then told the three of them to leave.

Once only Shen Mingzhuang and Manhuan were in the room, he asked with concern, "You're usually the most careful of all the maids. Why are you so careless today? Did something happen?"

Man Huan lowered her head, fidgeted with her fingers, and then looked up at Shen Mingzhuang: "Miss, are you afraid of what happened today?"

What happened today? Shen Mingzhuang frowned slightly, thinking of meeting Pei Jingzhou at the double-eaved pavilion in the back garden of the Pei residence earlier today. She carefully observed Man Huan's expression and then smiled.

She seemed to have guessed what the girl was thinking.

"You don't actually think your young lady would develop feelings for a young master she's only met once and secretly engage in intimate relations, do you?"

Having her thoughts exposed by her young mistress, Manhuan blushed and stammered, "It's not that I'm worried about you, Miss, but you're so beautiful. If that young master sees you, I'm worried that someone might have designs on you... After all, as the saying goes, it's not the thief you should be afraid of, but the one who has designs on you!"

Shen Mingzhuang couldn't help but burst into laughter. He never expected that such a handsome young man as Pei Jingzhou would be compared to a thief. He wondered what Pei Jingzhou's reaction would be if he knew!