Her elder brother, Shen Xiuyi, was her Achilles' heel. Shen Youying's face darkened, she pulled her hand back, stood up, and looked at her coldly: "My elder brother was framed and went missing, not because he defected! Although we don't share the same mother, we are both of Father's blood. My elder brother has always treated you well, and now that he's in trouble and his fate is unknown, you're going to fabricate and slander him like this?"
Shen Youying rarely lost her temper. Shen Muyu was spoiled and ignorant because of Fang's upbringing. She liked to tease Shen Youying in a sarcastic way, and Shen Youying would just give her a gentle retort without ever taking it seriously.
This was the first time she had ever lost her temper like this. Her fierce and stern demeanor frightened not only Shen Muyu but also Fang Shi.
Fang patted Shen Muyu's arm and smoothed things over, saying, "She was just saying things in the heat of the moment, without really thinking them. If Xiuyi can come back, that would be a wonderful thing. We would be overjoyed, not wish him any bad luck."
She sighed again, wiping away her tears, and said, "You don't know this because you're not at home. The Shen family is not as good as it used to be. Several good families who were interested in your sister have sent matchmakers over the past few days, and their words were all aimed at putting down the Shen family. They don't want to discuss marriage with your sister anymore. You are the younger sister, but you got married first. Your sister is now of marriageable age, but she can't find a good family. Although she doesn't say it, I know. She has cried in secret for several days now."
She wiped away her tears and sighed, "She was also feeling wronged..."
Shen Youying was not fooled by her feigned distress. Instead, she asked Shen Muyu, "If we could make an exchange, and you were to become a princess in the Qin Prince's mansion, would you go?"
Shen Muyu bit her lip and remained silent.
Shen Youying sat down again and said, "You know in your heart that this is not a good marriage, so why be so jealous of my wealth and status?"
Shen Muyu wanted to retort, but couldn't say a word, and could only glare at her resentfully.
Shen Youying didn't want to ruin the atmosphere since she had come all this way, so she softened her tone and said, "I know your concerns, but those families who take advantage of the Shen family's downfall are really not a good match. Moreover, given the Shen family's current situation, even if you marry into a higher social class, you'll probably suffer mistreatment. It's better to wait until the Shen family has overcome this hurdle before discussing it again. I will also keep an eye out for you."
Fang agreed, "What the Princess says makes sense." She pulled Shen Muyu to sit down and said with a smile, "Why don't you thank the Princess? I knew that with the Princess around, she could always find you a good marriage."
Shen Muyu stiffened her neck and remained silent.
Fortunately, just as the atmosphere became awkward, Shen Mingjiang arrived. Seeing the mother and her two daughters sitting together in silence, and sensing something was wrong, he swept his piercing gaze over them and asked, "What's going on?"
Fang said, "Nothing much, it's just that we were chatting and the topic of selling the house came up."
Shen Mingjiang frowned, roughly guessing why they were telling their youngest daughter these things: "Didn't we already say that this matter is settled? What else is there to say?"
He sat down in the main seat and looked at Shen Youying, saying, "A few days ago, I had your mother dismiss half of the servants. Your father is now just a commoner, and there's no need for the family to live in such a large house. Why not sell it and get some money to move to an estate in the suburbs of the capital? That way, your mother and sister won't have to listen to gossip and get upset in the capital."
Xuanpingfang was inhabited by officials and their families, so any news or disturbances among them would spread within a day.
Moreover, Shen Mingjiang actually had a deeper plan. Since he wanted to find out the whereabouts of his eldest son, he naturally couldn't do it openly. Living in Xuanpingfang was inconvenient because there were eyes and ears everywhere. Going to the estate in the suburbs of the capital would be easier. If necessary, he might have to go to Qinzhou himself.
But there was no need to say these things to Fang.
Shen Youying recalled their conversation in the study and vaguely understood her father's intentions. She nodded and said, "Father is going to live on the estate in the suburbs of Beijing. He doesn't necessarily have to sell the house. Mother is right. If we sell it now, it will be difficult to buy it back later."
Xuanpingfang is close to the palace, and its neighbors are all powerful and wealthy people. A house in such a location is extremely rare and hard to come by.
Shen Mingjiang didn't care about these external things: "It's just a house, once it's sold, it's sold. My Shen family is not a powerful family with a long history. When our ancestors first rose to prominence, they were just tenant farmers who toiled in the fields."
Seeing this, Shen Youying said nothing more.
After chatting for a while, a servant came to report that lunch was ready, so the family went to the flower hall for lunch.
Logically, men and women should sit at separate tables, but the Shen family is small, and Shen Mingjiang is a military officer who doesn't care about formalities, so they all ate at the same table.
Xue Shen and Shen Mingjiang sat in the main seats, Shen Youying sat next to Xue Shen, and Shen Huaizhou sat next to Shen Mingjiang.
Out of fear of the King of Qin's power, apart from Shen Mingjiang and Shen Youying occasionally speaking, everyone else at the dinner table ate quietly, like quails.
After lunch, Xue Shen prepared to leave first: "I still have things to take care of, so I'll head back to my residence first. I'll have Wang Deshun pick you up later."
After spending the morning and having lunch, the King of Qin had already shown her great respect, so Shen Youying accepted and saw him out.
Shen Muyu watched from the side, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat subtle: "She spoke so unwillingly, I thought she was having a very hard time, but now it seems that the King of Qin treats her quite well..."
Remembering something, she turned to the maid beside her and asked, "What kind of homecoming gifts has the Prince's mansion prepared today?"
When the King of Qin visited, the women were not allowed to show their faces. The maid was not entirely sure about this, but she had heard some things from other servants, so she said, "I heard that a lot of gifts have been prepared, including pearls the size of pigeon eggs and rubies as red as blood... all of which are rare and precious items that I have never seen before."
Shen Muyu's expression changed, and after a while, she turned and walked towards the warehouse: "I'll go take a look."
The gifts sent by the Prince of Qin's residence are too numerous; the storeroom is currently registering and cataloging them.
Shen Muyu's face darkened completely after reading the gift list. Clutching the list, she stormed to Madam Fang's courtyard and slammed it on the table: "Mother even told me to curry favor with her, hoping she'd find me a good marriage. But look at her! She lives a life of luxury and ease in the Prince's mansion, yet she comes back complaining to us, acting like she's suffered some great injustice! I was completely fooled by her before!"
Madam Fang had already seen the list and comforted her, saying, "She is, after all, the Princess Consort of Qin. How could she possibly make a mistake in such a matter of appearances? Didn't you see how thick the powder was on her face today? If she were truly doing well, why would she look so haggard?"
But Shen Muyu couldn't listen to any of that; her mind was filled with those boxes and boxes of treasures.
Those treasures were things she had never seen even when the Shen family was at its most glorious. But now, Shen Youying only used them as gifts.
Jealousy and resentment fermented in her heart. Shen Muyu bit her lip and said, "Mother, don't count on her. I'll figure out my own marriage."
She was determined to find a marriage even better than Shen Youying's!
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