He sounded like an important person. Shen Pinzhen was a woman, but she knew that anything related to salt was bound to be of high quality.

And the fact that this person can act so arrogantly in front of the Emperor shows his skill. "Then what brings this Lady Wen to our home?"

As her daughter chattered on and on, the old lady's face gradually darkened.

Can marriage really change a person so drastically? The person who used to be so well-behaved and knew her place has been making mistakes lately, which makes her unhappy.

"Since you're so curious, why don't you go and ask Madam Wen yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Pinzhen's smile froze on her face. She dryly called out "Mother" before giving up her desire to continue inquiring.

*

The next day, before dawn, Shen Mingzhuang was awakened by a series of rumbling thunder overhead.

Man Huan, who was on night duty, had also woken up a while earlier. Hearing the movement of turning over on the bed, she quickly peeked out and saw that Shen Mingzhuang was already awake. She then asked softly, "Miss, are you awake? Would you like some water?"

The window frames rattled in the wind, and gusts of wind, accompanied by thunder, swept through the city of Kyoto.

The roof tiles seemed to be loose, making a dull clattering sound. It was still dark, and a strong wind was blowing outside, as if a storm was about to break.

"What time is it?"

Shen Mingzhuang wasn't quite good at reading the water clock yet. He sat up halfway and took the tea that Man Huan handed him. His voice was hoarse from just waking up, as lazy as a cat that had just woken up, and it sounded strangely pleasant.

"It's already the end of the Yin hour."

It was almost dawn, and Shen Mingzhuang, hearing the sounds outside, was no longer sleepy. He stretched and sat up. "Have we brought the jasmine we planted inside yet?"

If it gets damaged by such a strong wind, I'm afraid we won't see it bloom.

"After we moved inside, when the wind picked up, a branch broke off from an osmanthus tree outside the courtyard wall and fell onto the wall of our Cuixuan Residence. Xue Rong and the others were also awakened, and we all moved all the flowers in the courtyard to another place."

Shen Mingzhuang touched the tip of his nose, somewhat embarrassed, that he hadn't even noticed such a commotion.

Before long, a knock came at the gate. The master and servant exchanged a glance, and Xue Rong got up and went to the gate to ask who it was.

"It's me."

The voice of Granny Tian came from outside the door. Xue Rong was a little surprised and quickly said loudly, "Granny, please wait a moment. I'll go get the key right away."

After unlocking the door, Granny Tian stood anxiously at the entrance. As soon as she opened the door, she looked around the courtyard as if she were looking for something.

"Granny, is something the matter that you need so early?"

"Oh dear, the old lady's cat has run away. She's so worried and has been searching everywhere. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come to disturb your peaceful sleep before dawn!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Rong quickly replied, "No, no, it's all thanks to Granny. It looks like it's going to rain. Where could the cat have gone?"

As they were talking, Granny Tian entered the courtyard and ordered the servants to search the entire yard, who were frantic with worry.

It turned out that the cat was lost. Shen Mingzhuang breathed a sigh of relief. They were searching everywhere outside, probably in a panic. Just as Mingzhuang was about to lie down for a while longer, Granny Tian's voice rang out at the door: "The cat loves to run around everywhere. The old lady is so anxious that she can't sit still. We can't miss a single corner. Miss Jiu can understand."

The implication was that they were going to search the house for the cat. Shen Mingzhuang frowned. It was just a cat, why make such a fuss, even going so far as to search a young lady's bedroom?

Has anything like this ever happened before?

She looked at Manhuan, who had been in the manor before. This cat couldn't possibly be missing for the first time, could it? Had it been like this before?

Manhuan looked at her young mistress, pursed her lips, and shook her head.

Shen Mingzhuang frowned slightly, and a possibility came to mind. Xue Rong gently pushed open the door and saw that Man Huan had already gotten up. She then told her that Granny Tian and her group wanted to go into the house to look for the cat.

Manhuan nodded and stepped forward to bow slightly to Granny Tian, ​​"Thank you for your hard work, Granny. Miss has already woken up. Please go and find her."

After saying that, he stepped aside, as if to let them inspect the area.

When Granny Tian heard that Miss Ninth had woken up, she went into the inner room and saw Shen Mingzhuang leaning against the headboard. She smiled and said, "Miss Ninth, please forgive me for disturbing you like this."

Shen Mingzhuang nodded, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and said to Granny Tian, ​​"With thunder and lightning, the cat might have been frightened and hidden in some corner. Granny, you should keep a close eye on it."

Granny Tian nodded, but her gaze lingered on Shen Mingzhuang's face for a few more moments. When she turned around, she carefully checked under the bed and behind the curtains to make sure there was nothing there before leaving Cuixuan Residence.

Just now she wasn't quite sure if she was really just looking for a cat, but after seeing what Granny Tian did, she was certain that something must have happened in the mansion that she couldn't say out loud, so she used the excuse of losing a cat to look around.

Just then, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the room. Manhuan saw her young mistress sitting there with a solemn expression and assumed she was frightened by the lightning. She quickly went over and sat on the shoe couch by the bed. "If you are afraid, Miss, I will go and call Xue Rong Qiutang over."

Shen Mingzhuang shook her head. She wasn't afraid of the weather; she was afraid of the unknown.

What could have happened to make Granny Tian search every house and courtyard like this? Thinking of this, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and instructed Manhuan, "Go and see which courtyards Granny Tian has taken people to, and which places she has checked the most carefully."

Man Huan nodded and left in response.

Before long, the sound of raindrops pattering against the ground began to ring out outside, and the rain suddenly intensified. In no time, the surroundings were enveloped by the sound of pouring rain.

When Xue Rong came in to help her get up, it was raining so hard outside that the sky was dark and the sun was obscured. It was already late morning, but the sky outside was even darker than it was early morning.

I thought of sending someone to give Manhuan an umbrella, but then I thought that the Shen family was so big, and Manhuan was such a thoughtful girl, that she probably wouldn't be unable to borrow an umbrella.

The torrential rain cascaded down the dripping tiles and into the lotus-shaped basin under the eaves, splashing up large droplets. An hour later, Manhuan returned, carrying an umbrella, but she was still soaked to the bone.

Seeing her young mistress waiting at the door, she put away her umbrella beforehand, then ran over with the umbrella over her head, stood under the eaves to wash off the rain, and then went to Shen Mingzhuang.

The two, master and servant, went directly into the inner room with perfect understanding. Shen Mingzhuang told her to change her clothes first before discussing matters, and Manhuan nodded and quickly changed into her own clothes.

“Miss, Granny Tian only searched the third house’s courtyard. I went to inquire and found out that Granny Tian first went to the third madam’s main courtyard, and then followed the third young lady’s courtyard, searching all the way to our courtyard.”