Princess Menglang is hard to change, the whole capital is embarrassed for her

In the capital, several ancestors fell ill because of Shen Li's murder.

There were reports that the old lady of the General of Cavalry's mansion, the old lady of the Marquis of Guanyong's mansion, and the Empress Dowager in the palace were so heartbroken that they could not eat.

Even the wife of Duke Wei ran to the Shen family's mourning hall sadly, and burst into tears after burning incense.

After crying, the Duke's wife left the Shen family's gate. Before she could even get into her sedan chair and leave, one of the ladies who was worshipping with her said angrily, "At Miss Shen's funeral hall, apart from the children of the second wife who were keeping vigil in an orderly manner, none of the children of the first wife showed up. This is outrageous."

A lady nearby looked around and whispered, "People outside are saying that the twin children of the Shen family's eldest wife might not be Shen Zhaojiang's biological children."

The Duke of Wei's wife was startled and said quickly, "Don't dare to talk about such things."

"I'm not talking nonsense," the lady said. "If you don't believe me, you can ask someone to go out and ask around. This story has been spread everywhere, and the stories are really bad."

Seeing the Duke of Wei's wife's surprise, she curled her lips and whispered closer, "There are many rumors out there. Some say that not long ago, the eldest son of the Shen family seemed to have been stimulated by something and his brainpower has transformed into that of a three-year-old child. Others say that his daughter might even be broken off from engagement by the Second Prince..."

"Break off the engagement? Why?" Lady Wei was shocked. She was under the control of Yuan Mengxing and had not been in the circle of ladies for a long time.

I didn't expect that I would get so much jaw-dropping news just by going out.

"No reason. I heard that the Empress's dethronement was related to Xiao Zhaoshi. Do you think the Second Prince has no hatred for her? I'm afraid he even wants to kill her. Under such circumstances, how could the Second Prince marry the daughter of his enemy? Even if he really did marry her, would he have a good life?"

"But wasn't Xiao Zhao divorced? Even though she's the mother of Second Miss Shen, there's still the Emperor's decree granting the marriage. The Second Prince wouldn't dare to cancel the engagement just like that, right?"

"You're right," the lady said with a smile. "Logically, with the Emperor's decree granting the marriage, the engagement shouldn't be called off so easily. But Miss Shen's status as an 'illegitimate daughter' makes her unsuitable. How can the royal family so easily marry someone whose bloodline is not clean and clear? With such a stain, even the decree would have to be revoked, and the Zongzheng Temple alone wouldn't approve it."

"Illegitimate daughter?" Lady Wei was so frightened that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. "This is a big deal. I have to make sure it's confirmed before I dare to say it."

"Why haven't you confirmed it? You might not know yet, but the rumors are all there. Think about it, Xiao Zhao clearly married Shen Zhaojiang ten years ago, but her children are already thirteen years old. Tell me, if they aren't illegitimate children, what else can they be?"

The wife of the Duke of Wei fell silent.

In fact, she had heard about this matter a long time ago, and it was possible that many of the noble families in the capital had also heard something about it. But with the old prime minister around, who would say more?

"It's all because of that illegitimate daughter being too domineering. She blocked the coffin from entering the house for no reason. Miss Shen's maid also got angry and started shouting in front of so many people."

The lady finished her words and sighed, "The master was humiliated, and the maid would rather die than speak up for him. How pitiful! But who is the one who actually spread this story throughout the capital?"

"Who?"

"They were the neighbors who had received favors from Miss Shen and her daughter. You wouldn't have thought it, would you? Especially those women. Which one hadn't fought with a concubine? Which one hadn't been let down by the men in their families? After hearing what happened to Xiao Zhao and her daughter, how could they hold back? If his housekeeper hadn't stopped them quickly, they would have almost scratched Miss Shen's face. They didn't get their face scratched, and they didn't vent their anger. So, the women went out and spread the news everywhere, and the story became known to everyone in an instant."

Thinking of the old prime minister, the wife of the Duke of Wei couldn't bear it and sighed deeply, "Let's not talk about this matter. I don't know how angry the old prime minister will be after something like this happened. No matter what, the old prime minister is still fair and just, otherwise he wouldn't have sent the housekeeper to help preside over the funeral. After all, the old prime minister has been strong all his life, but in the end, he was implicated by his daughter and couldn't face the public. He is also a pitiful man."

After hearing what she said, the others thought it made sense, so they stopped talking and said goodbye and left.

After they left, a carriage slowly came out from the corner.

Sitting in the carriage were Da Zhao and Wen Wanying, both with gloomy faces. Wen Wanying lifted the curtain and watched the carriage arrive at the gate of the Shen Mansion. She was reluctant to get off for a long time.

"Mom, do we have to go in?" Wen Wanying asked Da Zhao in a low voice.

Mrs. Zhao didn't say anything, but also glanced at the Shen family's gate through the curtain.

After a while, he said, "Go down."

"But mother, listen to what those people say, it's so unpleasant. I don't want to be embarrassed by following my aunt and cousin Yao."

"Silly child, they are who they are, and we are who we are. It won't affect them," Mrs. Zhao knew her daughter was very proud, so she had to coax her patiently. "On the contrary, we came here specially to pay our respects, which shows everyone how well-educated you are."

Wen Wanying frowned, thought for a moment, nodded, and said bitterly, "That bitch Shen Li got a bargain, and she even made me burn incense for her."

The eldest Zhao smiled in a reproachful manner. "You are talking nonsense again, aren't you? She is dead, and you are still alive. Is there a more obvious victory than this?"

When Wen Wanying heard this, her expression suddenly brightened up. "Mom is right. We should burn incense for her only after she dies. Let's go, let's go downstairs."

"Get out of the car." Da Zhao ordered.

The maids following outside hurried forward, lifted the curtain, and helped the mother and daughter out of the carriage.

As soon as they came down, the expressions on Da Zhao and Wen Wanying's faces changed, filled with sadness, regret and unspeakable sympathy.

The Shen family's house was covered in white from the front door all the way inside.

It was the butler of the Prime Minister's Mansion who came out to greet the two people. Mrs. Zhao knew the old butler's status in front of her father, so she did not dare to be arrogant. She nodded in response and walked in with her daughter.

The masters were still chanting the Sutra of Rebirth. Sitting in the mourning hall were the third daughter of the second house, Shen Yan, the fourth daughter, Shen Lin, and their son Shen Shaolin.

Seeing Da Zhao and Wen Wanying come in to burn incense, he hurriedly stood up to return the greeting.

Da Zhao thought that Shen Yao was stupid. She didn't come to keep vigil at this time and was even angry. No wonder people outside said that she was not presentable.

Shen Zhaojiang was not at the mourning hall today. Fang Yao brought him a message, asking him to find a better place next to his sister's grave and bury Li'er there.

It stands to reason that a married girl should be buried in her husband's ancestral tomb, while an unmarried girl should be given to outsiders for burial and cannot be buried in her own ancestral tomb.

But he didn't dare to say it. Not only could he not say it, he had to hurry up.

Fang Yao said that if the best time for burial was missed, the entire Shen family would be in trouble.

He knew that Fang Yao was furious and was about to explode at this moment. Who would dare to provoke him?