Chapter 148 If you can't rely on anyone, then rely on yourself...
Shen Lingyue had the most restful sleep she had had in days.
She stretched and sat up in bed; the mattress beside her felt cold to the touch.
It's already this late; Zhao Lan has probably already arranged all the affairs of the manor for the day.
She stuck out her tongue guiltily. Could this be considered going against the grain and openly sleeping in?
"The Third Miss is awake?"
Liu Mama, accompanied by her maid, entered the room to help her with her washing and grooming, as kind and gentle as ever.
"What would you like for breakfast? The kitchen made pine nut shumai, chicken and corn porridge, sweet lotus root with osmanthus, and freshly ground soy milk. Would you like to try some of everything?"
Shen Lingyue touched her flat stomach and nodded repeatedly; these were all her favorite foods.
Liu Mama smiled and whispered in her ear while the maid was combing her hair: "The young master came to pick you up early this morning and is talking with the madam upstairs."
Shen Lingyue slapped her forehead. How could she have forgotten about Pei Jinghuai?
He immediately urged the maid to hurry up, saying there was no need for any complicated hairstyle, just a simple updo would do.
As she rushed to the front hall, Pei Jinghuai stood up abruptly, quickly walked up to her, and anxiously looked her over: "Are you feeling better? Did you still have a fever last night?"
Shen Lingyue shook her head and explained softly, "I talked with my mother too late last night, so I slept in her room."
Zhao Lan teased from behind, "With me, Yue'er's own mother, taking care of her, what is there for the son-in-law to worry about?"
Pei Jinghuai touched his nose sheepishly and explained to Zhao Lan, "She suddenly developed a high fever the night before last, and I was worried that she might pass on her illness to you."
“I once heard my elders say that it’s a good thing for a person to get a minor illness or two occasionally, so that the symptoms can be released in time. Otherwise, if they are kept inside the body for a long time, they will suddenly erupt and become a disaster.”
Zhao Lan looked over with gentle eyes, "It's just a minor illness, you'll recover quickly and be healthier in the future, what do you say, Yue'er?"
Shen Lingyue's nose tingled with emotion, and she nodded vigorously, "Yes, Mother is right!"
She thought her decision was right.
She didn't lose her mother; instead, she gained even more understanding and acceptance from her.
Pei Jinghuai ate a tasteless breakfast with his mother-in-law and wife. He was the first to put down his chopsticks and said tactfully, "I'll go to the front yard to see if the carriage is ready."
Zhao Lan smiled and nodded: "Go ahead, I'll talk to Yue'er for a few more minutes, then I'll return her to you."
Pei Jinghuai blushed, chuckled, gave Chen Lingyue a wink, and happily went out.
“You and your son-in-law are a match made in heaven,” Zhao Lan said with a smile. “If it were her… I’m afraid the Marquis’s mansion would have been in complete chaos long ago.”
That night, she thought about many things. No wonder Yue'er seemed like a different person after she "recovered" from her illness. She would occasionally say surprising things and even seemed a bit rebellious.
But over the past three years, she has witnessed the changes in the Marquis's mansion and the people around Yue'er. It seems that she did more than just talk; she actively changed many people.
These are all marks left on her by that better world, and she tirelessly sows these thoughts on the land of Daye, hoping that they will sprout new buds and bloom new flowers.
Zhao Lan put down her chopsticks, her expression becoming more serious.
"Moon, I know you are walking a very dangerous and difficult path."
Shen Lingyue was startled and quickly sat up straight, tentatively asking, "You mean..."
Zhao Lan dipped her finger in tea and wrote the character "女" (woman) on the table.
Is it a women's academy, a female official, or perhaps... an empress?
Shen Lingyue touched her face, and after a long while said, "Is it that obvious?"
Does her face say she's a member of the "Princess Party"?
“It’s not obvious, but no one knows a daughter better than her mother.” Zhao Lan held her hand, her words sincere. “I know your heart is good, but many times… I also have my own unavoidable difficulties.”
She suddenly brought up a name that was vaguely etched in her distant memory, "Do you still remember Qiutong from your eldest brother's study?"
Shen Lingyue opened her mouth.
She remembered. It was the first time she had argued with Zhao Lan not long after she transmigrated, even risking being discovered, because she couldn't bear to so easily control someone's fate.
Her upbringing made it impossible for her to remain indifferent.
"Now I understand why you tried so hard to stop me back then," Zhao Lan said calmly. "But you have to understand that sometimes a combination of kindness and severity is necessary. If I hadn't dealt with Qiu Tong severely to make an example of her, more people would have had inappropriate thoughts."
Not everyone can read and understand reason; some people are blinded by wealth and power, and willingly degenerate, belittling themselves.
Zhao Lan continued, "You probably don't know, but after you left that day, I still had Liu Mama give Qiu Tong the medicine—"
Shen Lingyue stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
Zhao Lan seemed amused by her frightened appearance and shook her head: "I don't have any mute medicine. It's just a kind of 'frightening powder' that will numb your throat. You won't be able to speak for three to five days after taking it. It's all for show."
Later, Qiutong was sent far away to the village, and by the end of the year she had married the village head's youngest son. Now she is a mother.
Shen Lingyue breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at her somewhat embarrassedly, and whispered, "I knew you weren't that kind of person."
If Zhao Lan were truly ruthless, she wouldn't have allowed Aunt Liu to develop such a voracious appetite.
"And the matter of arranging a concubine for you was also wrong of me." After thinking it through, Zhao Lan readily admitted her mistake. "I always thought about settling everything for you, but I never asked what you really wanted..."
Shen Lingyue felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she listened, and quickly interrupted her self-reflection, "Please stop talking, I understand."
“Alright, then let’s let bygones be bygones.” Zhao Lan pretended to be cheerful. “It’s fate that we can be mother and daughter in this life, and we should cherish it.”
Zhao Lan escorted her to the front yard to meet Pei Jinghuai.
Shen Lingyue hugged her tightly, "...I will come back to see you often."
Zhao Lan slapped her hard, "What are you talking about? The important thing is to let me hold my grandson as soon as possible, right, son-in-law?"
Pei Jinghuai instinctively straightened up and loudly agreed, looking even more nervous than when he encountered Emperor Qingxi while leading a patrol.
After the two got into the car, Pei Jinghuai whispered, "Why do you and your mother-in-law seem a bit strange today? What did you two talk about last night?"
Shen Lingyue blinked: "We didn't talk about anything, I was telling my mother a story."
A question mark slowly appeared above Pei Jinghuai's head.
...
On her way back to the main courtyard, Zhao Lan was stopped by Shen Hang.
"Where did you hide Liu Shi? She hasn't come back for several days."
Zhao Lan glanced at the bushes not far from Shen Hang, where a glimpse of her skirt was visible, and curled her lips in a contemptuous smile.
"Hasn't the master been getting quite close to Qi'er in the study lately? Why is he thinking about his old flame again?"
Shen Hang blushed, but stubbornly retorted, "Madam, you misunderstand. I just thought she was quite clever, so I taught her a few words. I'm almost a grandfather at my age, how could I do something so undignified?"
Zhao Lan was too lazy to listen to his excuses and walked around Chen Hang to leave.
Shen Hang quickly raised his hand to stop him, remembering the important matter, "I asked you about Aunt Liu's whereabouts, and you kept giving me this nonsense about Qi'er?"
He put on a stern face, trying to project the authority of the head of the household, "After all, Liu is just a concubine. How can we let her always show her face in public? It's better for her to stay quietly in her own courtyard."
"Don't think about it, sir. Your concubine Liu is not coming back."
Zhao Lan snorted, pulled Shen Hang's sleeve and walked a few steps away, stopping only when Shen Songyi, who was hiding behind the bushes, could not hear her. She then whispered a few words quickly.
"...The poison in her possession came from the palace and is very likely related to the death of Empress Wei sixteen years ago. It has now been secretly taken away. If His Majesty investigates, has Your Excellency thought about how to deal with it?"
Shen Hang broke out in a cold sweat instantly.
It was as if the beautiful woman beside him had suddenly transformed into a deadly demon.
"She, she...she wouldn't do that. She was just a little girl when Empress Wei passed away..."
Shen Hang shook his head vigorously, unable to believe that Aunt Liu would commit such a heinous act.
"Haven't you noticed that Mingda hasn't been home for many days?" Zhao Lan shook her head in exasperation. "Even if he's useless, he's still your son. Have you, as his father, ever cared about him?"
Last night, when she was blaming herself for not protecting her daughter, it was a sentence from Shen Lingyue that made her realize something.
"If Father hadn't taken Concubine Liu as a concubine, and she had given birth to illegitimate children, causing unrest in the household, how could such a disaster have happened?"
Ultimately, it's all Shen Hang's fault for not being able to control his lower body.
Zhao Lan's gaze held a hint of hatred, and Shen Hang inexplicably shivered, his voice lowering slightly, "I really didn't know anything... Madam, what do you think we should do now?"
“Aunt Liu almost harmed Miss Shao, yet she still accepts Mingda without holding a grudge. I think you should agree to this marriage, sir.”
Zhao Lan deliberately frowned and sighed, exaggerating the seriousness of the matter, "Let Mingda go to the Shao family as a live-in son-in-law, so that he can sever ties with our family on the surface, which can also be considered as protecting your flesh and blood."
"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say." Shen Hang nodded hurriedly, then asked cautiously, "What about Yi'er? Her marriage is still undecided. We can't let her be implicated by her aunt, can we?"
"Your Excellency should decide for yourself. You are now a Minister, and there are also young officials in the Ministry of Rites who are not yet married. Find someone from another place and marry your second daughter to him far away so that she can serve her parents in place of her husband and avoid the storm for the next few years."
Zhao Lan seemingly offered him a helpful suggestion, then left without looking back.
Shen Hang stood there stunned. Shen Songyi couldn't contain herself any longer and ran over, grabbing his sleeve and anxiously asking, "Father, where did Aunt go? Did Madam set some kind of trap for her...?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Shen Hang snapped out of his daze, forcefully shook off Shen Songyi's hand, and for the first time spoke to her sternly, "What 'Madam'? That's your mother, show some respect!"
Shen Songyi was stunned, "Father?"
Shen Hang had never paid attention to this before.
Shen Hang put on a stern face and said, "You're not young anymore. Your father will arrange a marriage for you as soon as possible."
He acted quickly, and the next day he took the birth charts and information of several of his subordinate officials and eagerly went to Zhao Lan to discuss it.
Zhao Lan listened half-heartedly, mainly trying to get by, and resolutely refused to get involved.
Shen Songyi finally managed to bribe a maid in the main courtyard, only to find out that Shen Hang had chosen low-ranking officials for her, whose hometowns were in remote, godforsaken places. She was so angry that her face turned pale.
Unfortunately, Aunt Liu had disappeared without a trace, leaving her with no one to consult.
No, she can't just sit here and wait to die...
At night, Shen Songyi tossed and turned, suddenly remembering some rumors she had heard when she went out earlier.
It is said that after Prince Heng's rebellion failed, Prince Yu, who is ranked third, is the most popular candidate for the throne.
Prince Yu was eloquent and won the emperor's favor. Prince Yu's maternal grandfather, the Duke of Chen, was a veteran military general and nobleman with disciples and old friends all over the army.
Prince Yu is known for his lustful nature. If she could find a way to enter Prince Yu's mansion, with her status as the daughter of the Minister of Rites, she would surely be able to become a concubine in the future.
Shen Songyi rolled over and got out of bed, sat in front of the bronze mirror, touched her face, and made up her mind.
Since she couldn't rely on anyone else, she decided to rely on herself.
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Author's Note: Yuezai: Second Sister bought the villa by the sea! [doge emoji]
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