The eldest branch of the Shen family was the Shen family. He had one son and two daughters: the eldest son, Shen Anyu; the third daughter, Shen Qiuyan; and the sixth daughter, Shen Yunxi.
The only pity is that their son is mentally challenged, which is a heavy scar for both them and Lanpei. Every now and then, someone will forcibly tear open the scar, exposing the bloody wound, and they can only lick their wounds in sorrow.
Shen Xin, the second son, had a wife named Ma. He had two concubines and two sons, Shen Li and Shen Tang. Shen Li was currently in the Dali Temple, Shen Tang had not yet entered officialdom, and Shen Xin had no official position and relied entirely on his sons for support.
Shen Tai, the third son of the family, has a wife named Qian. He has no concubines and two daughters, namely the fourth daughter Shen Leyi and the seventh daughter Shen Siqi. Shen Tai now holds a minor official position in the Ministry of Revenue.
Mrs. Qian doted on her two daughters, Shen Leyi and Shen Siqi, and even though she herself had no sons, she still loved her two daughters dearly.
Furthermore, Madam Qian was a very ruthless person, which is why Shen Tai had no concubines. Ultimately, it was because Madam Qian was too fierce; she even gave her maidservants a potion that would prevent them from having children. She had both ruthlessness and a bad temper.
Shen Siqi's audacity in approaching Lin Chen and speaking to him in such a blatant manner is undoubtedly related to Qian's indulgence.
Lin Chen knew that Shen Siqi was difficult to reason with, but since she was being held back, he couldn't say too much. Besides, he was at the Shen family's house, and if a conflict arose, it would be inconvenient for him to see Shen Yunxi in the future. He could only try his best to avoid any misunderstandings with Shen Siqi.
"I am not very knowledgeable and do not know what Miss Seven wants to say, so I will take my leave first." Lin Chen did not want to say more.
However, Shen Siqi wouldn't let him go. "Stop! If you dare to leave, I'll tell Sixth Sister the truth that you've loved her for years but dared not say it!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chen stopped in his tracks. Anger surged in his eyes. Being threatened by a little girl felt terrible and made him furious.
"So what exactly does Miss Seven want?" Lin Chen's face darkened.
Shen Siqi snorted coldly, "I don't want anything, I just want you to come out for a walk with me. Don't think I don't know that you just brought Sixth Sister back and you two went out for a walk today. Your ulterior motives towards Sixth Sister are obvious, but she is too concerned about the Emperor to see anyone else. Do you think you can fool me?"
As she said this, Shen Siqi's eyes were filled with jealousy. She was jealous that Shen Yunxi could get everything that others wanted so easily!
She's clearly engaged to the Emperor, yet she doesn't keep her distance from Lin Chen properly. It's infuriating!
Even if you consider him an older brother, it's wrong to get close to him!
Lin Chen's expression was indifferent. "Please forgive me for not being able to do that. If Miss Seven wishes to go out, the Shen family has plenty of servants, and anyone can take her out. As for me, I have never had any improper thoughts, especially towards Yunxi. It is nothing more than affection and care. Say what you will. Farewell."
After saying that, Lin Chen did not turn around no matter how much Shen Siqi called him from behind, unwilling to have any further interaction with her.
As for her saying she would tell Shen Yunxi, that's probably impossible. Shen Siqi wouldn't want Shen Yunxi to know about Lin Chen's feelings for her, and she's also afraid that Shen Yunxi will turn around and like Lin Chen instead.
Watching Lin Chen leave without any hesitation, Shen Siqi felt even more hatred towards Shen Yunxi.
Shen Yunxi knew nothing about these things and didn't care about the people from the second and third wives' families. She understood that many things had to be done step by step and couldn't be accomplished overnight.
The most important thing to take seriously now is dealing with Shen Qiuyan. She remembers that Shen Qiuyan had her accident after the Lotus Viewing Festival.
Thinking of this, Shen Yunxi spoke with Lan Pei and then went to the Jiang family with gifts the next day.
The Jiang family can be considered a prominent family, with previous generations serving as key officials in the imperial court. However, starting with Jiang Wenye's grandfather, the family began to decline, resulting in a decreasing status among the prominent families in the capital.
If Shen Qiuyan hadn't married into the Jiang family, creating a kinship between the Jiang and Shen families, they would probably have been squeezed out of the ranks of aristocratic families.
Madam Jiang was no better. Shen Yunxi had no good impression of her. In her previous life, after she entered the palace, Madam Jiang wanted to use Shen Qiuyan to get her to achieve some goals for the Jiang family, but Shen Qiuyan disagreed.
When Shen Qiuyan thought that her younger sister was not doing well in the palace and was unwilling to come to see her, Old Madam Jiang used all sorts of tricks to deal with Shen Qiuyan, and was thoroughly tormented by her.
Today's main purpose is not to do anything to Madam Jiang, but to persuade Shen Qiuyan.
Thinking of Shen Qiuyan's daughter, Shen Yunxi specially prepared two sets of beautiful clothes for the little girl, as she also liked the little girl very much.
After getting ready, Shen Yunxi went to the Jiang family.
Originally, Shen Yunxi was going to take Shen Anyu with her, but Shen Anyu didn't like the Jiang family and didn't want to go to Shen Qiuyan, so Shen Yunxi didn't force her. This also saved Old Madam Jiang from gossiping about Shen Anyu behind her back.
Because she had sent her visiting card to the Jiang family a day in advance, when Shen Yunxi arrived at the Jiang family's gate, the gatekeeper, knowing her identity, let her in.
Accompanying Shen Yunxi were two maids, Zhizhi and Cai'er. It's always more convenient to have maids with you when you're out and about.
Before long, Shen Yunxi and her two servants arrived at Shen Qiuyan's courtyard, led by a maid from the Jiang family.
This wasn't Shen Yunxi's first visit, but she and Shen Qiuyan hadn't seen each other for a long time.
Upon entering the house, Zhizhi stood guard outside the door, leaving the room for the two sisters to talk. Cai'er took the gifts to the front hall to hand them over to the servants. It just so happened that Old Madam Jiang was not in the mansion today, which Shen Yunxi thought was perfect, as she would not have to interact with Old Madam Jiang.
Inside the room, Shen Qiuyan lay half-reclined on a soft couch. She had been feeling unwell for the past few days and had fallen ill. Worried that the illness would affect her daughter, she didn't even dare to see her.
As for Jiang Wenye, upon hearing that Shen Qiuyan was ill, he didn't even glance at her and spent the night in his concubine's room.
Shen Yunxi entered the bedroom and immediately saw Shen Qiuyan lying on the soft couch. "Sister, I'm here. How have you been feeling these past few days?"
Shen Qiuyan slowly sat up. "Yunxi, I originally wanted you to come two days later. My cold has not yet healed properly, and I was worried about passing on my illness to you. However, I was concerned about how you would be doing after entering the palace. I didn't get much news about you from the manor, so I allowed you to come. Stay away from me and don't get sick, or you will feel unwell."
“Sister, don’t worry. I just caught a cold and am not afraid of catching it again. But you look so pale. Hasn’t your husband taken good care of you?” Shen Yunxi asked.
Although she knew in her heart that Jiang Wenye was unreliable, a womanizer, and indifferent to Shen Qiuyan, Shen Yunxi couldn't say it directly.
A hint of disappointment flashed across Shen Qiuyan's face. "My husband is quite busy, so it's understandable that he can't take care of me. Besides, one of his concubines is already pregnant, and the doctor said it's a boy. It's only natural that your brother-in-law is worried about her."
Shen Yunxi frowned. How could Shen Qiuyan have known this at this moment?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
