Shen Tangning noticed Shen Chang's ashen face and turned to ask Chi Yan, "What happened? Father seems quite unhappy."
Could it be that the two of them had some kind of conflict?
Chi Yan secretly grumbled to himself:
A room full of fakes—it would be a miracle if I were happy.
He cleared his throat and glanced at Shen Chang out of the corner of his eye: "I'll tell you when we get back."
He was afraid that the other person would be further agitated.
Shen Tangning didn't press the matter further, but simply raised an eyebrow and sat up straight.
During the meal, although everyone noticed that Shen Chang looked unwell, neither Madam Shen nor Shen Ci paid him any attention.
Aunt Fang, however, noticed his displeasure and stood up to serve him more food: "Master, isn't this squirrel-shaped mandarin fish your favorite dish? Why aren't you eating?"
Shen Chang frowned and glanced at her, his tone not very pleasant: "You're pregnant, so don't do anything strenuous. Just let the servants handle these things."
Aunt Fang's smile froze, and she bit her lip in a somewhat aggrieved manner before sitting back down dejectedly.
Madam Shen raised her eyes, her expression indifferent.
servant?
How could he possibly consider Aunt Fang his mistress?
The atmosphere was a bit tense, but the meal was still completed peacefully.
...
After finishing their meal, Shen Tangning and Chi Yan should leave.
Once seated in the carriage, she looked at Chi Yan and asked, "Can you tell me now?"
He couldn't hold back any longer and immediately recounted the whole story vividly: "You didn't see how interesting your father's face was!"
After he finished speaking, he belatedly fell silent.
Oops! He really is her father. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for him to be so gloating?
Shen Tangning curled her lips: "My father is a man who loves face and covets power. Unfortunately, he came from a poor family and has not seen much of the world. He never lets us into his study. Otherwise, if he had asked my mother for advice, he wouldn't have suffered such a great loss."
Madam Shen comes from the Xie family, a family with a rich heritage, so distinguishing the authenticity of calligraphy and paintings is not a difficult task for her.
Unfortunately, Shen Chang treated her like a thief, so she naturally wouldn't go out of her way to make a fool of herself.
Chi Yan listened with a sigh. He only knew that Shen Chang doted on his concubine, Fang Yiniang, but he did not expect that he would be so distant from his wife.
Historically, favoring concubines over wives has never ended well. He had worked so hard to get to this point, yet he still committed such a grave mistake.
He looked at Shen Tangning tentatively: "Aren't you heartbroken? After all, it's your family's money that's being spent!"
She seemed to have heard a joke, and her lips twitched slightly: "That's not necessarily true."
——
Upon arriving at Aunt Fang's courtyard, Shen Chang finally erupted: "Look what you've done!"
Aunt Fang was completely bewildered. She had been holding back her grievances during the meal, and now she couldn't help but reveal them: "I don't know what I did wrong to make Master so angry?"
She gently turned her face away, her expression revealing suppressed grievances, yet even in her old age, she still possessed a captivating charm.
In the past, Shen Chang would have softened and gone to coax her, but now he was seething with anger, and seeing her like this only made him angrier: "How dare you say that? All the things you accepted were fakes!"
Aunt Fang paused, looking bewildered, and subconsciously asked, "What counterfeit?"
Shen Chang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot: "What else could it be but those calligraphy, paintings, and antiques!"
Aunt Fang's eyes widened: "How could it be a fake?"
Some of those items were gifts from officials, and some were purchased through intermediaries she asked.
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