The following day was the Little New Year.
Early in the morning, Mrs. Chen sent someone to the market to buy ingredients so she could cook herself and have dinner with her daughter on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
She asked Shen Qing what he liked to eat. Shen Qing thought for a moment and said he didn't have anything he wanted to eat. So Chen Shi had someone buy chicken and duck and put them in a pot to stew early in the morning.
"Not a drop of water is added. The soup comes entirely from the chicken and duck, and it's very nutritious. When you were growing up, I used to make it this way for you."
As she spoke, Chen looked at Shen Qing's thin body with reluctance, her eyes reddening, and said, "Look at you now, you're even thinner than when you were a girl."
Shen Qing smiled but didn't say anything.
The original owner's parents were unaware of the many strange things that had happened in the Gao family, and they thought their daughter was living a very comfortable life in the Gao family.
Shen Qing didn't plan to tell them either; she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
I'm only coming back for a short stay this time; it will be several years before I return.
She could accept attending social events every few years to show filial piety to the original owner of the body, but she really didn't want the original owner's family to get involved in the Gao family's affairs.
Feeling someone grabbing his jacket, Shen Qing looked down and saw Su Lan looking at him with a puzzled expression.
She crouched down, looking Su-lan in the eye: "Su-lan, what's wrong?"
"The Little New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten with family, right?"
Shen Qing smiled and said, "That's right, so we'll have our Little New Year's Eve dinner in this courtyard tonight."
Su Lan smiled with relief.
Shen Qing knew that she didn't want to see any other members of the Shen family either.
Just then, a maid ran into the courtyard and kowtowed to Madam Chen, saying, "Second Madam, the Old Madam wants Fifth Miss to have dinner in the West Courtyard tonight."
Madam Chen stood up, surprised and delighted, "What did you say? The old lady wants to dine with Qing'er?"
"Yes, the old lady can let the fifth young lady go alone."
Ms. Chen nodded excitedly, as if she had received a great favor.
She turned around, her eyes red-rimmed, and hugged Shen Qing: "Qing'er! Your grandma has finally agreed to let you dine in her courtyard! Your grandma has accepted you!"
Shen Qing frowned: "What do you mean she accepted me? Aren't I her granddaughter?"
Chen lowered her eyes and wiped away her tears, not saying anything more.
Shen Qing felt confused, but still took Chunju and Jiang Shen to the West Courtyard in the evening.
The Shen family's residence has a total of four small courtyards.
The east courtyard was where Mr. Shen lived with his wife and son; the west courtyard was where the old lady lived with her two unmarried granddaughters.
The south courtyard was where the Chen family lived.
Master Shen and Madam Chen had always had a good relationship, so they lived in the South Courtyard most of the time. They watched the original owner grow up from a young age, so they doted on her, who was born out of wedlock. When the original owner was ten years old, they arranged a marriage between her and the second young master of the Cheng family.
Shen Qing had only heard about this in the last two days.
Men truly only love the children born to the woman they deeply love.
"Fifth Miss, please come in," the servant guarding the courtyard gate said respectfully.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze, looked up, and realized they had already arrived at the west courtyard.
Standing outside the courtyard gate, one can see from afar that the main house is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, bustling with activity, as if a large number of people have come.
Shen Qing took a deep breath and went inside.
Chunju muttered under her breath, "Hmph! I haven't seen you once in nineteen years. Even when you got married, I pretended not to know. I don't believe that old woman would be so kind as to invite you to dine together! It must be a trap!"
Shen Qing looked at the bustling house in front of him and smiled indifferently: "What can an old woman do to me? Don't worry, I've seen it all."
Chunju looked at her worriedly: "The old woman can't do anything to you, but she has the henchmen of the Third and Fourth Misses! Look at yesterday, you just got home and they immediately gave you a hard time."
Shen Qing snorted lightly: "I just don't want to cause any more trouble. Do you really think I'm afraid of them?"
She turned her head and glanced at Jiang Shen's chest out of the corner of her eye: "You can't make a move until I say something."
"knew."
Shen Qing pulled his cloak tighter and stretched his arms forward a few times, already preparing for battle.
Jiang Shen held an umbrella over her to keep the snowflakes from falling on her.
She walked up the steps with her hands behind her back and stood at the doorway. The once bustling house immediately fell silent.
The old lady sat in the center of the room on a grand chair, her hair was silver-white, and her skin was so white it had a pinkish tinge. She looked at everyone with a smile.
Shen Qing had never seen such a beautiful old lady before, and immediately knew where the original owner's beauty came from.
The old lady was beautiful, and Chen was also pretty. The original owner of this body was born with exceptional beauty due to the paternal inheritance and the mother's genes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been rejected in Jiangzhou, her reputation would have been ruined, and the Gao family's son would still insist on marrying her.
And then there was the mysterious man who kissed her during the Lantern Festival…
"Oh! Fifth Sister has brought bodyguards again!" Shen Yu sneered. "Are they your bodyguards or your lovers?"
Shen Lan pretended to pull her, then blushed and secretly glanced at Jiang Shen.
Shen Qing had expected her to say these things, but she didn't care. She gestured for Jiang Shen to wait at the door, then stepped inside, walked straight to the old lady, bowed to her, and said in a respectful but not arrogant manner, "Grandma, Happy Lunar New Year! Qing'er has come to pay her respects."
The old lady, who had been laughing happily just moments before, suddenly became expressionless: "Raise your head."
Shen Qing raised her head confidently.
The old lady looked her over, a hint of amazement in her eyes.
She had never paid any attention to this illegitimate granddaughter since birth, and was unaware that she had grown into such a beautiful young woman.
She was beautiful, but her life was truly unlucky; she not only caused her husband's death, but also her father-in-law's.
Thinking of this, the old lady disliked her even more, and said sarcastically, "I heard that after your husband's father died, your in-laws went bankrupt? They were heavily in debt, and you were almost kidnapped and sold?"
Shen Qing didn't want the Shen family to know these things, mainly because she didn't want Chen Shi to worry, so she said, "Nothing of the sort. Although my husband and father-in-law are gone, my mother-in-law is still here, and the family property is still here. I'm doing quite well."
The old lady snorted coldly: "Don't try to fool me. I just sent someone to inquire, and you're living a miserable life, borrowing money everywhere. Did you come back to the Shen family this time to borrow money?"
Everyone in the room burst out laughing, especially Shen Yu, who laughed even more exaggeratedly.
"She came back this time to have her mother find her a widower so she can remarry! Her husband has only been dead for a short time; his body is barely cold, and she's already in a hurry to find a widower to sleep with. What a shameless slut!"
That's a rather malicious statement; it's escalated to a personal attack.
Even though Shen Qing wanted to keep the peace, she couldn't accept being insulted like this in front of everyone. Just as she was about to speak, a hearty laugh came from outside the house, and she realized that Shen Liang was also having dinner there tonight.
Shen Yu ran to the courtyard first and affectionately took Shen Liang's arm: "Dad, you've finally arrived? Everyone's been waiting for you! Was the snow heavy on the way?"
As he spoke, he brushed his hand across Shen Liang's shoulder, wiping away the snowflakes that had fallen on it.
Shen Liang was quite pleased and said with a smile to another middle-aged man beside him, "Look at my three daughters, they're not getting married, they're determined to stay at home and take care of me!"
The man laughed and said, "Old Shen, you're so lucky!"
As he walked up the steps, he was taken aback to see Shen Qing standing inside the house. He hurriedly went in and asked, "Mr. Shen, what are you doing here?"
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