The second wife was about to object, but before she could speak, the old lady looked at her and gave her a meaningful look.
The second wife was filled with anger, but she had no choice but to suppress it. In the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, Shen Jing still had the final say. What he agreed to was already a fait accompli and could not be changed. Opposing at this time would only displease the third wife and affect her next plans.
The entire Pingyang Marquis's mansion will belong to their second branch. What is the power of managing a mere embroidery room? A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan.
Thinking of this, the second wife even smiled a little. "Yesterday, my third sister-in-law said she wanted to help me manage the household affairs for a while so that I could concentrate on preparing Ying'er's dowry. I refused at the time, but thinking about it later, I really shouldn't have refused my third sister-in-law. I was just thinking of making the suggestion to the Marquis when I saw him, but I didn't expect that the eldest daughter would have arranged it."
That's incredibly hypocritical. It's blatantly trying to fool the Third Madam. Believing that the Second Madam would share some of the household management power with her is like believing the sun will rise in the south.
The third wife was also smiling, but it was a forced smile. "What are you saying, second sister-in-law? We're just helping the eldest son manage the household affairs."
She had never been involved in the management of the household before and didn't know how much profit there was in it. But during those few days of managing the accounts, she got a clear picture of the situation. The second branch of the family ate meat, but the third branch didn't even get a sip of soup. It was just that their food, clothing, housing, and transportation were increased by about 30% compared to when Madam Yun was in charge of the household, and they got a few drops of grease.
The old lady was also wholeheartedly in favor of the second branch of the family and did not allow her to have any say in managing the household. This time, she knew that she had been discovered, so she gave her a pair of mutton fat jade bracelets to appease her.
Seeing the undercurrents between the second and third wives, Shen Wan felt that sowing discord between them would be much easier than she thought, and the rifts would be much larger than she imagined. She waited and saw.
The old lady was tired, so she sent them away. The third wife was usually the last to leave, but this time she was the first to go.
However, as soon as she left Qinghui Courtyard, the Second Madam called out to her, "Third Sister-in-law, please wait."
The third wife was still angry, but she couldn't be too disrespectful to the second wife outside Qinghui Courtyard, otherwise the old lady would surely scold her for the discord between the sisters-in-law.
The third wife asked with a distant expression, "What does Second Sister-in-law want with me?"
The second wife laughed and said, "I have an immense fortune, and I want to share a piece of it with my third brother and sister-in-law."
...
Shen Wan returned to Qinglan Garden, rested for a while, and then began embroidering a belt.
Looking at the dark silk in her hand, Shen Wan had a headache. After finishing the embroidery for her father, she should be able to embroider for Xie Jingyan, right?
To be honest, she was a little scared...
Once she had figured out what pattern to embroider, Shen Wan asked Yin Shuang to bring gold thread, thread the needle, and make the first stitch.
This busy period lasted for three more days.
That morning, Shen Wan finally finished embroidering the belt for her father. Her neck was stiff from embroidery, not to mention her hands. Looking at the belt in her hands, Shen Wan looked forward to her father's joy when he received it. She immediately instructed Yin Shuang, "Send someone to ask if Father is in the manor."
Silver Frost quickly went to take care of this matter.
Since Shen Jing was in the manor, Shen Wan took the belt and went out. She had only taken a few steps from the gate of the courtyard when a maid in a light pink dress came over and said, "Young lady, the old lady wants you to go to Qinghui Courtyard."
What did the old lady ask her to do at Qinghui Courtyard?
Shen Wan was puzzled, but since the old lady had sent someone to find her, she couldn't refuse. She could only go to see the old lady first and then deliver the belt to her father.
After delivering the message, the maidservant withdrew. Shen Wan led Yin Shuang forward. As they passed the garden, she saw the third maidservant sneaking towards the path. Her guilty and flustered appearance made it clear that she had done something wrong and was feeling uneasy. If Shen Wan hadn't run into her, she would have let it go, but if she did, she would definitely have to check it out.
Furthermore, taking that side path is closer to Qinghui Courtyard, so it won't delay our visit to the old lady.
Shen Wan decisively led Yin Shuang down the path, but after following for a short while, the furtive maid disappeared around the corner. Shen Wan quickened her pace, looking around nervously. Just as Shen Wan sensed something was wrong, a man's voice came from behind a tree, "Cousin Wan, are you looking for me?"
The sound suddenly rang out, startling Shen Wan and Yin Shuang.
Shen Wan glanced over and saw the Third Madam's nephew, Young Master Wu, emerge from behind the big tree.
Because he was the nephew of the Third Madam and Shen Rong's cousin, the young ladies in the mansion would usually address him politely as "cousin".
In his previous life, Shen Wan disliked the Third Madam's nephew. He was good at eating, drinking, gambling, whoring, cockfighting, and dog walking. He even harassed respectable women on the street. However, he rarely came to the Pingyang Marquis's mansion in his previous life. Why is he here today?
Not only that, but he even looked at her with a blatantly lewd gaze, making Shen Wan feel disgusted from the bottom of her heart and show it on her face.
Young Master Wu glanced at Shen Wan a few more times, and felt his mouth go dry, as if there was a fire burning in his heart with nowhere to go. His breathing became heavy, and his face, which was not exactly handsome, turned a strange red.
He swallowed hard, approaching Shen Wan step by step. The smile on his face made Shen Wan almost vomit her breakfast. His words were even more vulgar: "The Prince of Ling has a broken leg and is a cripple. I'm afraid he can't let his cousin experience the joy of being a woman. Your cousin will help you relieve your loneliness."
Even now, Shen Wan was still in shock. The maid from the third branch had deliberately acted suspiciously to lure her over. She hadn't expected that the third wife would dare to allow her own nephew to covet her and attempt violence right here in the Pingyang Marquis's residence.
Unfortunately, the Third Madam was unaware that Xie Jingyan had secretly sent people to protect her. Young Master Wu said that his master was a cripple and that he was going to cuckold him. Young Master Wu's life is probably going to end here today.
Shen Wan knew she was not in danger, but when Young Master Wu approached, she instinctively backed away. In Young Master Wu's eyes, this meant that Shen Wan was terrified and forgot to run away.
But with him around, there's no way you can escape.
Just as Young Master Wu was about to reach out, a pebble shot over and knocked his hand away. Before Young Master Wu could react, another pebble flew over and hit his pressure point, causing him to fall to the ground.
Shen Wan thought it was Chen Yu who did it, but when she heard the sound of wheels rolling, she turned around and saw Xie Jingyan sitting in a wheelchair with a gloomy face.
Even Xie Jingyan felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of that somber face, especially those beautiful eyes that seemed to be gathering a storm, giving her a strange feeling that she couldn't quite explain. But it's no wonder Xie Jingyan looked like he wanted to kill her. Even if he didn't like her and had no feelings for her, he wouldn't like having another green hat on his head.
He turned against Prince Jin directly, let alone the nephew of the Third Madam's family.
Xie Jingyan came over, glanced at the unconscious young master Wu, and said in an icy tone, "The Pingyang Marquis's mansion is in such a state of chaos."
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