Xiangdong glanced at the old lady's expression and continued, "A few days ago, the fifth young master was helping the servants plant lotus roots in the pond in the small garden. He told me about it, and I thought it would be a good thing for him to try his hand at farming at his age. I know that every meal is hard-earned, so I agreed."
"Halfway through, the princess happened to pass by. The fifth young master wanted to go and pay his respects to the princess, but when he got closer, he heard the princess talking to the maidservant beside her."
"As they say, like mother, like son. Working like this in a menial manner, he doesn't look like a descendant of the Shen family."
"The Fifth Young Master got angry and left, accidentally throwing the mud on his hands onto the princess's face."
The old lady took a deep breath. She knew about this as well. Li Chaoyun, with mud on her face, went to Qingyuan Residence to complain, saying that the fifth young master had no manners at all.
At that time, she tried to calm things down by appeasing Li Chaoyun and scolding Shen Cheng. However, she never expected that the course of events was not what Li Chaoyun said.
The old lady glanced at Li Chaoyun calmly, "What do you say?"
Li Chaoyun's thoughts raced, and she said aggrievedly, "Grandmother, you're wise. I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant, but I sometimes forget what I said. It seems I misunderstood Madam Xiang, and this is my fault."
"But no matter what, the Fifth Young Master shouldn't have treated me like this. It's okay that I fell and got bumped, but I'm really heartbroken about this thing in my belly. If his father were here, how could he let us mother and son suffer such an injustice?"
Princess Yongjia also echoed from the side, "The princess is pregnant, and the palace should be more tolerant. However, it is a fact that your fifth young master almost caused my daughter to have a miscarriage, and he must be punished."
The old lady narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Pregnant women are indeed forgetful, overthinking, and have a quick temper. But Li Chaoyun did this every time, which made people think too much.
Xiangdong listened to what Li Chaoyun said and continued.
"Today, the Fifth Young Master went to the flower fields to see if the magnolias that Grandmother loves have sprouted. When he passed by Hanshui Courtyard, he heard the Princess scolding me. She said I was of low birth and still controlled the property of the Shen family's eldest branch. She said that the eldest master must be blind to leave such a will."
Xiangdong knelt straight on the ground and spoke frankly.
The last sentence made the old lady's face change immediately. No matter what, Li Chaoyun, as a daughter-in-law, shouldn't slander her father-in-law like this.
Li Chaoyun was also shocked, and anger instantly rushed into his heart.
"You are lying. When did I ever say that?"
Su Qingyu suddenly spoke up from the side, "Then why don't you recall what the princess said before the fifth young master took action?"
"I'm not trying to excuse the Fifth Young Master, I just want to know the reason behind it. If it's really the Fifth Young Master's fault, his Third Uncle will punish and teach him a lesson, and he will definitely give the Princess an explanation."
Xiangdong, who was kneeling on the ground, also looked at Li Chaoyun steadily.
Li Chaoyun's expression faltered slightly. Before Chen Cheng made his move, she had been asking whether the man's scheme against Xiangdong had succeeded. But she couldn't possibly tell the old lady this. Should she make up an excuse? For a moment, she couldn't think of a suitable excuse.
Li Chaoyun's hesitation seemed to indicate that he was guilty, which further confirmed Xiangdong's statement.
The old lady also understood that although Shen Cheng was wrong, Li Chaoyun was not without fault either.
Li Chaoyun is pregnant with a grandson, and Chen Cheng is also pregnant with a grandson, so she naturally cannot favor one over the other.
After thinking for a moment, the old lady said, "Cheng'er, copy the family rules fifty times as punishment. When you're done, show them to me."
"Xiangdong failed to discipline her child properly. She will be fined for half a year as a warning."
Then he turned to the servants in Li Chaoyun's room and said, "You should be more vigilant from now on. The princess is pregnant and she is naturally anxious. Please persuade her more."
After instructing her subordinates, she instructed Nanny Hua, "Go back and pick out some good supplements from my storehouse and send them to the princess."
Li Chaoyun was stunned for a moment. Did the old lady mean that this matter would just be over?
Copying the family rules? Deducting monthly salary? What kind of punishment is this?
She had horse manure all over her face and almost lost her child. Wasn't the old lady's punishment too arbitrary?
There are also supplements. Does she need any of them?
Li Chaoyun was indignant, and Princess Yongjia was even more furious.
"The old lady is clearly protecting the concubine and the illegitimate son. I don't feel comfortable letting my daughter stay here to take care of her pregnancy with the Shen family doing this." Princess Yongjia said coldly.
The old lady was also angry. Was it not wrong for Li Chaoyun to be immoral in his words?
"Then what does Your Highness the Princess want?"
Princess Yongjia said in a deep voice, "The Fifth Young Master is just a child, I can let it go. But whoever instigated the Fifth Young Master to attack my daughter must be brought to the farm."
"If the Shen family can't do it, then I can only take my daughter back. I don't think the Shen family cares about the child in Chaoyun's belly, so why not change the child's surname to Li?"
Princess Yongjia's words were of course an opportunity to threaten, but what Old Lady Shen hated most in her life was threats.
Moreover, in her opinion, although Xiangdong and Shen Cheng were wrong, there were reasons for their mistakes and they did not deserve such severe punishment.
"I do not agree with what Princess Yongjia said, and I am sorry that I cannot obey your order."
"In that case, I can only take my daughter back to the Li family to rest and take care of the pregnancy. Come, help the princess change her clothes, and let's go back." Princess Yongjia gave orders while helping her daughter get out of bed.
The old lady didn't stop her, but said, "Ever since the incident with the Shen family's eldest wife, the princess has been living at her parents' home most of the time. I think it's her habit to stay there, so it's good for her to go back and take care of the pregnancy. After she recuperates for a while, I will take her back home."
The old lady specifically mentioned that something happened in the first wife's house of the Shen family and that Li Chaoyun was living in her mother's house. She simply wanted to tell Princess Yongjia that just because the Shen family didn't say something didn't mean that what Li Chaoyun did was right.
Princess Yongjia seemed not to understand what Old Lady Shen meant, or perhaps she understood it but didn't want to pay attention.
Seeing that his daughter had packed up, he took her and a few of his personal servants and walked out.
Su Qingyu followed behind, "I'll take the princess and the county lady out."
It's etiquette, it's what she should do.
Princess Yongjia snorted and ignored Su Qingyu.
After the few of them left Hanshui Courtyard, the servants prepared some soft toys in advance.
Su Qingyu also got on the sedan chair and planned to escort the person to the gate. No matter how they fought behind the scenes, they couldn't let people say that the Shen family had lost their manners.
After the three sedan chairs left one after another, Yuanbao, the servant who was hiding behind the bushes, came out.
Ever since the death of the eldest son, Chen Zhao, he had been doing odd jobs in Hanshui Courtyard. He had been feeling very anxious recently because of the princess's pregnancy.
Others may not know, but he clearly remembers that the day before the eldest young master died, he was still saying that he did not consummate his marriage with the princess after Miss Jiang passed away.
At that time, he also advised the eldest young master that they were husband and wife after all and should not hurt their relationship. But the eldest young master was very determined and said that he was willing to give the princess face, but he could not be as intimate with the princess as before.
The eldest young master would not lie to a servant like him, so how did the princess get pregnant?
But Yuanbao only dared to think about it in his heart and didn't dare to reveal a word.
Just as he was lost in thought, he heard someone behind him calling him to work. Yuanbao shook his head to dispel the messy thoughts in his mind and turned back.
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