Chapter 181 Madam is not satisfied?
Shen Qingyuan got up early as usual. Just as he made the porridge, Shen Qingyue came.
"There's no one in charge of the mansion right now. My third brother was punished in Yunshan Temple and is now seriously injured in bed. There's no one to take care of him. Can my eldest brother and sister-in-law come home and stay for a while?"
On the day of catching the adulterer, Shen Qingyue went to the Yun clan school, and only after returning did he realize that something big had happened.
Marquis Qingyuan has never been one to care about things. Wu, Shen Jinhua and several uncles of the Shen family talk about money all the time, and they also indirectly criticize the Mo family for having a bad background. In just a few days, Shen Qingyue looked much more haggard and had no choice but to come to Shen Qingyuan for help.
The pot was already boiling. Shen Qingyuan stirred the porridge and said lightly: "No."
"Brother, we are still a family after all..."
Shen Qingyue tried to play the emotional card, but just as he started, he was interrupted by Shen Qingyuan's cold voice: "I thought you could speak some human language after reading so many books over the years."
These words were blunt and hurtful. Shen Qingyue's face was burning. He had written a lot of drafts but couldn't say a single word.
Outsiders didn't know what kind of life Shen Qingyuan had been living over the years, but they knew it very well. After Chunxi married into the Marquis' Mansion, she had never been respected. Shen Qingyu even listened to Mo Yunwan's instigation and ran to Yunshan Temple to catch her cheating.
Why should we ask our elder brother and his wife to go back to the Marquis' Mansion to clean up the mess now?
Shen Qingyue was not as thick-skinned as Shen Qingyu. After being retorted by Shen Qingyuan, he felt ashamed and hurriedly apologized and fled.
As soon as Shen Qingyue left, Shen Jinhua and three uncles from the Shen family arrived.
When they entered the courtyard, they didn't see Chunxi, but Shen Qingyuan cooking porridge. Several people immediately expressed their dissatisfaction: "Yuan'er, you are a third-rank minister, someone who is supposed to do great things. How can you be hanging around the stove? People say that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen."
"Where is your wife? She should be doing these things. She is from a poor family and doesn't even know the most basic rules of being a wife. In all these years at home, even your second aunt brought me water for washing my feet."
"That's right, this daughter-in-law is brought home to serve the whole family, not to mention her family background is so low..."
The more they talked, the more excited they became. They were about to persuade Shen Qingyuan to divorce Chunxi and marry a new wife from a higher-ranking family, but the next moment they heard Shen Qingyuan say, "My wife is sleeping, you are disturbing her."
Shen Qingyuan's voice was not loud and his tone was gentle, but it inexplicably suppressed everyone's voices, making people feel dangerous.
Only then did they remember that they seldom stayed in the Marquis' Mansion, were not familiar with this nephew at all, and had no right to give him orders.
Several people looked at each other, and finally pushed Shen Jinhua out to talk.
"Ahem, Yuan'er, now that your stepmother is dead and Mo Yunwan has been arrested by the government, there are no outsiders in the mansion now. We are all family. No one dares to treat you badly anymore. Can you move back in?"
After Mrs. Mo's death, the Marquis' Mansion became almost an empty shell. So many people in the Shen family are waiting for food. If Shen Qingyuan and Chunxi don't go back, where can they get the benefits?
Without waiting for Shen Qingyuan's reply, Shen Jinhua continued, "Ah Xi has already returned to the Marquis' Mansion and lived there for several days. He told me personally that as long as Mo Yunwan is kicked out of the mansion, he will persuade you to come back home and live there. He will also give your mother's dowry to your grandmother for safekeeping. When the time comes, our family will work together and will definitely help you reach a higher level."
Shen Jinhua called him affectionately, and it sounded like she had a very good relationship with Chunxi. Her words also implied that the Shen family could provide great help to Shen Qingyuan in officialdom.
However, just as she finished speaking, she heard Shen Qingyuan ask back: "Who told you that she is qualified to deal with my mother's dowry?"
Shen Jinhua blurted out: "Don't you like her very much? Why don't you listen to what she says?"
"I like her, but what does this have to do with my mother's dowry? Why don't you ask for her own dowry?"
She doesn't have one either.
Everyone knows that she came from a humble background and didn't even have a wedding when she married into the Marquis's Mansion. Where did her dowry come from?
Although the Queen Mother later ordered a wedding to be held again and gave a dowry, that was given by the Queen Mother. Who would dare to ask for it?
“But she agreed…”
Shen Jinhua repeated weakly, and Shen Qingyuan glanced at her coldly. "According to the laws of Zhaoling, a woman's dowry is her personal property. Her husband's family has no right to seize it. If she dies early, her dowry will be inherited by her biological children. Anyone who dares to covet it will be flogged forty times at the very least, or beaten to death at the worst."
Shen Qingyuan knew this code of law very well by heart, and when he spoke it, it was even more intimidating.
Mo Yunwan had already been thrown into jail, and the Shen family members did not dare to act too presumptuously in front of Shen Qingyuan, so they could only leave reluctantly.
When they returned to the Marquis' Mansion, Wu saw that the few people had returned empty-handed, and immediately proposed to divide the two shops that Chunxi had given to Shen Jinhua.
Shen Jinhua's face fell on the spot: "Mom, these two shops are Ah Xi's reward for me. I helped her deceive Mo Yunwan and even testified for her in front of so many people in Yunshan Temple. This is what I deserve."
The second son of the Shen family disagreed: "It's just a matter of talking, how can it be worth two shops? This is obviously given by Yuan'er's wife as a filial gift to her mother."
The third son of the Shen family was impatient and reached out to grab Shen Jinhua: "You are a married woman who already belongs to someone else's family. Why do you have the right to meddle in your mother's family's affairs? Hand over the shop now."
The third son of the Shen family started fighting, and the fourth son was not willing to be left behind. Soon, several people started fighting with each other.
The entire main courtyard was in an uproar of crying, and Mrs. Wu's temples were throbbing.
Did Cao Chunxi already plan to use these two shops to make them fight each other?
Not long after Shen Jinhua and the others left, Ning came again.
Shen Qingyuan had already cooked his porridge and was eating some pickled radish that Chunxi had cut up when Ning arrived and knelt down. "Sir Shen, please spare Wan'er. After all, you two were husband and wife back then."
Chunxi added chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. After pickling, the radish lost its spicy taste and became crispy and fragrant, which was very appetizing.
Shen Qingyuan swallowed his food before speaking softly, "When we discussed this marriage, I wasn't in Hanjing. You arranged it without my permission. Later, she ran off with an actor under the pretext of looking for me, causing me to be branded as a wife-killer. After she came back to life, she married my third brother in an affair to harm my wife. Now, she's even poisoned the Marquis' wife. How can I forgive her?"
With every word Shen Qingyuan spoke, Ning's face paled. By the end, her face was completely pale, completely devoid of blood. "Your stepmother and Nanny Jia are both dead. How...how did you know the truth?"
"Everything has its traces. Since she did these things, she can always find clues."
Ning left in a daze. When Chunxi woke up, the courtyard had returned to its former tranquility. Only Shen Qingyuan was sitting in the courtyard reading a book.
Chunxi's back ached badly, and she couldn't help but look at him with a sad face. Shen Qingyuan suddenly looked up at her and said, "Madam, why are you looking at me with such unsatisfied desire? Are you not satisfied with my performance last night?"
Chunxi quickly forced a smile and shook his head.
Satisfied, she was very satisfied!
Shen Qingyuan refused to let Mo Yunwan go, and the Mo family was unwilling to rescue her. In the end, Ning had no choice but to go to the prison to see Mo Yunwan herself.
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