Meanwhile, Wang Yan followed Shen Jiamu back to the Shen residence, and on the way, she went over the whole matter in her mind several times.

Shen Jiamu came for her, right? But that doesn't make sense, they're complete strangers.

Wang Yan thought about it again and again, and couldn't help but steal a few glances at her.

Noticing Wang Yan's scrutiny, Shen Jiamu caught her breath, forced herself to smile, and said, "There are some snacks and tea prepared in the carriage. Would you like some, little sister?"

"……,No."

In the Shen family mansion, Shao Wenxuan was leisurely enjoying tea with several of his clan elders, discussing whether to sell a batch of spring tea to the capital next year.

Upon hearing the servant report that the eldest daughter had returned, his face stiffened slightly.

"Hehe, hehe, we've found it! That's great, that's great!"

After saying that, he put on a fake act of crying and wailing, "My son, my son, you're finally back! Yesterday's car overturning scared me to death. Who brought my son back! A great reward, a great reward!"

As she spoke, she staggered out of the mansion to greet her daughter.

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Shao family who were following behind Shao Wenxuan frowned deeply and followed him out.

When they arrived outside, they found that it was indeed Shen Jiamu who had returned. Shao Jinxin, the patriarch of the Shao clan, remained calm and smiled without showing any emotion.

The others were all somewhat flustered. How could they have let this jinx return?

Shao Wenxuan is in poor health. Unlike Shen Jiamu, who only appears weak due to injury, Shao Wenxuan has been in this state for many years.

Hearing that her daughter had returned, she strode forward, and upon seeing her, tears streamed down her face.

"Okay, okay, okay, it's good that you're back safe and sound, it's good that you're back safe and sound."

Shao Jinxin stroked his beard, looking extremely relieved. "It's good that the eldest young lady has returned home safely. You should go and rest for a while."

Shen Jiamu remained calm, freeing himself from his father's restraints, and replied to Shao Jinxin with slightly lowered eyes, "That's very good."

With another wave of his hand, a group of servants surrounded Shen Jiamu, separating him from the people around him.

The elders felt embarrassed and humiliated by her indifferent attitude.

Two people felt slighted and seized the opportunity to cause trouble. Despite being juniors, they showed no respect or courtesy to their elders.

It was only when Shao Jinxin coughed that the two of them stopped.

Although taking the Shen family's wealth would be as easy as taking something out of a bag now, it shouldn't be done too obviously.

Shao Jinxin turned his head and gave them a warning look. The others understood and quickly shut up and made way for him.

Shen Jiamu was finally able to catch his breath and let his wet nurse take him back to rest.

The doctor was already prepared in the mansion and is someone who can be trusted.

He brought his wife along to examine Miss Shen's pulse and check her injuries.

That doctor's wife is far more professional than Aunt Wang. She didn't just use traditional Chinese medicine for bandaging; she brewed several kinds of Chinese herbs.

Anyway, after washing, drinking the medicine, and applying a medicated plaster, Shen Jiamu finished drinking the medicine and then applied the medicated plaster. Then he fell into a deep sleep.

Aunt Wang and the other two were invited to a side room next to the young lady's courtyard, a room that was vacated by two first-class maids.

"These are turbulent times, so please make do with yourselves, my two benefactors. It's safe here in this courtyard."

Wang Yan was startled. Why did Granny Qian reveal everything?

Looking around again, I found that the young lady's courtyard was surrounded by female guards.

He couldn't help but feel a little shocked and made some guesses. He was sure that he didn't know Shen Jiamu at all. So why did this young lady come to them?

Wang Yan let out a breath, picked up her teacup and drank tea twice more. She decided to just go with the flow.

His mind raced again, and he decided to have a discussion with Aunt Wang.

Regardless, the decision has been made to stand solely on Shen Jiamu's side, and whatever excuses they are required to give, that's what they'll say.

After all that work, it was already evening, and the women hadn't had dinner yet.

Plum blossom tofu, osmanthus fish strips, crab meat lion's head meatballs, steamed duck with fermented rice wine, ham and bamboo shoot soup, sweet steamed crispy pancakes, lotus seed paste cake, and rouge rice.

The food was very exquisite and prepared, and Wang Da Niang and her husband didn't think too much about it. They were about to pick up their food and start eating.

To everyone's surprise, the maid who came to serve them brought a cat and let the cat eat first before giving them food to the two of them.

Wang Yan watched in horror, but the head maid, Mu Yin, seeing her terrified expression, smiled reassuringly.

"It's alright, little sister, don't be afraid. This is a new rule we've recently added to our family. Come and try this ham and bamboo shoot soup to whet your appetite."

Wang Yan also made this soup, but their taste and appearance were indeed different. Wang Yan made a clear soup, while this one came out milky white.

Similarly, take the best Jinhua ham, line the bottom with scallion leaves, cut the ham into pieces, cover with ginger slices, and steam in a pot with Shaoxing wine for 15 minutes.

Slice fresh winter bamboo shoots. Boil water in a pot, add salt, rice wine, ginger slices, and scallions. After the water boils, blanch the bamboo shoot slices, then remove them and drain.

Using the same method, blanch a few more pieces of pork ribs. In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and simmer the pork ribs for half an hour.

Half an hour later, take out the steamed ham, slice it, put it in a pot to cook, add salt and rice wine, and cook until it just starts to boil, then add the bamboo shoot slices.

Simmer over low heat for another half hour, then transfer to a soup bowl. The resulting bamboo shoot soup is milky white and fragrant, with crisp and tender bamboo shoots and a rich, flavorful broth. One sip and the umami taste goes straight to the top of your head.

After waking up, Shen Jiamu drank a bowl of medicine and asked the nanny, "How are the other two now?"

Granny Qian stepped forward and took the bowl from the young lady's hand. "It's all settled. This old servant can tell at a glance that the young lady is quite quick-witted and clever."

Shen Jiamu nodded, "In that case, it's a good thing. Take good care of our benefactors and protect their safety."

"yes."

After giving instructions to her nanny, Shen Jiamu was truly injured and, exhausted, fell into a deep sleep.

In Jiqing Hall (the Shen family's council hall), Shao Jinxin sat there, frowning as he reviewed the events, vaguely sensing that something was amiss.

"Go! Find out if Prefect Yang is really going back to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents."

I knew in my heart that such an important matter could not possibly be fake, but something just felt off.

Instinctively, he felt a little flustered. He took a sip of tea and looked at his nephew.

"Wenxuan, your daughter is safe and sound, which is a great blessing! You must not get too excited and should focus on taking care of your health."

Shao Wenxuan awkwardly agreed at first, then took the son that Shao Jinxin had brought to be adopted by him and hugged him.

Shao Jinxin glanced at him, but had no intention of talking to this sickly man any further.

After sitting for a while, Shao Wenxuan couldn't hold on any longer. Seeing that they weren't talking about anything important, he excused himself and went back to his room to rest.

As soon as he left, the other clansmen quickly gathered around and whispered among themselves before Shao Jinxin, "Do you think we should eliminate them completely?"

"Fool! The priority now is to get Miss Shen back to health as quickly as possible. If anything goes wrong with her, all of us will lose our lives!"

"Why, why is this happening!" The old man who had come over to speak was bewildered.

He glanced at him impatiently, and Shao Jinxin said, suppressing his anger, "The news we spread was that she fell off a cliff and died! But don't you know what really happened? She was stabbed in the shoulder."

But this person has now returned to the Shen residence unharmed. She even paraded back through the streets in a grand manner. Did you see her go to fetch a doctor after she returned?

He died rashly without even calling a doctor, and you immediately took over the Shen family's fortune?

Rumors will surely spread, and unless we hand over this share of the family fortune, we, the relatives of the sons-in-law, will inevitably be suspected of involvement!

He paused, then, filled with resentment, said, "Only if she really died 'at the bottom of the cliff' will we be truly safe!"

"And Qiu Wu! That good-for-nothing, he can't even handle a young woman!"

The old man sighed deeply, "Alas! This is troublesome."

"Where Qiu Wu is isn't that important. Shouldn't we go and get a doctor for that girl now?"

If she really goes all out, wouldn't we be in deep trouble?

Shao Jinxin looked at his third uncle. If this were a junior, he would have slapped him long ago.

"How could she not have a doctor? She doesn't need you to go and invite one!"

Let's be patient for now, and then we'll make further plans. In the meantime, avoid any rash actions.

His third uncle sensed the impatience in his tone, nodded sheepishly, and quickly shut his mouth, saying no more.

Shao Jinxin spoke again, "However, this mansion has been cordoned off inside and out. Now that you're in, don't leave so easily."

Let's make sure they can't get even a single piece of paper or a verbal message out!

Another member of the Shao family came over and said, "Yes, I'll go find Shen Fu right away and ask him to make proper arrangements."

Shao Jinxin nodded, but his mind was still in turmoil, and he couldn't grasp a single clue.

After a while, he calmed himself down and thought, "Whatever! So what if Shen Jiamu comes back?"

She has neither outside help nor inside support! Alas...

I need to try and find out what Shao Wenxuan has to say tomorrow; for now, the only way is to try and get a hold of him.

The most important thing is to get tangible benefits; we can't worry about the reputation of Shaw Brothers being damaged at the moment.

Yes, that's it! But turning around, he couldn't help but curse, "That idiot Qiu Wu!"

He was filled with rage and decided that after some time had passed and things had calmed down, he would definitely kill that bastard to vent his anger!

…………………………………………

In the main courtyard of the Shen family, Shao Wenxuan genuinely liked his uncle's grandson (the boy he wanted to send over for adoption).

Even for the nights, they took him back to the main courtyard, where they prepared a room for him so that the child could eat and sleep with him.

The child was only five or six years old. He was a little panicked when he first came to the Shen family with his grandfather, but Shao Wenxuan was a gentle and kind person, and he got to know him after playing with him for a few days.

So now he spends all his time eating and playing with this uncle. In just one month, he has become quite dependent on this uncle.