A clear and soft voice sounded: "Greetings to the Madam."
The woman who entered was wearing a peach-colored brocade jacket with silver thread, a matching embroidered skirt, and a jade headpiece. Her face was gorgeous and delicate. She bowed with a perfunctory hand gesture and then sat down unceremoniously on the left chair.
Old Madam Sheng stared at the woman in front of her. Seeing her take a seat in such an unruly manner, she was filled with rage. But she calmed down in an instant. She still didn't understand what was going on, so she sat down and watched what tricks this slave girl was up to.
Old Lady Shengda slowly sat down, picked up the tea on the table, brewed the tea foam with the teacup lid, and sat upright in her seat without saying a word.
Seeing that the eldest lady ignored her, Concubine Liu took the initiative to explain her purpose: "Sister, are you angry? Master wants to be with me day and night, and I can't do anything about it. Seeing that Hongjie's birthday is coming soon, why don't you let me come and help, so that Master can come and see you when he has time."
After hearing what she said, Mrs. Shengda knew what time it was.
She remembered that in her previous life, this slave girl had come to see her, and she hadn't seen Sheng Huaizhong in three months. Sheng Huaizhong spent all day hanging out with Concubine Liu, not even seeing the child. She had cried for a while because of this.
Concubine Liu came to visit at this time. Old Madam Sheng wanted to let Wei'er, Yun'er and Hong'er meet their father, so she agreed to let Concubine Liu help organize the birthday banquet. After that, Concubine Liu used her experience in organizing family banquets to reach out for the power of housekeeper, and with the support of Sheng Huaizhong, she even controlled the entire Sheng family.
Concubine Liu was given the right to host the birthday banquet, so she asked Sheng Huaizhong to come to the main courtyard. Sheng Huaizhong obeyed Concubine Liu's advice and came to have dinner that night. However, he left the main courtyard after dinner without asking a single question about the child, and then went back to accompany Concubine Liu.
Old Lady Sheng Da already had a son and two daughters, and her relationship with Sheng Huaizhong had grown increasingly distant over the past two years. She didn't really mind whether he stayed overnight or not. However, seeing that Sheng Huaizhong showed no concern for his three children, that night, after Sheng Wei returned to the front yard and his two daughters had fallen asleep, Old Lady Sheng Da wept silently as she watched them sleep.
Old Madam Shengda never thought that this birthday banquet would become Honger's death banquet. Aunt Liu used the banquet to make money desperately. The dishes she bought were not fresh, and the good ingredients in the meal were just shoddy.
After the banquet, several children fell ill one after another, and Old Madam Shengda was unable to care for all three of them alone. Hong'er, who was the most well-behaved and lovable, was loved by Sheng Huaizhong. Concubine Liu took the opportunity to detain the doctor who was treating her. Just as she recovered from the illness at the banquet, she caught a cold and died.
Only a packet of medicine could have saved Hong'er. She could have saved her daughter, but Concubine Liu stopped her and delayed her, leading to her death. Even after Hong'er's death, Sheng Huaizhong was still obsessed with her decision, wanting to divorce Old Lady Sheng and make Concubine Liu her wife. Old Lady Sheng's heart ached when she recalled the past: her Hong'er, who was less than ten years old, was murdered by a lowly servant.
"Madam, please say something." Seeing that Old Madam Sheng hadn't said anything and was just staring at her in a daze, Aunt Liu urged her.
Concubine Liu was originally a prostitute, very beautiful and charming. Once she caught Sheng Huaizhong's eye, he was so obsessed with her that he insisted on taking her back to the Sheng family.
Despite Old Master Sheng's objections, Sheng Huaizhong emptied his private treasury, pawning and selling everything to gather a large sum of money, and offered a large sum of gold to redeem Concubine Liu's indenture. Liu then entered the Sheng family as a concubine, becoming Concubine Liu. Sheng Huaizhong originally intended to make Concubine Liu his concubine, but his father-in-law, Old Master Sheng, intervened to stop him.
Madam Sheng passed away several years ago, and Mr. Sheng has been bedridden for most of the past few years. In his youth, Mr. Sheng traveled extensively and endured considerable hardship, and even at such a young age, illness plagued him, limiting his ability to move around much. Madam Sheng remembered that Mr. Sheng had passed away at the end of the year, unable to survive the harsh winter, and Sheng Huaizhong had no further care for him since then. Since then, Concubine Liu has relied on Sheng Huaizhong to control the household and instigate a divorce.
After Old Master Sheng passed away, Sheng Huaizhong no longer had any elders above him. His second brother, the top scholar, was far away in Beijing, and his third brother, although also in Youyang, had no control over him. If Old Master Sheng had lived longer, Sheng Huaizhong would not have dared to act as recklessly as he did in his previous life, giving his entire family fortune to a lowly maid. After Sheng Huaizhong's death, the lowly maid even sold the ancestral home.
Thinking about the past, Old Lady Sheng felt that she could no longer stay in the same room with Concubine Liu. If they continued to sit like this, she was afraid that she would reach out and strangle this slave with her bare hands. Concubine Liu had not signed a contract to sell her when she entered the mansion, so she couldn't do whatever she wanted with her now. Old Lady Sheng stood up and walked towards the main room, saying as she walked, "Don't worry about Concubine Liu."
Seeing Old Lady Sheng leave on her own, Concubine Liu, unlike her usual self, forced herself to engage in witty exchanges with her, no matter how unpleasant she might be. Old Lady Sheng, a soft, doughy person, spoke with a loss of her usual softness, despite her red, swollen eyes. Concubine Liu sat for a moment, lost in thought, then stood up and left.
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