Chapter 36 teaches us to get rid of useless shame.

"Bang!"

The last vase in the room also fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

When Madam Sheng arrived, there was practically no room to rest in the house. Sheng Qiyin, her hair disheveled, stood before her dressing table, a hairpin pressed against her throat. Two maids stood a few steps away, terrified, not daring to move.

"My ancestor, what are you doing?"

"I won't enter the palace!" Sheng Qinyin roared. "If you insist on forcing me, I'll die in front of you!"

Madam Sheng frowned and after entering the house, she signaled the maids to close the door, as if she was afraid that the family disgrace would be exposed.

"Put down your hairpin first!" Madam Sheng clapped her hands and stressed, "What girl at your age is still unmarried? You look down on all the young men in the capital, and now you don't even want His Majesty?"

"I don't want to!" Sheng Qiyin was furious. "You are my own mother, and you want me to be someone else's concubine! You want me to share my husband with a bunch of other women!"

"That's the Son of Heaven!"

Madam Sheng looked disappointed. "Serving the Emperor is such an honor. If you have a child in the future, it will be a lifetime of glory!"

She shook her head. "Mother is thinking about you! Honestly, at your age and reputation, even as a daughter of the Sheng family, you no longer have the qualifications to choose others. You can only let others choose you. Can you tolerate this? Entering the palace is already your best option!"

"You just want to use my whole life to pave the way for my brother and even my nephew!"

"Shouldn't I?" Madam Sheng raised her voice and asked, "You've been so willful and reckless all these years, and it's all because of your family's indulgence! They've sacrificed so much for you, shouldn't you repay them in kind?"

Sheng Qiyin burst into tears. "But this is my lifelong event! Are you going to ruin my life?"

"If I do nothing, it's you who's ruined your life!" Madam Sheng said helplessly, "You don't want to be the emperor's concubine, but you're rushing to be that Jiang Keyu's second wife? Sheng Qiyin! Can you please have some self-respect?"

Sheng Qiyin was stunned for a moment, then her hands and feet trembled when she realized what was happening. "You are my mother! How can you say that to me..."

"It's because I'm your mother that I want you to face reality as soon as possible!" Madam Sheng shook her head repeatedly. "What's so good about Jiang Keyu? Why would you follow her like a demon?"

"Grandfather said he was good!"

"That was six years ago!" Madam Sheng was visibly annoyed. "When have you ever heard your grandfather say anything good about you? He's an ungrateful person!"

Sheng Qinyin was stunned.

"He's respectful to your grandfather now, and polite to the Sheng family, all for his reputation! He's willing to comply with small matters, but what about big ones? He was able to successfully enter the Dali Temple at such a young age, but it was your grandfather who helped him! What about now? Has he ever helped your brother and the others at all?"

Madam Sheng cursed in frustration, "He's an ungrateful idiot!"

"He doesn't help his brothers...that's because his brothers themselves are useless!"

"Sheng Qiyin!"

Madam Sheng opened her eyes wide in disbelief. "Are you crazy? You actually belittled your own brother, your own family, for an outsider!"

Sheng Qiyin's shoulders trembled in fear at her mother's roar. The next moment, she squatted on the ground and burst into tears, "I want to see my grandfather! My grandfather will definitely not ignore me! He will definitely not force me like you guys did!"

"Enough!" Mrs. Sheng slammed the table.

"Sheng Qiyin, let me tell you two things. First, you're already on the draft list, so even if your grandfather comes forward, it's useless. Second, even if Jiang Keyu has divorced his wife, he won't marry you!"

Sheng Qiyin raised her head angrily, "What makes you so sure?"

"I'll tell you why."

…

In the teahouse, Jiang Chengyou was coaxed away, leaving only Song Baoyuan and Liu An in the room.

"There's no rush for this. You can take your time to think about it." Liu An lay on his back, his hands behind his head. "Besides, I don't think you have the ability to handle this matter properly."

Song Baoyuan paused while pouring tea. "If that's the case, why did the princess come to see me?"

"Because I think you might be a talented person with great potential." Liu An's lips curled up into a smile. "Didn't you ask me how to survive without relying on men? I can teach you."

She blinked. "The first step is to let go of the guilt."

Song Baoyuan looked up in surprise, "Why should I feel guilty?"

"Yeah, why should you feel guilty?" Liu An asked playfully, "I noticed yesterday that you seemed to be avoiding everything related to your ex-husband."

Song Baoyuan looked away and out the window, "Since he's my ex-husband, I should avoid suspicion."

"What's there to avoid?" Liu An snorted. "He's no longer your husband, but he can still be your connection! Unless you've done something truly unfair to him."

"I don't!"

"That's it, isn't it?" Liu An straightened up and tapped the table to emphasize the point. "You're being so secretive, even avoiding the subject when you hear his name. This proves nothing except that you can't let him go!"

Song Baoyuan subconsciously refuted, but her voice was much weaker, "I didn't."

Liu An waved his hand. "Let me give you an example. If you want to redeem Young Master Qingze, you can go to Yaofang in person under the banner of Jiang Shaoqing. He doesn't need to show up in person, so what's wrong with using his name to scare people?"

Song Baoyuan's eyes were dull, as if she was saying, "Is this still possible?"

"Be thick-skinned and don't feel sorry for him. You gave birth to his children and managed the inner court for so many years. Without a virtuous wife like you, how could he have achieved success and had both sons and daughters so easily? You can't erase your own achievements just because others can't see them. He owes you all this!"

Seeing her dazed and stupid, Liu An suddenly slammed the table, frightening her so much that her shoulders trembled.

"He not only enjoyed your efforts, but also your body. In your prime years as a woman, you only slept with him!"

Song Baoyuan had never expected her to say such a thing, and her ears turned red instantly.

"Look, look! You're blushing already?" Liu An leaned forward, getting close to her face. "This is the second thing I want to teach you: get rid of your useless sense of shame."

Song Baoyuan seemed a little at a loss.

Liu An said seriously, "If you want to establish yourself, you'll inevitably have to stand in front of many people. But no matter how many people you're facing, no matter who they are, no matter whether they're teasing you, slandering you, or even defaming you, you must always remain calm and have the ability to think. Instead of being blushing and speechless like you are now."

She spread her hands, "Do you understand what I mean?"

Song Baoyuan tried to calm down and nodded.

"Okay." Liu An suppressed his smile and pressed the corners of his mouth. "Now look at me and answer my questions. No avoiding my eyes and no blushing."

Song Baoyuan honestly folded her hands on her knees and looked into her eyes.

"Ahem." Liu An cleared his throat. "When you and Jiang Shaoqing were having sex, did you light a lamp?"

Song Baoyuan: "..."

The ears instantly turned red as if they were cooked.

"Look at me! Don't hide!"

Liu An frowned and said seriously, "Those bad guys out there love to use chastity as an excuse to target women. If one day in the future, your enemies frame you and falsely accuse you of having an affair, ruining your reputation, how will you respond? If you act like you are now, what's the difference between that and confessing yourself?"

Song Baoyuan hesitated, nodded, and then shook her head.

"say!"

"No, o'clock."

Liu An suddenly understood the fun of teasing a little girl, especially such a beautiful one.

She pursed her lips, trying to suppress a smile, and asked, "How old is your son?"

"A little over five."

"But you've only been married for six years. You were still in mourning when you first got married, right? Was it very frequent?"

"No!" Song Baoyuan's cheeks flushed. "Only, only on the night of our wedding, that time."

Liu An stretched out the last word, "You hit it in one try? That's amazing!"

Song Baoyuan's eyelids twitched wildly.

"Do you think he's awesome?"

Song Baoyuan stammered, "What, awesome?"

"Stop playing dumb!" Liu An suddenly said fiercely.

Song Baoyuan felt both wronged and innocent.

“Are there many positions?”

"Have you ever used your mouth?"

"Did you enjoy it?"

“…”

Everyone who passed by the door of the room was confused because the wild and gangster-like laughter of Princess Liu'an could be heard frequently from inside.

*

Everyone in the Dali Temple was unable to stop the furious Sheng Qinyin, allowing her to rush directly into the inner hall.

But Jiang Keyu went to the interrogation room, and only Jiang Suisui and another child were playing with porcelain dolls at the door.

Sheng Qiyin ran into the house and saw no one there. She turned around and asked, "Where's your father?"

Jiang Suisui looked at her for a long time, then remembered her brother's words, snorted in a baby voice, and decided to ignore her.

"Where's your dad?"

"I'm asking your dad!"

Sheng Qinyin seemed to be on the verge of losing control. The more she asked, the more aggressive she became, and her voice became louder and louder.

Jiang Suisui was a little scared, but she still picked up the stone and threw it at her, "I won't tell you!"

"Bang!"

Sheng Qinyin kicked the porcelain doll on the ground, and it shattered into pieces.

"Woo!" Jiang Suisui couldn't hold it in any longer. She stepped back and cried out in fear, "Woo! Daddy! I want Daddy!"

The people from Dali Temple went to look for the person while quickly standing in front of the child.

"Sui Sui!" Jiang Keyu heard the crying from far away and hurried back.

Hearing her father's voice, Jiang Suisui wiped her red eyes, looking pitiful and extremely aggrieved, "Daddy!"

Jiang Keyu walked quickly to her and picked her up.

"Daddy, I'm scared..."

"Don't be afraid, Daddy is back."

Jiang Keyu patted her daughter's back and comforted her softly, having no time to care about others.

Feeling ignored, Sheng Qiyin couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into tears, screaming, "Jiang Keyu!"

Jiang Keyu was confused and turned to look at her, "What are you doing here?"

Then he demanded, "Whatever, why did you scare my daughter? She's only three years old!"

"My mother asked you to paint her a portrait of me, didn't she?"

Jiang Keyu frowned.

It seems that this is the case. Madam Sheng said that she needed a portrait of Sheng Qiyin to show to the young men in the capital. But Sheng Qiyin despised those painters for not being able to depict her beauty, so Madam Sheng found him.

"yes."

"Then do you know what she's going to do with this painting?"

"Know."

Sheng Qiyin's eyes were red and her expression was numb. "You knew you were still painting?"

Jiang Keyu covered her daughter's ears and said, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"A good thing?" Sheng Qiyin's steps were unsteady, and she stumbled backwards. "Do you think this is a good thing?"

She suddenly smiled and asked, "Did you know that this painting has entered the palace?"

Jiang Keyu said calmly, "I know."

"You know I like..."

Sheng Qinyin pinched herself hard, her eyes bloodshot.

"I will never forgive you! Never!"

After she finished speaking, she wiped her tears and ran away.

Jiang Keyu had no other thoughts. She lowered her head and kissed her daughter's face, coaxing her patiently, "It's okay, Sui Sui, don't be afraid."