Zhuang was slightly stunned. Shen didn't like Pei Lingzhi very much, so she would not hang around in front of Shen except when paying her respects. She had a feeling that Shen suddenly came to her today and it was not a good thing.

"Did mother talk to me about anything?"

This maid was brought by Zhuang from her mother's home and was very loyal to her. When she thought of the scene she had just seen, her anxiety overflowed from the bottom of her heart.

"The Third Young Master went to visit a colleague's home today. He drank a few glasses of wine and accidentally entered the backyard and saw the young lady's body. When he came back, he told the Marquis that he wanted to marry a concubine. The Marquis was annoyed when she heard it and told you to leave as soon as you came back."

Concubine!

When Zhuang heard this, she felt a little dizzy. Xiao Yunrou quickly supported her to prevent her from falling to the ground due to the shock.

"A concubine... Sister-in-law, listen, I just got pregnant, and the Third Master wants to marry a concubine. How can I save face in the future?"

The bitter and hopeless look on Zhuang's face made Xiao Yunrou feel a little sympathetic. She said to the maid:

"Marrying a concubine is against the rules of the Marquis's Mansion. Whose family is this girl from? Was this Third Brother's idea or is she from that girl's family?"

"I heard it was from the Dou family, and her name seemed to be Jing. As for whose idea it was, I don't know."

Jing? Her last name is Dou. Xiao Yunrou immediately thought of that woman. "But her name is Dou Jingshu?"

The maid nodded repeatedly when she heard this. A cold light flashed across Xiao Yunrou's eyes. This Dou Jingshu is really lingering around and now she is going to enter the house.

"Sister-in-law, let me accompany you to see mother. You are pregnant and can't stand any stimulation. I am worried about you going alone."

Zhuang hadn't recovered from the shock yet, she nodded helplessly and went to Zhining Garden with Xiao Yunrou. As soon as she entered the main hall, she saw Pei Lingzhi kneeling on the ground. Shen was furious, wishing she could stare a few bloody holes in Pei Lingzhi's face so that he wouldn't be an eyesore in front of her.

"You are here." Shen suppressed her anger and spoke in a deep voice. "Third wife, do you know why I asked you to come here?"

Zhuang's face turned pale and she nodded weakly. Seeing her expression, Xiao Yunrou spoke for her.

"I just heard from the maid that my third brother accidentally entered the backyard and damaged the reputation of the girl, so he wanted to take the girl into the mansion."

Shen smiled coldly and said with gritted teeth:

"Take her in? She's a concubine. If it was really a concubine, I wouldn't have bothered with all these things. I would have arranged the ceremony of taking a concubine well and tried not to wrong the girl. But what does the third brother want? He wants to marry a concubine! And a member of the Dou family!"

It was indeed Dou Jingshu.

Xiao Yunrou lowered her eyes and looked at Pei Lingzhi who wanted to fight to the end with Shen, revealing a hint of sarcasm. Few people knew the inside story, but the whole mansion knew how much Shen hated the Dou family. Although everyone was very puzzled by this inexplicable hatred, no one would mention them to upset Shen. Who would have thought that Pei Lingzhi would marry the girl from the Dou family as his second wife as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Mother, what about the Dou family? Lord Dou is now a fourth-rank official in the capital, and Miss Dou is also the legitimate daughter of the Dou family. I was wrong in this matter first, so I cannot let her down."

Seeing Pei Lingzhi kneeling for so long without any repentance, Shen pointed at him, trembling all over, and was so angry that she couldn't speak. Xiao Yunrou spoke for Shen when she saw this.

"Third brother, a family of marquis has its own rules. The Zhenyuan Marquisate is a founding father, and the title was bestowed by the emperor and passed down from generation to generation. Even though my father was suffering from an old illness, the emperor still called him back from the manor and entrusted him with an important task. This is a great favor to the family of marquis. Looking at the truly well-established families in Daliang, whether legitimate or illegitimate, which generation has a concubine?"

Xiao Yunrou paused, glanced at Shen, whose expression had eased a little, and said:

"Third brother, although you are a concubine, you are also a descendant of the Zhenyuan Marquisate. If you marry a concubine, can you care about the reputation of the Marquisate? Moreover, a concubine is a wife in a nice way, but in the final analysis, she is just a concubine. You want to be responsible for the girl, but have you ever thought that when you went to the Dou Mansion as a guest, you also went to the front yard. The gate of the back yard has always been guarded by servants. How did you get through? Why didn't the person who took you there remind you? Such a plan full of loopholes is just because they think you are a gentleman and don't bother to cover it up. Third brother, it's good to take responsibility for your own mistakes, but you have to see whether this mistake was unintentional or you fell into someone else's trap."

Shen felt much better after hearing what Xiao Yunrou said. She looked at Pei Lingzhi's changing expression and knew that he had taken her words to heart.

"He is such a fool. I told him long ago that he was being plotted against, but he still thought I hated the Dou family and slandered them. You are so brainless that you were killed without knowing why!"

Pei Lingzhi remained silent, and Shen continued:

"No matter what, since you have seen the girl's body, you still have to take responsibility. Tomorrow I will ask Madam Zhu to go to the Dou Mansion and invite her to the mansion as a concubine."

Xiao Yunrou heard Nanny Zhu's words and tightened her fingers unconsciously. In this life, because Shen Tang was dead, Nanny Zhu behaved well. After all, she was Shen's dowry. Although she still hated her, she didn't hit her. Xiao Yunrou lowered her eyes, and when Shen saw Pei Lingzhi's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, she didn't give him a chance to speak and said directly:

"Zhenyuan Marquisate is the only marquisate in Daliang that has been passed down for two generations. The Dou family is a family without any foundation. They are marrying up to a high standard with the courtesy of a concubine. You should not be unconvinced. The Zhuang family your daughter-in-law comes from, although your father-in-law is only a fourth-rank prefect, is also a family of scholars. Many of the children in the family are either officials or teachers. The Dou family, what a thing. You have no shame, but you still want the Zhenyuan Marquisate. If you still want to marry her as a co-wife, you will be separated from the family tomorrow and don't be a descendant of the Zhenyuan Marquisate anymore."

Shen's words were extremely harsh. Pei Lingzhi wanted to refute her, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't give up this status. He was a bastard and couldn't get anything from the family division. If he left the Marquis' Mansion, he would have no money and no power. How could he live as comfortably as he does now? He could only agree in a depressed mood.

"Third son's wife, even though you are pregnant, I can't say anything to you, but you still have to stand up to the pressure. Go back and tidy up the yard, don't make a fool of yourself."

Zhuang had calmed down. She knew what Shen was hinting at. She almost became a laughing stock in the capital today, but it didn't happen in the end. But after today, she would make the person who wanted to make her a laughing stock a laughing stock.

Dou Mansion.

After Nanny Zhu came, she used both soft and hard tactics to make the Dou family, who had a status in the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion, compromise. Madam Dou told Dou Jingshu about this, which aroused her anger and hatred.

"Pei Lingzhi is a bastard, and his status in the Marquis's Mansion is not high. He said he would marry you as a concubine. I told you long ago that this matter is very suspenseful. Look, what that dog slave just said!"

Madam Dou was also very angry. Her daughter, who she had raised with great care, had become someone else's concubine. If it was Pei Lingfeng, it would be fine. He was the prince of the Marquisate, and Pei Lingzhi would have been separated from her long ago. How could Dou Jingshu have a good future if she married him?

"I told you a long time ago to stop thinking about Master Pei. No one else can see what happened today, but mother doesn't know about it? What are you thinking? You are so eager to lose your reputation and become a concubine of a bastard."

Dou Jingshu had a gloomy face. Everything had gone smoothly for her since she came to Beijing. She was admired by many young masters. Except for Xiao Yunrou, which one of them did not make her feel proud? When she thought of the good things Pei Lingfeng had done to Xiao Yunrou, she felt angry.

"Mother, other than this, there is no way I can enter the gate of Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion. Besides, my daughter is talented, beautiful and resourceful, so she can still control Pei Lingzhi. Moreover, how can I meet the prince if I don't enter the mansion? I must let him see how outstanding my daughter is, so that he will regret it sooner or later and give up that cheap woman Xiao and marry me in a sedan chair!"

Dou Jingshu was filled with hatred when she recalled the trip to Meilin that day. She simply refused to listen to Madam Dou's advice and only wanted to go to the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion to compete with Xiao Yunrou.

In the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion, when Pei Lingfeng returned at night, Xiao Yunrou told him about this matter. Pei Lingfeng just frowned, and his disgust for Dou Jingshu increased a little more.

"Although she is married to my third brother, she is from the third room, so we can't say anything. But my third brother's wife is pregnant. When she heard the news today, she almost collapsed. I can only give her some advice."

Pei Lingfeng nodded, and couldn't help feeling a little worried when he thought of the things Pei Lingzhi had done in his house over the past year.

"The capital is in a mess this year. The emperor got angry again this morning. Although the affairs of the mansion are family affairs, it will be a disaster if they are spread out. The end of the year is approaching, and Dou Jingshu is not a quiet person. I hope you will pay more attention to her."

Xiao Yunrou agreed. She didn't care if Dou Jingshu wanted to make trouble outside, but since she was in charge of the Marquis's Mansion, she couldn't let her ruin its reputation. In the previous life, Shen Tang was so active, but didn't even a little bit of news get out?

Because taking a concubine was not a glorious thing, on December 13, Dou Jingshu entered the third room in a pink sedan chair and ten loads of dowry.

The next day, Dou Jingshu was taken to Zhining Garden to meet Shen. Originally, a concubine did not need to pay respects to Shen, but Shen hated the Dou family, and she believed that Dou Jingshu was a sinister person, so she wanted to see what she looked like.

As soon as she entered the room, Xiao Yunrou looked at Dou Jingshu twice. When she looked away, she bumped into Dou Jingshu who had raised her head slightly. Her eyes were obviously looking behind her.

Dou Jingshu's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, but she quickly glanced behind Xiao Yunrou and found that the person she was thinking about was not there, so she immediately lowered her head.

Qingning saw clearly in that glance that all kinds of emotions such as unwillingness, resentment, disappointment, and secret hatred were contained in that glance.

Xiao Yunrou glanced at Dou Jingshu, who was shyly lowering her head and listening to Shen's teachings. Thinking about the look in her eyes, could it be that she really wanted to cheat on her husband and hook up with Pei Lingfeng? Xiao Yunrou felt that she had discovered the truth, and she became even more unhappy.

Dou Jingshu was constantly being teased by Shen from the moment she greeted her till the end of her breakfast. Xiao Yunrou and Zhuang pretended not to notice. In fact, Zhuang ate more because of Shen's behavior.