"So, why did you want to hurt me?"
Mrs. Shen sat up straight, no longer coughing or trembling.
Zhang Xinyue handed her a glass of water. After drinking it, she cleared her throat and her complexion gradually returned to normal, no longer so pale.
"Ma'am, you?"
Aunt Zhao looked at Madam Shen in some surprise.
Zhang Xinyue smiled at her, "There's nothing wrong with this medicine bowl. We tricked you..."
Aunt Zhao gave a bitter laugh. "I was wrong. I thought you weren't from high-born families, so you would understand me. Even if you guessed it, you wouldn't expose me. After all, I didn't intend to kill the lady, I just wanted to make her sick for a while. Sigh..."
"You're right! It's because we understand you and know you must have your reasons that we want you to talk it out with your wife face to face!"
Liu Wanyun glanced at the maid on the ground, and Guan Xiaoyu immediately understood and pulled her out.
Close the door as well!
She squatted in front of Aunt Zhao and spoke softly, patiently and coaxingly, "Aunt Zhao, I know you must have a reason for doing this, and it's very likely related to Miss Ruonan. But since you entered the mansion, you have had a good relationship with the Madam and have been very obedient. Why would you suddenly do such a thing?"
Now that her secret had been exposed, Aunt Zhao no longer tried to hide it. She simply sat on the ground with a face full of sadness.
"Yes, I am very obedient and only follow Madam's orders, because I am grateful to Madam for pulling me out of the quagmire and making me a concubine in the mansion. What Madam says is what I follow, and I never disobey her, nor will I take the initiative to occupy the master."
"But I obeyed her in everything. Why didn't she let my daughter go? She wanted to give Ruonan to someone else as a concubine, someone much older than Ruonan!"
These words shocked everyone present.
Liu Wanyun and Zhang Xinyue looked at Madam Shen with a look of, "How can you be such a person?"
Madam Shen looked at Aunt Zhao with an expression that asked, "What are you talking about?"
"When did I ever say that I would give Ruonan to an old man as a concubine?"
That expression didn't seem fake, it was obvious that someone had put the blame on her.
Aunt Zhao didn't believe it and said hesitantly, "But... the master told me some time ago! Besides, you didn't bring Ruonan and the others with you to the Hundred Flowers Banquet, which just proves..."
"What? Shen Changfu said that?"
Madam Shen was so angry that she called Master Shen by his full name!
"He must have been trying to win over someone, but he chose to pin it on me! Why didn't you come and ask me?"
Aunt Zhao lowered her head and whispered in defense, "How dare I... You are the lady, you have the right to make this decision..."
"So, you dare to drug me and harm me?"
"I didn't mean to kill you. I just wanted to make you sick so that the young mistress and the others could attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet and bring Ruonan and the others with them. Then I'd take the opportunity to find a suitable in-law. Since they're unwilling to manage the household, I... I'd marry Ruonan off early..."
Liu Wanyun had already retreated to the side and was whispering to Zhang Xinyue, "You see, this is how ancient inner chambers are. A bunch of women are suspicious of each other and won't talk properly. That's how misunderstandings arise."
"I was even provoked and exploited by men, being played around with... Sigh..."
Mrs. Shen was so angry that she couldn't help but feel irritated. None of the people in this family pleased her. The only obedient one dared to trip her up behind her back.
"I trusted you so much. When Wanyun came to tell me this this morning, I didn't want to believe it. I really treated you as a sister..."
Mrs. Shen's words were true. She trusted Aunt Zhao and treated her as a sister, but it was also based on a kind of pity from a higher position to a lower position. She may not have realized that she had always been getting along with Aunt Zhao in a condescending manner, and the two of them were always unequal.
What she thought was a deep sisterly love was nothing more than charity earned through compromise and flattery in Aunt Zhao's eyes.
Aunt Zhao lowered her head, no longer defending herself, only thinking about her daughter, "Madam, this is all my fault. You can punish me however you want, even expel me from the Shen family. I only ask that you treat Ruonan well..."
Mrs. Shen didn't know what to say. She turned her head and saw Liu Wanyun and Zhang Xinyue muttering to the side, so she pointed the finger at them. "Why didn't you tell me the first time you found the problem?"
Liu Wanyun gave her a fake smile. "Aunt, please be reasonable. Weren't you sick yesterday? And we weren't sure at the time. When I told you this morning, you still refused to cooperate!"
"The most important thing is that the focus of this matter is not what happened to us, nor what happened to Aunt Zhao. The root cause of this incident is..."
She spoke the last two words, each one clearly and forcefully, "Ah! Ong!"
"He wants to be a good guy and put the blame on you!"
These words made the two women, one sitting on the bed and the other sitting under the bed, fall into deep thought.
Aunt Zhao thought that she shouldn't blindly believe what the master said.
But Madam Shen felt a pang of heartache!
She was Mr. Shen’s first wife. They loved each other when they were young, and they were even more affectionate after marriage.
She gave birth to three sons for him. Because they were all born from the same pregnancy, she suffered a lot from pregnancy to delivery!
I even got sick because of this!
At that time, he told himself that he would never let her down in this life, that she would love and respect him, and that she would always have the final say in the Shen family's inner house!
Because of her health reasons, she could not serve him well, but she took a concubine for him with tears in her eyes.
At first he refused, saying that he would only be loyal to her in this life.
Even though she carried Aunt Zhao into the mansion on his back, he ignored it on the grounds of Old Master Shen's teachings.
Later, as time went by, Old Master Shen no longer lived in the mansion, and he began to go in and out of Aunt Zhao's room. Soon, he brought back Aunt Sun.
It wasn't that I wasn't sad at that time, but it was my own choice, and since I had children to take care of day and night, I just let him do what he wanted.
Fortunately, although he doted on his concubines, he never let them surpass him, and he always had the final say in the mansion.
These years, despite all the quarrels, have just gone by like this.
But, just to be a good guy, he actually threw the bad things on her head? Let her take the blame!
This is what brought disaster upon myself!
What does he take himself for?
Tool man?
Also, she visited her two shops these days. Although the shops were well managed, compared with the three newly opened shops, it was obvious that not much care was put into them!
So, I gave him my own shop to manage, and he used my own resources, but he just ignored me after he was done with them?
This man!
Oh!
Really, I overestimated his conscience!
Mrs. Shen looked exhausted in a way she had never felt before.
She looked at Aunt Zhao who was still kneeling on the ground. What a poor person!
"Get up! Go back to the yard and freshen up! Follow them to have lunch!"
Liu Wanyun looked at her expression and couldn't help but feel a little worried. "What about you, Auntie?"
Mrs. Shen forced a smile, “You guys should go eat too, I want to be alone!”
Aunt Zhao's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt a little guilty as she murmured, "Madam, I..."
"Go ahead! I'll take care of Ruonan's affairs, don't worry!"
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