Su Qingyu nodded and said, "I think her family has been busy lately. Didn't the third young master of the Li family pass away? Princess Yongjia must be sad."
Yang sneered, "That's what he deserves. He deserves to die just for what the Third Young Master did. Prince Ning is a good man and worthy of our Yue'er. It's just that I have a stepmother at home, and I always feel uneasy."
Shen Yue has been well-behaved and obedient since she was a child, and she often stays with the old lady, so she spends a lot of time with Yang.
Yang also had some affection for her niece, after all, she had watched her grow up since she was a child.
In addition, Shen Yue was liked by the old lady and Su Qingyu and her husband, so she had to pretend to be nice.
Yang was very smart. Ever since she suffered a loss at the hands of Su Qingyu, and after Shen Zhishu and Shen Hong told her about the current situation of the Shen family, she never had any bad thoughts about Su Qingyu again.
There were several times when he clearly took sides, which directly brought the two closer together.
Su Qingyu comforted Yang after hearing this, "Prince Ning, please don't live in a separate residence. It will be better if we don't live together then."
The two of them were talking when they arrived at Qingyuanju.
Shen Zhixiu briefly explained the court affairs to the old lady. Seeing that everything was fine, the old lady was relieved and did not ask any more questions.
Several people discussed the dowry for Shen Yue and had lunch directly at Qingyuanju.
The old lady simply called the brothers Shen Zhiheng and Shen Zhishu, as well as the younger generations in the family over.
Li Chaoyun hadn't returned from the Li family, so Shen Zhao came alone, followed by a servant holding two bonsai pots.
"Grandma, I went out of town today and passed by a stall selling flowers and trees. I picked out two pots for you."
When the old lady got older, she liked lush flowers and trees, which made her happy.
"Good, my eldest grandson is thoughtful." The old lady smiled and patted Shen Zhao's hand, then stood up to take a look.
Chen Zhao looked at the smile on her face and felt a little bit uncomfortable. News from the farm outside the city would be passed back to the mansion tonight. I'm afraid my grandmother won't be able to sleep tonight.
Not only tonight, but for a long time, grandmother will probably be immersed in the grief of losing her son and daughter-in-law.
But he had no choice. Since he followed His Royal Highness, he had to put His Royal Highness first in everything. Of course, it was also for his own future.
He didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Third Uncle had been at court for so many years, and he'd done his share of work eliminating dissidents. As for Su Qingyu, he felt she was responsible for the series of incidents that befell the eldest son's family. Since they were a loving couple, it was a blessing for her to go along and accompany Third Uncle.
The only person he felt sorry for was his grandmother, who was old and still had to endure the pain of losing her son.
During this meal, Shen Zhao was extremely filial to the old lady. He even treated Su Qingyu and Shen Zhixiu with special respect.
This was the Shen family’s last reunion dinner, and he still felt a little heavy in his heart.
Su Qingyu did not notice anything unusual about Chen Zhao, but with so many people searching outside the city, the fact that Chen Zhao could still sit here and chat and laugh with everyone was already unusual.
After lunch, the old lady prepared to rest, and everyone left and returned to their own courtyards.
As soon as Shen Zhixiu returned to the West Courtyard, Shen Zhiheng came and said he wanted to talk to Shen Zhixiu about something.
Su Qingyu went back to the main room to change clothes, while the two brothers went to the study.
Zhenzhu helped Su Qingyu remove her hairpins and rings and casually said, "Madam, have you heard? The eldest master issued an order a few days ago that all the concubines around him must pay their respects to Concubine Xiang."
"I also heard that the Master bought a three-story house in the city for Concubine Xiang's brother."
Su Qingyu really didn't know about this. Since her brother had returned to Beijing these days, she didn't ask much about the trivial matters in the mansion.
"The eldest master really praises Concubine Xiang." He then asked, "Has Concubine Xiang sent any message recently?"
Ever since Xiangdong decided to stay in the mansion to keep an eye on Shen Zhiheng, he'd been sending messages to Su Qingyu from time to time. For example, he'd been asking about something suspicious Shen Zhiheng had said, or who he'd met privately. There wasn't anything suspicious in there, and Su Qingyu couldn't tell that Shen Zhiheng had any intention of targeting the Third House.
But she didn't dare to be careless, because she knew a person's face but not his heart.
Zhenzhu replied, "Madam Xiang came this morning, but the Madam had gone to the palace. She didn't see the Madam, so she didn't say anything."
Su Qingyu said, "Tomorrow morning, when the master is not at home, go and ask if there is anything."
Pearl nodded and took note of it.
After changing into loose clothes, Su Qingyu sat by the window and began sewing. But after a few stitches, she couldn't go on, and she felt inexplicably irritated.
She put down her needlework and went to the study.
I saw the painting that Shen Zhixiu copied about Princess Yongning and her brother.
So he told Feicui to find a box of similar size, put the things in it and give it to his brother.
Before putting it on, she spread it out and took a look. Princess Yongning had a gentle and kind expression, and a doting smile in her eyes.
If Princess Yongning hadn't been in trouble, my brother would have been able to grow up happily, right? Perhaps there wouldn't be the Prince of Ning today, but there would be one more handsome and elegant young man in the world.
As soon as the scroll was put up, Chuntao walked in quickly.
"Madam, the Third Master asks you to change your clothes and leave the city with him."
Su Qingyu closed the pearwood box and asked, "What happened? Where are you going after leaving the city?"
Chuntao was running so fast that she was a little out of breath. She took two deep breaths and explained, "Just now, someone came to the farm where the eldest lady lives. They said that the eldest lady wanted to see the third master and the mistress, and she would not eat unless they could see her."
Su Qingyu's brows furrowed. Chen had been poisoned and wasn't going to live long, yet she specifically requested to see her and the Third Master? This seemed unusual no matter how one considered it.
She stood up and walked into the inner room, where she changed into neat clothes. After a moment's thought, she told Feicui, "Bring me my hidden arrow, and prepare the handkerchief soaked in the potion."
"You should also take the handkerchief with you. It can protect you from most drugs."
Regardless of whether there is something fishy about this matter, it is always better to be careful.
"Is the carriage ready?" Su Qingyu asked Chuntao again.
Chun Tao replied, "Two carriages have been prepared. The eldest master will go with the mistress and the third master."
Su Qingyu thought this was a good idea. If anything really happened to Chen, Shen Zhiheng would be able to take charge.
It has been more than half a year since she poisoned Chen. Even if the eldest wife had suspicions, she could not find anything.
And given her indifferent observation, Shen Zhiheng didn't care much about Chen's affairs. I'm afraid he knew she was poisoned but didn't bother to investigate.
When going out, Su Qingyu stopped all the maids and servants and only took a piece of jade.
When they arrived at the outer courtyard, Shen Zhiheng had already boarded the carriage in front, while Shen Zhixiu helped Su Qingyu board the carriage behind.
"What's going on?" Su Qingyu asked in a low voice.
The carriage started moving, making a creaking sound.
Shen Zhixiu said softly, "I don't know yet. I've already sent a message to Yunzhou. He will get there before us and find out the news."
At this moment, in the Hanshui Courtyard of the Shen family's inner house, Shen Zhao was bathing and changing clothes.
Suddenly a servant knocked on the door and came in to report.
"Master, the Third Master and the Third Madam have gone out of town."
"The master is also going with us, in two carriages."
Shen Zhao's expression changed drastically. "Why would father go? Didn't he say that this matter shouldn't alarm others and only inform Third Uncle and Third Aunt?"
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