Seeing the concern in her mother's eyes, Shen Mingrong felt a warmth in her heart. She went up and sat down next to her mother, took her hand, and said in a coquettish tone, "Mother, I'll go with you to Daci Temple to worship Buddha in a few days. It's been so long since you've gone out for a walk."
As Madam Gu listened, she felt a warm glow in her heart. How could she not understand that her daughter was showing her concern?
Presumably, her daughter had heard about Shen Mingshu's anger towards her, so she smiled and patted her daughter's head gently, saying, "Don't worry about your mother. I know what's going on. Don't listen to what the servants say. They're just worried about me, but some things are beyond my control. If I don't do them, who will?"
Shen Mingrong couldn't help but sigh as he listened.
"If the Lin family comes back, will there still be peace in this house?"
Shen Mingrong thought back to the days when Lin was in the capital, the Shen family never had a peaceful day. Now that his mother was still in charge of Shen Mingrong, if Lin returned, his mother would have a hard time dealing with her.
Madam Gu knew what her daughter was worried about, and shook her head upon hearing this. "Shen Mingshu hasn't found a suitable family to marry into yet, so she must be anxious, which is why she rushed back."
"You can't blame Mother for that. Who cares about this? If Third Sister hadn't been so stubborn, the marriage wouldn't have fallen through. Mother has done her best, but the Lin family and Madam Lin think we're not satisfied. In the end, no matter what we do, it's wrong."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu gave a wry smile.
"So, when your grandmother wanted you to marry into the Rongguo Duke's mansion, I had a thousand concerns, mainly because I was worried that you would marry into a bad family. That's why I agreed in the end."
“Look at the Shen family. The three branches of the Shen family are all harboring their own thoughts. Even if they are numerous, what good is it? It just means more quarrels. If the Shen family had worked together from the beginning and focused their efforts on one thing, they wouldn’t be in this situation now. They are outwardly harmonious but inwardly at odds. On the outside, everything looks calm, but only those inside know what kind of infighting and deceit they are engaging in.”
This was the first time Shen Mingrong had heard her mother speak ill of the Shen family. In her memory, her mother had always been a very wise woman who rarely spoke so frankly about who was good and who was bad, but today she was saying such things to her.
"Mother, I understand."
Shen Mingrong leaned on his mother's shoulder, sighed softly, and said with some melancholy, "Now that Grandmother is gone, why don't we separate the family? Living together all the time, scheming against each other, is so boring. It would be better if we each set up our own households, closed our doors, and lived our own lives, saving us from all this trouble."
"Furthermore, since Madam Lin is in such a hurry, Mother, why don't you take this opportunity to return Ming Shu to Third Aunt? After all, she is her own daughter, and mother and daughter are of one heart. She is different from you."
“A mother and daughter are of one heart.” Lu Yan also murmured these words. Shen Mingrong couldn’t help but smile when he saw his daughter’s cute face. He reached out and pinched his daughter’s cheek, and instructed Chen Mama, who was by Gu’s side, “Take Yan’er out and pick some balsam flowers. I’m going to say something to my mother.”
Granny Chen responded and led Lu Yan, who was reluctant to go out to play, out the door.
Madam Gu glanced at her granddaughter a few more times before sighing softly and saying with a smile, "This child has a clever and lovable quality."
Shen Mingrong hummed in agreement. “Mother, if you like Yan’er, you can bring her over to play often. But there’s one thing: the eldest and third branches of the family are quite chaotic right now. You can talk to Father and see if you can move out. Then you can come and pick up Yan’er whenever you want. As for other people’s affairs, just let go and don’t worry about them.”
“You naughty girl, what kind of mother are you, using my granddaughter as a bargaining chip? You’ve grown up, go talk to your father yourself.”
When Shen Mingrong realized that her purpose had been exposed by her mother, she started to act coquettishly in her mother's arms.
Meanwhile, Shen Mingshu and Shen Mingxi were huddled together.
Shen Mingxi glanced at the man and woman behind her. One was Wen Han, and the other was Hu Xianglian. One was wearing a royal blue brocade robe, and the other was wearing a lake blue gown. They looked very well-matched standing together. Shen Mingxi was wearing a rose-red gown with hibiscus flowers and her hair was styled in a flowing cloud bun. At first glance, she was very bright and beautiful.
Hu Xianglian noticed that her husband's eyes were fixed on Shen Mingxi. She immediately clenched her hands, which were hidden in her sleeves, gritted her teeth, and tugged at Wen Han's sleeve with a smile, saying, "Let's go see Auntie first."
In the capital, it's not uncommon for sisters to share a husband, and it's not unusual for cousins to share a husband either. At first, people would gossip about it, but now everyone is used to it.
Shen Mingxi never competed with Hu Xianglian for anything; she only held Wen Han's heart tightly and always acted magnanimously, which made Wen Han feel very sorry for her.
When Shen Mingxi saw Shen Mingshu, the two of them tacitly went to the corridor to talk.
"Isn't today your aunt's birthday? Why do you have such a dark face? Who offended you?"
Shen Mingxi looked at Shen Mingshu with a half-smile. Shen Mingshu was annoyed when Shen Mingxi asked this question. "Your outfit definitely overshadows the main wife. Although you are a secondary wife, you are still inferior to Hu Xianglian. Aren't you afraid she will hold a grudge against you for slapping her in the face like this?"
Before Shen Mingxi could speak, he gave a sarcastic smirk and drawled, "You should know that Fourth Uncle is now a high-ranking official in the capital. If you offend her, what good will come of it?"
As Shen Mingxi listened, she felt as if her heart and lungs had been stabbed hard. This Shen Mingshu just couldn't stand seeing others living better than her. She must have felt jealous when she saw her grandeur!
Thinking about Shen Mingshu's current situation in the Shen family, she felt much better.
"You don't understand. You're not married, so you don't know what's most important for a wife. That's right, the Third Madam left the capital early, so she probably didn't have time to tell you these things."
As Shen Mingxi spoke, she glanced at Shen Mingshu's expression. Seeing that her face had darkened, she felt a little relieved and said with a smile, "Oh, Third Sister, don't blame me for speaking bluntly. We grew up together since we were little. Don't you know what kind of person I am? That's not what I meant."
Shen Mingshu smiled without smiling, but cursed inwardly, "You don't mean that, what do you mean? You only dare to bully me because you see me not doing well now. But I am still the legitimate daughter, while you are a concubine's daughter. Hu Xianglian can be the principal wife, but you can only be a secondary wife. This is the tragedy of a concubine's daughter!"
Thinking about these things made her feel much better. "Of course I know that's not what Seventh Sister meant, but when you mentioned Mother, I suddenly remembered that Mother seemed to say that she would be arriving in the capital soon. When that happens, you must come home for a visit."
Shen Mingxi was immediately stunned.
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