Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate, Su Qingyu walked over to Chen without making any noise.
He whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Sister-in-law, if you ask me, you should take a step back and take the initiative to let the second young lady be your concubine."
Seeing that Chen was about to get angry, Su Qingyu continued.
"Sister-in-law thinks that today's incident has spread, and the day after tomorrow is the big day for the eldest young master's wedding. What will the Li family think of this incident now?"
"If Prince Duan continues to be relentless, this matter will become more serious. It's best to settle this matter before the eldest young master gets married."
"If it's really as Prince Duan said, and they investigate the whole thing, they'll inevitably find out what Sister-in-law did to Yue'er. By then, her reputation and that of the eldest branch will be ruined."
"If the Li family knew that Princess Chaoyun's mother-in-law was a sinister and vicious person, I wonder if they would still be willing to marry the princess into the family."
Chen's thoughts were drawn to Su Qingyu's words. She knew that she had bad intentions, but she also knew that what she said made sense.
She didn't know why Prince Duan was angry, but he was obviously suspicious. Su Qingyu was right. If this matter was investigated, her reputation would be involved. If Chen Ying could only enter Prince Duan's mansion as a concubine, then her active consent now would be the best option.
For Chen, even the most pampered daughter is still no match for her son. A daughter can be pampered, but she cannot stand in the way of her son.
The palm and the back of the hand are all flesh, but the palm is always protected. Chen Zhao is Chen's palm.
But she was unwilling to be led by Su Qingyu and threatened. Chen gritted her teeth and whispered, "If we really want to investigate thoroughly, you and Shen Yue will not be able to hide from the fact that you framed Ying'er."
Su Qingyu raised a sneer at the corner of her lips, without a trace of panic, "Sister-in-law, it was just that Shen Yue was in a panic and accidentally pushed Shen Ying in. Shen Yue sincerely admitted her mistake, do you think mother and the masters will blame her?"
"As for me, I've been busy in the inner courtyard. You have no business getting involved with me."
Chen was retorted by Su Qingyu's two words. She knew in her heart that if this matter was really thoroughly investigated, Shen Yue was just protecting herself, but she was actually a vicious stepmother.
Chen was still pondering when she heard Shen Zhixiu say, "Since Your Highness has said so, please go to the hall for some tea. The Shen family will thoroughly investigate this matter."
Shen Zhixiu was also puzzled as to how Shen Ying had entered Prince Duan's room. Regardless of how to explain to Prince Duan, the Shen family must investigate thoroughly. Whether this involved any dirty work within the inner chambers, they had to find out.
Chen was also panicked when she heard Shen Zhixiu say this. When she was plotting against Shen Yue, she thought that after the plot was discovered, Prince Duan would just propose marriage. As Shen Yue's legal mother, she just needed to control Shen Yue and keep her quiet. Shen Zhixiu would not suspect anything and would just think it was an accident.
She pulled Shen Zhiheng aside and whispered, "Master, this matter cannot be investigated."
Shen Zhiheng was stunned and complained in a low voice: "Did you really let Ying'er come here on purpose? You are so stupid, how could you do such a thing? Even if I wanted to win over Prince Duan, I don't need my daughter to do such a thing."
Chen bit her lower lip and wanted to tell Shen Zhiheng the truth. She wanted to tell Shen Zhiheng that it was Su Qingyu who killed their daughter.
But if she told the truth, she would not be able to hide what she had done to Shen Yue. Although Shen Yue was born to a concubine, she was still Shen Zhiheng's daughter. She was afraid that if she told the truth, Shen Zhiheng would not let her go.
After much deliberation, Chen decided to keep the matter secret. She tacitly agreed with Shen Zhiheng's statement and nodded, "Master, I'm doing this for Ying'er's own good."
When she said this, Chen felt a pang of pain in her heart. She had never thought of using her daughter to arrange marriage, but she had to admit the crime.
But even at this moment, Chen Shi didn't think she had done anything wrong. Instead, she resented Su Qingyu. If Su Qingyu hadn't been meddling and interfering, things wouldn't have come to this point.
"Master, if that's the case, why not just agree to Prince Duan's request? I'll be your concubine, and now that it's like this, what else can I do?"
Although Shen Zhiheng disagreed with Chen's actions and even felt some resentment in his heart, he also felt sorry for his daughter. But she was his first wife after all, and they shared the same fate. At this time, he could only do his best to deal with the aftermath.
He looked at Chen deeply, then turned and walked to Shen Zhixiu.
"Third brother, this matter requires long-term consideration. Let's go to mother and discuss it before making a decision."
Shen Zhixiu nodded and said to Prince Duan, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. We will discuss this matter and give you a satisfactory answer."
Although he said so, Shen Zhixiu had made up his mind that the Shen family would never give in without any bottom line on this matter.
The Shen family has not had a daughter as a concubine, and even the old lady would not agree to let Shen Ying be a concubine.
Logically, Chen should have taken care of her daughter. Shen Zhiheng, on behalf of the eldest wife, would have discussed these matters with the old lady. However, Chen was unsure, so she simply instructed the maids and servants around her to look after Shen Ying. She then followed Shen Zhiheng and the others to Qingyuan Residence.
Before she even walked out of the Beiyuan Gate, Chen turned around and saw a figure hurriedly passing by. She was suspicious. Why did the back look like Aunt Zhang?
Then I thought again, I must have seen it wrong. If Aunt Zhang was a good person, things would not have come to this point.
Judging from how ruthless Su Qingyu's attack was, Nanny Zhang was most likely knocked unconscious and thrown into some woodshed. She couldn't care less about her now.
Inside Qingyuan Residence, when the old lady saw them coming in together, she knew that something serious had happened.
Only Nanny Hua was left in the room to serve, and the rest were sent away.
After everyone sat down according to age, Shen Zhiheng spoke first.
"Mother, it was Ying'er who was in Prince Duan's room. This... is my fault."
As soon as Shen Zhiheng said this, everyone present was stunned. Especially Chen, who didn't understand why Shen Zhiheng said this.
The old lady glanced at Shen Zhiheng, "What's going on? Explain clearly."
Shen Zhiheng bowed slightly and began to explain.
"Mother, I have a painting I want to give to Prince Duan. I forgot what Madam said and asked someone to serve him. At that time, I just thought that Ying'er and the young princess had a good relationship, so I asked Ying'er to take it. It would be difficult for him to refuse the kindness of a junior."
"I didn't expect Ying'er to go by herself instead of staying with the young princess. Prince Duan mistook Ying'er for... someone I sent to serve him, which is why this happened."
Shen Zhixiu could tell at a glance that Shen Zhiheng was lying. This lie might have been newly made up and had many loopholes.
But before Shen Zhixiu could speak, Shen Zhiheng gave him a look and Shen Zhixiu stopped talking.
The old lady's face showed no extra expression. She just asked, "Tell me, what are you going to do?"
Shen Zhiheng pondered for a moment, "The day after tomorrow is Shen Zhao's wedding day, so we shouldn't make a big fuss about this matter."
"Prince Duan now suspects that our family did this on purpose and has some ulterior motive, so he only agreed to let Shen Ying be his concubine."
"My son's idea is that she can be a concubine. After Shen Zhao successfully gets married, we can slowly make plans. It's not impossible for her to take the position of the main wife."
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