The group personally escorted the Pei and Wen families to the door. Pei Jingzhou took a deep look at Shen Mingzhuang, who stood behind Zhao Shi with her white lips and red teeth. Wen Han's gaze also fell on her at the same time. Their eyes met and then separated again.

He gave them a few words of advice, such as to be careful on their way back, and told Pei Shuwan and her sister to come over and visit whenever they had time, before seeing them off.

The Shen family returned to peace and quiet, and everything went back to normal.

Shen Mingzhuang didn't know what Pei Jingzhou's gaze meant. She hadn't gone to the appointment at Daci Temple and hadn't offered any explanation. She didn't know what Pei Jingzhou would think.

In order for the plan to go smoothly, she had to plan more for her future.

When Zhao was washing up that evening, she was stunned to hear that Shen Mingzhuang had given her a gold ingot the size of her palm.

Although she grew up in Jiangzhou and did not receive the Shen family's upbringing, she still has the Shen family's blood in her bones. How could she... give such a shallow gift? Isn't she afraid of being laughed at?

However, after thinking about it carefully, Zhao also felt that it was quite practical.

Although the Zhao family was a distinguished and prestigious family with a good reputation, they were not wealthy. Their food, clothing, and daily necessities were relatively simple, even less so than the Shen family. As for the three members of the Shen family, although the husband, Shen Bochun, enjoyed two salaries, it was not enough to cover the family's expenses. The second son, a Hanlin Academician of the sixth rank, had an even more negligible salary.

The third son was appointed as the Vice Minister of Works, and his meager salary was barely enough for social obligations. The Shen family's current source of income mostly relied on a small business in Jiangzhou. Since her son was engaged to his own niece, the dowry he brought would certainly not be much, which Shen Mingzhuang reminded her of.

Now that the Gu family has also acquired their own businesses outside, shouldn't we follow suit? If we only focus on maintaining our reputation, it's the children who will suffer.

On May 13th, Madam Lin paid a visit.

Although the Shen and Lin families are related by marriage, they do not interact closely. Ultimately, this is because the Shen family values ​​its status and is unwilling to associate with merchants.

However, since they came to visit, the old lady, being of the same generation as Madam Lin, could not refuse to see them.

After instructing Dujuan to serve tea to Madam Lin in the flower hall, Granny Tian restyled the old lady's hair before heading to the flower hall.

Madam Lin, née Qian, sat regally in the flower hall, dressed in a light blue summer dress with a right-fastening cross-collar. The pearls adorning her cuffs were quite eye-catching. She looked around at the furnishings of the room, and the red gold tassel hairpin in her hair jingled loudly, attracting the attention of the maid standing beside her.

Old Madam Shen walked out, supported by Granny Tian's hand. As soon as Madam Lin saw her, she smiled, her wrinkles forming a chrysanthemum shape, a sight that was almost unbearable to look at.

"Mother-in-law!"

She called out with a smile, but her gaze fell on the pearls on the old lady's forehead ribbon. She secretly curled her lip, thinking, "So this is a high-class family, but the pearls on her head aren't even as big as the ones on her sleeves."

Madam Shen came from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. If it weren't for Madam Lin, she probably would never have associated with a woman like Madam Lin in her life.

Accompanying Madam Lin was her unmarried younger sister, Lin Miaoqiu.

Lin was the second child in the family, and her maiden name was Lin Miaoxin. Lin Miaoqiu was the tenth child in the family. She was the youngest daughter of Madam Lin and was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was raised to be fair-skinned, beautiful, and plump.

She stepped forward and bowed sweetly to Madam Shen, who merely gave a lukewarm "hmm".

Madam Qian was displeased when she saw this. She knew that her daughter was not well received in the Shen family, but when she married into the family, she brought with her a fortune. Moreover, she married a son of a concubine in the Shen family. No matter how worthless her family's money was, it shouldn't be that she was being treated like this.

"The three ladies haven't arrived yet?"

The old lady asked Granny Tian, ​​who hurriedly replied, "This old servant will go and see right away."

Before the words were finished, a voice came from outside: "The First Madam, Second Madam, Third Madam, and all the young ladies have arrived."

Madam Lin couldn't help but complain inwardly. She had sent an invitation when she came, and the old lady knew she was coming, but she told her to wait in the flower hall first. Now she was letting the daughters-in-law of the Shen family come to pay their respects. Wasn't that too disrespectful?

Unfortunately, she misunderstood. None of the Shen family's wives bowed to her; they all just smiled and nodded before taking their seats. This made Madam Qian's face darken. Wasn't the Shen family the most particular about rules? She was, after all, an elder, yet these Shen family wives dared to treat her like this!

The third wife's face also stiffened slightly, and she seemed somewhat afraid to look at her mother's face.

Seeing so many people, young and old, in the room, I felt a sense of unease, as if I were about to be publicly executed.

She made a mistake in the Shen family, and her mother came with silver notes to clean up the mess for her. Shouldn't the old lady have kept it a secret? Why did she invite so many people over in such a grand manner?

For a moment, Lin was a little confused about her mother-in-law's thoughts.

Zhao and Gu were also puzzled. Madam Lin had visited before, but their mother-in-law had never asked them to come and sit with her. Today was unusual.

As for Madam Shen, she took in everyone's expressions. Today, she wanted to let Madam Lin know that not every mistake made by Madam Lin could be solved with money. Even if she accepted the Lin family's silver notes today, she would still teach Madam Lin and her daughter a lesson.

"I remember that the tenth daughter of the Lin family is of marriageable age now, isn't she?"

Old Madam Shen's sharp gaze swept over Lin Miaoqiu, who was sitting to the left of Madam Qian.

Madam Qian couldn't help but wonder what Lu Furong meant by those words. Could it be that she wanted to act as a matchmaker for Miaoqiu?

Although her daughter Miaoxin didn't have a very good life in the Shen family and her mother-in-law didn't like her, she was still a daughter-in-law of the Shen family. When the Shen family was mentioned, people had to give her some face. She could also hold her head high in front of her sisters-in-law in the Lin family.

If Miaoqiu could also find a good marriage, that would be even better.

“Who says otherwise, my dear in-law? Look, Miaoxin has become your third mistress, and Miaoqiu is Miaoxin’s younger sister. This marriage is really putting me in a difficult position. If the social standing is too low, it will tarnish the reputation of the Shen family. If the social standing is too high, our Lin family doesn’t have the face to say anything…”

Madam Lin smiled and covered her face with a handkerchief, waiting for Old Madam Shen to speak.

Upon hearing this, the old lady's expression turned somewhat sarcastic.

The Lin family was able to get a marriage with the Shen family because she was blind back then. Now she's shamelessly asking for a marriage for her youngest daughter. She really is shameless!

"Good things come to those who wait. A girl's marriage is not something that can be arranged overnight. If you choose carefully, you will eventually find a good family."

With a single sentence, he deflected a great deal of attention with minimal effort. Madam Lin choked on her words, unsure of what to say.

"However, since we are in-laws, I'll be frank with you about some things." The old lady took a leisurely sip of tea. "A young lady's upbringing is not to be underestimated; in high-class families, such underhanded methods are most taboo."

After saying that, he ignored Madam Lin's expression and looked at the restless Madam Lin: "Isn't that right, Third Brother's wife!"

The tone became much harsher.