Chapter 12 Isn't humiliation even more offensive?
As soon as I returned home, the maid brought me news from the Treasure House: the new head ornaments and jewellery ordered by the two young ladies of the Shen Mansion have been made, and they are requested to go there as soon as possible to try them on and have them modified.
Upon hearing this, Shen Xingwan went to Tang Lin'er's courtyard and invited her to go with him.
Tang Lin'er has been staying at home recently and staying in bed to protect her pregnancy.
She attached great importance to this pregnancy, and put the fetus first in her food, clothing, housing and transportation, for fear that any carelessness would harm the baby in her belly.
If Shen Xingwan hadn't invited her personally, she would never have gone out.
The next day, Tang Lin'er dressed up and went out with Shen Xingwan to the Treasure House.
The Treasure House is the most famous jewelry store in Beijing.
The store recruited many experienced jewelry craftsmen, and the jewelry they produced were the latest and best in both materials and styles, which attracted many noble ladies in the capital to place orders. There were even concubines in the palace who thought the jewelry styles of the Imperial Household Department were too conservative and sent people to make custom orders.
As soon as Shen Xingwan and Tang Lin'er entered the store, the proprietress immediately led them to the private room on the second floor and served them tea and snacks.
After the proprietress accompanied the two of them to sit down, the maids came in one after another with trays and showed them the exquisite jewelry on the trays one by one.
The phoenix inlaid with eight treasures in red gold is extremely gorgeous. It lies quietly on the black velvet lining. The tasseled ruby pendant held in the phoenix's mouth sways with brilliant light, which is extremely beautiful.
"Is this... mine?"
Tang Lin'er was both surprised and happy, and a little bit unable to believe it.
The proprietress smiled brightly and flattered, "Of course it's yours. This phoenix cost seven ounces of gold, and there are pearls, jade and various gemstones. It is the most fashionable style at the moment, and it is absolutely worthy of your status as a prince's consort."
Tang Lin'er was overjoyed and wanted to touch it, but then she remembered that Shen Xingwan was still there. She withdrew her hand awkwardly and looked at Shen Xingwan.
Shen Xingwan pursed her lips and smiled, then stood up and walked over, holding up the phoenix with both hands, and personally pinned it on Tang Lin'er's bun.
Tang Lin'er was flattered and looked at Shen Xingwan in surprise, "Sister..."
Shen Xingwan carefully straightened the tassels, smiling even more, and praised: "Sister, you are beautiful, and this magnificent phoenix adds to your beauty. It really sets off your beauty, which is unparalleled."
"Sister, you are so kind. I am ashamed to accept it."
Although Tang Lin'er said this, she couldn't help but glance at the diamond-shaped mirror and reached out to touch the ruby tassels on her temples.
"Oh, you dare to wear a phoenix before you even enter the house. If you enter the house in a few days, won't you be even more arrogant?"
A sneering and mocking sound came from outside the door, and a young girl in gorgeous clothes walked in proudly, surrounded by several maids, and her every move was full of arrogance.
Tang Lin'er was stunned, and for a moment she stood there forgetting to react. However, Shen Xingwan recognized the person and greeted Ping Li with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet Sister Lu here. I hope Commander Lu and his wife are doing well."
Upon hearing this, Tang Lin'er immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Sister Lu."
The person who came was Lu Yuzhi, the daughter of General Lu. She glanced at Tang Lin'er and smiled contemptuously.
"Miss Shen, it's fine for you to call me sister, but who the hell are you to be called my sister?"
Tang Lin'er's face suddenly turned pale and she froze in place.
Seeing this, Shen Xingwan deliberately took two steps forward and said to Lu Yuzhi with a smile: "Miss Lu, you are wrong. Our Lin'er will marry the Third Prince with you soon. Can't we call each other sisters? No matter what our status was before, we will both be the prince's consorts in the future."
This completely angered Lu Yuzhi. Her face flushed and she retorted, "Don't pretend to help her out. I know that I could marry the Third Prince only because you rejected him. I'm not afraid to pick up what you don't want, but don't compare me with this lowly thing. She doesn't deserve it!"
Before Shen Xingwan could say more, the proprietress came over and stood between the two of them. She gently pulled Lu Yuzhi aside and said, "Ms. Lu, calm down. We are all here to look at jewelry, so please don't ruin our mood. I will accompany you to look at the jewelry you ordered."
When this was brought up, Lu Yuzhi became even more angry. She was a fierce woman to begin with, and she immediately pointed at the phoenix on Tang Lin'er's head and scolded the proprietress: "You are really blinded by greed, and you are getting more and more useless as you get older. Why should she, a concubine, use red gold? You are so presumptuous, do you take me seriously?"
The proprietress' heart skipped a beat and the smile on her face disappeared.
When the Shen family came to place the order for the Pianfeng, Tang Lin'er was preparing it for the third prince's principal wife. All the jewelry was made according to the specifications of the principal wife, but she forgot that only gilding craftsmanship could be used for concubines.
Tang Lin'er's face turned pale and she quickly took off the red-gold phoenix on her head.
Lu Yuzhi snorted coldly, "Old man, pack all those red gold jewelry for me and send them to the Taiwei Mansion."
"this......"
The proprietress was in a dilemma. She glanced at Shen Xingwan and Tang Lin'er and rubbed her hands. "Those are the jewelry that the Shen family ordered for Miss Tang. I'm afraid it's not possible..."
"You fool, don't you understand that I am protecting you? If I sue you for overstepping the boundaries, do you still want to open your store?"
"This is......"
The proprietress had no choice but to compromise, and Lu Yuzhi became happy and glanced at Tang Lin'er proudly.
"Don't worry, no matter how much the Chen family offers for these jewelry, we at the Taiwei Mansion will give you double the price."
After Lu Yuzhi finished speaking, she snorted, turned around and walked away.
The proprietress sent Lu Yuzhi away, turned around and looked at Shen Xingwan and Tang Lin'er apologetically, and asked tentatively: "Miss Tang, please don't blame me. Miss Lu has been like that since she was a child. How about I measure your size again and make you another set of gilded jewelry?"
Tang Lin'er gritted her teeth, her chest heaving uncontrollably, and turned around and rushed out the door.
"this......"
The proprietress looked at Shen Xingwan in embarrassment, "I'm really sorry, I don't know why Miss Lu came here early today."
Shen Xingwan chuckled and looked at Feiyun.
It’s very simple. She was the one who sent Feiyun to lure Lu Yuzhi here.
"Look at Miss Tang's jewelry..." The proprietress rubbed her hands repeatedly.
"It's up to you. We'll have to buy as much as we can, and we'll have it gilded."
"Well, okay, don't worry, there won't be any problems this time."
Shen Xingwan nodded, calmly went downstairs and returned home.
When the carriage was returning to the mansion, the Ministry of Internal Affairs had just delivered the wedding preparations. Everything was in place according to regulations, and the servants were in the process of counting and moving them.
There was one very special item among the boxes, large and small, which attracted special attention when they were unpacked and counted.
They were two wedding gowns, both were heavily embroidered and extremely gorgeous. The only difference was that one was a dazzling bright red, while the other was a charming rose red.
Tang Lin'er had just been humiliated by Lu Yuzhi as a concubine, and when she got off the car she caught a glimpse of the rose-red wedding dress. She was immediately furious and stomped her feet and ran back to her room.
She threw herself into the quilt on the couch and sobbed continuously, swinging her fist and hitting the porcelain pillow several times. Ruyi was so scared that she rushed over and hugged her hand, crying and admonishing: "Miss, be careful, your hand hurts, why are you doing this?"
Tang Lin'er cried in a low voice: "My parents died early and I have no protection. I have been living under someone else's roof for many years. I just want to earn a good future. What have I done wrong!"
"Miss......"
Ruyi's eyes were wet, and she leaned over to hug Tang Lin'er, "Miss, you are right, you are the best lady in the world."
"I finally got close to the Third Prince, and he promised me that he would marry me as his empress after I helped him and Shen Xingwan get the help of the Shen family and became emperor. It's all her fault. Why did she refuse to marry the Third Prince? Why did she have to block my way?"
Tang Lin'er sat up, her eyes full of hatred, "If she hadn't been so hypocritical and disobeyed the emperor's order, how could I have ended up with my reputation ruined and become a concubine, and even been humiliated by that bitch! It's all her fault!"
Tang Lin'er sat alone in silence for a long time, then suddenly stood up and rummaged through the chest of drawers, taking out an exquisite brocade box. She opened the box and took out the red gold lily and pearl flowers inside, then opened her dressing table and took out a small box of scented powder from the deepest part.
She dipped a little rose water on her fingertips, picked up the scented powder and rolled it into a small scented ball, which she carefully embedded into the core of the red-gold lily in the light from the window.
"Ruyi." she called.
Tang Lin'er put the pearl flower into a brocade box and handed it to Ruyi, "This is the pearl flower I bought in the Treasure House. Since I am not worthy of wearing pure gold, you can send it to Shen Xingwan for me. She is the principal wife and she can wear it. I wish her a happy marriage and a son soon."
Ruyi nodded in agreement, and sent the gift to Shen Xingwan's room as instructed. She then repeated the blessing words exactly as they were spoken before returning to report.
Feiyun handed the brocade box to Shen Xingwan. Shen Xingwan took out the pearl hairpin and looked at it, but found nothing unusual.
But she absolutely did not believe that Tang Lin'er could be so kind and sincerely wish her a happy marriage after being humiliated.
She ordered Feiyun to find a familiar doctor to take a closer look. The doctor put the lily flower to the tip of his nose and smelled it carefully, then frowned.
"How is it?" Shen Xingwan asked.
"This pearl flower seems to be mixed with musk."
"Are you sure?" Shen Xingwan raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked carefully?"
The doctor did not dare to be careless, and observed and sniffed it again, and said with certainty: "I have been practicing medicine for many years, and I often use musk to promote blood circulation and treat diseases. I will never make a mistake. This pearl flower must contain musk. Wearing it for a long time will harm a woman's pregnancy."
Shen Xingwan nodded, indicating that he understood, and ordered someone to give the doctor some silver and send him away.
Feiyun puffed up her cheeks, put away the pearl flower in a bad mood and was about to throw it away, "This Miss Tang, she usually pretends to be so gentle and kind, but her mind is so dirty, it's really true that you can't judge a person by his appearance, bah!"
"Why."
Shen Xingwan stopped her from throwing the pearls, smiled, and comforted her: "Evil will be punished by evil. It would be a pity to throw away such a good thing. You should think of a way to send it to the Taiwei Mansion together with the other jewelry ordered by the Treasure House for Tang Lin'er."
"Yes." Feiyun rolled his eyes and immediately took the order.
That night, the lily pearl flower was placed on Lu Yuzhi's dressing table together with Pianfeng.
But Lu Yuzhi was no pushover. She came from a prominent family and soon discovered something strange in the lily bead.
She ordered someone to check the records at the Treasure House, and found that this one lily pearl flower was ordered by Tang Lin'er before and was sent from the Shen Mansion.
"You are so good, Tang Lin'er, are you trying to force me to not tolerate you?"
Lu Yuzhi gnashed her teeth, tore the red gold lily pearl into pieces, and ordered someone to prepare a gift and deliver it to Tang Lin'er.
When Tang Lin'er heard that Lu Yuzhi had sent her a gift, she had no idea what her intention was.
It was already late at night, and the little maid put down the brocade box and left. Ruyi brought a candle and taught Tang Lin'er to open the brocade box and look at the gift.
"Why would she give me a gift?" Tang Lin'er untied the ribbon suspiciously.
Ruyi smiled and said, "She must have felt that she went too far last time. After all, you are a concubine after marriage, and you are pregnant with our eldest son. You are so precious. We will see you every day in the future. She must be regretting showing you kindness."
"That's better." Tang Lin'er smiled as she untied the ribbon and opened the brocade box.
"ah--"
The master and servant dropped the brocade box and screamed.
A bloody dead black kitten rolled out of the brocade box and fell to the ground, its hollow eyes staring at Tang Lin'er.
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