Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Shen Wantang clenched her fist slightly, her expression somewhat cold.

Even if one rises to the position of Grand Secretary, a single word from the Emperor can still lead to the destruction of one's family and even the loss of one's most beloved daughter.

The Duke's mansion, too, despite its immense wealth and power, could not escape being wiped out.

There is indeed only one path to truly take control of one's own destiny.

Many things are different in this life compared to the last. For the first time, Shen Wantang felt that Gu Qianhan could really succeed.

She took a deep breath and asked Qin Xin, "What's Meng Yunlan's situation now? Is she at the Meng family or the Duke's mansion?"

"The eldest young mistress is in our mansion right now. She came back crying today. As soon as she got back, she went to the main courtyard to ask the madam for help and even had someone call the eldest young master back from the Ministry of War."

"What do you mean? Have Mother and Eldest Brother helped the Meng family?"

"How could that be? Madam scolded Lord Meng and Madam Meng in front of the eldest young mistress, and strictly forbade the eldest young master from getting involved in this matter. The eldest young master also knew the seriousness of the matter and did not speak up for the eldest young mistress. The Duke has been in the palace and has not returned yet. I heard that he was implicated by Lord Meng, his in-law, and was scolded by the Emperor!"

Shen Wantang nodded. She knew that the emperor had long wanted to deal with the Duke's mansion, and this was just an excuse to deliberately use the Meng family's affairs to scold Gu Rongchang.

Otherwise, if Meng Deguang were to keep the daughter of the former prime minister, Gu Rongchang, his father-in-law, would never have been held responsible.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing."

"what's up?"

"Miss Pei, the eldest daughter of the Prince's Mansion, has arrived!"

Shen Wantang was stunned for a long time and couldn't remember who this Miss Pei was.

She only remembered that Madam Gu had a nephew named Pei Lin'an, but she didn't remember that she also had a niece!

Qin Xin could tell from her expression that she was puzzled, so she whispered, "Master, this Miss Pei is not actually the Prince's biological daughter. She is the daughter that his second wife brought to the Prince's mansion."

Shen Wantang was stunned. She knew that the Prince's first wife had died early and that he had remarried, but she had never heard that the new Princess Consort actually had a daughter!

"I've heard that the Prince's second wife is very beautiful and has a gentle and quiet personality, and her daughter is even more beautiful than her mother."

Qin Xin lowered her voice even further: "However, that Miss Pei did not originally live in the Prince's Mansion. Instead, she lived with her grandmother. After her grandmother passed away, she was brought to the Prince's Mansion. The Prince liked Miss Pei very much, and Miss Pei respected the Prince very much. She even changed her surname to show her filial piety."

"However, I heard that Miss Pei is not actually liked by our Madam, and is even somewhat disliked. I don't know why, but she actually came to the Duke's mansion to visit Madam."

Even Qin Xin couldn't find out the gossip, so Shen Wantang was even less able to understand it.

She couldn't help but glance back at the direction of the main courtyard, where she saw bright lights and bustling crowds, knowing that it must be quite lively there.

Just then, a nanny rushed over.

"Second Young Madam, you're back. Madam says she needs you to come over; a guest has arrived."

Shen Wantang knew she was going to see Miss Pei, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll change my clothes and head over now."

She returned to her own courtyard, changed into clothes suitable for receiving guests, and then went to the main courtyard with her maid.

Upon entering the room, she saw a graceful and gentle beauty sitting to the left of Madam Gu.

But she had already heard Qin Xin describe the beauty's appearance, so she wasn't surprised. What surprised her was that the beauty, sitting there, looked five or six parts similar to Meng Yunlan from the side, and even their sitting posture was very similar!

"Tang'er is here!"

Madam Gu smiled and beckoned to Shen Wantang: "Come here."

Despite the huge incident that happened to the Meng family today, Madam Gu was still able to smile. Even Shen Wantang admired her strong heart.

However, when she got closer, she realized that the smile on Madam Gu's face did not reach her eyes.

Clearly, she was putting on an act for that Miss Pei.

Shen Wantang smiled faintly and walked to Madam Gu's side: "As soon as I returned, I heard that Mother had guests, so I came over immediately. May I ask who this is...?"

“Her maiden name is Yingzhu. She is my brother’s daughter. She is a few years older than you, so you can call her sister.”

Shen Wantang readily complied and stepped forward to greet Pei Yingzhu, saying, "Greetings, elder sister."

Pei Yingzhu also stood up to return the greeting, her eyes smiling: "I had heard that my second cousin had married a wonderful wife, and now that I have met her, I know that the rumors are true. Look at her demeanor, so elegant and noble. She and my second cousin are truly a match made in heaven."

She has an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and fair, jade-like skin. She speaks softly and gently, with a tender and affectionate tone, and her expression is incredibly sincere, making it easy for people to develop a liking for her.

However, from the front, she and Meng Yunlan have absolutely no resemblance.

"Sister, you flatter me. I am just the most insignificant one in this family."

Shen Wantang couldn't figure out Pei Yingzhu's background yet, so she didn't say much. After exchanging a few polite words, she sat down on the chair next to her mother-in-law.

She guessed that she wasn't the main character today. Her mother-in-law had probably called her here to give Pei Yingzhu a hard time, hoping to make her back down and leave the Duke's mansion.

Sure enough, after chatting for a short while, the mother-in-law used the excuse of praising her to subtly belittle Pei Yingzhu.

Pei Yingzhu, however, seemed to be used to being ridiculed. Her expression did not fluctuate much. She just smiled gently and occasionally responded with a word or two, without being annoyed or angry.

Pei Yingzhu's expression changed slightly only after Gu Qianling entered.

When Gu Qianling saw his cousin, he was clearly also emotionally affected, but he quickly suppressed it.

Shen Wantang watched all of this, drinking tea and observing the spectacle.

Rarely did she have a moment when she didn't have to deal with people, so she was happy to gossip and fully experienced Qin Xin's eagerness to hear gossip and her simple, pure joy.

Gu Qianling greeted Pei Yingzhu politely: "Greetings, cousin. Is everything alright with your uncle?"

"I have met my cousin. My father is doing well."

As Pei Yingzhu spoke, she had a maid bring over a box and personally handed it to Gu Qianling: "Cousin, this is an ancient book that Father specifically instructed me to bring to you. He said that you had been looking for it, and he had also gone to great lengths to find it. Please take a look, cousin."

Gu Qianling took the box, opened it, took out the ancient book, carefully flipped through it, and then smiled: "It really is the book I've been looking for. Uncle really loves me, he even found this for me. When you go back, please be sure to thank Uncle for me."