The Shen family.
Upon hearing that Consort Ming had returned, Old Madam Shen's expression changed. "What is she doing back here?"
She knew all about the events happening inside and outside the palace. When Shen Mingzhuang had a falling out with His Majesty, she made a scene at the Grand Court Assembly by demanding to leave the palace to become a nun. However, His Majesty hesitated to agree and did not give her a definite answer.
She thought this was already unconventional enough, but then her eldest son told her that Shen Mingzhuang wanted to divorce His Majesty!
She slammed her hand on the table in utter disbelief.
"The Emperor himself is divorcing her?!" She felt that no words could describe the shock she felt.
This is utterly outrageous! Shen Mingzhuang is only one of His Majesty's concubines, and only the Empress can be said to be divorcing. Even the Empress has never divorced the Emperor. Yet Shen Mingzhuang insists on divorcing him. This is unprecedented and defies the world!
She only regretted that if she had a choice, she should have broken off all ties with Shen Mingzhuang after she entered the palace, so that she wouldn't be dragged into this mess now. First there was Shen Mingzhuang, then there was Liu Wenxin. Now the Shen family has become known in the court as the family of treacherous officials who sell their daughters for personal gain and bewitch the emperor!
"Just say I'm not feeling well and am staying home to receive guests. If she insists on coming, please ask the First Madam to entertain her."
She still didn't know why Shen Mingzhuang had come to visit, so she decided to avoid him for the time being and let Zhao Shi sound him out. That way, if anything happened, she could simply say she didn't know anything about it.
Shen Mingzhuang was not there to see the old lady.
Now, the management of the Shen family's household affairs has been handed over to the eldest wife, Zhao, and the second wife, Gu. The indentures of the servants in the house are also in their hands. Since I am here today mainly to ask for people, there is no need for me to beat around the bush with that old lady.
Since what happened before, Zhao has been in poor spirits and has been having nightmares. She dreams that someone wants to kill her as soon as she falls asleep. In addition, the Pei family's reluctance to agree to the marriage alliance with the Shen family has also made her mentally and physically exhausted.
Shen Bochun scoffed at this, saying that if there was no Pei family, there would be other families, so why hang yourself on one tree? But she was still uneasy, and this made her even more mentally exhausted.
When she heard the news, Madam Gu was teaching Shen Mingshu manners. Her chest heaved as she looked at the unruly Shen Mingshu, feeling utterly powerless.
Upon hearing that Shen Mingzhuang had come to her home, Shen Mingshu immediately tensed up as if she had encountered a wild beast that was her natural enemy, ready to deal with any unforeseen events at any moment.
Madam Gu rubbed her forehead and said, "Write down the parts you didn't remember ten times here, and I'll check them when I get back."
Without waiting for Shen Mingshu's reply, he turned and walked out.
Chen Mama held Gu's hand and noticed that Gu's palms were sweaty. She couldn't help but sigh softly. Seeing that there was no one else behind her, she said, "Madam, why do you insist on raising the Third Miss? She doesn't take you seriously. Even if you raise her like you would the Fifth Miss, she may not appreciate it. Look how angry you are. It's only your health that's being harmed."
Madam Gu sighed and gave a helpless bitter smile. "I know you said those things because you care about me, but I don't want to hear them again."
Upon hearing this, Granny Chen realized she had spoken out of turn and lowered her head in embarrassment and unease.
Remembering that she was an old woman who had followed her from Yongning, Madam Gu pondered for a moment and explained, "As you know, the Shen family's reputation outside is already quite tarnished. If any of our family members make a mistake, people outside will judge our family's upbringing and traditions. I am a daughter-in-law of the Shen family, and my daughters-in-law are all tied to the Shen family. If I were to just be a carefree, hands-off manager, wouldn't I be harming them?"
Granny Chen remained silent.
Shen Mingzhuang entered the mansion and went to Liu's place first.
Now that Lady Liu has been officially recognized as the principal wife, she is now a secondary wife, just like the principal wife. However, in terms of rank, the principal wife is still more honorable. The secondary wife must treat the principal wife with respect and must not disobey her. In the end, it is just a change in status between the principal wife and the concubine.
But Lin is now far away in Jiangzhou, and Liu's status in the third branch is no different from that of the first wife.
Now that Liu has moved into the main courtyard, Yuehua Courtyard, she still manages the affairs of Shen Shuchun's house, but she occasionally goes out with Gu to represent the third branch of the family.
Liu, who was holding her son and sunbathing in the yard, was stunned the moment she saw Shen Mingzhuang.
Fortunately, she quickly regained her composure, hurriedly handed her son to the wet nurse, and stood up from the armchair in the courtyard. "You, you... how did you get here?" Her flustered expression and somewhat guilty tone betrayed her emotions.
Shen Mingzhuang glanced at Yuehua Courtyard. Yuehua Courtyard hadn't changed much from before, but it felt like a world of difference.
Perhaps this is just like how different people give different impressions; the same clothes worn by different people can also evoke different feelings.
I came to see you.
After Shen Mingzhuang finished speaking calmly, he sat down in the armchair. The winter sun shone on him, and the perfect warmth made him want to squint his eyes and take a nap.
Upon hearing this, many thoughts flashed through Liu's mind.
Of course, she wasn't so naive as to think that Shen Mingzhuang had come to see her.
It should be noted that Shen Mingzhuang knew Wenxin's true identity, but now that she has fallen from grace, Wenxin has climbed into the emperor's bed and taken her place.
No woman would be so magnanimous as to forgive someone who climbed to the top by stepping on her, not even Shen Mingzhuang!
If Shen Mingzhuang didn't have any dirt on them, she wouldn't have paid any attention to someone who ruined her future just because of jealousy. But she couldn't. She not only still owed Shen Mingzhuang the favor of asking her to bring Wenxin into the palace, but she also had the fear that Shen Mingzhuang would spread the news that Wenxin was her illegitimate daughter.
"I didn't come here to bring up old grievances, but you still owe me a favor, haven't you forgotten?"
Madam Liu swallowed hard, forcing herself to suppress her fear and reply as casually as possible, "Of course I remember. It was thanks to Ninth Miss's great kindness that Wenxin was spared..."
"Exempt from sharing a husband with your mother?" Shen Mingzhuang chuckled, adding what Liu Shi couldn't say aloud.
Madam Liu's face immediately darkened, as if someone had stepped on her tail. She nervously glanced around before saying, "I remember all of Ninth Miss's kindness. If Ninth Miss needs anything, please just tell me, and I will do my best to help! I hope Ninth Miss can keep quiet about this matter. You know, Wenxin has had a hard life..."
"Mingzhuang!"
Before Shen Mingzhuang could speak, Shen Ming'e came running into the courtyard like a butterfly.
"As soon as I heard you were here, I rushed over." Her face was full of joy, as if she had already forgotten the unpleasant things that had happened a few days ago.
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