Chapter 164: Amulet
"Mother?" Shen Qingtan sneered, "If I remember correctly, Marquis Cheng'en and his wife have already publicly announced that they have severed all kinship with me."
"Second sister-in-law, your case has caused a stir in the capital, and my parents are in a difficult situation. We must not only give an explanation to the Duke's Mansion, but also to the clan."
Shen Mingzhu said in a dissatisfied tone, "You have been raised as a clan wife since you were young. You should know how difficult it is to be the head of a family. Although they didn't take your feelings into consideration when handling this matter, you can't erase the more than ten years of grace the Marquis's family has given you in raising me."
What a grace of giving birth to a child!
Shen Mingzhu had long known that she was not a biological child of the Cheng'en Marquisate, and she joined forces with the Marquisate to kill her.
They are just maintaining a superficial relationship and not breaking this layer of window paper.
To this day, Shen Mingzhu still wants to use the grace of giving birth to her to accuse her of being ungrateful.
It's a pity that after she severed ties with the Marquis' Mansion, they could no longer control her.
"Because I was of no profit, they distanced themselves from me. Now that they see I am profitable, they are threatening me with the kindness they gave me in raising me."
Shen Qingtan sarcastically said, "It is precisely because of this 'favor' that I cannot get involved with the Cheng'en Marquisate. Otherwise, they will be criticized and scolded as villains, and that would be considered unfilial of me."
"You..." Shen Mingzhu felt a pang of pain in her lower abdomen, and her expression changed slightly. She didn't dare to cover her lower abdomen in front of Shen Qingtan: "You resent your parents in your heart, so what about Shen Shaobai? His birthday is in half a month. Mother asked me to bring you a message. It's up to you whether you go or not."
After saying this, she glanced at Liu Yue who came out of the yard carrying a bamboo basket, then turned and left Lanxue Garden.
Shen Qingtan looked at Shen Mingzhu's receding back, and the image of Shen Shaobai with tearful eyes appeared in his mind.
Madam Shen knew about the relationship between her and Shen Shaobai, and used Shen Shaobai as an introduction to deliberately lead her to the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion.
Liu Yue noticed Shen Mingzhu's look and came to Shen Qingtan's side: "Second Madam, Third Madam, what are you doing here again?"
Shen Qingtan said expressionlessly, "The Marquis' Mansion invited me back to celebrate my third brother's birthday."
"Don't go. Who knows what they're going to do?" Liu Yue knew the Marquis's mansion had ill intentions. "Just prepare a gift and send it to the Marquis' mansion."
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly.
Liu Yue reported to Shen Qingtan: "Second Grandma, my father broke his leg. I will take a leave of absence tomorrow and go home to see him."
"How is your father?" Shen Qingtan said quickly, "Ask Mama Liu for ten taels of silver and a ginseng, and go back to visit him now."
The key to the Lanxueyuan warehouse is kept by Mother Liu, and the account book is in the hands of Liu Yue and Tingxue.
"Second Madam, there's no need to give me money. The monthly allowance you give us privately is very high, and I give most of it to my parents. They won't be short of money." Liu Yue was very grateful and continued, "My father's fall wasn't serious, just a slight sprain."
"I'll give you a few more days off. Stay home and relax." Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. I have Tingxue and Chunjiao to take care of me."
Liu Yue nodded: "I will go pack up and go home now."
Shen Qingtan brought Tingxue to the fourth room.
The maid guarding the gate respectfully invited Shen Qingtan in.
Shen Qingtan stepped into the room. The sunlight outside the window covered the ground, and a charming figure was reflected on the ground. She looked up along the shadow and saw the Fourth Madam lying on the chaise longue with her chin supported by one hand.
She was wearing a light-colored little dress with a thin red gauze on the outside, and her snow-white skin was faintly visible, looking extremely sexy.
Shen Qingtan immediately thought of Xishan's clothes, and her cheeks turned hot.
"Niece-in-law, you're here." The Fourth Lady gathered her clothes and slowly sat up. "I thought you would have a pleasant time alone, but I didn't expect to run into someone who spoils the fun." She said with some regret, "They're going to take action. We should wait at least two more days."
Shen Qingtan said angrily: "Fourth Aunt..."
The Fourth Lady saw that Shen Qingtan's cheeks were blushing, as if she was a mimosa plant in her backyard.
She was afraid that she would make the person angry and stop him from coming to her yard.
The Fourth Lady returned to the point and said, "My niece-in-law, you are quite foresighted. Someone really came to my courtyard to inquire about the news. Fortunately, the people in my courtyard are not superficial."
"The people you favor will assess the situation and know who is the right master to rely on." Shen Qingtan said with a smile, "My third sister-in-law treats her servants unkindly. Who would dare to rely on her so easily?"
The Fourth Madam smiled sweetly and said, "You are right. The maids in the mansion are always better informed than their masters."
Shen Qingtan asked about the matter: "Aunt, when will Uncle come back? Has he left you a letter?"
The fourth lady frowned and asked, "Do you have something to ask him?"
Shen Qingtan shook his head: "I want to know what the battle situation in the North is like."
The Fourth Lady thought of the First Lady's father and brothers who were all in the northern border, worrying about the war every day. She mistakenly thought that Shen Qingtan was also worried: "He sent a letter home, mentioning the victory in the war, but didn't say when he would be back."
Shen Qingtan took out a purse and handed it to the Fourth Madam: "Here are the amulets that my Second Master and I prayed for my grandfather, uncle, and fourth uncle. Can you give them to my fourth uncle?"
The fourth lady opened her purse and saw a thick stack of amulets inside. She was surprised and said, "One for each person. Four is enough. There are seven or eight in here, right?"
Shen Qingtan explained: "We will also pray for one for each of the commander and deputy commander, and then pray for the soldiers."
The Fourth Lady knew that if she gave it away with her own hands, she could not say that it was Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yiqiu's.
This would make Zhao Qiyuan proud again.
But this was Shen Qingtan's kindness, and the Fourth Lady could not let him down, so she accepted the amulet.
"I'll send someone to the North later."
"Thank you, Fourth Aunt."
The fourth lady thought to herself: You should thank me very much. I paid a huge price to give you the amulet.
-
In a secluded private residence in the capital, a small sedan chair covered in blue cloth was parked at the back door.
Marquis Cheng'en got out of the sedan chair and knocked on the back door.
After a moment, the back door opened.
Marquis Cheng'en showed a sign, and the old man guarding the gate let him in and led him to the study.
"The master is inside, go in by yourself."
The old man left a few words and left with a hunched back.
Marquis Cheng'en knocked on the door and, upon hearing a voice from within, opened it. He saw Prince Yu leaning on the couch, his head propped up, his eyes closed, resting.
The room was quiet, with a faint scent of elegant sandalwood wafting through the air.
Marquis Cheng'en's heart sank gradually, because of his understanding of Prince Yu. The more patient he was, the more it indicated that something big was about to happen.
Recently he set up a plan to deal with Shen Qingtan, and originally thought it was foolproof, but it turned out to be a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
He thought Shen Qingtan was a cicada, but it turned out to be a yellow bird.
"Your Highness, the reason I fell into Shen Qingtan's trap was because she disappeared and Zhao Yi returned home alone and injured. I sent someone to inquire about it. The cause of the incident was Shen Qingtan's investigation into Qingzhou. You attacked her, and that's why she's missing."
Marquis Cheng'en said tremblingly, "Before this, gravediggers broke into my mentor's tomb. The two events happened together, and when I thought about it more carefully, I suspected that Shen Qingtan's men broke in and were looking for evidence against us. That's when I became convinced that you really had people hunting her down, and that she was truly assassinated and disappeared."
He observed Prince Yu's expression and saw that he looked normal, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Marquis Cheng'en continued, "That's why we planned to discredit her. Whether she truly disappeared or deliberately concealed her whereabouts, she would be doomed. Who knew she was actually going to Guanzhou to provide disaster relief..."
"Heh." Prince Yu sneered and slowly opened his eyelids. "I sent assassins to kill Shen Qingtan. If the mission fails, they will commit suicide. How did your people know that it was I who sent assassins to kill her?"
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