After the steward saw the Taoist priest off, Shen Wan prepared to return to Qinglan Garden. Just as she was about to curtsy and take her leave, Shen Jing spoke up and instructed Shen Du, "Go and tell Prince Ling that Wan'er will be married on the eighteenth of next month."
Shen Wan, "..."
Do I need to tell you?
These dates might even be decided by someone else!
Shen Wan hurriedly stopped him, "Father, I don't want to get married so early..."
Looking at his daughter's shy face, Shen Jing felt reluctant to let her go. "She will eventually get married. I won't let you miss such a good day just to stay a month or two longer. The Marquis's mansion and the Prince Ling's mansion are not far apart. I'll have Prince Ling accompany you back more often in the future."
Shen Jing had made up her mind. Shen Wan knew it would be difficult to persuade her, but she still made a last-ditch effort, "Time is already tight, and my second aunt still has to copy Buddhist scriptures. There's definitely no time to prepare a dowry for me..."
Shen Jing calculated that the time was indeed a bit tight, but it wouldn't be delayed just because the Second Madam was busy copying Buddhist scriptures. Moreover, the Marquis's mansion wasn't only managed by the Second Madam. Shen Jing handed over the task of preparing the dowry for Shen Wan to the Fourth Madam.
The second wife was so angry she was about to vomit blood. She had tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and now she had even transferred the right to prepare a dowry for Shen Wan to the fourth wife. She had no intention of listening to the Taoist priest and copying any Buddhist scriptures, but everyone assumed that she had no choice but to copy them.
Even if the second wife had no intention of copying Buddhist scriptures, she couldn't say it out loud. It was she who suggested inviting the Taoist priest into the mansion, and it was she who sent someone to invite him. Even though it didn't cost much money, it was still not something to be invited for fun.
The old lady's cold gaze swept across the second wife's face before she turned and went back into the house. The second wife felt wronged and angry, but she still had to smile and say to the fourth wife, "This should have been my business, but I can only trouble my fourth sister-in-law."
"Preparing a dowry for her and then making her the second wife is already a matter for us. After letting her manage the household affairs for several years, she really thinks the Pingyang Marquis's mansion is hers." Shen Wan said, "It is my father and I who are troubling Fourth Aunt, not Second Aunt."
The second wife's face stiffened for a moment, then she smiled again and said, "Second Aunt is in charge of household affairs, so preparing your dowry is her duty."
Shen Wan smiled and looked at Shen Jing, saying, "Second Aunt manages the inner courtyard of the Marquis's mansion very well, so Father has always let Second Aunt manage the household affairs. However, managing the Marquis's mansion is the responsibility of our eldest branch. Second Aunt should still prioritize the second branch. Copying a hundred Buddhist scriptures every day, she certainly can't manage the trivial matters of the mansion. If she is distracted by the affairs of the mansion, she will not be able to avert disaster and will bring trouble to Second Uncle, Second Brother, and Second Sister. Father will probably feel guilty for the rest of his life. I think I should let Third Aunt help manage the Marquis's mansion while Second Aunt is copying Buddhist scriptures these few days."
Upon hearing that Shen Wan had asked Shen Jing to temporarily hand over the management of the household to the Third Madam for a few days, the Second Madam's expression immediately changed. Although it was only for the Third Madam to manage the household for seven days, once one gets involved with power, one will not want to let go.
The Third Madam had considered taking charge of the household before, but she was secretly suppressed by her. The Old Madam was also worried that the Third and Second Wives would have a falling out over the power to manage the household, so she forbade the Third Madam from having this idea. However, the decision on who should manage the household was up to Shen Jing. Now that the Old Madam had gone back to her room, she couldn't stop her. There was no reason why the Second Madam wouldn't let the Third Madam help if she didn't have time to manage the household.
Shen Jing nodded, "Wan'er is very thoughtful. I'll have to trouble you these next few days, Third Sister-in-law."
How could I dare to complain about the trouble? This is something I'd be more than happy to do.
The third wife said repeatedly, "I also hope to contribute to the Marquis's mansion."
That was settled. Shen Jing had other things to do, so he turned and left after making the arrangements.
The third wife, now in charge of managing the household, beamed with joy, while the second wife wore a gloomy expression, her hands clenched tightly beneath her sleeves.
In her past life, the second and third wives were united as one, with brothers working together and sisters-in-law getting along well. In this life, Shen Wan is not convinced that she cannot sow discord between the second and third wives. She does not believe that the third wife would dislike the power to manage the household, or that the second wife would allow the third wife to share in the spoils.
As they left Qinghui Courtyard, Shen Wan wore a smile. Yin Shuang looked around to make sure no one was watching before asking softly, "Do the Old Madam and Second Madam copy the family rules?"
A few articles might be plagiarized, but a hundred articles is absolutely impossible.
Whether you plagiarize or not, you'll face just as much torment.
For an elderly lady, copying a hundred Buddhist scriptures would take from dawn till dusk, and she might not even finish. She had never experienced such hardship in her life.
If we don't copy it, and something happens to the second wife in the future, just as the Taoist priest said when he left, if you harbor evil thoughts, you will surely suffer the consequences. At that time, will the old lady regret that she did not listen to the Taoist priest and did not copy the Buddhist scriptures?
It torments both the body and the mind; if you escape one, you can't escape the other.
As for the second wife, after Shen Wan left, she went into the house to see the old lady, who gave her a severe scolding: "Is this the good Taoist priest you found?!"
The second wife was like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to express her suffering. She was scolded and dared not refute him at all. She returned to the South Courtyard with a belly full of resentment.
Even after drinking two cups of tea, she couldn't calm down. A maid rushed in, and the second mistress asked, "What exactly happened to that Taoist priest?!"
The maidservant carefully placed a purse on the table.
The second wife immediately recognized that it was the money the maid had used to bribe the Taoist priest.
The maidservant said in a trembling voice, "The Taoist priest said he's a conscientious priest. He wouldn't dare earn money that's too unethical. He returned the money and even asked for it back..."
"Let what?!" the second wife said through gritted teeth.
The maid shrank back and said, "The Taoist priest said what he said is true, and that you should be careful."
The second wife was so angry she wanted to kill someone.
Seeing the second wife's ashen face, the maid was also afraid. She could earn a hundred taels of silver just by saying a few words, but the Taoist priest didn't want her. He must be a hermit who regarded money as dirt. He said that what he said was true. Wouldn't that mean that the second wife was going to have bad luck and that the second wife's family would suffer a bloody disaster?
Thinking of this, the maid shuddered and dared not think any further.
Shen Wan hadn't left the house for a few days. When she returned to Qinglan Courtyard, she stopped to admire the flowers in the garden before heading back.
Upon entering the courtyard, one could see Ziyu and Zhou Mama standing on the veranda, seemingly discussing something. Upon seeing Shen Wan return, Ziyu greeted her, saying, "Miss is back. The Taoist priest at Qinghui Courtyard said that your poor spirits these past few days were due to something you accidentally ate. Zhou Mama and I have checked all of your food and found nothing unusual. We suspect that someone has tampered with your food to harm you. Such a malicious person cannot be tolerated in Qinglan Courtyard. We must search the house and find this person."
Ziyu's indignant expression stunned Yinshuang.
She poisoned the girl, but the Taoist priest exposed her. Instead of feeling guilty and keeping a low profile, she even suggested that the girl search the house. Did she think that if she made the suggestion, the girl wouldn't suspect her?
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