Unwilling to become a concubine, and having nowhere else to turn for help, Shen Yan ran away the next morning as dawn broke.
Zhao got up and took some people to wake her daughter up, thinking that she should dress her up nicely before sending her off today, but she only saw an empty room.
"Find him! Go and bring him back to me right now!!"
Zhao was trembling with anger. How could Shen Yan run away? If she ran away, who would save Shen Ming?
That was her own brother. How could she just stand by and watch him die?
Zhao wanted to search the capital city to the last foot, but unfortunately she only had so many people and didn't have that much ability, so in the end she naturally failed to find Shen Yan.
The head maid of the Marquis's mansion came with a sedan chair to pick up the person, only to find out that the person was gone. She was so angry that she scolded Zhao Shi severely and then left with her people, saying that Zhao Shi would never have a chance to climb up to the Marquis's mansion again.
Zhao was so angry that she broke down, smashed a bunch of things, and then fainted from anger herself.
When she woke up, she was extremely weak, but her hatred was hard to quell. She cursed Shen Changlin and the mother and her two children, then cursed Shen Ning, and then cursed Shen Yan.
She felt that her only support in this world was her son, but when her son was dying, she couldn't save him.
After grumbling and cursing until evening, Shen Yan returned.
They were tied up by Su Qi and sent back.
Su Qi simply left the person at the second room's door, not even glancing at Shen Yan's pleading eyes, and quickly left in the carriage as if avoiding a plague.
Shen Ning sent someone to investigate Su Qi, and unexpectedly saw Shen Yan looking for Su Qi. It was said that she had followed the wood seller into the Su family and hid in Su Qi's room, only to be discovered when Su Qi returned.
She confessed her feelings to Su Qi and said she was willing to marry him to atone for her sins, but Su Qi was unmoved and simply tied her up and threw her back.
Shen Ning thought she was incredibly naive and foolish. Shen Ming had killed Su Qi's sister, and Su Qi hated the Shen family. How could she possibly marry her enemy's sister?
The Su family members may not hold high official positions, but they have a clean family background and strict family education. He hates the Shen family and will definitely take revenge, but he would never marry his enemy's daughter to torment her.
If he marries his enemy's daughter and tortures and abuses her, then how is he any different from Shen Ming?
If he marries his enemy's daughter and doesn't mistreat her, how can he face his own sister?
Shen Yan's self-righteous attempt at atonement and redemption was actually just like rubbing salt into Su Qi's wounds.
Does he crave Shen Yan's compensation? Or does he crave tormenting her?
What made her think that Su Qi would give her such an important identity as his wife?
Su Qi hated her. Didn't she deserve to marry the girl she loved and live a happy life? Why did she have to torment each other?
Although he didn't know the truth, Shen Ning thought highly of Su Qi for bringing the person back.
"Keep a close eye on the second wife, and tell me if anything happens."
She wouldn't help Shen Yan marry Su Qi, but since Shen Yan didn't want to become a concubine in the Marquis's mansion, she wouldn't let Zhao send her there.
Firstly, she didn't want the Shen family's daughter to be her concubine; secondly, Zhao sent the girl to curry favor with the Marquis of Yongning in order to save Shen Ming, and she couldn't possibly let her rescue Shen Ming.
Zhao hated Shen Yan to the core, even though she was her own daughter.
As a daughter, she disobeyed her mother; as a younger sister, she refused to save her brother. Zhao no longer saw Shen Yan as a daughter, but as an enemy.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Despite her weakened state, Zhao slapped Shen Yan three times hard, causing her mouth to bleed and her face to become swollen and red.
Shen Yan covered her face and cried bitterly, but Zhao Shi showed no mercy: "Guards, tie her up."
Less than fifteen minutes after being untied, Shen Yan was tied up again and gagged.
She saw her biological mother looking at her with a look of disgust and hatred before giving her orders.
"Send her to the Yongning Marquis's residence, she can be a maid or a concubine, and you don't need to inform me of her life or death afterward."
Shen Yan was in despair. This was her own mother. How could she treat her like this?
She didn't want to go to the Marquis's residence; she wouldn't go.
Unfortunately, she was powerless to resist, and her birth mother ignored the pleas in her eyes. She could only watch helplessly as she was carried out of the house and thrown onto a carriage.
Shen Yan cried the whole way, crying about her miserable life, her future, Su Qi's heartlessness, and Shen Ning's cruelty.
However, the carriage finally stopped only after she had cried all her tears.
She thought she would be taken to the Marquis's mansion, but when she got off the carriage, she found that she was in a remote mountain village, surrounded by green mountains and only a few scattered houses.
The house in front of us wasn't big, but it was enough for a family to live in. It had a courtyard wall and a gate, and the house was fully equipped with daily necessities. There was also a mute old woman living there.
The person who brought her here threw her into the house and coldly told her, "If you want to live a good life, stay here quietly. If you leave and run away, then your life and death are in the hands of fate. If you die, you deserve it."
Shen Yan was completely confused, and it took her a while to realize that she didn't have to go to the Marquis's mansion to be a concubine or maid.
She looked around the room, and finally looked at the mute woman who was bringing over the food.
This person was specifically there to take care of her.
Sending her to a place far away from the Shen family and making such thorough preparations, Shen Yan could only think of one person—Shen Ning.
She was unwilling to help her marry Su Qi, but she saved her life.
Shen Yan thought of Su Qi's indifference and the humiliation of being tied up and thrown back by him.
She was confused at that moment.
Although the second wife's life wasn't easy, it was still much better than that of most families.
She was raised with traditional skills, learning embroidery and needlework. Apart from that, she never lifted a finger and never left the house.
A narrow worldview stems from a limited life experience and lack of contact with others.
Therefore, the only way she could think of to escape being a concubine was to get married, and the only man she could think of was Su Qi, so she wanted to marry Su Qi.
But now everything has changed. She left the Shen family and moved to a mountain village. She no longer has to worry about being sent to be a concubine, but she doesn't know how to live her life.
Shen Ning sent her here, clearly not so that she would waste her time in a decadent manner.
Shen Yan had no life plan, so Shen Ning gave her one.
Shen Ning bought land in the surrounding area and rented it out cheaply to local farmers, but with one condition: they had to bring Shen Yan with them when they farmed.
Shen Yan naturally didn't just watch; she had to learn from her and then cultivate her own plot of land.
There are chickens, ducks, geese, a dog, and two pigs next to the yard.
Shen Yan needs to learn to be self-sufficient.
Of course, it wasn't just about making her a farmer. Shen Ning also gave her books on business and military strategy. Shen Yan had to copy the books every day and deliver them to Shen Ning in exchange for silver and cloth.
Shen Ning ultimately refused to allow her sisters to fall into depravity and destruction.
If the second wife can't teach, then she'll do it herself.
When Zhao learned that her daughter was missing, she felt as if she had lost all hope and immediately fell ill.
She wanted to find Shen Yan, but her abilities were limited, and she couldn't find her at all. She also reported it to the authorities, but the government wouldn't put in much effort; they would just do a token search, and it was impossible to find her.
Zhao remained bedridden, cursing incessantly, unwilling to accept reality, yet powerless to change it.
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