Rebirth of a Concubine's Daughter

Shen Rongying stood up suddenly. Dongmei looked back in confusion and saw a woman with waist-length hair and a pale face smiling at them under the window in the inner room. Before she could say anything, Shen Rongying ran out. Dongmei followed her immediately. Without even daring to turn her heads, they ran to the wall in one breath and pushed hard towards the hole.

Shen Rongying's skirt was torn into pieces. She ran back to the yard in a hurry, without even taking off her shoes. She jumped onto the bed and hid under the quilt, shivering. Dongmei closed the doors and windows and sat on the ground.

For a long time, no one said a word, and the only sound in the room was their frightened gasps.

Neither of them closed their eyes until it gradually became brighter outside the window.

"Dongmei, did you...did you see it?"

"Miss, don't dare go there again. That yard is no longer clean. It must be the people who served Aunt Lan before. They were all killed in that yard."

"Don't say it, don't say it. It was Daddy and Mrs. Lu who killed them. It has nothing to do with us. Don't be afraid. You... have someone bring some candles and gold ingots to burn them. No, you go and burn them yourself. Go burn them under the courtyard wall. If they have any grudges or hatred, they can go to Shen Zongyuan and Mrs. Lu instead of me."

"My lady, I'm scared!"

"You useless thing! That thing didn't do anything to us last night. What are you afraid of? It's broad daylight. If you're really scared, find someone to accompany you. But don't let anyone know where we were last night. Also, have Nanny Huang come in and keep watch."

When it was daybreak, Dongmei called Madam Huang to her room, and she found the gatekeeper to go burn paper together. Dongmei felt a little more at ease with the presence of a man.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Shen Nanyan packed up and took Shen Yunzhi out. She first accompanied him to meet his uncle and aunt, talked to the elders about his son's life, and then the two of them went to Jinglanju. This teahouse was recently opened by Su Xinyuan. The environment is elegant and the design is ingenious. Not only can you enjoy tea, but you can also order singing performances. It is very popular among literati and poets.

Manager Cao took the two of them to the private room upstairs, where Su Xinyuan had been waiting for a long time.

"Big brother, but you've been waiting for a long time."

"It's fine. It's just that lunch is almost here. Why did we meet here?"

"Have a cup of tea to warm your stomach. You'll be able to eat more later. Big brother, are you treating us today?"

"Shouldn't it be Commander Shen who treats us? I'm just an ordinary citizen."

"Please, it must be me who treats you. All these shops of Yan'er's are thanks to you and uncle. I should have treated you a long time ago, but I was too busy and put it off until now. Big brother, please don't mind."

"There's no need to talk about this between us brothers. Besides, it's because of Yan'er that our lives have changed dramatically. I can't thank her enough."

"I heard Xinrong had some trouble recently. Is he okay?"

"Alas, he's been trapped in the house all day and is almost exhausted. I don't know how he became like this."

"There must be a reason. Look at who he interacts with on a daily basis and who takes him to which places."

"I don't think these are the main points. The main point is how to make my second cousin change for the better. I'm afraid I need to put in some more effort."

Shen Nanyan thought of what Wu You had said before, about the place in her world where people could quit gambling. It was a pity that she couldn't send Su Xinrong there.

The three siblings chatted for a while, and the shopkeeper knocked on the door and said that the person Shen Nanyan was waiting for had arrived. Shen Nanyan went out and stood by the railing and saw Shen Rongying at a glance, then turned around and nodded to the shopkeeper, who saluted and left.

"You asked her out?"

Shen Yunzhi didn't understand why his sister wanted to meet Shen Rongying. Last night, Aunt Su had already told him everything that had happened in the Shen family in recent days, so he didn't think there was any need for Shen Nanyue and Shen Rongying to meet.

A servant led Shen Rongying upstairs, but when passing a room on the second floor, Shen Rongying suddenly stopped. The servant did not urge her, but let her put her ear to the door and listen. After a while, Shen Rongying pushed the door open. The servant wanted to step forward to stop her, but Shen Rongying had already rushed into the room, and then a scream came from the room.

Shen Nanyan curved her eyes and smiled, then turned around and said.

"Okay, where are we going to eat? I'm starving."

Shen Yunzhi and Su Xinyuan were stunned for a moment.

"Don't you have an appointment? Why are you leaving?"

"She didn't say I had to meet her even though we made an appointment. Besides, she's already met the people she was supposed to meet. Forget about it. Let's go. I'm hungry."

The three of them left amidst a slight commotion on the second floor.

In the room on the second floor, Shen Lingxi was pulling at the inner garment of the Third Prince Lu Yichen, trying to cover her body, while Lu Yichen was looking at Shen Rongying expressionlessly.

"Get out!"

"Third Prince, please forgive me. I didn't mean to intrude, but... it was my elder sister who asked me to come. I don't know what my elder sister meant by this. If you were going to meet the Third Prince... why did you send me here? I'm already engaged!"

Shen Rongying said that she shouldn't have come, but she had no intention of leaving. At the same time, her words immediately made the suspicious Third Prince alert. Shen Lingxi, who had been unwilling to have further contact with him today, suddenly committed herself to him, but at the same time let his sister appear here. This was definitely not a coincidence. It was very likely that she wanted to plot against him. It was also his fault for being careless. He thought that if someone was guarding the door, it would attract more attention, so he withdrew the guards. Unexpectedly, Shen Rongying was allowed to push the door open and enter.

Lu Yichen didn't say anything. Shen Lingxi naturally knew what he was thinking and hurriedly wiped her tears and started crying.

"Fourth sister, when and where did I tell you to come here to find me? I've been in love with the Third Prince for years. How could I possibly be with him...with...how could I possibly ask someone else to come at this time? Aren't you jealous of the Third Prince's kindness to me and want to destroy our relationship?"

"It's just a matter of one sentence. What evidence do I have to prove that it was my sister who asked me to come? Third Prince, please treat it as me trespassing and disturbing you. Please punish me."

Shen Rongying slowly knelt down and apologized.

The two sisters each insisted on their own words. Although Shen Rongying had already bowed her head and confessed her guilt, it was not sincere. The third prince turned around and looked at Shen Lingxi, who was crying like rain, and suddenly lost all interest. He pulled his clothes back from Shen Lingxi's hand, put them on himself silently, then stood up and walked to Shen Rongying, looking down at her.

The Third Prince had seen too many overt and covert struggles between women. He thought it was just a girl throwing a tantrum. But if Shen Lingxi used such means to force him to marry her, that would be different. Otherwise, how could he explain that Shen Rongying happened to be in this room without any bias, unless she had known about it in advance.

The third prince reached out and gently lifted Shen Rongying up, stroking the back of her hand with his fingertips with a hint of playfulness.

"No problem, now that you're here, just talk to your elder sister."

Amid the sisters' confusion, Lu Yichen left quickly. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't worth it for a woman.