She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

"Why would I blame you for what happened to Mother Wei?" Shen Qingtan seemed unable to understand and said nonchalantly, "It's not like you plotted against Mother Wei and framed me."

These meaningful words made Shen Mingzhu's heart pound.

Although she didn't kill the person, she did frame Shen Qingtan.

“I don’t have the guts.” Shen Mingzhu clenched her fingers tightly. “Mother Wei treated me very well. I couldn’t accept her sudden death. My older sister was a suspect at the time, so I painfully accused you.”

"What you did really hurt me." Shen Qingtan looked hurt and said sadly, "No matter how good Wei Mama was to you, she was a servant, and that was her duty. I treated you no worse than her. We are sisters, and it is my duty to treat you well. In terms of closeness, you should side with me instead of convicting me without any evidence."

Shen Mingzhu's face turned pale: "Big sister..."

"I'm tired." Shen Qingtan turned her face away from Shen Mingzhu and instructed Tingxue, "Take Third Grandmother back."

Shen Mingzhu stared in astonishment, seemingly not expecting Shen Qingtan to dismiss her so easily.

If she refuses to leave, then she's shameless.

Shen Mingzhu suddenly stood up: "If you don't want to talk to me, just say so. I won't shamelessly pester you."

"Second sister, if you insist on saying it that way, there's nothing I can do." Shen Qingtan seemed to be too exhausted to deal with her unreasonable demands, and said helplessly, "Whatever you say, goes."

Shen Mingzhu felt like she had punched cotton, and she felt even more frustrated.

She glared at Shen Qingtan with red eyes, then turned and left Lanxue Garden.

Back in her second room, she was filled with resentment and ordered Wan Dong, "Have Qiu Chan and Chun Jiao destroy all her kesi (silk tapestry) pieces. I want to see how smug she can be now!"

“Yes,” Wan Dong replied.

-

Unaffected by Shen Mingzhu, Shen Qingtan was in a good mood and ate an extra bowl of rice at lunch.

The First Madam sent over the recipe for cooking fish last night, along with a few fish. The cook cooked them at noon, and they were indeed delicious, with tender and juicy meat.

Shen Qingtan ate half a fish in one go, but still felt unsatisfied.

If she had a small appetite, she would have eaten the whole fish.

Shen Qingtan lay lazily under the window, basking in the sun until her bones felt soft.

Liuyue sat beside her sewing shoe soles, while Tingxue was making knots.

Qiu Chan stood in the corner, glancing at Shen Qingtan as if she had something to say, but hesitated to step forward.

Shen Qingtan took in her unusual behavior, then closed her eyes and pretended not to notice.

The cicadas seemed to be mustering their courage to step forward.

At this moment, Guan Mama, who was by the First Madam's side, came to deliver a message: "Second Madam, the Madam requests your presence for a talk."

"I'll go right away."

Shen Qingtan reached out her hand to Tingxue.

Tingxue helped Shen Qingtan to her feet and tidied her appearance.

Shen Qingtan left Liuyue to guard the courtyard and took Tingxue and Chunjiao to Mingde Hall.

The First Madam had something to say in private, and gave Shen Qingtan a look. Shen Qingtan left the maid at the door.

Guan's mother closed the door and stood guard at the entrance.

Shen Qingtan's heart skipped a beat: "Mother, have you found out about Second Aunt's affair?"

“Nothing can be hidden from you.” The First Madam smiled, but then her smile faded as she thought of something. “Luo Lingzhi’s money came from her maternal family. Her younger brother secretly ran a gambling den and set traps to cheat merchants from other places into gambling. They all lost everything.”

Shen Qingtan was startled: "Second Uncle and Zhao Jue don't know?"

"They're keeping it a secret." The First Madam frowned. "We haven't found any connection between them and the counterfeit goods."

Shen Qingtan pondered, "My second aunt's younger brother runs a gambling den and knows all sorts of people. It's understandable that she could hire someone to make counterfeits."

"This whole family is wicked and always takes crooked paths; they'll be wiped out sooner or later." The First Madam really looked down on the Second Madam: "I just hope she doesn't bring disaster to the Duke's Mansion."

“She cherishes Zhao Jue and is determined to obtain the Duke’s title, so she shouldn’t do anything foolish.” Shen Qingtan then thought that the Second Madam was a fool, and it wouldn’t be unusual for her to do something foolish: “You should keep a close eye on her.”

The First Madam nodded: "I heard that the Second Wife fell ill from anger. This morning, I asked the family physician to take a look. The physician said that the illness was caused by pent-up emotions and anger in the chest, which led to the invasion of evil spirits into the body."

She snorted coldly: "If you ask me, Luo Lingzhi has conjunctivitis. Once this disease is cured, she will be immune to all diseases."

Shen Qingtan chuckled: "You're absolutely right."

The First Madam said worriedly, "You cheated her out of her money; she won't let you off the hook. Be careful of her in the future."

“Mother, I know what I'm doing.” Shen Qingtan’s eyes flickered, and she smiled as she said, “Isn’t Second Aunt going to the temple to fulfill her vow? She’s still ill, is she really going?”

"They are going. I've already arranged for servants to prepare. They'll be leaving tomorrow." The First Madam curled her lip. "A person as black-hearted as her should be grateful that Buddha doesn't take her in. She still dares to dream that Buddha will protect her."

Shen Qingtan smiled innocently: "Second Aunt isn't praying to Buddha for her blessing, but rather for my husband and me."

The First Madam suddenly remembered that when serving tea, the Second Madam had promised to light lotus lanterns for Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi.

She didn't take it to heart, because the second wife would never do such a thing.

As the First Madam had predicted, the Second Madam did not intend to light the lotus lanterns.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, the Second Madam took Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu to Hualing Temple, fearing that if they were delayed even for a moment, they might run into that wretched Shen Qingtan and be reminded to light the lotus lanterns.

Shen Mingzhu, ever the opportunist, asked without any tact, "Mother, are you going to light lotus lanterns for Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law?"

The second wife glared at her: "If you can't speak properly, then shut up."

She would love for Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi's marriage to be unhappy, so how could she wish them a long and happy marriage?

More importantly, lighting lotus lanterns, eating vegetarian meals for three days, and chanting scriptures for several hours every morning and evening were tortures for her.

Shen Mingzhu shut up and lowered her head in grievance.

The second wife felt an urge to vomit at her petty manner; she was utterly unfit for the occasion and not nearly as good as Shen Qingtan.

Thinking of Shen Qingtan, the Second Madam's expression darkened. Having lived to this age, she had never suffered such a setback. She wanted Shen Qingtan to pay the price and regret her actions.

She wrote to her brother last night, urging him to use any means necessary to ruin Shen Qingtan's reputation and to get back the 90,000 taels of silver.

The thought of staying at the temple for a few days and hearing good news upon returning home dispelled the gloom that had enveloped him.

The carriage stopped at the foot of Hualing Temple Mountain. The Second Madam and her entourage climbed the mountain, panting as they looked at the gate of Hualing Temple, and let out a long sigh of relief.

The next moment, the second madam saw the unexpected person, her pupils contracted, she breathed a sigh of relief, but then forced it back down.