Chapter 86: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind

But no one cared about Mrs. Liu's opinion.

Madam Han snorted and laughed, "My wife Jinzhi is just too soft-hearted. In my opinion, such a shameless woman should have her hair cut off and sent to a nunnery on the border. It would be considered a good deed for her to spend the rest of her life in frontier temples."

Mrs. Han knew that she was in the wrong. If this matter really got out, her daughter would be the one who suffered. Not to mention that her family's reputation would be ruined, her father would also punish Shen Yan for the sake of the other children in the family.

Madam Liu bowed and trembled, "Master Shang, please don't let this incident leak out. I will prepare a dowry for Shen Yan when I return. I hope Master Shang will be more compassionate to Yan'er in the future."

"Can"

Shen Yan kept her head down the whole time. Only when she heard the word "but" did she carefully raise her head and look up at the person in front of her with tears in her eyes. However, the other person didn't even bother to give her a glance.

The people outside the chamber had had enough of the melon and knew they could not stay any longer, so they all comforted Madam Han and returned to the banquet. Madam Liu also left with Shen Yan and got into the carriage from the back door in a dejected manner.

After everyone left, Madam Han put away her anger and said to Shang Jinzhi with a look of pity: "Jinzhi, have you really thought it through? This girl from the Shen family is really not presentable. In fact, I think Miss Xu is more..."

"Aunt" Shang Jinzhi interrupted Mrs. Han's next words, "All I need is a chess piece. Since this girl from the Shen family has bumped into me, it means that this is her fate, but..." But a woman like Miss Xu should not waste her time in the back house and calculate people's hearts.

Mrs. Han looked at her handsome and capable nephew and felt sorry for him. If her sister were still alive, she wouldn't need her nephew to be so cautious and calculating every day.

In order to avoid being manipulated by Princess Yongping in her marriage, she had to resort to this desperate measure. Madam Han prayed silently, hoping that her nephew would soon seize the throne of the crown prince and find a good wife in the future. As for the girl from the Shen family, to be honest, she didn't even want her to be Jinzhi's concubine.

Xu Nian and the others had no idea what had happened in the compartment. After a delicious banquet, they returned home. Before parting, Wang Pingting handed the bag containing the prizes to Xu Nian.

"Everyone gets a share. Pick out the ones you like and take them home."

"I'm so sorry," Wang Pingting said, and suddenly her eyes turned and she had an idea. She took out a pearl hairpin, which was one of the ones Han Xinyin gave her.

"This one piece is enough. I will take this piece of jewelry out more often in the next few days to annoy that rude young lady."

Xu Nian smiled helplessly, "As long as my sister is happy."

After parting with Wang Pingting, Xu Nian was about to get on the carriage when he heard Luo Jinan's voice from behind.

"Bring it"

Xu Nian turned around and looked at Luo Jin'an who stretched out his hand. She was startled and suddenly remembered what he said before. She took out his jade pendant from the bag and handed it to him. Unexpectedly, Luo Jin'an walked past her and took the whole bag. After picking and choosing, he ordered the guard: "Send these to the pawnshop. Remember, it's a death pawn."

Xu Nian felt a little puzzled when he saw Luo Jin'an gritting his teeth and saying the word "die". It was only when he saw the items he picked out that he realized, because those were the prizes offered by the young masters of various families.

When Luo Jin'an saw Xu Nian turned around and got on the carriage without paying any attention to him, he was panicked for a moment. He thought Nian Nian would not be angry.

It was not until he heard a soft word "childish" from inside the carriage that he curled his lips and got on his carriage.

After returning to the county government, everyone went to Shouzhuyuan to pay their respects to Old Man Xu and Lady Wang.

"You guys came back pretty quickly. How was your trip today, Changsheng?"

Luo Jin'an was already used to Wang's way of coaxing him like a child, so he smiled and replied, "I don't think anything else is a big deal, but today I found out that Sister Nian Nian is not only a good cook, but also has a pair of skillful hands."

Wang didn't understand what she meant, so Tian explained to her that the wife of the prefect loved the rope weaving Xu Nian made today and praised it highly.

Wang laughed and said, "The eldest girl is indeed smart. Since Changsheng likes it, let the eldest girl make one for you."

Then he said to Xu Nian, "Your brother Changsheng has given you many good things. It's not easy to find something he likes. If you have time, take the trouble to make one for him."

What could Xu Nian say? Her grandmother had arranged everything clearly, so she had to nod and agree. However, she still rolled her eyes at Luo Jinan.

Luo Jinan thought that he might be dazzled, otherwise why did he feel that Nian Nian was so different from others even when she rolled her eyes?

Tian asked the three brothers to send the prince back to rest first. After Wang, Xu Nian and herself were the only three left, she told them what happened at the banquet today.

Even though Wang had lived to such an old age, this was the first time she had heard of such a thing.

"This girl from the Shen family is too bold. Isn't this just courting death? If the news gets out, she won't be able to survive."

Xu Nian was also shocked. She didn't expect such a big thing to happen during the dinner.

Tian also sighed and said, "Who said it wasn't true? I met the child once. She was very quiet and virtuous. I never expected that she was so... " Tian was unable to say it. This was still a girl who had not yet reached marriage age.

What Xu Nian was concerned about was the result. "So is there no final answer to this matter?"

Tian sighed, "Master Shang is a kind-hearted man. He said he would marry Miss Shen, but he couldn't make the decision himself. He had to go back to Shengdu to inform his parents first. But who would have thought that Miss Shen was determined to follow Master Shang back to Shengdu. This marriage has not even happened yet."

"This is really..."

“…”

Xu Nian's mind flew away unconsciously. She remembered that when she just entered the villa, Master Shang said that he would return to Shengdu soon, which meant that returning to Shengdu had been decided long ago and he was not returning for this marriage.

My mother also said that it was the sound of Mrs. Han knocking over the teacup that caught their attention, but she clearly remembered that the venue for today's banquet was on the grass, so why was there only wooden boards under Mrs. Han's seat? Was it really just a coincidence?

Moreover, how did Shen Yan, the daughter of a county magistrate, who had no money or power, slip the medicine into Master Shang's teacup without anyone noticing? How did she manage to sneak into the chamber without being seen by so many maids and servants? And if Master Shang really wanted to marry Shen Yan as his mother had said, why did he allow his servants to cause trouble in front of Madam Han?

Xu Nian was thinking seriously, and Tian called her several times but she didn't hear it.

"Big Girl"

"ah?"

"Your mother is asking you a question."

Tian smiled helplessly and said, "Why are you so absorbed in your thoughts? I shouldn't have told you this dirty story, but you have had dealings with Miss Shen before, so I thought I should let you know the whole story."

Xu Nian smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. I know what to do. Besides, we have only met a few times, so we can't be considered close friends."

After hearing her daughter say this, Tian finally felt relieved. She was afraid that her daughter would fall in love with the girl from the Shen family and do something that would damage her reputation.