Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

For the first time, Shen Zhiyi recounted his past experiences to Tao Jiuxi.

For a long time, Shen Yuquan had been overly doting on the Bai family, leading to an extremely cold attitude towards Xie Ningqiu and her son. In moments of rage, he had repeatedly declared that he would not acknowledge Shen Zhiyi, the so-called rebellious son.

Since childhood, Shen Zhiyi could only watch his mother Xie Ningqiu being ruthlessly neglected by his father, and repeatedly being deliberately framed and wantonly bullied by the Bai family.

Even though Bai's methods were a bit crude and full of flaws, Shen Yuquan always favored her without any reason.

Perhaps, Xie Ningqiu's stubborn personality and her inability to please others tactfully made it difficult for her to win Shen Yuquan's favor.

But no matter what, those were the bitter sufferings that his mother had experienced. The resentment in Shen Zhiyi's heart had never diminished in the slightest, and he had never forgiven his father's indifference.

On the other hand, Xie Ningqiu seemed to have gradually lost those painful memories of the past just because of Shen Yuquan's recent kind words of comfort, which made Shen Zhiyi feel even more helpless.

Shen Zhiyi then introduced the situation at his home.

In addition to his wife, Shen Yuquan had four concubines. The favored one was Bai, Liu was a quiet woman, Zhou only entered the mansion four years ago, and another one passed away ten years ago.

Shen Yuquan had five children in total. The eldest son, Shen Zhifeng, and the eldest daughter, Shen Muya, were born to Bai; Liu had a daughter named Shen Muyao, who was only six years old; Zhou gave birth to a son, Shen Zhicong, two years ago.

After talking about the situation at home, the two went to the flower hall together.

The atmosphere in the flower hall was a little stiff and solemn.

"Sir Shen, today I have only prepared some simple tea and rice and a few glasses of wine. I hope you will not mind." Tao Hongyuan said politely with a smile on his face.

"We are relatives, so please don't be so formal. I would like to thank Lord and Madam Tao for their warm hospitality."

"Lord Tao has raised his two daughters so well. I heard that the eldest princess also speaks highly of your daughter. The eldest daughter is elegant and graceful, and her talent is well-known. The second daughter is also very knowledgeable and kind-hearted."

"Master Shen, thank you for your compliment! Your son..."

“He is also young and promising.”

Tao Jiuxi looked at Shen Zhiyi and smiled quietly. It was obvious that Tao Hongyuan did not really want to praise Shen Zhiyi.

Shen Zhiyi looked indifferent, thinking to himself, let these two old men say whatever they want.

Despite this, Shen Yuquan enjoyed the meal quite well.

Shen Zhiyi neither stormed out nor argued with him, which made Shen Yuquan quite satisfied and happy.

Shen Yuquan wanted to get closer to Shen Zhiyi, so he said, "Yier, now that you're engaged to the Princess of Anping, you should be more calm and prudent in your actions. You must not act as recklessly as you did in the past. You must put your family first and treat the Princess well."

Shen Zhiyi glanced at Shen Yuquan and thought to himself that if he could treat him and his son well since childhood, he would definitely agree with his words now.

However, he only treated himself like this because he was now a Duke.

Shen Zhiyi just looked at Shen Yuquan quietly without answering. For a moment, Shen Yuquan seemed quite embarrassed.

Seeing this, Tao Hongyuan immediately came to the rescue and said, "Xier, when you get married, you must be sensible and well-behaved, and be filial to your parents and elders."

"Yes, father."

Everyone in the court knew that Shen Yuquan and Shen Zhiyi, father and son, had been at odds for a long time, so it was not surprising that Tao Hongyuan and his son exchanged such words.

When they finished their meal and were about to say goodbye, Shen Yuquan wanted to go back with Shen Zhiyi, but after he said goodbye, he saw that Shen Zhiyi was still sitting there, with no intention of getting up and leaving.

"Duke Shen, it's getting late."

"Father-in-law, I'm not in a hurry."

Seeing that Shen Zhiyi was determined to stay for a while, Tao Hongyuan and Shen Yuquan had no choice.

Three days later, there will be an engagement banquet.

Tao Jiuxi thought that for such an occasion, he should carefully select some gifts for Shen Zhiyi's mother and his half-sisters and brothers.

So, after carefully selecting some quite valuable gifts in the market, she thought of the exquisite and ingenious wood carvings made by Fang Mingxiu's grandfather's family, and thought that if she could buy some as gifts, it would definitely add a lot of color.

He then took Tao Qingwan with him to go to Fang Mingxiu's grandfather's house to buy things.

Only then did Tao Jiuxi realize that Fang Mingxiu's family had moved into a new house.

While the new house wasn't particularly grand or extravagant, it was clearly far superior to their previous residence, radiating elegance and tranquility. The master, servants, and maidservants slowly made their way there in a carriage.

Before the carriage arrived at the gate of Fang's house, Tao Jiuxi and Tao Qingwan saw two familiar faces through the window.

One of them was Fang Mingxiu's grandmother, and the other was Song Wantang, who had made tea for Shen Zhiyi at the polo match.

Song Wantang and Fang Mingxiu's grandmother were seen chatting happily, with a familiarity in their words and expressions. It was obvious that this was not the first time they met.

Tao Qingwan sat upright in the carriage. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but frown slightly, and her beautiful eyes were full of confusion.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally decided to suppress her curiosity for the time being and did not get off the carriage to find out what was going on.

Tao Jiuxi caught a glimpse of Tao Qingwan's dejected face and asked softly, "Sister, what on earth is going on?"

Tao Qingwan sighed slightly and said slowly, "Miss Song, half a month ago, I happened to see Fang Mingxiu's grandmother fall on the roadside and kindly took her home. Only after I got her home did I realize it was Fang Mingxiu's grandmother. Mr. Fang only mentioned this to me, and I know nothing else."

"Are we still going today?"

Tao Qingwan shook her head lightly, her expression gloomy: "I'm not going."

Although Tao Jiuxi was a little curious, she respected Tao Qingwan's decision.

She knew in her heart that Song Wantang, as the daughter of the Left Prime Minister, was of noble status and would never be so attentive to an old lady for no reason.

Seeing how familiar the two of them are with each other, this must be more than just their interaction.

Tao Jiuxi pondered for a moment, but couldn't help but say, "Sister, if there is any misunderstanding between you and Mr. Fang, it must be resolved in time. This is something I have learned from personal experience."

Tao Qingwan let out a bitter smile, her eyes filled with loneliness and embarrassment. "He only told me that once. If I hadn't bumped into him today, I would definitely still be in the dark. But, how can I ask him..."

Seeing Tao Qingwan like this, Tao Jiuxi hurriedly comforted her, "I'm not too sure about your daily habits, but if it were me, I would definitely ask directly. Of course, sister, no matter what decision you make, I will support you behind you."

"I know."