"It must be that Shen Danru who impersonated my great-uncle's relative. My great-uncle missed his son too much, which is why he fell for their trick."
Shen Yingxue said indignantly.
Shen Tuo sighed. He couldn't see his elder brother now and could only wait for him to return before making any plans.
Madam Xu asked, "Master, should we have the servants prepare a few more courtyards?"
Shen Tuo said, "No need. Just have the servants clean up my elder brother's courtyard properly."
The next day, under the arrangement of Duke Shen Tuo, a dozen carriages, escorted by the Zhenbei Army, slowly drove by, and people speculated about who was sitting in the carriages.
The carriage did not stop until it reached the Duke of Shen's residence.
At this moment, the main gate of the Duke of Shen's mansion was wide open to welcome General Shen Shi back to the mansion.
After the carriage stopped, Zhenbei Army and Xiao Wei, along with a group of guards and servants, began unloading the items.
When the steward saw that the Duke had returned, he quickly ordered someone to come out and help.
Upon hearing the news, Shen Tuo rushed outside.
Seeing the butler leading a group of people inside carrying things in, Shen Tuo hurriedly asked, "Brother, what are they doing here?"
Chen Shi said, "Cheng'er, come here. This is your second uncle."
Shen Cheng stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Second Uncle."
Shen Tuo felt a surge of resentment; his elder brother had ultimately been too impatient to wait and had brought them over.
He pretended not to understand and hurriedly refused, saying, "This is unacceptable, Lord Shen. Although we share the same surname, we are not from the same family. I cannot accept being called your second uncle."
"This is my son with Yangyang, our son who was lost for forty years. We have finally found him."
Shen Shi looked at Shen Tuo, carefully observing the changes in his expression.
Shen Tuo's face stiffened, then he said, "Congratulations, elder brother, you've finally found your lost nephew."
Then, Shen Tuo turned to Shen Cheng: "You have no idea how my brother has spent these years. It breaks my heart to see him like this. Fortunately, you are back. I am really happy for my brother."
He pretended to wipe away tears.
He smiled silently and said nothing more.
He knew very well what his half-brother was up to.
When Shen Danru stepped down from the carriage, Shen Yingxue's face turned extremely ugly.
She pointed at Shen Danru and said, "You woman, what are you doing in my house? Haven't you hurt me enough?"
Shen Danru stood still, looking calmly at Shen Yingxue.
A mocking smile played at the corners of her lips as she slowly spoke:
"Why can't I come? This is my grandfather's mansion, I am his granddaughter, this is my home, I am going back to my own home, what business is it of yours?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yingxue's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. She gritted her teeth and said:
"You shameless woman, don't think that just because you've latched onto your great-uncle, he'll acknowledge you."
Shen Danru's smile deepened, and she said softly, "Whether you deny me or not is not up to you, Shen Yingxue. What right do you, a granddaughter born out of wedlock, have to shout like this?"
"you…."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuxue's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Shen Danru to dare speak to her like that.
But what Shen Danru said was true, and she couldn't refute it for the time being.
At this moment, she remembered that her grandfather and great-uncle had mentioned to each other about her father being adopted by her great-uncle, and her great-uncle had agreed at the time.
However, my great-uncle was delayed in returning from the border, which kept the matter from being put on hold.
If she could have her father adopted by her great-uncle, she could rightfully become the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion. At that time, would Shen Danru still be so arrogant?
Shen Yingxue composed herself and slowly said, "Although I am not from my great-uncle's lineage, your identity is unknown. Don't let just any bastard child from somewhere impersonate my great-uncle's granddaughter..."
"Slap~ Slap~"
Before she could finish speaking, she received two loud slaps across the face.
"How dare you! Our identities were personally recognized by our grandfather. How dare you come out here and spout nonsense?"
Shen Yulan shouted loudly.
Shen Yingxue was stunned by the sudden slap, and for a moment, the burning pain on her face left her speechless.
She stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of her in disbelief. Who was this woman who dared to hit her?
"Let me tell you, we are the legitimate bloodline of the Shen family. Who do you think you are, daring to slander my second sister?"
Seeing her elder sister Shen Yulan adopting the demeanor of the eldest daughter of the Duke of Shen, Shen Danru realized that her studies of etiquette had indeed yielded some results.
She decided to find an opportunity to properly thank Granny Zhao.
It was only then that Shen Yingxue realized that this woman was Shen Danru's older sister.
"How dare you hit me?! I'll tear you apart! Men, beat him up!"
She thought that as long as she gave the order, the servants of the Duke's mansion would hold down Shen Yulan and beat her severely. However, to her surprise, none of the servants dared to move.
Seeing the mocking expression on Shen Danru's face, Shen Yingxue was so angry that she wanted to kill someone.
Zhou hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Yulan, how could you hit someone? Quickly apologize to this young lady."
Seeing that Shen Yulan was standing still, she quickly stepped forward and said, "Miss, I'm really sorry. I apologize to you on Yulan's behalf. She is pregnant and her mood is unpredictable. I hope you can understand."
Shen Yingxue grew angrier the more she thought about it, and pushed Zhou Shi to the ground.
She pointed at Zhou and said, "You're just a country woman, what are you anyway?"
Zhou was taken aback, then a hint of inferiority flashed in her eyes.
Just as Shen Xiaohua helped Zhou Shi up, Xu Shi, supported by her daughter-in-law Ke Shi, came over.
Xu grabbed Zhou's hand and said with a smile, "This must be my niece-in-law. She's really... blessed. Come on, take the children home."
Shen Yingxue retorted indignantly, "Grandmother, this woman just hit me, how could you let them in?"
Madam Xu scolded, "Shut up."
She then smiled and said to Zhou, "I've spoiled this child. I hope my niece-in-law won't take it to heart."
She changed the subject and said, "Yingxue was carefully raised as the eldest daughter of the Duke's family since she was a child, so she naturally has a kind of pride, unlike those girls who do farm work in the countryside. I, as her grandmother, have never been able to bear to lay a finger on her, let alone anyone else."
"However, if it were me, and she dared to cause trouble in front of the Duke's mansion, I would skin her alive."
After saying that, she gave Shen Yulan a cold glare.
Shen Yulan had never seen such a scene before. Startled by Xu's sharp gaze, she couldn't help but tremble and involuntarily took two steps back.
She stumbled and lost her balance, but Shen Danru quickly caught her.
"Big sister, be careful."
Although Shen Yingxue is easy to deal with, one cannot contradict an elder like Xu Shi, otherwise one will be accused of disrespecting elders.
Shen Yulan opened her mouth, but said nothing.
Seeing her elder sister's face growing paler, Shen Danru snorted coldly and said, "This old lady is truly skilled. Despite her advanced age, she can still distort the truth and do it so skillfully. It seems that the Duke of Zhan's mansion has been closed for too long, and she has probably forgotten who the true master of this mansion is."
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