You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

In such a grand and imposing setting, it would be virtually impossible for the Empress to know the true details, unless she could plant spies in the Shen residence.

But she didn't think so much about it at the time, and Xie Wanru never complained because it was her own choice, so she never knew.

Xie Wanru embellished the story of the Shen family to the Empress, which made the Empress cry again.

He immediately sent someone to invite the Crown Prince over. The Crown Prince was on good terms with the eldest son of the Shen family. In the past, when the person was unconscious, they couldn't be managed. Now that Shen Cong had woken up, he should take good care of the Shen family's mess.

The Crown Prince happened to come to pay his respects to the Empress, and was quite surprised to see that both the Empress and Xie Wanru had tears in their eyes.

"Mother, why are you and Wanwan both crying?"

Xiao Long had never seen Xie Wanru cry since she came of age, which was quite surprising. He was older than Xie Wanru, but he was often beaten to tears by her when they were young, and his past experiences were simply unbearable to recall.

The Empress then tearfully explained the reason to him, asking him, as her sworn brother, to go to the Shen family to avenge Xie Wanru.

“Aunt Rou, I chose to marry into the Shen family myself. Shen Nian’an didn’t like me anyway, so I can’t blame anyone else.”

Xie Wanru cried.

Xiao Long almost blurted out, "Xie Wanru, stop pretending!"

When he met Xie Wanru at the Shen residence, he knew that this sworn sister was not as simple as she seemed on the surface, and was definitely not the type who couldn't handle the Shen family.

If he really couldn't handle it, Xie Wanru would have had plenty of opportunities to complain to him when he was at the Shen family home.

Given their friendship, Xiao Long would have no problem getting him to deal with Shen Nian'an, but Xie Wanru didn't say anything until she was in front of the Empress Dowager. What was the meaning behind that?

"Wanwan."

When the Empress saw Xie Wanru crying, she felt even more distressed.

"Mother, I will go to the Shen family right away. Please stop crying."

"Your Highness, please wait a moment."

Xie Wanru stopped Xiao Long.

“Aunt Rou, Shen Nian’an already has a problem with me. If His Highness the Crown Prince goes there, it will only make him dislike me more. Let me think of another way.”

The Empress was somewhat uneasy. She thought it would be best for the Crown Prince to make the trip, so that he could remind the Shen family and also allow Shen Cong'an to persuade Shen Nian'an.

Xie Wanru insisted on not letting the Crown Prince go, saying that it would make Shen Nian'an lose face and would be detrimental to their relationship.

In short, the Crown Prince didn't manage to go to the Shen residence to teach people a lesson, but he still felt uneasy about it.

Wasn't Xie Wanru's crying all this time just to get someone to deal with Shen Nian'an?

The scene in the Empress's palace naturally reached the Emperor's ears. He sighed and added some things to the memorial sent to the Northern Border, as if this would ease his conscience.

At this moment, Fu Rou brought Shen Yu'er to the Shen residence. Shen Nian'an had said he would let her in, but now that the New Year was approaching, there had been no progress. So she brought her daughter directly to the residence.

"Mother, didn't Father say we weren't allowed to come here by ourselves?"

Shen Yu'er's voice was soft.

"Yu'er, this is your home. You are a young lady of the Shen family. Why can't you come here?"

Fu Rou picked up her daughter and walked towards the Shen family's gate.

Upon hearing that it was the Second Master's mistress, the gatekeeper hurriedly went in to report.

Shen Nian'an was throwing a tantrum in the courtyard of Old Madam Shen, shouting that she wanted to divorce Xie Wanru, when she heard a servant say that Fu Rou had arrived with her daughter.

"Luckily, Xie Wanru isn't in the manor. Quickly bring her in through the back door. If she refuses to come in through the back door, beat her to death with sticks!"

Madam Shen was already in a bad mood when Fu Rou came knocking on her door.

She was told not to let Xie Wanru find out and to obediently wait for arrangements. It hasn't been long since then, and she's already come to our door with the child.

“Mother, why should Rou’er have to use the back door? She has Yu’er with her. If she uses the back door, the servants will laugh at her.”

Upon hearing that Fu Rou had arrived, Shen Nian'an's tantrum immediately vanished.

"Fine! Then you and this slut can get out of the Shen mansion together! I've never seen anyone as stupid as you in my life, so bewitched by a vixen!"

Madam Shen was furious and slammed her cane heavily on the ground.

"Get out of the Shen family! Get out!"

First, they made Shen Yanzhi acknowledge her ancestors and test the Shen family's tolerance. Then, they made her a concubine. It was only then that Old Madam Shen realized that this woman probably intended to become her son's legal wife.

Although she didn't like Xie Wanru either, she wouldn't let such a woman become her son's legal wife.

Realizing that her mother was really angry, Shen Nian'an stopped fooling around and immediately knelt down.

“Mother, please calm down! Rou’er and Yu’er are innocent. They just wanted to visit me. I will handle everything. Please give your children a chance.”

Shen Nian'an knelt down before Old Madam Shen with a thud.

"Moreover, Mother, Xie Wanru is unwilling to share a room with her son. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself. If she is unwilling, why shouldn't her son have a concubine? You should have made this clear to her long ago."

His commotion was just an attempt to get his mother to put pressure on Xie Wanru, but Xie Wanru wouldn't listen to a word he said.

Moreover, he also wanted to bring Fu Rou back to the mansion, so he always went out in the dark at night, which was really torturous.

“Nian’an, wake up! Although Xie Wanru is not what you want, she is still your lawfully wedded wife, and she has the Empress backing her up. How can you be so rash? As for Fu Rou and Yu’er, their identities are already sensitive. You should handle them carefully to avoid giving others something to say.”

Old Madam Shen spoke earnestly, deeply understanding the importance of family honor and unwilling to see Shen Nian'an ruin the Shen family's future for her own selfish desires.

"This Shen family already has enough to make this old woman suffer with just one unruly and disrespectful woman. If you bring another one to provoke me, I might as well just die now and let you turn the Shen family upside down."

This time, Madam Shen was truly furious.

Fu Rou was so eager to enter the manor that she disregarded Yan Zhi's future.

Her sudden visit to the Shen family was surely to tell Xie Wanru that she was Shen Nian'an's mistress and had given birth to a son and a daughter for Shen Nian'an.

But as a mistress, she couldn't help Shen Yanzhi in the future, no matter how much trouble she caused.

"Mother, your son dares not."

Shen Nian'an knelt on the ground, not daring to get up or disobey again, because he clearly saw the ferocity in his mother's expression. If he argued with his mother again, he was afraid she would faint from anger.

"All you ever think about is divorcing Xie Wanru. Let me ask you, without the Xie family's marriage, what do you have left that you can still boast about? Do you really think your father and I don't know what you've been doing?"

Madam Shen tried her best to calm herself down.

"What you need to do now is not to bring that woman who only lays eggs into the family, but to find a way to please Xie Wanru and make her devoted to you. Only then will you have a chance to rise above others. You have also seen how much the Empress dotes on her. Otherwise, do you think you have any hope of making it on your own or in this Yong'an Marquis's mansion?"