"Miss, why don't you ask Xue Rong for her from the Shen family?" Man Huan said, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
Shen Mingzhuang was slightly taken aback. "But she came looking for you?"
If it weren't for Liu Wenxin, she had planned to bring Xue Rong and Man Huan with her when she entered the palace. Because of Liu Wenxin's matter, Liu Shi still owed her a favor.
Upon hearing this, Manhuan couldn't help but sigh softly, her expression somewhat dejected. "Xuerong is having a hard time right now. Miss doesn't know, Tangli has already jumped into the well..."
Shen Mingzhuang was stunned. In the past, those people in the Shen family only came to serve her after she arrived. In just a few months, how did she become a thorn in someone else's side?
He wasn't a long-serving servant, nor was he a trusted confidant, and he had never done anything for her. Who could be so narrow-minded as to not tolerate a servant who knew nothing?
"Xue Rong said that Tang Li was violated by a servant who came from the Third Madam's family home. In a fit of anger, she threw herself into a well. Xue Rong has now been taken by the Third Miss. It seems that the Third Miss is taking out all her anger towards you on Xue Rong."
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhuang's face darkened.
She looked at Man Huan with a solemn expression: "Could what she said be true?"
This made her wary, after all, this was the Royal North Garden, where ordinary people couldn't even get close, let alone see her maid.
Manhuan knew that her master had misunderstood something, so she quickly said, "She found me when I went out the day before yesterday. She was hiding in the alley and said that she was going out to buy perfume for the Third Miss. She happened to see me and followed me."
“At that time, I saw that her arms were covered with injuries, new and old wounds overlapping, and it looked like she had been beaten and scolded for a long time.”
Shen Mingzhuang listened, and he couldn't bear it either.
She had overlooked the fact that Xue Rong was a decent person and did her job diligently. However, she was rendered useless early in the story, so she didn't know Xue Rong very well and naturally wouldn't entrust her with everything. Therefore, she treated her as just a simple little maid.
After all, they were master and servant, and now that he heard that she was not doing well because of him, Shen Mingzhuang felt very bad.
"Did she leave you any message?" Shen Mingzhuang thought for a moment. He figured it shouldn't be that difficult for him and Shen Bochun to get someone, so he decided to bring her over.
Upon hearing this, Man Huan's eyes lit up, and she smiled and said, "Yes, then this servant will contact Xue Rong in a moment."
Seeing that Man Huan's expression brightened, Shen Mingzhuang's mood improved as well. However, he shook his head and stopped Man Huan from contacting Xue Rong: "Now that she is serving the Third Miss, there will inevitably be many inconveniences. Don't rush things. I'll find some time to go back and take a look. If it's feasible, I'll just bring her back."
Manhuan nodded vigorously, and tears immediately fell from her eyes.
"Why are you crying all of a sudden? Stop it! If you keep crying like this, people will think I'm bullying you."
Man Huan then sniffed and grinned at Shen Mingzhuang. Shen Mingzhuang pulled her to his side, his expression softening, and said gently, "Man Huan, no matter what, you are the person I trust the most, so you should never have any reservations in front of me, okay?"
"Miss……"
Manhuan looked at her young mistress, tears streaming down her face. Shen Mingzhuang stepped forward and patted her shoulder. She couldn't help but hug her, her shoulders trembling as she said, "How can such a good person like you not be happy? Why should others bully you!"
"It's my fault for being useless and failing to protect you, Miss. I let Liu Wenxin even dare to bully you..."
She cried so hard that Shen Mingzhuang couldn't help but shed tears as well. She patted Manhuan on the back, her feelings a mix of emotions.
Even Man Huan knew that this was a deliberate scheme by Liu Wenxin, but Jiang Wang used it to elevate Liu Wenxin. Even though she no longer liked him, she couldn't swallow this insult.
She had misplaced her trust.
"Alright, alright, how dare she bully me? Look at your young lady, isn't she doing well now?"
Manhuan shook her head, her eyes and nose red. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand before pouting and saying, "No. Miss should have a loving husband and a harmonious family, instead of being pushed down like this and having to silently endure it."
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhuang burst into laughter through her tears. It turned out that this girl cared about her more than she had imagined.
My heart felt warm, and my voice became gentler when I spoke.
"Okay, okay, no more crying. Soon we'll be able to start our lives anew. Let bygones be bygones."
However, she didn't tell the little girl that she always distinguished between gratitude and resentment. Regardless of whether Liu Wenxin and Jiang Wang were truly in love, Liu Wenxin dared to climb over her to the top, and should be prepared to pay the price!
On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Mingzhuang instructed the coachman to harness the horses early in the morning, planning to go to the Shen family later.
Manhuan helped her with her washing and dressing, and combed Shen Mingzhuang's jet-black hair into a snake-shaped bun in front of the mirror, and told Shen Mingzhuang which hairpin to wear.
Shen Mingzhuang glanced at the hairpins and ornaments in the dressing case, which were all very ornate. Since she no longer needed to dress as an imperial concubine, she simply chose a white jade hairpin with a warm and lustrous color after looking around.
"Miss, isn't this a bit too plain?"
Shen Mingzhuang glanced at the person in the bronze mirror. The skin was as smooth as porcelain and as white as snow. The two arched eyebrows were slightly furrowed, reminiscent of Daiyu. Below the small and pert nose, the lips were slightly parted, making her extremely beautiful. Even though she had become accustomed to her appearance, she still couldn't help but be amazed every time.
"Give me the eyebrow box." Shen Mingzhuang didn't like this melancholy makeup. She changed her misty eyebrows, lengthening the ends, and instantly gave her a heroic look with long, flowing eyebrows. She looked less worried and more dashing. She nodded in satisfaction and put the eyebrow box back.
"Miss, which one are you wearing today?"
Man Huan pointed to the royal blue embroidered floral-trimmed gown on the clothes rack, but Shen Mingzhuang shook his head. Man Huan then pointed to the gentle lilac-purple embroidered floral-pearl-collared casual wear on the next clothes rack, but Shen Mingzhuang didn't like any of them.
Man Huan had no choice but to open the wardrobe. Shen Mingzhuang saw a pearl-white dress with a shimmering pattern hanging inside and immediately chose it.
"Miss, isn't this... a bit too plain?"
Shen Mingzhuang disagreed, thinking it could be even simpler. As the saying goes, a woman should dress elegantly in white; white is so beautiful, simple and elegant. When she watched The Legend of Zhen Huan, her favorite scene was Wanwan in white when Mei Jie passed away. It was just a pity that as a palace concubine, she couldn't wear certain clothes, so she was always dressed in extravagant attire.
"Let's keep this one. You know I used to wear hairpins and jade ornaments, but now that we're outside the palace, let's keep things simple."
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