Chapter 145 Killing Two Birds with One Stone
"I'm afraid not." Mother Cao said solemnly, "When I came back, the maid guarding the door said that Aunt Qiu had been here."
Shen Mingzhu felt cold all over, fearing that Qiu Chan would hear the fatal information.
She carefully recalled the conversation with Zhongxia. She never revealed that the child was gone. She just emphasized that there was something wrong with the medicine she took.
Even so, it was still a huge threat to her.
"Third Madam, the Duke's doctor was sent by the Emperor and only obeys the orders of the Heavenly Family." Madam Cao added, "You've already had a miscarriage. If Aunt Qiu complains to the Third Master and asks the doctor to take your pulse, wouldn't that expose the truth?"
Shen Mingzhu was panicked.
"You are still young and can still have children. Aunt Qiu is a thorn in your heart, and now you can take this opportunity to remove it."
Mother Cao said earnestly, "Except for Concubine Qiu, the Third Master has no other women in his backyard, and he won't be taking another concubine anytime soon. The Second Master is frail and cannot have children. If you take good care of yourself, you can still conceive a great-grandson."
Shen Mingzhu was slowly persuaded, with a ruthless look in her eyes: "Mother Cao, I will listen to you."
"Third Madam, I have a plan to kill two birds with one stone." Mother Cao leaned close to Shen Mingzhu's ear and said, "Before Qiu Chan became Third Master's concubine, she served Second Madam. You've had several head-on confrontations with Second Madam, and you've always suffered losses. We need to start from somewhere else..."
After hearing what Mother Cao said, Shen Mingzhu felt a little more at ease. She touched her belly, a sense of sadness filling her heart. "After all, this child wasn't meant to be with me. I hope he can be reborn in my belly next time. I will definitely love him well."
She closed her eyes, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes, and deep down she felt a bit of resentment towards Mrs. Shen.
If Madam Shen hadn’t given her the fertility medicine, her child would still be in her belly.
——
In Lanxue Garden, Shen Qingtan sat in front of the embroidery frame and embroidered scriptures to calm her restless heart.
The more critical the situation is, the more cautious you should be, otherwise you may make mistakes in a hurry.
After embroidering for an hour, Shen Qingtan's mood calmed down and his thinking became clearer.
At this time, Liu Yue came in from outside and whispered, "Second Madam, Aunt Qiu wants to see you."
Shen Qingtan was stunned: "She wants to see me?"
Liu Yue nodded.
Shen Qingtan said thoughtfully: "Please ask her to come in."
Liu Yue hurried out to bring Qiu Chan in.
As soon as Qiu Chan entered the room, she bowed to Shen Qingtan and said, "Second Madam, when I went to Qingyun Garden today, I heard Third Madam say that there was something wrong with the pregnancy-preserving medicine she took, and there was a high possibility that she would not be able to keep the baby."
She left Qingyun Garden in a panic, but soon calmed down.
As long as she entered the courtyard of Qingyun Garden, she would not be able to hide it from Shen Mingzhu.
With Shen Mingzhu's vicious heart, she would definitely want to get rid of her.
After much deliberation, she decided to surrender to Shen Qingtan again, hoping to get asylum.
"You also said that there's a high possibility that you won't be able to keep the child." Shen Qingtan didn't even raise his eyelids: "You left Qingyun Garden one foot and came to my Lanxue Garden the next foot. Are you afraid that your Third Grandma won't know that you came to me to inform on me?"
Qiu Chan said more respectfully, "I used to be your maid. Third Madam has harbored resentment towards you for a long time. Even if she wanted to get rid of me, she would have found a way to kill two birds with one stone and drag you into the water."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan put down her needlework and looked up at Qiu Chan: "Aunt Qiu, you are one of the few sensible people in the Second House. Just this one point alone will allow you to protect yourself."
Qiu Chan said sincerely, "I have made my own way forward, and I dare not forget Second Madam's care for me. I am not here to seek your protection, but to repay you. Now that you know Third Madam's situation, you can be on guard against her and avoid falling into her traps."
Without waiting for Shen Qingtan to speak, Qiu Chan bowed, said goodbye to her, and left Lanxue Garden.
Because she knew that Shen Qingtan didn't like to owe favors to others, and if he owed someone a favor, he would find ways to repay it.
She brought the message home, and Shen Qingtan remembered her kindness and would take the initiative to protect her.
If he doesn't remember her kindness, she will only be annoying if she begs Shen Qingtan to remember him.
Qiu Chan had not served Shen Qingtan for a long time, but she knew very well that she did not like people who did not know when to advance or retreat and had no sense of propriety.
Shen Qingtan looked at Qiu Chan's departing back and sighed softly in his heart, "This is not a repayment, it's clearly asking me to remember her kindness."
"Qiu Chan has been scheming since she was young. The wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en has had her, Wan Dong, Zhong Xia, and Chun Jiao trained. They were originally maids given to you as dowry, so she can control you."
Liu Yue curled her lips and said, "Who knew that Third Madam would return to her ancestral home? How could Lady Cheng'en dare to assign maids to serve her at will? So she sent the few maids prepared for your dowry to serve Third Madam."
Shen Qingtan had been embroidering for a long time, and her eyes were a little tired. She pinched the corners of her eyes and said, "Qiu Chan thinks she can figure out my mind, so I shouldn't help her. I'll teach her what it means for people to be fickle."
Liu Yue: “…”
Shen Qingtan saw Liu Yue's surprised expression, her eyes widened, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Okay, enough joking." Shen Qingtan said seriously, "You should pay more attention to the news of the second house."
"Yes." Liu Yue agreed.
——
Cheng'en Marquis Mansion.
Marquis Cheng'en and Madam Shen were having dinner when they heard the steward come to report that Shen Shaobai had returned home.
"Why is this little ancestor back?" Madam Shen frowned. "He gets into trouble all day long. We are just trying to behave ourselves. I hope he doesn't hold us back and bring trouble to Huai'er."
However, Marquis Cheng'en had something else important to ask Shen Shaobai, so he strode towards Shen Shaobai's yard.
I saw the servants carrying water into Shen Shaobai's room, while the master was standing in the outer room taking off his robes one by one.
Marquis Cheng'en's eyelids twitched, and he dismissed the servants and closed the door.
“I ask you, has Shen Shaoheng gone to the Liu family’s ancestral home?”
Shen Shaobai replied: "I went to see me."
Marquis Cheng'en then asked, "Did he take anything away from the ancestral home?"
"I'm not smart. Just say what you want to say. Don't beat around the bush. I don't understand." Shen Shaobai smelled the clothes he took off, and the sour smell made him nauseous.
When he thought about himself wandering around in front of Shen Qingtan wearing this outfit, he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
It's so embarrassing.
Marquis Cheng'en asked in a different way: "Where did he get the grain he donated?"
"Oh, you suspect he stole it from the Liu family's ancestral home?" Shen Shaobai spread his hands and said, "Even if it was stolen, it should be returned to the original owner. It was originally my uncle who embezzled the official grain from Guanzhou, and my eldest brother just returned it."
Marquis Cheng'en was so angry that his face turned blue and black.
Shen Shaobai touched his chin and looked up and down at Cheng Enhou: "Don't say that I stole it from you. With your meager salary, you can't afford to buy so much food."
Marquis Cheng'en was so angry that his nose was crooked. He pointed at Shen Shaobai and said, "You, you rebellious son!"
"I want to take a bath, please help yourself."
Shen Shaobai pulled his pants and was about to pull them down.
The veins on Marquis Cheng'en's forehead were throbbing. He couldn't bear to look at this bastard, so he left with a pale face.
After leaving the courtyard, he instructed the steward: "Arrange someone to guard Shaobai's courtyard and don't let him leave the house."
The attendant received the order to arrange for someone to guard Shen Shaobai's yard.
Marquis Cheng'en was so angry with Chen Shaobai that he went to bed early in the night in the front yard.
"Knock, knock, knock!" There was a rapid knock on the door, and the confidant outside said anxiously, "My Lord, something terrible has happened! Someone is going to your mentor's grave."
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