When Shen Feng, Shen Mingyi, and the others arrived after receiving the news, they only saw Song Zhiyu's departing figure and the disorganized wedding procession in front of them.
Upon seeing the visitors, Xiuyue knelt down before them with a thud and began to sob, "My lord, the second young lady has gone too far..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng's face immediately darkened, and anger surged into his heart.
Song Zhiyu actually dared to do this, completely disregarding the Marquis's mansion and his father.
Even though I already knew she was a reckless brat, I never expected her to actually dare to act so outrageously at Shu'er's wedding.
She ruined what should have been a perfect wedding; Shen Feng felt like tearing Song Zhiyu apart.
"This rebellious daughter is too outrageous!" Shen Feng's hands trembled with anger, but the most important thing right now was Shu'er's wedding. The auspicious time was approaching, and it couldn't be delayed.
As for the matter concerning the Prince of Li, we can only wait until after the wedding to explain.
Inside the bridal sedan chair, Shen Jinshu's face beneath the veil was deathly pale. She bit her lower lip tightly, a few choked sobs escaping her throat, "Father, what should we do now? I don't care what others say about me, but what happened today will surely damage your and His Highness's reputations..."
"Don't worry, Shu'er, your third brother is here for you. Your third brother has already prepared a generous dowry for you, and will send someone to deliver it to you soon."
Shen Mingyi felt extremely distressed and even resented Song Zhiyu's cold-heartedness.
Why can't we resolve things privately? Why make things awkward for everyone?
If Prince Li were to hold a grudge against Shang Shu'er for this, he would absolutely not forgive Song Zhiyu.
Fortunately, in order to prevent Shu'er from being looked down upon in the Prince's Mansion, he had borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates early on and prepared a generous dowry for her.
But when she saw the dozen or so boxes of valuable jewels, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and jade artifacts in the wedding procession, she felt that her carefully prepared dowry was somewhat inadequate.
He was just thinking of returning the goods and paying back the loan as soon as possible to avoid the interest compounding until he couldn't pay it back in the end.
But now he was glad that he had kept his dowry. Although it couldn't compare to Song Zhiyu's dozen or so boxes of treasures, at least it was presentable and wouldn't embarrass Shu'er.
Despite her dissatisfaction, Shen Jinshu had no choice but to force a smile, her words filled with gratitude, "Thank goodness for Third Brother, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."
She didn't ask where Shen Mingyi's money came from, and accepted it without any psychological pressure.
But she remembered the humiliation Song Zhiyu had inflicted on her today.
*
"Miss, you have no idea how ugly the Prince looked when he went to pick up the bride. After losing face like that, it won't be easy for you to live in the Prince's mansion." Lu Bai smiled, her eyes crinkling, wondering if they would dare to scheme against her young lady again.
Lu Bai laughed for a while, then suddenly became inexplicably angry, her cheeks puffing out. "I just didn't expect that the Third Young Master would prepare such a generous dowry for the Eldest Miss, so that she wouldn't lose even more face."
I heard that the Third Young Master borrowed a considerable amount of money at exorbitant interest rates to fund his dowry; no wonder people outside say he and the Eldest Miss have a deep sibling bond.
In the end, Lu Bai's tone carried a hint of resentment.
She had never seen the Third Young Master be so generous to her young lady before. When Shen's Clothing Shop was facing closure, her young lady took out a large sum of money to save the shop, but the Third Young Master never thanked her.
Even when it was Miss's birthday, he only gave her a cheap bracelet, which was not as valuable as the things he usually gave to his servants.
Compared to Lu Bai's resentment, Song Zhiyu was calm and even comforted her, telling her not to get angry over people who weren't worth it.
After all, Song Zhiyu had long seen through Shen Mingyi. This man truly loved Shen Jinshu and deserved to be called a good older brother.
Over the years, he has done countless things for Shen Jinshu, not to mention lending her money at exorbitant interest rates.
However, this kind of usury is not something to be touched easily. The terrifying interest alone can deter a large number of people, and it just snowballs, getting bigger and bigger.
In the end, some people couldn't even repay their principal.
Previously, some sons of officials had relied on their status to refuse to repay their debts, but they were beaten half to death, had their hands and feet broken, and were thrown at their doorsteps.
Even reporting it to the authorities wouldn't help. Paying back debts is a matter of course, clearly written in black and white, and the government can't interfere.
Besides, the owner of that money exchange is no pushover either; he has powerful connections. You'll have to pay back the money whether you want to or not.
At best, it could result in the loss of an arm or leg; at worst, it could be fatal.
Shen Mingyi's willingness to go to such lengths for Shen Jinshu shows his genuine affection.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he did, Shen Jinshu might not thank him; instead, she might resent him for not doing enough.
Once taking becomes a habit, you will be completely discarded when you are no longer of any use.
For Shen Jinshu now, Shen Mingyi is only of negligible value.
"Alright, let's not talk about them anymore. Has Nurse Chen given her consent?" Song Zhiyu smiled and shook her head. What happened to Shen Mingyi or the Shen family was none of her business anymore.
Lu Bai nodded emphatically and breathed a long sigh of relief. "Miss, you really have a way with things. That old woman is very stubborn. If it weren't for using her son as a bargaining chip, she would have kept that secret to herself."
"Everyone has weaknesses." Song Zhiyu remained noncommittal. To get someone to talk, you naturally have to find their weak spot and strike it down.
After saying that, she paused, her red lips slightly upturned, "By the way, that woman can be released now. I want to give Shen Jinshu a big gift on her homecoming day in three days."
*
Leaving the Prince's Palace.
When Shen Jinshu woke up in bed, the spot next to her was already cold, indicating that the Prince had been gone for quite some time.
Thinking of the scene from last night, she couldn't help but blush, feeling extremely shy.
Although the prince was slightly dissatisfied with her because of the dowry issue, she had other bargaining chips, which allowed her to appease him.
She summoned Xiuyue to help her with her hair and makeup. She couldn't be impolite when she went to the palace to see Consort Cheng, and she absolutely couldn't lose face in front of that woman, Su Ying.
Coincidentally, Su Ying arrived at Consort Cheng's palace shortly after she did.
It was a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road; the two disliked each other, but they didn't show it on their faces, though their soft words were laced with barbs.
"Sister, please don't misunderstand. It's just that Mother really likes the lotus seed soup you make, and she mentioned it again today. That's why she sent someone to tell you to make the lotus seed soup and send it to the palace. I hope you won't mind, sister?"
Su Ying covered her mouth and chuckled twice. Her tone was respectful, but it made Shen Jinshu extremely unhappy.
She understood that Consort Cheng was trying to intimidate her, both because of the rumor that had ruined her reputation and because of yesterday's dowry issue.
Consort Cheng already harbored some dissatisfaction with her, so it was inevitable that she would deliberately make things difficult for her; Shen Jinshu was prepared for this.
But she still felt a sense of unease at Su Ying's provocation.
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