The first thing Shen Yunjiao did upon returning to the Shen residence was to rush into her room and gulp down a large cup of cold tea.
"Drink slowly, young lady. How come you're thirsty after just one trip out?" Granny Lin said with a smile, patting her mistress's back to help her catch her breath.
"Granny Lin, you don't know, I didn't even dare to drink water just now."
One was her legal husband, and the other was her lover with whom she had a brief affair. Shen Yunjiao felt that the air had become tense and thin during the meal.
I feel a little bad for Jiang Rong, for taking her away so early and depriving her of a chance to get to know Yao Zhan properly.
But Jiang Rong had just said goodbye to Shen Yunjiao that it was alright. She had seen Yao Zhan clearly today and was even a little tempted. She was now preparing to go back and talk to her mother about the marriage.
After finishing the large cup of tea, Shen Yunjiao wiped her mouth and gave Lin Mama a sweet smile: "Mama, I'm hungry."
"Oh, is it possible that you can't even get a meal outside, Miss?" Lin Mama said with a smile, wiping the sweat from Shen Yunjiao's forehead with her sleeve. "It's so hot in summer, this old servant will go and prepare a bowl of white fungus and bird's nest soup for you."
"Thank you, Granny."
Just as Shen Yunjiao was about to take off her shoes and socks and lie sprawled on the bed, Fu Xia came over as soon as she heard the noise from the side room.
“Miss, the servant guarding the gate just said that a laundry maid came looking for you. I guessed it must be An’er, so I asked the servant to bring her to this courtyard.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunjiao couldn't sit still any longer. She hurriedly put her white shoes and socks back on and said, "Quickly, invite her in."
Fu Xia led An'er to the flower hall. Shen Yunjiao lifted the curtain and came out from the inner room, then ordered Lin Mama to close the door.
"An'er, is there any news?" Shen Yunjiao asked after hastily taking a sip of white fungus soup and bird's nest soup to moisten her throat.
“Replying to the young mistress, that day I used the money you gave me to redeem the two maids, Kelan and Tanchun, from the market. When I brought them home, I deliberately found an opportunity to get them to talk,” An’er recounted.
"Can you get any information out of her?" Shen Yunjiao asked, her heart instantly racing.
An'er nodded hurriedly and carefully told Shen Yunjiao, "They and I have been close since childhood, and now that I have rescued them, they naturally tell me everything. They said that when Aunt Liu sent them to the Pei residence, it was to make it easier to keep an eye on the young mistress, to see what she was doing, and then to go home every now and then to report back. But after Kelan saw that you had returned to the residence, she went to beg Aunt Liu to let them go back to the Shen residence. Unexpectedly, Aunt Liu was so heartless, saying that if they came back, they would be sold directly to the market, and she would not let them go back to the Shen residence no matter what."
"Those two young girls decided to try and see if their lives in the Pei residence would be easier if they managed to seduce the young prince. That's how the rest of the story came about."
Shen Yunjiao's eyes were extremely indifferent, revealing a hint of sarcasm. "If Aunt Liu hadn't been ruthless enough, they wouldn't have gone against her wishes to seduce Pei Zhixuan."
"Yes, young mistress, the two of them panicked when they realized that this approach was not working. On the morning that the Pei family sent them back, they originally wanted to go to see Concubine Liu, but they did not expect that Concubine Liu was so ruthless that she would not even let them see her and sold them off without saying a word."
“We servants are flesh and blood, not cats and dogs. But some masters treat us even more casually than cats and dogs. They can hit or scold us as they please, and sell us off without a second thought,” An’er replied with a somber expression.
Shen Yunjiao paused for a moment, then sighed and said gently, "Don't worry, I will take good care of you after this is over, at least to make your lives better. I'll have Uncle Lin go home with you first and bring those two people to the Shen residence."
Upon hearing this, An'er immediately kowtowed to Shen Yunjiao with gratitude and said, "Thank you, Young Madam."
Shen Yunjiao nodded and instructed Fu Xia, "Go and ask when Father will finish his duties and return home today?"
Fu Xia agreed and then took An'er out.
Lin Mama sighed softly, seemingly lost in thought: "How pitiful. Her background was already bad, and the master she served was also of a bad heart."
Shen Yunjiao patted the back of Lin Mama's hand: "The world is unfair, everyone has their own fate."
They can only help people to the best of their ability.
—
By the time Shen Zhizhang returned home, it was already dusk.
Shen Zhizhang hadn't even had time to change his clothes when he saw his daughter waiting for him in the flower hall.
"Yun Jiao?"
"Father, you're home." Shen Yunjiao bowed respectfully to Shen Zhizhang. Seeing Shen Zhizhang's tired and travel-worn appearance, she suddenly had the idea of putting things aside for a while.
No, a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one. She must make everything clear today.
"Father, where is my brother?" Shen Yunjiao asked softly.
"That guy must have gone out drinking with his bunch of cronies after his shift ended," Shen Zhizhang replied irritably.
Shen Yunjiao nodded, secretly relieved.
It's good that her brother isn't here; otherwise, if he heard about these things, Shen Yunjiao was afraid that he might do something rash in his eagerness to protect his sister.
"Father, I want to talk to you about something. Are you free now?" Shen Yunjiao looked up at Shen Zhizhang.
"Of course you can." Shen Zhizhang stroked Shen Yunjiao's head. "Have you been out having fun these past few days? I ran into General Jiang today, and he said you and his daughter went outside the city to watch the troops train."
"Yes, yes, I'm bored staying at home too. But Father, what I'm about to say is quite serious, so you should be prepared," Shen Yunjiao said nervously. "I also need you to call Aunt Liu over."
Shen Zhizhang's expression immediately turned serious. "Is what you're talking about related to her?"
Shen Yunjiao nodded and said, "It is closely related to her."
Shen Zhizhang paused for a moment, closed his eyes tightly, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, saying, "Your father understands."
"Someone, invite Aunt Liu to the Glass Hall."
Shen Yunjiao noticed the worry in her father's eyes. Although she felt very sorry for her father, she felt even more sorry for the original owner of the body who had been poisoned by Aunt Liu for many years.
Moreover, if she doesn't expose Aunt Liu's true colors now, there's no guarantee that she won't harbor more evil intentions to harm the Shen family in the future.
When Aunt Liu arrived at the Liuli Hall, Shen Zhizhang was sitting with Shen Yunjiao under the west window.
When Shen Zhizhang looked up and saw her arrive, there was no tenderness in his eyes as usual. Instead, he simply said, "Sit down."
When Aunt Liu noticed that the father and daughter seemed somewhat different from usual, she had a bad feeling and didn't even dare to sit down.
"Master, why did you summon me here in such a hurry?"
Shen Zhizhang's expression was not good. After staring at Aunt Liu for a while, he asked directly, "Don't you know what you've done?"
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