Nanny Zhang's expression remained unchanged as she knelt on the ground to explain.
"I have been wanting to tell Madam these past two days, but I am afraid that Madam will be upset about the Second Young Lady's matter and hurt herself."
"When I woke up, I went to look for the Second Young Lady. But she was already with Prince Duan..."
"Just when this old servant was at a loss for words, the young princess arrived. She immediately started speaking rudely and insulting the Second Young Lady."
"This old servant was already feeling sorry for the Second Young Lady, so he retorted. Later, Prince Duan came out and not only protected his daughter, but he also suspected that our Second Young Lady had done it on purpose."
"I forgot my superiors and inferiors and argued with Prince Duan for a few words."
"It's my fault. I've caused trouble for Madam."
As Aunt Zhang spoke, she bowed her head to the ground. She told this story in a mixed bag of truths and lies, but she didn't dare reveal a single word to Su Qingyu.
She had anticipated this day from the day she betrayed Chen. She couldn't afford to offend either of the two wives, and she was counting on the miracle doctor at the Third Wife's side to heal her grandson. So, after much deliberation, Nanny Zhang decided to shoulder the responsibility.
Chen Shi didn't know the details of what happened in Beiyuan that day. She knew it was related to Su Qingyu and Shen Yue, but she didn't know what the two of them had done.
She looked at Aunt Zhang inquiringly, "Are you saying that you're doing this for the Second Young Lady's own good? Are you being ordered around by someone?"
Aunt Zhang shook her head vigorously. "How dare I? I was really excited at the moment and said something excessive."
Chen recalled Prince Duan's reaction that day and felt that things were more complicated than they seemed. How could a man of Prince Duan's status have such a deep misunderstanding just because of a few words from a maid?
She asked again and again, and Aunt Zhang insisted that it was just a momentary excitement, and then she argued a few words on Shen Ying's behalf.
Thinking of her daughter's death, Chen felt like a huge stone was blocking her chest. Her mind was filled with the tragic scene before her daughter's death. Everyone who was present at the time was involved.
So when Hongye asked her what she was going to do with Aunt Zhang, Chen said without hesitation: "Drag her away and beat her to death."
Hongye hesitated for a moment and said, "Madam, today is the day when the eldest young master is getting married, and the princess has already entered the house. If you knew that we were beating servants to death on a day like this, I'm afraid it would be bad."
The more powerful a family is, the more taboo they are about these things, and the royal family is even more so.
"Take it outside the mansion and don't let the princess know."
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The next morning, sunlight shone through the window lattice and fell on the green bed curtains.
Su Qingyu's fair shoulders were exposed outside the quilt, and her entire face was nestled in Shen Zhixiu's arms.
Half asleep and half awake, I always felt sore in my waist, and I changed two positions in a daze.
Shen Zhixiu opened his eyes, looked at the time, and knew it was time to get up.
He turned around and looked at Su Qingyu with his hands supporting his head. He first gathered the hair covering her face. Then, the hair was entangled in his fingers again.
Su Qingyu seemed to have noticed something, or perhaps Shen Zhixiu's actions disturbed her sweet dream.
She frowned at first, then buried her face in Shen Zhixiu's chest, with her hands on his lower back.
The smile on Shen Zhixiu's lips curved up again, and he lowered his head to whisper in her ear, "Madam, you threw yourself into my arms so early in the morning. It seems that what I did for you last night was not good enough."
Su Qingyu was still confused, but after Shen Zhixiu said these two sentences, she instantly woke up.
All that came to my mind were the ridiculous and blushing scenes from last night.
Shen Zhixiu saw Su Qingyu's white ears turn red in an instant, and he knew that she had woken up.
His wife was sometimes shy, but he loved to tease her when she was shy.
He kissed her cheek and pinched her waist and caressed it.
Su Qingyu couldn't pretend to be asleep any longer. When he kissed the corner of her mouth, she bit it in anger.
She snorted again coquettishly, "Third Master is bullying."
Shen Zhixiu held the back of her head with his large palm and continued to kiss the corners of her moist lips.
"How can this be considered bullying? I will let you know what bullying is."
Su Qingyu quickly pushed the person away, "Third Master, stop making trouble and get up. It's not good to be late for an occasion like today. Your nephew and niece are waiting to pay their respects to you."
Shen Zhixiu also knew that it was time to get up, so he stopped bothering her and got up from the bed.
"It doesn't matter whether you greet us or not, just don't cause us any trouble."
These days, the eldest wife has been plagued by one trouble after another.
Shen Zhixiu washed, dressed, and left the inner room quickly after he had packed up.
Zhenzhu, Feicui and others helped Su Qingyu put on makeup and change clothes.
Seeing Shen Zhixiu leave, Feicui whispered in Su Qingyu's ear, "Madam, the eldest lady beat Madam Zhang to death with a stick last night."
Su Qingyu looked at her makeup expressionlessly through the bronze mirror and instructed Feicui, "Take some time to visit her home. In a couple of days, I'll talk to Mr. Zhou and ask him to go see the child."
She didn't care whether Aunt Zhang lived or died. She didn't care what she said before she died. But she would not break her promise to Aunt Zhang.
Feicui mentioned the people who had served Shen Ying before and asked Su Qingyu how to deal with them.
"Return the indentures of Jinping and Yinping, and give them one hundred taels of silver and let them return home. As for the others, assign them to serve in various places."
Feicui nodded and took note of Su Qingyu's instructions.
Today, Su Qingyu wore a long dress embroidered with light-colored pear blossoms and a hairpin with cloud and phoenix patterns on her head. She looked simple and elegant yet dignified.
When she went out, Shen Zhizheng was sitting on the kang by the window in the banquet room, holding a book in his hand.
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