"Were you frightened by seeing these underhanded tricks used in the inner quarters of the household today?" Granny Liu asked.
Shen Yuan shook her head. In fact, the underhanded methods she had witnessed in the princess's mansion in her previous life were far more vicious than those she had seen today.
In his previous life, after Chu Yuning and Xiao Yunyan got engaged, he did not keep himself pure just because he was the princess's fiancé. On the contrary, he seduced many noble ladies in the capital in the year before their wedding.
He was already handsome, and he was also quite literate, able to write poems and lyrics to please the girls. As a result, some women who admired his talent spoke a few more words to him at the banquet.
This greatly displeased Xiao Yunyan.
Until one day, Xiao Yunyan saw a poem on Chu Yuning's desk. It was written for the Second Miss Su of the Minister's Mansion. It was an acrostic poem, hiding the Second Miss Su's maiden name.
That very night, Xiao Yunyan sent men to kidnap Miss Su.
The next morning, the unconscious Miss Su was left in front of the gate of the Minister's mansion. She was only wearing a thin undergarment, her skirt was torn, and her exposed skin was covered with marks of abuse. She was left like this at the gate of the Minister's mansion.
The news spread to every corner of the capital within an hour. Madam Su was so angered that she died, Minister Su fell ill and lost his official position, and even the eldest daughter of the Su family who had married out was divorced by her husband's family and sent back to the Su family.
The Su family was destroyed overnight, becoming a laughing stock among the noble families of the capital.
However, Shen Yuan later learned that Miss Su had never spoken a word to Chu Yuning, and had no interaction with Chu Yuning at all.
It was after Chu Yuning met Miss Su at the Peony Banquet in the capital that she found her exceptionally beautiful and wrote a poem to praise her beauty.
It was this very poem that aroused Xiao Yunyan's jealousy and revenge.
Miss Su died a violent death, and the Su family was destroyed.
Later, when Xiao Yunyan learned the truth, she merely scoffed, "Who told her to be so beautiful? If she has such a seductive face, then she deserves to die!"
Damn it?
The one who deserves to die is never Miss Su, but Chu Yuning!
Recalling what happened last time, Shen Yuan felt a chill run down her spine. Fortunately, in this life, she had her to stop Chu Yuning. Chu Yuning would never have become the top scholar so easily, nor would she have had the chance to see Miss Su again.
“Grandma, Yuan Yuan isn’t afraid of Aunt Zhao’s little tricks! But Grandma, you are my only family in this world. Yuan Yuan is worried about you, concerned about you, and doesn’t want anything to happen to you!” Shen Yuan held Liu Mama’s hand tightly, revealing all her care and concern.
"Alright, then Grandma promises you." Granny Liu gently patted Shen Yuan's hand. Thinking of what Shen Yuan had just said, she couldn't help but say, "Grandma may not be your only family. Yuan Yuan, maybe your parents are still somewhere in this world, waiting to reunite with you."
"Father and Mother?" Shen Yuan was taken aback. "But they haven't come looking for me all these years. Maybe they've forgotten about me long ago."
"No, you are the child your mother carried for ten months before giving birth to. How could she forget you?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan couldn't help but recall the image of Liu Shi giving birth.
She lowered her head, a struggle churning within her. "Was it this painful when my mother gave birth to me?"
Although Granny Liu suffered a brain injury when she fell off the cliff, she was certain that she was the one who delivered Shen Yuan, otherwise she wouldn't have fallen to the bottom of the cliff with her.
Granny Liu said softly, "No woman's childbirth is painless. But no matter how painful it was, your mother still gave birth to you, and she definitely loves you!"
After helping Granny Liu to bed, the words that kept echoing in Shen Yuan's mind were, "Your mother definitely loves you."
Over the years, she has never thought about finding her biological parents, because she has considered countless possibilities regarding them.
They may no longer be in this world, they may have had younger siblings and new children, and have long forgotten her, they may not have liked her at all, and seeing that she was a baby girl, they abandoned her in the mountains after she was born...
In her previous life, she never got to see her biological parents before she died. Will she have the chance to see them in this life?
Shen Yuan thought a lot that night, and because her mind was so chaotic, she had many dreams.
She dreamed of her previous life again.
At Xiao Yunyan's birthday banquet, she was serving tea and wine to the nobles and counts who came to offer their congratulations when a middle-aged man suddenly grabbed her wrist. The man was exceptionally handsome and exuded a chilling aura.
Shen Yuan was so afraid of him that she spilled the tea in her hand.
But the man didn't yell at her. He apologized to her, saying that she looked like his wife and was about the same age as their first child, so he suspected she was their daughter.
But later his wife came forward and said that their child had died at birth.
Only then did the middle-aged man release her hand.
Later, Shen Yuan learned about the man's identity from Xiao Yunyan; he was said to be a very powerful official.
Xiao Yunyan even mocked her about this, saying, "Do you think you're about to rise to the top and become a phoenix? Let me tell you, a lowly life is a lowly life. Some people are born as dragons and phoenixes, while others are born as rats in the gutter. And you, Shen Yuan, are the most disgusting and filthy rat in the gutter, and you'll never be able to climb onto the stage in your entire life!"
The next day, Shen Yuan got out of bed, her head still heavy with sleep. She had had so many chaotic dreams the night before that she felt even more tired after taking a nap.
She patted her forehead, then hummed and hawed and punched a bunch of random things on the bed. Then, she took the money box she had brought back from the rich man's mansion yesterday and went downstairs.
The house in the backyard is almost finished. The woodshed and kitchen are ready to use. All that's left for the other two-story building is to lay the roof beams and put on the roof.
After this heavy snow ends and the snow melts, it will take another seven or eight days for the houses to be fully built.
After checking the progress of the house construction in the backyard, Shen Yuan took the money and went to the bank to deposit it.
She hadn't decided what to do with the money yet, so she decided to save it for now.
After leaving the money exchange, Shen Yuan went to the market. With the New Year approaching, she needed to buy some winter clothes for Granny Liu, Xiao Ling, Tian Tian, and herself.
After paying the deposit at the clothing store, Shen Yuan carried her other belongings and headed back. She walked across a street and happened to pass by Zui Chun Lou.
The signboard of Zuichunlou was blackened by the fire. Several girls sat at the entrance of Zuichunlou, looking dejected. When passersby walked by, they just stared at them without getting up to greet them.
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