She quickly got back into her carriage and asked the driver to hurry back to the mansion.

Shen had not returned to the Marquis' Mansion for two months. Her return was like a huge rock falling into the lake, causing ripples throughout the Mansion.

The servants of the Marquis' Mansion ran to each room to report, and the gatekeeper also went to Rongfu Hall to report: "Madam, the eldest lady is back! The eldest lady is back!"

The lady's face lit up with joy and she felt relieved, thinking that Shen was not so tactless and even knew that she had returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

That's it!

The Madam's eyes lit up, she straightened her back and ordered, "Tell the Madam..."

She originally wanted to ignore Shen's family and put on airs, but she changed her mind halfway through her words.

The Marquis' Mansion is now targeting Duke Mu's Mansion...

The Madam changed her mind and ordered Nanny Wang to personally invite Shen over. She also told the head maid, "Go and fetch my two rolls of brocade... Oh, and also fetch the lotus seed-sized pearl head ornament."

The head maid knew that the lady was trying to please Shen, so she agreed meekly.

After a while, Nanny Wang brought Shen in, looking a little strange.

"Azhi." The lady forced out an attentive and gentle smile, trying to coax Shen with kind words.

But before she could finish her words, two maids came in, escorting a disheveled woman in green clothes, following behind Shen.

The two maids pushed her roughly, and Aunt Jiang screamed, staggered and fell, kneeling on the cold, hard ground.

Her hair was a little loose, and even the bamboo hairpin in her hair was crooked. Her face was sallow and there was a dark circle under her eyes. At first glance, she looked like an ordinary village woman, completely different from before.

The lady was stunned for a moment, then she slowly realized that the woman kneeling on the ground was Aunt Jiang. Her heart skipped a beat and she had a bad feeling.

Then, the door curtain was raised again, and Chu Qianhuang quickly walked into the side room, her brows furrowed, her expression anxious, and she called out hesitantly, "Grandma."

"..." The lady tightly grasped the string of beads in her hand, her eyes deep.

She was originally worried that Aunt Jiang's return would make Shen unhappy, but she didn't expect that Aunt Jiang would be caught by Shen.

The lady's brows were furrowed into the shape of a "川" character, and there was a hint of suspicion in her eyes when she looked at Chu Qianhuang, thinking that she was too careless in doing things.

"Minshan, shouldn't you be in the laundry shop? Why are you back?!" The lady tried to take the initiative and scolded Aunt Jiang first.

She just pretended not to know that Aunt Jiang had sneaked out and looked stern.

She wanted to get this over with quickly, so she immediately told Nanny Wang, "Hurry up and send Aunt Jiang back to the laundry shop! Tell the laundry shop to keep a close eye on her."

Of course, the lady said these words specifically for Shen to hear, in order to calm her down.

Nanny Wang responded quickly and walked towards Aunt Jiang, but was blocked by a maid brought by Shen.

"Not busy." Shen said with a smile, her expression indifferent.

The room was silent for a moment, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.

Everyone had different expressions, all looking at the Lady Dowager and Shen, some were nervous, some were worried, some were embarrassed, and some were silent.

Only Shen was calm and elegant.

Shen bowed elegantly to the lady, "Mother."

After greeting, she sat down in an armchair at the bottom.

Seeing Shen's calm expression, the lady thought that Shen had calmed down and said with a smile: "Azhi, you can go back..."

"Mother," Shen interrupted the old lady without any politeness, "Chu Lingxiao has been sentenced to exile 800 miles this time. What are your plans?"

The lady's heart was up and down for several times, but after hearing what Shen said, she felt relieved and guessed that Shen had softened her heart.

The lady sighed deliberately and said worriedly, "Alas, Ling Xiao was first sent to the Heavenly Prison and now he is going to be exiled. He has really suffered a lot this time."

“It hurts me just thinking about it.”

As the lady spoke, her eyes turned red and she wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

Shen stroked her sleeves and said leisurely, "Then let Jiang Minshan go with him."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into deathly silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The maids all lowered their heads, staring at the tips of their shoes, pretending they didn't exist.

“……” Aunt Jiang widened her eyes in disbelief, and her slender body trembled violently.

Those exile places were all in remote areas, either sparsely populated or located on the borders of war. They were not only desolate but also dangerous.

After arriving at the place of exile, the prisoners had to do hard labor, which was much harder than washing clothes in a laundry shop.

In the laundry shop, she might be able to sneak out, but if she was sent to the place of exile, she would not be able to escape even if she had wings.

By then, Chu Yunyi and Chu Qianhuang would both be in the capital, thousands of miles away from her. Even if she encountered any problems and wanted to ask for help, there would be no one to turn to.

The more Aunt Jiang thought about it, the more frightened she became. She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar and her whole limbs were cold.

Her body trembled even more violently, like a withered flower swaying in the wind and rain.

Shen glanced at Aunt Jiang calmly and said sarcastically, "You two can be companions together."

"..." Chu Qianhuang tightly grasped the handkerchief, her nails almost digging into her palm.

Shen wanted to exile Concubine Jiang with just one word, which was a bit too much.

The bottom of Chu Qianhuang's eyes seemed like a bottomless abyss, becoming increasingly deep and complex, with all kinds of emotions surging.

After a moment, her eyes calmed down and she said softly, "Mother, I will never go to see Aunt Jiang on my own initiative again."

Chu Qianhuang thought about it carefully. Aunt Jiang just ran out secretly to see Chu Yunyi, so she shouldn't make Shen so angry. So she should be the one who angered Shen.

After all, she is the daughter raised by Shen herself. Even now in Shen's heart, she is far less important than Chu Qianchen. Perhaps she is just like a cat raised by Shen.

But even if it is a cat, the owner would not like his cat to get close to others.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"No, it's all my fault!" Aunt Jiang knelt a few steps towards Shen, her expression sad, "Madam, please don't blame the young lady. I sneaked out of the laundry shop by myself, and the young lady didn't know about it beforehand."

Chu Qianhuang pursed her lips and looked at Aunt Jiang with a hint of emotion in her eyes.

Shen was stunned for a moment, and looked back and forth at Aunt Jiang and Chu Qianhuang, with a hint of inexplicable meaning in her expression.

She still ignored Chu Qianhuang and asked the Madam directly: "What does mother think?"

Shen smiled slightly, her tone neither light nor heavy, neither fast nor slow, with a nonchalant calmness, as if she was just asking casually.

Aunt Jiang's body trembled violently again, and her face turned pale, almost bloodless.

Madam: “…”

The lady's face didn't look good either.

She was sure that Shen was still angry with Chu Lingxiao and hated Aunt Jiang even more.

If Aunt Jiang doesn't suffer a little, it will be difficult to get rid of the hatred in Shen's heart.

For the lady, it was not difficult to make the decision.

The Chu family now needs the help of Duke Mu's Mansion. Moreover, Chu Lingxiao has a lame leg. He really needs someone to take care of his daily life during his exile and when he arrives at the place of exile. It would be nice to let Aunt Jiang go with him.

"Okay, Azhi, I promise you." The lady agreed readily.

From beginning to end, she never looked at Aunt Jiang, nor did she care about what Aunt Jiang thought.

To put it bluntly, Aunt Jiang was nothing more than a toy that could be used and discarded at will for the lady.

"..." Aunt Jiang's eyes widened to the extreme at that moment, and strong hatred burst out of her eyes.

The hatred flashed away, and she quickly lowered her eyes and calmed down.

Aunt Jiang almost bit her teeth and swallowed all the words in her mind.

She did not argue or beg for mercy, but looked at Chu Qianhuang with tears in her eyes.

She looked so pitiful, so frail, so delicate, and as if she was willing to let Shen do whatever he wanted.

"..." Chu Qianhuang's expression changed several times, and he felt that Shen's punishment was a bit too severe.

Aunt Jiang did something wrong, but she has already paid the price for her mistake.

To put things one way or another, this time, Aunt Jiang had no intention of sneaking away. She just came out to see Chu Yunyi. Shen also saw with her own eyes that Aunt Jiang returned to the laundry shop on her own.

Why does Shen have to be so aggressive!

Yes, in this era, that's the case.

Shen felt that she was the wife and Aunt Jiang was the concubine. The concubine was just a plaything and she could do with her however she wanted.

Isn't it the same for me?! Even if I was her adopted daughter, once the bond of blood was gone, I would become a "toy"! There was a wave of anger surging in Chu Qianhuang's heart, clamoring, and the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time seemed to burst out.

She opened her lips slightly and wanted to say something, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Aunt Jiang shaking her head at her forbearingly, indicating that she should not plead for her.

Chu Qianhuang finally closed his mouth and closed his eyes.

Once again, she deeply experienced what power is.

In this marquisate, her words don't count. Only the words of the lady-in-waiting and Shen matter count.

After all, it's just because she is too weak.

Shen watched coldly, taking the quarrel between them into account.

She didn't really care whether they agreed or not.

Oh, didn’t Chu Lingxiao always feel that he and Jiang Minshan were deeply in love, and he even switched her daughter with Jiang Minshan’s daughter? Then she would just fulfill their love and let them stay together forever.

She wanted to see if this pair of lovers could be so deeply in love when they were rich and powerful, but could they still be of one mind when they were poor and destitute!! (End of this chapter)