Chu Qianhuang had just come out of the palace, and as soon as she returned to the Marquis' Mansion, she went straight to Rongfu Hall.

Seeing that it was almost 9 o'clock and everyone was still waiting outside, Chu Qianhuang raised his right eyebrow in confusion, but his pace remained neither fast nor slow.

She smiled and greeted Liu and other aunts.

The girls in the mansion also bowed to Chu Qianhuang and said, "Big sister."

Chu Qianhuang is the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion. She has always been very kind to her younger sisters. She smiled, and her smile was as elegant and generous as Shen's. "I brought back some pearl flowers. Sisters, come to me later to choose."

"Thank you, big sister."

All the little girls were smiling happily.

The pearl flowers that Chu Qianhuang brought back were undoubtedly awarded by some empress in the palace. These creations must be exquisite and beautiful. They looked at Chu Qianhuang with even more affection.

"Second sister," Chu Qianhuang looked at Chu Qianchen in the corner, pursed her lips and smiled, "I picked a crimson purple flower for you. I remember you like this color the most. I'll have someone send it to Wanyan Courtyard for you later."

"Thank you, big sister." Chu Qianchen smiled gently.

However, what she liked was not crimson, but red.

She actually likes red just like Chu Qianhuang.

She still remembered that when she was little, on her birthday one year, her stepmother had someone prepare a new red dress for her, which was embroidered with hibiscus flowers. It was almost exactly the same as Chu Qianhuang's, except that hers was embroidered with peonies.

She likes the new dress very much.

But Aunt Jiang said that she was a concubine's daughter and should not offend the eldest daughter.

In the end, she never wore that dress for a single day.

"Second sister," Chu Qianhuang glanced into the main hall and asked, "Has grandma not gotten up yet?" Leaving so many people outside like this, could it be that the lady has some important matters to deal with?

Chu Qianchen shook his head and said, "I don't know either."

"Sister Huang, your mother is in there too." Liu said with a forced smile.

What she meant was that the lady had gotten up a long time ago, but had avoided them and was talking to Shen.

After a pause, she added with a fake smile, "Sister-in-law and your grandmother really have a deep bond between them."

Although these words seemed to be spoken casually, Liu was actually very dissatisfied.

They are obviously the daughters-in-law of the Marquis's Mansion. Why does the Lady Dowager only discuss matters with Shen and leave them all out? She is also the daughter-in-law of the legitimate son, not a concubine's daughter-in-law!

Chu Qianhuang smiled and said, "Second aunt, grandma has always been kind to us young people. She also asked me to ask the imperial concubine aunt to ask the imperial physician to see my third sister."

When Liu heard this, her eyes lit up and she nodded in agreement, "Yes, your grandmother has always been kind."

The wound on her daughter Chu Qianling's face was so severe that she consulted many famous doctors in Beijing, but they all said that it would leave scars on her face. Chu Qianling was so depressed that she stayed in her room all day and refused to see anyone.

All of this is Chu Qianchen's fault.

Liu looked at Chu Qianchen with resentment. At this moment, Nanny Wang came out. Seeing Chu Qianhuang was there, her eyes lit up and she said politely, "Miss, you're back."

"Madame Wang." Chu Qianhuang nodded slightly.

Facing Chu Qianhuang, Nanny Wang smiled very kindly and said attentively: "Young lady, you are here to pay your respects to the Madam. I will go and report it right away."

Nanny Wang didn't rush into the house, but first conveyed the words of the Madam, saying that the Madam was exempted from paying respects today, which meant that they could all go back.

Liu had waited outside the house for so long, holding her breath a little, but thinking about the imperial physician, she didn't dare to say anything. She threw her handkerchief and left. The two concubines of the second room looked at each other and hurried to follow Liu.

Chu Qianchen glanced at the main room indifferently and left.

As soon as she left, Chu Linglingxiao, Aunt Jiang and Aunt Cui arrived.

Together with Chu Qianhuang, they followed Nanny Wang into the east room.

Chu Lingxiao walked in front, and as soon as he entered the room, he frowned and asked, "Azhi, what's going on?!"

Chu Lingxiao rested in Aunt Jiang's yard yesterday. He should have gone to the yamen at this time, but just after he left the mansion, the maidservant beside Aunt Jiang came to him hurriedly and said that the lady had sent someone to take Aunt Jiang away for questioning.

Chu Lingxiao became anxious when he heard this, and came back immediately, just in time to catch up with Aunt Jiang outside Rongfu Hall.

Aunt Jiang nervously pulled at the corner of Chu Lingxiao's sleeve, her slender body leaning against him, her eyes red with tears in her sockets that were about to fall, she looked weak and helpless.

Chu Lingxiao gently put his arm around Aunt Jiang's slender shoulders and said softly, "Don't be afraid. I will take care of it for you and will not let anyone wrongly accuse you."

Upon hearing this, Shen glanced at him and felt a little unhappy.

From a young age, Shen knew that she would marry a man of equal social status, and from then on she would be filial to her parents-in-law, support her husband and raise her children, manage the household chores, and take good care of concubines, just like her mother and the mistresses of many noble mansions in the Great Qi Dynasty.

In the future, her son will inherit her husband's title, and she will become the lady dowager of this mansion.

This was the life she was destined to live since birth.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

She never cared about who Chu Lingxiao favored.

However, this does not mean that she would allow Chu Lingxiao to use a concubine to climb over her head.

Shen put the teacup on the tea table with a crisp sound.

"Bang!"

"My Lord, do you mean that I am framing Aunt Jiang?"

Chu Lingxiao's gaze then shifted away from Aunt Jiang's pitiful face, and he looked up to meet Shen's beautiful phoenix eyes. The corners of her eyes were slightly raised, revealing a sharp determination like a knife.

"..." Chu Lingxiao was slightly embarrassed.

In front of him, Shen always acted superior, without any of the tenderness and care that a woman should have.

At this time, the lady coughed lightly to ease the atmosphere.

She explained to her son, "The girl Mei'er said that on the day when Mu'er fell off the rockery, she saw Aunt Cui near the rockery. So, she called Aunt Cui over to ask."

The lady told the general story, and then said in an attempt to smooth things over: "Azhi, this is just Mei'er's one-sided statement. Maybe there is some misunderstanding..."

"Don't worry, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and give you and Mu Ge'er an explanation. What do you think?"

The lady is the elder and the mother-in-law. She humbled herself to ask this question, actually hoping that Shen would stop while she was ahead.

Mu Ge'er is the only legitimate son of the eldest son and her most valued grandson.

She would give Shen an explanation for this matter, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, as that would be embarrassing for everyone.

His son Chu Lingxiao had just been fined by the emperor. The emperor was in a bad mood because of the prince these days. If he was reported for improper conduct, he might be fined again.

However, Shen's expression did not waver at all, and she said, "Mother, if Madam Cui had a clear conscience, why would she give Mei'er five hundred taels of silver and kill her to silence her?"

Early this morning, Nanny Chen went to Luoguxiang to pick up Mei'er and brought her to the Marquis' Mansion, where Shen personally interrogated Mei'er.

Mei'er said that she saw Aunt Cui near the rockery that day. Later, Aunt Cui gave her five hundred taels of silver and asked her not to talk nonsense. She accepted the silver note, but was infected with the "Seven-Day Sudden Disease" after returning home.

Aunt Jiang was the Dowager's distant niece, so after hearing this, Shen brought Mei'er to the Dowager and asked her to repeat everything. She also sent someone to bring Aunt Jiang and Nanny Cui as well.

"Madam Cui, what do you have to say?" Shen looked at Madam Cui with sharp eyes.

Madam Cui knelt down with a plop, shook her head calmly, and said, "Madam, I don't know."

(End of this chapter)