"But, your parents will pass away before you one day, and you and your brother each have your own family, so how can they protect you for your whole life?" Shen Xinyan sighed, stroking her long hair.

"Mother, you think too much. If I have to live a miserable life after getting married, why should I get married? I might as well pack up and live with Aunt Xu. It would be so much fun to follow her around the country!" Wei Yingzhi disagreed.

Shen Xinyan rubbed his forehead with a headache.

It seems that Xu Sumin has influenced not only herself but also her daughter.

"I will let your aunt Xu give you a good lesson someday!" She pinched her face again in anger.

Shen Xinyan was still a little surprised when Fang Birong came to visit.

Fang Birong had not come to the Duke's Mansion very often in the past few years, but she had maintained a good relationship with the Duke's Mansion. At least the Grand Princess was willing to see her and talk to her for a while every time.

But Fang Birong did not come to Funingyuan on purpose to see her. This was the first time like today.

"It's a rare day that Madam is free today, so Birong came to ask for a cup of tea. I hope Madam won't mind?" Fang Birong said with a smile.

"It's my honor that Madam Zhou Wu is willing to look at me. Chunliu, pour the tea!" Shen Xinyan also had a smile on her face.

The two exchanged a few polite words and chatted for a while before Fang Birong slowly said, "In the blink of an eye, Brother Lin has reached the age to get married. I wonder if Madam has a candidate in mind?"

"From Mrs. Zhou's tone, could it be that she has a good girl to introduce?" Shen Xinyan asked with a smile.

"There are many families in Beijing who are eyeing such an outstanding child like Lin'er! It's a pity that my beautiful girl was born a little late." Fang Birong also smiled.

The "xiu girl" she referred to was naturally her daughter Zhou Wanxiu.

"When Xiu grows up, I'm afraid you, as her mother, will still have a lot to worry about!"

"That's right, these children are the debt of their parents!"

The two of them talked about children for a while before Fang Birong finally got to the point.

"A few days ago, my uncle and his family returned to Beijing. I hadn't seen my niece Wan Ning for a few years. I never thought she would grow up to be as beautiful as a fairy, outshining all the maids in the mansion."

"Ms. Zhou is indeed a beauty." Shen Xinyan guessed her purpose and answered carefully.

"So Madam has also seen her before." Fang Birong pretended to be surprised, and then slapped her forehead, "Look at my brain, the Duke and my uncle are officials in the same court, so it's not surprising that Madam recognizes Wan Ning's niece. No wonder Brother Dao Lin often visits my uncle."

Without waiting for Shen Xinyan to speak, she smiled and said, "Brother Lin is a rare talent, and niece Wan Ning is a rare beauty..."

Shen Xinyan's mind moved. Was he here to act as a matchmaker for Zhou Wanning? However, after a careful look, she did not miss the flash of disgust on Fang Bisu's face when she mentioned Zhou Mao's family, and she gave up the idea.

It seems that matchmaking is fake and testing is real.

"A family with a daughter is sought after by hundreds of families. With my niece's beauty, I'm afraid the matchmakers will be knocking on the doorstep." She took the teacup, took a sip of tea, and answered calmly.

Fang Birong kept staring at her, not missing any expression on her face. She looked indifferent and couldn't tell whether she was happy or not. She was a little undecided.

Is this an indication of his interest in Zhou Wanning, or is it an indication of his indifference?

"That's true. Such a beauty would naturally attract young masters from various families to come and court her. During these years when my father was in office, she has always been protected by the young masters of the general's mansion..." Having said this, she looked at Shen Xinyan's face again and saw that she still had a calm expression and there was no sign of anything unusual.

"Now that my uncle has got this job, he will stay in the capital in the future. My niece Wan Ning's marriage will surely be taken to the next level. I heard that the candidate for the Crown Princess has been decided, but the Crown Prince's concubine..."

Shen Xinyan was slightly startled, and Fang Birong caught it sensitively.

It turns out that I didn't mean it! That's good.

With an idea in mind, she calmed down a bit and said meaningfully, "Now that the three-year mourning period has passed, His Majesty has not yet expressed his intention to reinstate me. Naturally, I am a little anxious. My niece Wan Ning is so beautiful, I think there must be some opportunity."

Shen Xinyan was not a fool, so she could naturally tell that the 'person who was a little anxious' she mentioned must be the former Prime Minister Zhou.

It seems that the former Prime Minister is not willing to remain silent! And Zhou Wanning is so beautiful, it is not surprising that he would want to use her marriage to get close to the prince.

This is his plan. I think he has given up Queen Zhou in the palace and plans to turn to Concubine Rui. However, Zhou Mao and his wife love their daughter so much that they will not agree. I am afraid that this will cause a lot of rifts between the father and son in the Zhou family.

Even after saying all this, Shen Xinyan didn't react at all except for being a little surprised. Fang Birong was finally relieved.

That was good. Since the Duke's Mansion had no intention, she could act boldly. As for the old man's plan... she sneered secretly.

If the first wife used Zhou Wanning to get close to the crown prince, would there still be a place for the fifth wife in the Zhou Mansion? Even the queen in the palace would not agree.

She never expected that the gentle and refined Prime Minister would become no different from an ordinary old man after losing his power. She was indeed young and ignorant back then.

With the answer, this trip was not in vain. Fang Birong naturally had no intention of staying long. She changed the subject and talked about gossip in the capital, then left.

Shen Xinyan ordered Chunliu to send her out the second door.

Knowing the Zhou family's plan, Shen Xinyan naturally would not hide it from Wei Junhang and told him everything Fang Birong had revealed.

Wei Junhang frowned after hearing this: "Old Master Zhou really still refuses to give up. He still hasn't seen the situation clearly. Zhou Mao is already in the Zhou Mansion, so how could Your Majesty use him again? In Your Majesty's mind, the Zhou Mansion's legitimate and illegitimate branches have become more important than each other."

Shen Xinyan didn't understand the affairs of the court, so she said with a little worry: "For things like this, it's better to be prepared for the worst. It's easiest to succeed if you plan without thinking. We can't relax."

"Don't worry, Madam. I will consider this matter carefully."

After hearing his words, Shen Xinyan finally put her mind at ease. She thought of her daughter's words unconsciously and said with a little complaint, "Ying'er is a girl who really leaves me with no way to deal with her."

Wei Junhang laughed out loud after hearing this: "This girl is not wrong. As the daughter of a duke, it doesn't matter if she is a little arrogant!"

"How dare you praise her?" Shen Xinyan was helpless.

"I know what you are worried about, Madam. You are worried about her future marriage. But Madam, you are really worrying too much. Just based on her background, even if she is a plain girl, I am afraid there will be many people who will come to marry her."

"Ten 'rich families' are not as good as one 'good family'!" Shen Xinyan glared at him.

Wei Junhang laughed again, but quickly stopped laughing after receiving a glare from his wife. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "Don't worry, my wife. Every girl from a wealthy family has a temper. Besides, our Ying'er is not brainless and reckless. On the contrary, her thunderous methods are something that many girls raised in secluded houses lack. Naturally, people will admire her."

Shen Xinyan shook her head, then sighed, not wanting to argue with him about her daughter anymore. Anyway, she had to be careful in choosing a son-in-law in this life, so as not to regret it in the future.

More than half a month later, Shen Xinyan was settling accounts with her daughter. In the past few years, she had asked her daughter to share part of the chores in the mansion, as well as the dowry shop under her name.

The little girl always complained at first, but as time went by, she got the hang of it and began to appreciate the taste of it.

"Madam." At this moment, Chun Liu walked in with an ugly face. When he saw Wei Yingzhi was also there, he swallowed his words.

"Let's stop here for today. You should go to your grandmother first to see if she has any comments on the proposed menu." Shen Xinyan closed the account book and said to her daughter.

"If you want to get rid of someone, just say it directly. Why do you have to make up an excuse?" Wei Yingzhi muttered, and ran away under the glare of her mother.

"Tell me what bad things you want to report."

"Ping Yan sent someone to come back. The prince rescued the third young lady from the Zhou Mansion who fell into the water."

Shen Xinyan frowned: "Did anyone see this? No matter what, keep this a secret from me. No word of it can be leaked out!"

Although it was a last resort, it was still a skin-to-skin relationship. If it got out, she would have to accept this daughter-in-law even if she no longer wanted her.

Chun Liu also knew that the situation was serious. After being with Shen Xinyan for so long, she could see that Shen Xinyan was not willing to have anything to do with the Zhou family, and naturally would not be happy for the prince to marry this Miss Zhou San.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I've already given the instructions."

"I remember that Brother Lin went out with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today. How come he went with Miss Zhou San..." The voice stopped abruptly, and Shen Xinyan remembered what Fang Birong said that day.

Could it be that the one who plotted today's incident was the Crown Prince, and her son was just playing the role of a 'hero' again?

A few days later, things took a sharp turn for the worse, and a "good story" suddenly spread in the capital about the fourth son of the general's mansion who heroically saved a beauty. Although the "beautiful" was not explicitly stated, it was secretly directed at the third daughter of the Zhou mansion, a woman who was as beautiful as the Queen Mother of the West who had descended to the earth.

The rumor intensified, and by the time Shen Xinyan heard it, the rumor had spread to the point where the two mansions were about to arrange a marriage for the "heroic Fourth Young Master Murong" and the "beautiful Third Young Lady Zhou."

"Huh? This is so strange. It was clearly Miss Zhou San who was rescued by the prince that day, but how did she become Master Murong Tao?" Chun Liu naturally also heard such words and was puzzled.

Shen Xinyan couldn't figure it out at first, but then she thought about Murong Tao's obsession with Zhou Wanning in his previous life, and wondered secretly, could it be that Murong Tao had preemptively released all this?

Even though Zhou Wanning was married in her previous life, Murong Tao was still obsessed with her and secretly set traps for her son. Later, he even colluded with the Prince of Cheng to pretend to be a "rebel" and captured Zhou Wanning.

Of course, if he was able to capture the person successfully, it was also thanks to her "contribution" in her previous life.