Xiao Huaijin had been listening intently, but when Yan Shiman said this, he coughed lightly, ignored the question, and simply stood up and said, "I will definitely think about Shiman's words when I get back. It's getting late, I'll go back to the East Palace first."
Yan Shiman was adept at reading people's expressions, so how could he not understand that his cousin was probably shy at the moment? It was strange, really, that Miss Shen didn't even fancy someone as ethereal as his cousin.
Xiao Huaijin acted swiftly. Upon returning to the East Palace, he immediately summoned Nanfeng and asked, "Do you know what rare treasures are in the East Palace's storeroom that are not found outside?"
Although Xiao Huaijin was the Crown Prince, he was an otherworldly man, indifferent to worldly affairs and had no interest in material possessions. All his past rewards and collections were left to gather dust in the storeroom.
This was the first time Xiao Huaijin had asked Nanfeng about the warehouse's collection. Nanfeng immediately replied, "Yes, Master. What kind would you like?"
Xiao Huaijin said, "Do you have anything that a woman would like? Never mind, I'll go there myself. You can go to Duobao Pavilion for me and buy some of the most fashionable jewelry in the capital."
Nanfeng smiled upon hearing this, "Your Highness is becoming more and more considerate these days."
The items were quickly delivered to the table in the east wing of Chunhe Hall.
When Shen Yunjiao returned to her room, she saw a dazzling array of treasures piled up like a small mountain.
The items included a scroll-shaped mirror, a cloud-patterned lamp, a luminous pearl, and many other valuable jewelry pieces, as well as several scrolls of calligraphy and paintings.
"Fu Xia, did Pei Zhixuan give this to you?" Shen Yunjiao asked.
Fu Xia shook her head in confusion, "This servant doesn't know either."
Shen Yunjiao walked closer and saw a note pressed under the six-inch gold-carved floral mirror.
Shen Yunjiao pulled it out; on it was only a simple sentence: "My sincere heart is as clear as the sun and moon."
This was a gift from Xiao Huaijin.
Shen Yunjiao calmly slipped the note into her sleeve and said to Fu Xia, "It's not from Pei Zhixuan."
Fu Xia was surprised. If it wasn't a gift from the young master, then who could it be?
Who would be so bold as to send something to the Crown Prince's residence?
But Fu Xia was clever and, seeing that the girl did not want to reveal the contents of the note, she did not press the matter further.
She picked up a pair of gold bracelets inlaid with turquoise and whispered, "Miss, these bracelets are really beautiful. Is the turquoise inlaid on them the kind that only grows in the Moon Eclipse Kingdom? I heard that the emperor of the previous dynasty once exchanged a city for a piece of turquoise to please his beloved."
Shen Yunjiao took the bracelet and saw that it was indeed a piece of very good quality turquoise, but in her hometown, it was not worth a fortune.
But why did Xiao Huaijin suddenly send over such a large amount of stuff? Could this be a reward for the Crown Prince to spend the night with him?
"Put them all away," Shen Yunjiao instructed calmly.
"Aren't you going to wear it, young lady? I think this kingfisher feather hairpin is also very beautiful," Fu Xia asked playfully.
"What's she wearing! She still has the nerve to dress up?!"
A sharp, sarcastic female voice rang out.
Shen Yunjiao and Fu Xia looked towards the door at the same time, only to see Xu Shi standing at the door with a gloomy old face, glaring at them angrily.
Madam Pei, standing beside Madam Xu, gave her a mocking smile and said, "Dressed up so extravagantly, are you trying to seduce Zhi Xuan again?"
Shen Yunjiao raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought the Duchess had retired to the mountains, so why has she returned to secular life now?"
Mentioning this made Madam Xu angry. She glared at Shen Yunjiao unhappily: "If it weren't for you, you little slut, bewitching my son, why would he have sent me away?"
Shen Yunjiao exaggeratedly clutched her chest and replied, "How is this my problem again? It's clearly because you, as the mother-in-law, are cruel and heartless that your son couldn't stand it and sent you far away."
Upon hearing this, Madam Pei immediately scolded, "Shen Yunjiao, what nonsense are you spouting? You are the jinx; none of us will have a good life if we are associated with you."
"My son must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to run into a slut like you, and now he's even injured because of you. If you still have any shame, get out of the Pei family right now!" Madam Xu said with a gloomy expression.
Shen Yunjiao clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll leave right away."
She turned to Fuxia and said, "Put these things back in the box. We'll pack our bags and head back to the Shen family today."
"Wait! You can't take these things with you!"
Madam Pei's voice was stern. She looked at Madam Xu beside her and said, "Sister-in-law, Shen Yunjiao can leave, but you must not let her take anything from the Pei family."
Madam Pei gave Xu a wink, and when Xu saw the table full of treasures, her eyes lit up.
She stepped into the room, pointed to the things on the table, and said to Shen Yunjiao, "Don't even think about stealing the things Xuan'er gave you. These all belong to our Duke Dingguo's mansion. Including the shop money that Xuan'er gave you before, you can only leave after you return them all."
"And you're not allowed to take the dowry you brought with you! You've caused my nephew Zhixuan and my sister-in-law so much suffering, and you owe us all this! You're a jinx who can't have children!" Madam Pei chimed in from the side.
Shen Yunjiao looked at the two people in front of her and felt it was utterly absurd.
She walked up to Madam Xu and said sternly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Am I a jinx? Who saved your life, you old witch? And why should my dowry go to the Pei family? Haven't I contributed enough over the years?"
The Duke of Dingguo's mansion was quite powerful in its early years, but now it relies on Pei Zhixuan's salary to feed more than a hundred people, which is naturally a tight situation.
In the past, the original owner was kind-hearted and secretly sent a lot of money to the accounting office to help the Pei family overcome difficulties.
But to her surprise, Xu was such a shameless and unscrupulous person, which really broadened Shen Yunjiao's horizons.
"You! How dare you cause trouble for me? Aren't you afraid of damaging your reputation?" Madam Xu said with a sneer, pointing at Shen Yunjiao.
Noble ladies in the capital cherish their reputation above all else. For a young lady of noble birth like Shen Yunjiao to fall out with her ex-husband's family over money would surely be a laughingstock.
Unexpectedly, Fu Xia, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore. She angrily said, "My daughter's reputation has long been ruined by you, Madam Xu, you old hag. If you have any conscience, please don't come here to tarnish my daughter's reputation!"
"How dare you!" Madam Xu roared. "A lowly maid dares to come before me and yell like that? Drag her away and slap her!"
“Madam Xu, I am no longer a daughter-in-law of the Pei family. You had better think about the consequences of going against the Shen family before you take any action,” Shen Yunjiao said coldly, staring at Madam Xu.
"You!" Madam Xu trembled with rage. Just then, she saw a figure in blue enter the courtyard, and she immediately shouted at the person:
"Xuan'er! Come here quickly! A vile woman is threatening your mother!"
Pei Zhixuan granted his mother's request to return to the manor to visit him today, and only then did he have his servants bring Xu Shi back from Qingshan.
He was just about to come over and tell Shen Yunjiao about this when his mother arrived before him.
Seeing her mother's tantrum, one could tell that she had come to Chunhe Courtyard to cause trouble.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" Pei Zhixuan concealed the weariness in his eyes and looked calmly at Xu Shi, who was crying and wailing.
"This vile woman is clearly no longer a member of the Pei family, so why keep her in the manor? My son, she has caused you to lose face and suffer serious injuries. The whole capital is laughing at our Pei family." Madam Xu cried out and pulled Pei Zhixuan to her side.
Shen Yunjiao scoffed and said, "I don't need you to send me away, I'll leave today."
“You can leave, but leave the Pei family’s things behind. You can’t take a single thing off this table,” Madam Xu said immediately.
Shen Yunjiao looked at them and said, "I'm taking my own things with me. I won't take a single penny from your Pei family. Don't worry."
Anyone with a shred of decency would have shut up by now, but that old hag Xu kept pestering her, saying, "These were given to me by you after you seduced my son, so you're not allowed to take them with you."
She was so captivated by the dazzling treasures on the table that she couldn't keep her eyes open.
“Mother!” Pei Zhixuan’s face finally darkened. “These things were not sent by me.”
"You didn't give them to her? Then how come she has so many treasures?" Xu asked slowly after a moment of surprise.
Shen Yunjiao smiled and said, "Madam Xu, what business is it of yours?"
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