He tried hard to suppress the excitement in his heart, and smiled at Kang Hongda attentively: "Master Kang is very busy, thank you for troubling me!"

Chu Lingxiao was also ecstatic, wondering in his heart whether Chu Lingyu had followed Kang Hongda's path.

However, he thought that Kang Hongda came to pick him up because of the emperor's intention. He felt that the emperor finally knew his loyalty and wanted to overturn his case. He clasped his fists in gratitude and said, "I will remember Lord Kang's kindness in my heart."

Chu Lingxiao expressed his gratitude to Kang Hongda with a smile on his face, and asked Aunt Jiang to go back to the Marquis' Mansion with Chu Lingyu first, while he himself entered the palace with Kang Hongda.

Aunt Jiang's carriage did not turn around until Chu Lingxiao's back was out of sight. This time, the carriage naturally headed towards the Yongding Marquis' Mansion.

It was not until this moment that Shen, who was in the Yongding Marquis' Mansion, learned that Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang had returned to Beijing. She also told the news to Chu Qianchen who visited the Marquis' Mansion today.

Chu Qianchen: “…”

Chu Qianchen didn't know about Chu Lingxiao's return. During this period, the Prince Chen's Mansion was busy with the Prince, so who had time to take care of Chu Lingxiao, let alone Aunt Jiang.

Of course, the prince is the most important!

Shen was afraid that her daughter would be affected by this incident, so she told her daughter earnestly: "Although I don't know why the emperor suddenly summoned him back to the capital, I still feel a little uneasy."

"Sister Chen, if Chu Lingxiao dares to send someone to look for you, you must ignore him, and tell the prince to ignore him too."

"Just take care of yourself and the prince now."

Shen looked at her daughter sincerely, and almost said directly, "You think you don't have a father?"

Chu Qianchen smiled slightly, his pupils clear and bright.

Only if you care about someone will you hate him to the core. To Chu Qianchen, Chu Lingxiao is nothing but a rat shit and is not worth her attention at all.

She said calmly, "Just come back, there's nothing wrong with that."

Then, she calmly uttered another sentence: "It will be convenient to divorce now that the person is back."

She calmly winked at Jiang Yuan, asking her to check what the situation was regarding Chu Lingxiao's sudden return to Beijing. Jiang Yuan immediately understood and left quietly.

Shen didn't respond to Chu Qianchen's words. She lowered her eyes and picked up the teacup. It was hard to tell whether she was surprised, angry or suspicious.

Nanny Chen, Dongmei and others looked at Shen with concern. They felt that with Chu Lingxiao's return to Beijing, there would probably be unrest in the mansion again, and the eldest lady's peaceful life would not last for many days!

Before the mother and daughter could say a few words, someone from Rongfu Hall came and told the Madam: "Madam, the Madam wants you to go to Rongfu Hall."

The round-faced maid who came to deliver the message was trembling with fear, fearing that Shen would not give her face and she would have trouble explaining when she returned.

really--

"No." Shen refused coldly.

The round-faced maid's heart suddenly lifted up, and she swallowed her saliva. Just as she was thinking about whether to give some advice, she heard Shen say to Nanny Chen: "Take the waist card and the pair of cards to the Madam."

Shen also knew why the Madam was looking for her, and she was too lazy to waste her time dealing with the Madam and Aunt Jiang. Shen had no attachment to the household affairs of the Marquis's Mansion.

"..." The round-faced maid felt relieved. Although Shen refused to go with her, she had an explanation as long as she had the badge and the pair of badges to go to Rongfu Hall.

Nanny Chen responded to Shen's instructions with a smile, and hurried to get the wooden box containing the waist badges and pair of cards.

Not only did she not feel sorry for Shen, but she felt that her master was handing over a hot potato.

Being the housekeeper in a marquis's mansion is not an easy job!

Before Chu Lingxiao got into trouble, the Marquis' Mansion had his salary as a clerk and also his salary as a marquis, but now both are gone.

Although the name of Yongding Marquisate was temporarily retained, the Ministry of Revenue would not pay the marquis' salary as long as no one accepted the title.

Moreover, in order to run errands for Chu Lingxiao last year, the Dowager sold some of her family property and bribed people everywhere, resulting in the Marquisate now being unable to make ends meet. The cash in the public treasury is simply not enough to cover the monthly expenses of the masters, especially now that the Dowager and the various families are still unwilling to cut back on spending.

Shen had mentioned the issue of cutting expenses several times before the New Year, saying that the Marquis's Mansion was living beyond its means, but the Madam Dowager and Liu wouldn't listen at all and just made a fuss. Liu even said something sarcastic like saying that if you can't be a housekeeper, then don't be a housekeeper.

There are few people with conscience in the Chu family. Nanny Chen feels that there is no need for the Shen family to bother with these ungrateful people.

Nanny Chen went to Rongfu Hall in person, threw away the waist badge and the pair of cards, and returned to the main courtyard.

The whole process took less than two cups of tea.

"Madam, when I just went over, I saw Madam Tai holding Aunt Jiang and crying. When she saw me going over, she asked me why you didn't go."

"Oh, what a problem!"

"I threw away my waist card and my pair of cards, and returned home without caring whether Madam would be angry or not."

Dongmei, the head maid, also went with Nanny Chen and felt that she had finally gotten rid of her anger. When Nanny Chen threw down her waist cards and matching cards, she also felt happy and relieved.

Shen was just listening and didn't take it to heart at all. She would not get angry because of the Madam and Aunt Jiang. It was not worth it.

She turned around and urged Chu Qianchen again: "You said Brother Yi gets beaten every day?"

Shen was a little surprised. Whenever Chu Yunyi was in the capital, he would come to pay his respects to her every day, but she couldn't see anything wrong with him.

"Yes." Chu Qianchen said seriously, "Haven't you heard a saying? To practice martial arts well, you must first learn to be beaten."

That being said, what this sentence actually means is that people should learn to avoid vital points.

"Brother Yi usually practices martial arts in the palace. In addition to practicing on his own, he also has to fight with others. Whoever is free will fight. So far, he can't last more than ten moves when fighting with them."

"Now Yunzhan is mainly taking care of him. He will go to the military camp with Yunzhan three days a week."

"This kid is stubborn, but he managed to hold on."

"Mom, if he doesn't come back one day, it means he is exhausted and might as well stay in the barracks."

Chu Qianchen said whatever he thought of, and casually told Shen some interesting stories about Chu Yunyi in the military camp.

Shen listened and drank tea.

Shen also knew that Yunzhan was the fifth son of the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion. He did not rely on his family, but relied on his own efforts to rise from an unpopular bastard of the Marquis's Mansion to a colonel for his military merits before he was twenty. He was very successful at a young age.

Gu Jue arranged Yunzhan to guide Chu Yunyi, which was very thoughtful.

This arrangement is good for Chu Yunyi.

Shen said jokingly, "You don't know, Mu Ge'er knows that Yi Ge'er can often go to Xuanjia Camp, and he is jealous. These days he has been pestering me that he wants to go to the military camp too. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed to the palace to pester you and the prince."

Chu Qianchen was in a good mood and suggested very easily, "Mom, let Mu go back with me and stay for a few days."

Chu Qianchen blinked at Shen. As smart as she was, she certainly understood what Shen meant.

Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang are back. There will definitely be chaos in the Marquis' Mansion in the next two days, with demons rampant. Chu Yunmu is young, and Shen doesn't want him to witness these dirty things at such a young age, and she doesn't want what happened in March last year to happen again.

"Brother Mu must be very happy." Shen raised her lips and smiled.

Although she did not raise her daughter herself, she always had a close relationship with her.

So Dongmei went to the clan school to pick up Chu Yunmu. When she left, she heard Shen's voice coming from behind: "Sister Chen, we have to think about how to make a deal with Brother Mu."

The mother and daughter enthusiastically discussed how to work together to trick Chu Yunmu.

Dongmei couldn't help laughing, and all the depression she felt because of Chu Lingxiao's return was swept away.

As soon as Dongmei left, Jiang Yuan came back and passed by Dongmei at the entrance of the yard.

Jiang Yuan went straight back to the warm room and nodded slightly at Chu Qianchen.

Chu Qianchen could tell that Jiang Yuan must have found something, so he said, "Tell me."

She had no intention of hiding it from Shen, so she signaled Jiang Yuan to just tell her directly.

Jiang Yuan also reported calmly: "Princess, the emperor asked the Jinyiwei to send people to Youzhou to pick up Chu Lingxiao on the first day of the new year. It should be Kang Hongda's idea."

"Kang Hongda?" Chu Qianchen raised his eyebrows, surprised: Kang Hongda is not a kind person, it is impossible for him to do this for no reason, then, who did Chu Lingxiao use to get close to Kang Hongda? Chu Qianchen was just surprised and confused, but Shen understood, her face changed drastically, her whole body trembled like a sieve, her eyes suddenly widened, the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, as if she was greatly stimulated.

Shen held his breath in his chest, his face turned ashen, and an uncomfortable feeling of nausea filled his heart, and his stomach churned.

She subconsciously covered her mouth.

Seeing that Shen's face was not right, the others around were terrified and exclaimed: "Madam!"

"mother!"

Chu Qianchen was also frightened, his heart tightened, remembering that Shen almost died last year because of vomiting blood due to extreme anger. Shen's body could not withstand another serious injury.

"Mom, calm down."

Chu Qianchen spoke softly, motioning Amber to rub Shen's back. She quickly took out the gold needles and gave Shen's three major acupoints a needle each.

The three needles were inserted very decisively and the effect was immediate.

After a while, Shen's expression eased a lot, and her red eyes gradually became clear, but her breathing became heavy and she was gasping for breath.

Nanny Chen brought a warm white towel to wipe Shen's face, and Dongmei carefully fed her two sips of warm water until Shen's breathing calmed down. The two finally felt relieved and wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.

While Chu Qianchen was massaging the acupuncture points on Shen's hands, he asked Nanny Chen: "Nanny Chen, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with Kang Hongda?"

"..." Nanny Chen didn't dare to say anything casually, and looked at Shen's direction, hesitant to speak. She was afraid that speaking out about this would pollute Chu Qianchen's ears.

Shen wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, sighed, and said softly: "Kang Hongda must have taken a fancy to Yi Ge'er." Shen knew that she could not hide this from Chu Qianchen, so she just told it herself.

As she spoke, that feeling of disgust and loathing reappeared in her eyes, in addition to contempt for certain people.

Chu Qianchen was confused and didn't quite understand what Shen meant by this. What did "take a fancy to" mean? Jiang Yuan saw that the princess didn't understand, so he leaned over and whispered in her ear: "It's just a love affair." Or in other words, a love affair between a man and a woman.

Chu Qianchen was thoughtful and understood a little.

Jiang Yuan didn't care how much Chu Qianchen understood, and continued: "Kang Hongda has a hobby of being a man with different sexual desires, and it's no secret in the capital."

Jiang Yuan spoke very simply, fearing that he might pollute the princess' ears.

Chu Qianchen understood that Kang Hongda must have fallen in love with Chu Yunyi, just like Chu Lingxiao fell in love with Aunt Jiang.

"Kang Hongda must have come forward because someone promised him a benefit." Chu Qianchen said slowly, "So, the Chu family gave Brother Yi to Kang Hongda as a benefit?"

When Chu Qianchen said this conclusion, she was also angry, shocked and furious, and then she suddenly realized.

No wonder Shen was so angry that she was heartbroken!

This is too disgusting! ! What do they think Chu Yunyi is, and who in the Chu family is involved? !

Seeing this, Chu Qianchen pulled out the three golden needles from Shen's body, thinking about asking someone to bring some calming incense when she returned. It would be best if Shen could light it three times before going to bed to help calm her mind.

Just then, someone came to Rongfu Hall again. This time, it was Nanny Wang, the confidant of the Lady Dowager.

Nanny Wang smiled and said, "Madam, the Marquis... the master is back, and the Madam wants you to come over."

Nanny Wang didn't mention Chu Qianchen. Firstly, the lady did not mention Chu Qianchen, and secondly, she felt it was better for Chu Qianchen not to go. After all, Chu Lingxiao hated this daughter so much.

Shen: “…”

Chu Qianchen: “…”

The mother and daughter looked at each other, both with complicated expressions.

Shen said calmly, "I'll go over right after I finish dressing up."

Shen originally didn't want to bother with their family, but now...

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Thinking of Chu Yunyi, Shen felt that it would be a good idea for her to take a trip.

Nanny Wang felt relieved and went back to Rongfu Hall to report.

Half a cup of tea later, Shen, who had calmed down, set out from the main courtyard, and Chu Qianchen was with her.

Chu Qianchen was naturally doing this for the Shen family. She could ignore other members of the Chu family, but she could not ignore the Shen family, for fear that the Shen family would become extremely angry again.

Today, Rongfu Hall is very lively and joyful.

Aunt Jiang was no longer there, but the brothers Chu Lingxiao and Chu Lingyu and the second wife Liu were all there. The lady-in-waiting was so happy to have the whole family reunited that she cried tears of joy.

When Chu Qianchen and the Shen mother and daughter arrived, the old lady had cried for so many times that her eyes were red.

Chu Lingxiao was kneeling in front of the lady dowager. He was still wearing the same old blue coarse cloth robe he had worn when he entered the city. He looked haggard, but because he had returned to the capital and met the emperor again, he felt that his life was hopeful again, and there was a gleam in his eyes.

At this moment, Chu Lingxiao was beating his chest and wiping his tears, saying sadly, "My son is unfilial" and "My mother has to worry about her son". Chu Lingyu went to help him up again. It was a scene of loving mother and filial son, so touching that it brought tears to people's eyes.

Liu held a handkerchief in her hand and pretended to wipe her tears, advising the lady not to cry and to take care of herself.

The warm atmosphere was interrupted by a voice from outside the house: "Madam."

"Second aunt."

The maids' greetings silenced everyone in the room.

Chu Lingxiao's expression changed immediately. He stood up with the help of Chu Lingyu and looked at Chu Qianchen in the direction of the voice.

At this moment, his eyes flashed with intense hatred.

At the beginning, when he was imprisoned in the Tianlao, he always thought that Chu Qianchen framed him for Gu Jue and stripped him of his title and imprisoned him. It was not until later, when he was sentenced to exile and was on the way to Youzhou, that Aunt Jiang had the opportunity to meet him privately and told him that Chu Qianchen's life experience had been revealed and that Shen also knew about it.

Only then did Chu Lingxiao understand that Chu Qianchen hated him as his biological father, hated him for giving her to Aunt Jiang, and hated him for turning her from a legitimate daughter into a concubine's daughter.

This unfilial and rebellious girl actually holds a grudge against her own father. She is just like her own mother, a heartless person who cannot be tamed! Chu Lingxiao wanted to scold her, but he endured it in the end. He turned his gaze to Shen again, and his eyes became even colder.

The sigh of the lady just now was still ringing in his ears: "Ling Xiao, you are finally back!"

"As for your daughter-in-law, I advised your father not to pursue such a high position..."

"But a harmonious family is the foundation of everything. You have a son and a daughter. For the sake of the children and the Marquis's mansion, you will bow your head to your wife later."

Thinking about the words of the old lady, Chu Lingxiao felt resentful in his heart, and felt that what Chu Lingyu said before was indeed true. Because he was not in the mansion, Shen Zhi, this bitch, was about to turn the world upside down! Under the burning gaze of this room, Chu Qianchen helped Shen to sit down, and then he sat down too. Neither the mother nor the daughter greeted the old lady and Chu Lingxiao.

It was as if there was an invisible barrier separating the mother and daughter from other people, forming two distinct factions.

The lady pressed her eyes with her handkerchief again and spoke first: "Azhi, why did you let someone bring the waist card and the pair of cards? I think you should take them back. I feel relieved if you can manage the household."

The lady of the house was thinking that Chu Lingxiao was finally back, and that he and the Shen couple would be reconciled in the future, and the Marquis' Mansion would also be harmonious, so she tried to ease the conflict between Chu Lingxiao and the Shen family.

After all, a harmonious family brings prosperity.

For this reason, the lady suppressed her dissatisfaction with Shen and consciously magnanimously did not care about Shen's behavior in the past few months.

However, in Chu Lingxiao's eyes, this was tantamount to confirming his guess. During his absence, the Shen family was simply lawless. The mother-in-law, the Taifu, was bullied by the daughter-in-law, Shen.

Chu Lingxiao's eyes turned three points colder.

Even if Shen used her toes, she could tell what the mother and son were thinking. The disgust in her heart was so strong that it overflowed. She did not give the lady any face at all and said coldly: "The Marquis's Mansion is now living off the fat of the land. I tried my best to increase income and reduce expenditure for the Marquis' Mansion, but it made others think that I had selfish motives and did things behind my back. In this case, I will not serve you anymore."

"Whoever wants to care can do it!"

Shen knew very well that the reason why the lady and Liu were strongly opposed to austerity was that on the one hand, they were reluctant to give up their previous lives, and on the other hand, they were counting on her to use her dowry to support the whole family.

The Shen family is not that stupid. The Madam, Chu Lingxiao and Chu Lingyu are just leeches. They only know how to suck blood and don't remember good things.

The lady seemed to have been slapped in the face, her face somewhat embarrassed, she said with a wry smile: "Azhi, Ling Xiao hasn't come back for a day, we are not sure whether this can be done, and we also want to give you a surprise."

"Surprise?" Shen raised her eyebrows and smiled, wise and heroic, elegant and proud, as beautiful as a blooming rose.

So beautiful, so delicate.

However, roses have thorns, and Chu Lingxiao felt uncomfortable all over.

"How dare you!" He took a step forward, pointed at Shen and shouted in a condescending manner, "You are such an unfilial daughter-in-law, you dare to speak to your mother-in-law like this! You..."

Shen grabbed the teacup with one hand and threw it at Chu Lingxiao without thinking, interrupting Chu Lingxiao's words.

Shen's movements were too fast. Even though Chu Lingxiao was a martial artist and stepped aside, the shattered porcelain pieces on the ground and the splashing tea still stained the corners of his robe and shoes.

The tea that had just been served was scalding hot. The tea seeped into the shoe surface and scalded Chu Lingxiao's face, causing it to change drastically.

Facing Chu Lingxiao's sinister eyes, Shen's face was as cold as ice, and she said in a cold voice: "What do you want me to do? Tell me now! When you finish, I also have something to say."

Her eyes swept lightly over Chu Lingxiao and the Madam, as if they were rats hiding in the gutter, the most disgusting existence in the world.

That look was like adding fuel to the fire, making Chu Lingxiao extremely angry.

"You...what are you crazy about!!" Chu Lingxiao said angrily, almost shouting out loud.

Originally, he wanted to listen to the lady dowager and planned to tolerate Shen and reconcile with her, but she was too much!

The lady was also frightened by Shen's action just now. Her face turned pale and her breathing became rapid.

Liu frowned with a dark face, thinking that Shen was simply crazy.

Shen forced out a cold smile, which was so cold that there was no warmth at all: "It seems that you have finished talking. It's my turn to speak now."

Amid the confused and uncertain looks of the crowd, Shen continued, "Let's get a divorce. From now on, Brother Mu and Sister Chen will belong to me."

Her voice was neither light nor heavy, neither fast nor slow.

When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked, even Nanny Chen looked at Shen in shock.

The room fell into an eerie silence, so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Everyone was stunned, but Shen's expression was very calm.

From the outside to the inside, everything is equally calm, peaceful and calm.

Her eyes seemed both clear and deep.

She has made her decision.

Originally, for Chu Yunmu and Chu Qianchen, the Shen family had no intention of divorce.

Her two children are her darlings. For them, she has unlimited courage. She doesn't want them to be criticized by others because of her divorce from Chu Lingxiao, and she doesn't want to give up the title that should belong to Chu Yunmu.

She kept telling herself that she should just live her life from day to day.

When Chu Yunmu grows up, she will move all the messy people out of the mansion. As for Chu Lingxiao, she will exile him for life, and their family will live a good life.

But now, Shen has changed his mind.

The Chu family’s behavior really disgusted her.

Shen felt sick whenever she thought about the Chu family and Kang Hongda reaching some kind of "unspeakable" agreement in secret.

Did the Madam, Chu Lingyu, Liu, and Chu Lingxiao all know that Kang Hongda had a crush on Chu Yunyi? The answer naturally emerged -

Know.

They know it.

Even if Chu Lingxiao didn't know before arriving in the capital, he probably knows now...

Thinking of this, Shen felt a wave of nausea in her heart again.

She was now so sick that she wanted to vomit whenever she saw their family, and she didn't want to stay in the same room with them.

She couldn't stay in this place any longer.

This place can't be called a home at all. She can't let her brother Mu grow up in such a dirty place.

"Let's get a divorce." Shen said again.

His voice and expression were even more resolute than before.

My daughter is right. Even a child like Chu Yunyi can work so hard for his future, so her brother Mu can do it too.

Her brother Mu doesn't want such a disgusting title!! She thinks it's dirty!!

Chu Qianchen seemed to see what Shen was thinking, and curled her lips slightly, her phoenix eyes were clear and cold, and her spirit was compelling. Apart from Shen, she was the calmest person.

The lady finally came to her senses and became anxious: "Azhi, what are you talking about? Why are you getting a divorce?"

The lady was almost in tears, her heart was in turmoil.

Chu Lingxiao finally came back from Youzhou. From now on, the couple should live a good life. Why does Shen want to divorce?

(End of this chapter)