Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Madam Jiang realized her words were inappropriate as soon as they left her lips, and quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Never mind, Xue'er just passed away. Although I feel sorry for that child, my child died because of him. You can handle the matter of the wet nurse. I want to spend more time with my unfortunate child..." After saying that, Madam Jiang covered her face with a handkerchief and started sobbing again.

"Young Master, what about them..." In the eerie atmosphere of the room, Qingshan pointed to the several maids who had been tied up on the ground and asked Shen Jingheng.

"Take them all away and lock them up separately. Keep a close watch on them, make sure they don't die or escape."

Madam Jiang's sobbing paused, and just as Shen Jingheng thought she would plead for mercy again, he heard her sigh.

"Since my son-in-law doesn't believe me, then go ahead and interrogate him thoroughly before making a decision." She then looked at the maids.

"Rest assured, you are servants of the Jiang family. I will not let you suffer an injustice. Go with these two young men and explain everything clearly. Grand Tutor Shen will naturally release you."

The maids all shuddered at Madam Jiang's words. At first glance, her words seemed to be reassuring and caring, but in reality, they were telling them, "You are all servants of this household; your parents, brothers, and sisters are all here. You must carefully consider what you should and shouldn't say."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Although they were afraid, they gritted their teeth and refused to utter a single word for the sake of their family members' lives.

After the maids were taken away, Madam Jiang requested to spend some time alone with her daughter. This request was not unreasonable, and Shen Jingheng agreed.

Shen Bo had already received news of Jiang's death and had been waiting outside the main courtyard for his master's instructions. Shen Jingheng waved his hand wearily, telling him to just follow the rules.

Half an hour later, the entire Shen residence was draped in white, and the servants quickly rode out to inform the various families with whom they had relatives of the death.

Xia Yu was listening to Granny Lian talk about recent events in Zhaohua Palace when Nineteen came in to report.

"Princess, Madam Shen is gone!"

Her news startled Xia Yu, who quickly asked...

"what's going on?"

"I don't know very clearly yet, but it seems to be due to postpartum hemorrhage."

“Princess, the thing women fear most when giving birth is postpartum hemorrhage. No matter how skilled your doctors are, they are helpless when faced with postpartum hemorrhage!” Even the old nanny sighed when she heard this.

"Did the baby survive?" Xia Yu asked again.

"I haven't heard anything about the child, so there shouldn't be any problems, right? Just now, I saw Empress Dowager Jiang hurriedly leave the palace with her entourage," Nineteen said after thinking for a moment.

"..." Xia Yu didn't speak, her heart heavy. She had no particular feelings towards Jiang Xue, neither good nor bad. But now that the person was dead, any wrongdoings had vanished.

"Granny Lian, please accompany me to the Shen residence to pay my respects tomorrow. I'm not very familiar with the rules here, so please remind me of them so I don't make any mistakes."

"Yes," even the old nanny bowed and replied.

Upon hearing the news brought by the messenger, Mr. and Mrs. Shen, who were far away in Zhongzhou Prefecture, packed their bags overnight and took their second son and daughter-in-law by boat to the capital.

Xia Yu didn't participate much in the Shen family's funeral, only paying her respects at appropriate times and sending a generous condolence gift. Zhou Luo was depressed for several days after learning of Jiang Xue's death. Although Jiang Xue hadn't been truly kind to him when he was the eldest son of the Shen family, Zhou Luo, who had lost his mother at a young age, still had some genuine feelings for her.

This low mood was not relieved until Mr. and Mrs. Shen went to the capital.

"Grandfather, Grandmother!" Zhou Luo saw the people getting out of the car and ran towards them happily like a child.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject greets you! Long live the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, I greet you. May Your Majesty be well!"

The elderly couple were overjoyed to see their grandson running towards them. However, they didn't forget where they stood. Following tradition, they knelt down and bowed to the child they had raised.

Seeing that her grandparents, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, didn't hug her as before, but instead knelt down and kowtowed to her, Zhou Luo finally couldn't hold back her tears of grievance and they slid down her cheeks.

Xia Yu followed behind him, and seeing the scene before her, she sighed and reminded Zhou Luo.

"Your Majesty, please let Master Shen and Madam Shen get up first. The ground is cold, and their knees will hurt if they get cold."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Luo vigorously wiped his face with his sleeve before speaking loudly.

"Master Shen, Madam Shen, please rise. I have grown up safely thanks to your careful guidance since I was a child. You have given me a second life, so you must not kowtow to me in the future."

"Your humble servant (or wife) kowtows to express our gratitude for Your Majesty's great kindness!"

After the group entered the main hall where Zhou Luo resided and dismissed the palace servants who were serving tea, Zhou Luo, like a calf, rushed into Madam Shen's arms and burst into tears.

"Grandma, Luo'er misses you so much... Waaah..."

"Luo'er, Grandmother misses you too..." At this moment, with no one else in the hall, Madam Shen could no longer control her emotions. Luo'er had been sent to her side since he was a little over a year old. Aside from the time he spent studying with Grand Tutor Li and that mission to the Russian border, he had never been away from her for so long. She knew about him, and she knew that the child she had raised was now the Emperor, with everything taken care of. But she still couldn't help worrying—worried that the people in the palace wouldn't take good care of him, worried that someone might harm him, worried about everything concerning him.

The grandmother and granddaughter embraced and wept bitterly, while Old Master Shen wiped away tears beside them. Seeing this scene, Xia Yu's eyes also welled up with tears. She and Zhou Luo had left home at the same time, and she missed Liu Shi too. She wondered where the people who went to fetch her parents were now.

After a long while, Master Shen, with tears streaming down his face, finally saw Xia Yu standing to the side and remembered that she was now the eldest princess. He hurriedly got up to pay his respects.

"Uncle Shen, there's no need for such formalities. In your presence, I am still your niece from Zhangjia Village." Xia Yu quickly spoke up to stop him when she saw his actions.

"Oh no, no, we mustn't disregard propriety. We've all heard about your heroic deeds at Jialing Pass in Ming'an County, and we admire you greatly!"

At this moment, Madam Shen, who had finished crying, saw Mr. Shen like this and said with a smile.

"Xiaxia is right. We're all family here, so stop pretending to be so serious."

"Madam, I was speaking from the heart. I wasn't being hypocritical at all!" Master Shen said, stroking his mustache.