Shen was calm and composed, the lady dowager forced a smile, Aunt Jiang was still crying, and Chu Qianhuang was shocked and angry.

The Madam was about to order Aunt Jiang to be dragged away when a little maid walked in lightly and reported, "Madam, the Second Madam, the Third Madam, and the Fourth Madam are all here and are asking to see you outside."

“…” The lady frowned, a hint of displeasure appearing in her old eyes.

Before, when Liu came to ask for a meeting with ginseng and bird's nest porridge, she had already sent Liu away. But just over an hour later, Liu came again, and deliberately brought two sisters-in-law with her. Her intentions were obvious.

The lady of the house hesitated for a moment, and finally had her three daughters-in-law brought in.

The side room was suddenly crowded with Liu and the servants they brought with them, and there was a faint spark in the air.

Liu and other sisters-in-law first paid their respects to the lady-in-law. Then, Liu looked at Shen, who was sitting below, with a mocking gleam in her eyes.

Upon hearing that Shen had returned, she called her two sisters-in-law to rush over, for fear that the lady-in-law would be persuaded by Shen to submit a petition to the emperor to confer a title on Chu Yunmu.

She is such a shameless sister-in-law!

Liu said inwardly with disdain, curled her lips, and said sarcastically to Shen: "So it's the eldest sister-in-law who is back!"

"Hey, when this mansion was in trouble, my sister-in-law never came back. Now she is finally back. Could it be that she came for the title?"

Liu's tone was sarcastic, and a sour feeling flowed out from the bottom of her heart.

Chu Lingxiao was born only two years earlier than Chu Lingyu, and he got the title for nothing. Unfortunately, he was incompetent and could not keep the title. Things change, and now the opportunity finally turned to their second branch.

Liu was very sure in her heart that if Shen had any dignity, she would not admit that she returned home for the title.

Once Shen denied it, her first move would be wrong. If she made a wrong move, all the steps would be wrong, and Shen would put herself in a dilemma.

In this way, their second branch occupied the commanding heights.

Thinking of this, Liu's heart beat faster and her eyes lit up. She wished her master would come back soon. It would be best if she could take the opportunity to persuade the lady to submit a memorial to request a title for him today.

Yu smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, it shouldn't be that serious."

"I think my sister-in-law came back because she was worried about my uncle."

Yu and Liu sang the same tune very tacitly and exchanged glances with each other.

The third and fourth wives were both born out of wedlock. Unless the first and second wives had no adult male offspring, the title would be out of reach for the illegitimate wives.

The reason why Yu supported Liu was because the Second Master Chu had won over the Third Master Chu and promised him benefits. The Third Master Chu thought that Chu Yunyi was seriously injured and dying, and Chu Yunmu was just a five-year-old boy who could not handle the heavy responsibility, so he chose to stand on the side of the Second House.

The second and third houses formed an alliance, but as for the fourth house, they were still watching the situation, thinking that the fourth house had no chance of inheriting the title and could not take care of the affairs of the mansion anyway, so it was better to wait and see what happened.

The lady's face did not look good, and she looked at Liu and Yu with gloomy eyes.

Her two daughters-in-law are too careless. She is still here, so how can they have any say here!

Although she was unhappy, the lady did not say anything and drank her tea slowly.

As soon as Shen came back, she said in a domineering manner that she wanted to send Aunt Jiang to exile as well, without giving her mother-in-law any face at all.

The old lady was becoming more and more annoyed with these daughters-in-law, so she just held back and wanted to see Shen's attitude.

Seeing that the lady did not say anything, Liu raised the corners of her lips complacently and straightened her back even more.

Under the aggressive gazes of the crowd, Shen remained calm and composed, her demeanor and manner graceful, like a calm pool of water. She seemed not to care at all about the gazes cast on her, let alone the evil spirits and monsters with their own ulterior motives.

Shen put down the teacup gracefully, and nodded with a leisurely smile: "Yes, I came back just for the title."

Liu: “…”

Yu: "..."

The two sisters-in-law were both stunned and didn't react for a while.

Aunt Jiang, who was kneeling on the ground, had her pupils slightly shrunken, and a glimmer of expectation flashed in her eyes, shining brightly.

Shen continued, "If you have nothing else to say, please go back."

Her expression was neither cold nor hot, her tone was gentle, her manners were elegant, and she vaguely exuded a sense of superiority.

Liu was both ashamed and angry, and her face suddenly turned red.

On the way here, the two sisters-in-law speculated on Shen's possible reaction and discussed their next response, but now Shen's response was completely beyond their expectations.

The lady's brows furrowed even more tightly, and she felt increasingly unhappy, thinking that they were all obsessed with titles and had no conscience at all.

While everyone's attention was focused on Shen, Aunt Jiang quietly glanced at Chu Qianhuang, her clear eyes revealing something she wanted to say but couldn't.

Chu Qianhuang also knew what Aunt Jiang was expecting, but...

She clenched her handkerchief hesitantly, and her long eyelashes trembled twice. Thinking of how Aunt Jiang had just taken all the blame on her, and that Aunt Jiang would soon be exiled with Chu Lingxiao, she finally softened her heart.

Forget it, she just did what she wanted.

Chu Qianhuang raised her eyes and looked at Shen, and said softly: "Mother, this title was saved by Brother Yi with his life..."

Aunt Jiang lowered her eyes and looked at the ground. The corners of her lips curled up in a strange arc where Chu Qianhuang couldn't see, and then she returned to her original weak and helpless look.

Everyone in the room was either standing or sitting. In comparison, Aunt Jiang looked so humble, like a reed by the river.

Liu was stunned for a moment, then she remembered Chu Yunyi.

In her heart, Chu Yunyi, who was sentenced to death by the imperial physician, was already a dead man, and she never thought that he could inherit the title.

Liu quickly came to her senses, put on the posture of an elder, and said to Chu Qianhuang unhappily:

"Sister Huang, what you said is wrong!"

"Your father has 'lost' the title, and now your mother has lost her imperial decree too. She is no longer a marquis' wife. How can she be qualified to decide who will inherit the title?"

"Where do you put your grandmother when you say that?"

Liu's voice became louder and louder, and in a few words she dragged the lady into the water.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Her words were also a counterattack against Shen.

What this meant was that Shen was no longer the Marquis' wife, and she didn't need to act like one in front of them.

Facing Liu's provocation, Shen remained calm, with a faint smile on her lips, as if she was looking at a clown. She had the bearing of a legitimate daughter of a noble family, dignified, elegant and generous.

The lady had originally wanted to use the title to win over Shen's heart and let her persuade the Duke Mu's Mansion to help the Chu family. However, her decision was to do Shen a favor, and the decision was up to her.

As Liu said, the current Shen family has no right to interfere in the inheritance of the title.

The lady looked at Shen and Chu Qianhuang with a look of surprise on her face.

She said nothing, just twirled the beads, waiting for Shen to come and beg her.

Shen smiled proudly, not caring whether Liu was provoking or provoking her. She looked around at everyone calmly and said, "I have the final say on the title of Marquis Yongding."

"Whoever I choose to inherit the title will inherit the title."

Her two sentences were neither light nor heavy, but they were powerful, like a thunderclap out of nowhere, which startled everyone and made them stand there in shock.

Liu stared at Shen in amazement, wondering if Shen had gone crazy.

Shen's words were too arrogant, she looked down on everyone. No, she was slapping the lady in the face.

"..." The lady felt a surge of anger in her heart, and her mouth trembled with anger.

This is simply a blatant challenge to my authority!

The lady almost slammed the table and raised her hands, but at the last moment, she regained her senses and thought about the current situation of the Marquis' Mansion.

The lady slowly suppressed the anger that had already risen to her throat, but her face remained ashen.

She said with a fake smile: "Azhi, you must be tired after just coming back. Go and have a rest first. Let's talk about the title later."

The lady wanted to smooth things over, but Shen refused to do as she wished.

Shen smiled slightly and said, "I'll say it again. From today on, I have the final say in the Yongding Marquis' Mansion."

The whole room was shocked again.

Chu Qianhuang frowned, from shock at first, to confusion, and then to indifference.

She looked at Shen with a scrutinizing look, as if it was only at this moment that she truly knew this woman.

She suddenly understood why Shen abandoned her original body in that dream.

There was a fierce movement in Chu Qianhuang's eyes, and then it returned to calm.

Shen looked directly at the Madam and asked, "What do you think, mother?"

After being furious, Liu calmed down. She felt that Shen was courting death by being so arrogant and pushing the lady to their second room.

Liu sneered and pulled the corner of her mouth, waiting to see what would happen.

"Azhi, do you know what you are saying?" The lady's face darkened, veins popped out on her forehead and neck, and she almost walked away in anger.

Shen, who was only three feet away from her, was so calm and composed, as if what she said was just a trivial matter, as if it was natural for her to have the final say in this marquisate.

Even if she hadn't accidentally met Aunt Jiang on the road today, Shen was still planning to come to the Marquis' Mansion.

Once she has decided to do something, she will definitely do it. Just like now, she will talk about it directly and to the point without dragging her feet or deliberately putting on airs, which would be a disadvantage.

She had simple makeup, bright eyes, and a calm expression. Just sitting there quietly, she gave off an intimidating aura. The lady Dowager, Liu, and the others all pale in comparison to her.

(End of this chapter)