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

But in Fu Rou's eyes, Aunt Liu was putting on a bad face in front of her, deliberately putting on an air of superiority.

She can't be Shen Nian'an's legal wife, and she can't be Liu either. She has two children to rely on, so what right does Aunt Liu have to swagger around in front of her?

“Aunt Liu, you’re not even the second wife yet, but you’re already putting on airs like a proper wife. My two children need to make a living, but you only give us fifty taels of silver a month. How are the three of us supposed to survive?”

Fu Rou questioned.

When Shen Nian'an wasn't around, her appearance changed.

Aunt Liu was taken aback by her question and stopped in her tracks. "Sister Su, you've probably misunderstood. The monthly allowance isn't something I can decide."

The concubine in the Shen family received a monthly stipend of thirty taels of silver, which was neither a lot nor a little. There was not much need to spend money in the mansion, so this amount was mainly used to buy some things that everyone liked.

Fu Rou has two children to raise, but all her food, clothing, and daily necessities come from the mansion. She already has much more than ordinary people, yet she is still not satisfied.

“If Sister Su feels this is unreasonable, she can talk to the old lady and ask her to raise the issue. I have no right to change it.”

Aunt Liu left after she finished speaking.

She wasn't the legal wife, and naturally never dared to dream of that position. All she wanted was to give birth to this child, raise him to adulthood, and have someone to rely on.

The only reason the Second Master is temporarily distributing the monthly stipends of their estate is because he doesn't yet have a legal wife. She's only responsible for collecting and distributing the stipends, but she doesn't care who gets more or less.

The position of principal wife is something these women could never even dream of.

Moreover, Aunt Liu really didn't expect that Fu Rou, a mistress, would complain that fifty taels of silver was too little.

When she first married into the family, she only received twenty taels of silver a month. Occasionally, the Second Master would give her a little extra, but Fu Rou would receive fifty taels at a time, which she still found insufficient.

A surge of hatred rose in Fu Rou's heart.

She never expected that entering the Shen family mansion would make her less wealthy than when she was hiding outside. At least when she was outside, she didn't lack money. But once she entered the Shen family mansion, she had to manage everything inside and out, and she started using the money she had saved up before.

At that time, Shen Nian'an would occasionally steal Xie Wanru's dowry, then pawn it to get money for Xie Wanru and her son.

So Shen Nian'an also deserves some credit for the things that were lost from the dowry.

In her past life, Fu Rou had amassed a fortune through years of managing this money, consistently providing Shen Yanzhi with substantial sums of money, which ensured that Shen Yanzhi always remembered her as his mother.

On the contrary, Xie Wanru, who was always strict, became an enemy in Shen Yanzhi's eyes.

Shen Nian'an arrived at Madam Shen's room.

"Are you going to sell off your land again?"

As soon as Shen Nian'an arrived, Old Madam Shen told him that she was preparing to sell a relatively remote piece of land in exchange for some cash.

“Sigh, when you and Xie Wanru divorced, didn’t part of her dowry disappear? To make up for it, the manor was emptied of its cash reserves. Now that prices are high, we can only sell some of it for now.”

Madam Shen looked dejected.

She would never willingly do such a thing; she would never touch the land unless absolutely necessary.

Most of the items in the mansion are worthless, and the valuable ones cannot be sold.

"And the courtyard you used to live in. It will cost a lot of money to repair it. We can't let people think that our Marquis's mansion can't even afford to repair a courtyard."

When Madam Shen spoke of this matter, she sighed again.

Shen Nian'an frowned. What did it matter to him whether the courtyard was repaired or not? His father didn't want him to stay there any longer.

Although Plum Garden is not exactly dilapidated, it is not a large place.

Previously, it was quite spacious with only Xie Wanru as the master. Now, with his family, two concubines, and Concubine Liu about to give birth, the whole family lives there, along with maids and servants, making it really crowded.

“Mother, since you’ve brought this up, let me tell you about Yanzhi. He’s getting older, and it’s not convenient for him to live in the same courtyard as his aunts. I hope you can help me talk to Father about marriage so that Yanzhi can go back to live in the East Garden.”

Shen Nian'an seems to have matured and become more composed lately because of the ups and downs she has experienced.

My eldest grandson has grown a year older after the New Year. At eight or nine years old, he's become more sensible. Living with a group of women every day, misunderstandings are inevitable.

"Well, I'll talk to him about it. Let him move in with me tonight and stay until the kitchen is ready over there, then he can move over."

"That's what Madam Shen said."

Shen Nian'an nodded gratefully. Shen Yanzhi had almost made him lose his temper, but at this moment, as his father, he still had to think about him.

This is the responsibility of being a father.

“An’er, you’ve grown up. You’re thinking about the children in everything you do, which is a good thing. Our Shen family’s current difficulties are only temporary. Now that spring is in full bloom, as long as you take good care of things, the business of each shop will definitely improve. I believe you can manage all of this well.”

Shen Nian'an was proud of the praise. He was never inferior to ordinary men when it came to his son and children.

Now, Madam Shen can only place all her hopes on him. Since Shen Cong'an woke up, he has not been very close to them.

The whole family knew the truth.

"Mother, I understand."

Perhaps realizing the trouble she had caused, Shen Nian'an was no longer arrogant.

“Your elder brother… Nian’an, you have already been convicted before the Emperor. It is likely that you will find it difficult to establish yourself in the officialdom for the rest of your life. The Shen family can only rely on your elder brother to save face now. If you have any thoughts, don’t make any more moves.”

Madam Shen advised.

Plans can't keep up with changes; the Shen family of today is no longer the Shen family of the past.

"Ah."

Shen Nian'an nodded, but that was all.

Both his father and mother favored him after he married Xie Wanru, and even turned a blind eye to his violence against his elder brother.

Once the eldest brother woke up and took office, they all liked him again. What genuine affection is there in this family? It's nothing more than weighing pros and cons and using each other.

As Shen Nian'an walked out of Beiyuan, she encountered Shen Mo, who was returning home from school.

"Second uncle."

Shen Mo bowed to him, and Shen Nian'an hummed in response before walking away.

He didn't like Shen Mo, but he didn't hate him either.

Even after he had walked away, Shen Mo stared blankly at his retreating figure.

He recalled the scene when Shen Nian'an picked him up and took him back to the Shen residence.

Before entering the Shen family, his parents had died, and he could only barely survive by begging every day. It was Shen Nian'an who took him to change into clean clothes and led him into the Shen family gate, which gave him the opportunity to be adopted by his father.

This man had wronged Aunt Wan, but to him, he was like a savior. He was conflicted and didn't know how to view Shen Nian'an.

"Master?"

Xiao Zhuang saw that he was standing still and called out to him.

Shen Mo then came to his senses and walked towards his own courtyard. He still lived in the same courtyard as Shen Cong'an. His father always left early and returned late, and sometimes he would not see him for several days in a row.

At that very moment, Shen Cong'an was in the Crown Prince's palace, entrusting Dongzhu to him.