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

After the grandmother and granddaughter spoke for a while, Shen Qingtan arrived with her maid.

Hongxing then announced the arrival of Shen Qingtan into the house.

Shen Qingtan bowed to Madam Shen and said, "May Grandmother be blessed."

"Come sit down next to your grandmother." Old Madam Shen beckoned to Shen Qingtan, and then said to Shen Shaoheng, who was sitting there without any manners, "Go back to your room. I can't help but feel a headache coming on."

"My dear sister, you already find me an eyesore now that you're here." Shen Shaoheng lazily got up, glancing at Shen Qingtan with a raised eyebrow: "My dear sister, I originally invited you to watch those actors change faces, but who knew I'd personally perform the face-changing trick for you. I'll remember your kindness today. If I see your husband in the brothel in the future, I'll beat him up for you."

Shen Qingtan: "..."

Shen Shaoheng swaggered away, completely unaffected, as if nothing had happened that day.

"That good-for-nothing," Old Madam Shen said with a laugh.

Shen Qingtan smiled, knowing perfectly well that the old lady was only being kind to her because she had helped Shen Shaoheng today.

“Since your eldest uncle passed away, Grandmother’s health has been poor, and she has hardly ever entertained guests.” Old Madam Shen looked at Shen Qingtan with kind eyes and carefully examined her: “In the blink of an eye, you have grown from a little girl into a woman and married.”

“When I was little, my mother told me that my grandmother was in poor health and needed to rest quietly. She told us not to come and bother her, for fear of disturbing her peace.”

Shen Qingtan looked up at the wrinkled face of Old Madam Shen. She was about the same age as Old Madam Zhao, but looked much older.

She sighed and said, "Now that Grandmother's health has improved, her granddaughter is already married and cannot often be by your side to fulfill her filial duties."

"I am at ease as long as you are happy." Old Madam Shen said with a worried look on her face, "The children your mother raised are all successful, except for Heng'er, who has no ability at all and is always causing trouble outside, making this old body of mine worry about him. Of all the people in this mansion, only you have any kindness towards him. If it weren't for you stepping in to help him, he would still be carrying a lawsuit today."

“Grandmother, siblings should help each other.” Shen Qingtan understood that the old lady wanted to win her over, and said obediently, “Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. You should take care of your own health.”

"You are a kind and sensible child. If your elder brother acts recklessly in the future, please help him if you can, so that he doesn't go down a dark path." Old Madam Shen placed the small wooden box on the daybed into Shen Qingtan's hand: "On the day you returned to your parents' home, your grandmother was so upset by your good-for-nothing elder brother that she fell ill and was unable to give you the prepared gifts. Today, as you return to the Marquis's residence, I will give them to you."

Shen Qingtan declined, saying, "Grandmother..."

Old Madam Shen interrupted her, saying, "Girl, this is what you wanted." Then, she added meaningfully, "Consider it a thank-you gift from your grandmother for speaking up for Heng'er today."

Having said that, Shen Qingtan accepted the box.

-

Madam Shen lay on the short couch, silently shedding tears.

Madam Shen's decision to have Zhu Yu brought into the mansion to be Shen Shaohuai's concubine was clearly a deliberate warning to her not to touch Shen Shaoheng again.

Madam Shen harbored resentment, resenting that Old Madam Shen only cared about her grandson Shen Shaoheng and completely disregarded the life or death of Shen Shaohuai.

If Shen Shaohuai takes Zhu Yu as a concubine, there will be many twists and turns in the marriage negotiations in the future.

She was filled with remorse; she shouldn't have encouraged Zhu Yu to go find Zhao Yi, which only caused trouble for Shen Qingtan.

They've completely shot themselves in the foot.

"Huai'er, what should we do? What should we do?" Madam Shen was extremely distressed, but she couldn't bear to scold Shen Shaohuai, so she blamed everything on the servant who served Shen Shaohuai: "If the servant had informed me beforehand about your going to find Zhu Yu, I would have stopped you, and none of this would have happened today."

Shen Shaohuai felt a tightness in his chest, and he looked down on Zhu Yu, a woman who loved vanity.

Especially since that woman was someone Zhao Yi disliked, if he brought her into the mansion, wouldn't that be picking up what Zhao Yi didn't want?

He even suspected that Shen Qingtan was the one who orchestrated everything that had happened.

The next moment, he rejected it again.

After all, on that day, Shen Qingtan had only come to him to complain and to stop him from going to see Zhu Yu.

But I always felt that something was off, yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Shen Shaohuai asked, "Mother, why did you suddenly go to the wine alley to look for me that day?"

"Shen Qingtan invited me to meet at the teahouse and mentioned the rumors circulating outside about you and Zhu Yu. So I went there and sure enough, I saw that slut Zhu Yu seducing you!" Madam Shen said hatefully, "After thinking about it carefully, I realized that Shen Qingtan must have deliberately harmed my son and me."

Shen Shaohuai's first thought was disbelief. Shen Qingtan wasn't a prophet, so how could she have predicted that he would go to find Zhu Yu?

If she had been plotting against him, she wouldn't have stopped him when he said he would go find Zhu Yu to get justice for her.

Perhaps because her mother harbored such deep hatred for Shen Qingtan, she blamed all her misfortunes on Shen Qingtan.

That's what he thought, but he still harbored a seed of doubt in his heart and planned to investigate Shen Qingtan.

“Mother, now that we have suffered a defeat, we should restrain our temper and stop fighting with my younger sister. Let’s quell the internal strife in the manor first.” Shen Shaohuai calmed down and asked about another matter: “Did you arrange for the clan elder to accuse my elder brother today?”

Madam Shen remained silent.

Shen Shaohuai understood and sighed, "Father has left the manor; he must be investigating."

Madam Shen's face turned pale as she quickly racked her brains for a solution.

Shen Shaohuai then said, "My second sister and I didn't go to Aunt Mei's courtyard. Please tell me in detail what happened there."

Madam Shen told Shen Shaohuai without any concealment, gritting her teeth and saying, "Aunt Mei is no longer a virgin. Shen Shaoheng must have bribed the nanny who performed the physical examination."

Looking at Madam Shen, who had completely lost her mind, Shen Shaohuai pondered for a long time before finally making a decision: "You will bring Zhu Yu into the mansion tomorrow, and leave the rest to me."

As for his mother bribing the clan elders to testify that Shen Shaoheng was having an affair with Aunt Mei, he planned to personally talk to his father to resolve the rift between them. Otherwise, if internal strife broke out first, it would only benefit their enemies.

Shen Mingzhu stood quietly to the side, watching the mother and son talk, completely ignoring her presence.

My mother devoted herself entirely to my second brother.

When she sought her mother's help to resolve Zhao Jue's concubine issue, her mother only blamed her for her own actions and for provoking Shen Qingtan, never seeking an explanation from Zhao Jue.

The second brother, being a man, was merely taking a concubine, which had no impact whatsoever, but for the mother, it was as if the sky had fallen.

Shen Mingzhu clenched her fists and left silently.

-

Shen Qingtan came out of the Marquis's residence carrying the box. She saw Shen Mingzhu get into the carriage, and her disappointed and gloomy appearance made her raise an eyebrow.

Tingxue rolled her eyes, her head down, and felt a surge of satisfaction at seeing the family's discomfiture.

She helped Shen Qingtan up, saying, "Second Madam, let me help you into the carriage."

Shen Qingtan withdrew her gaze, got into the carriage, opened the wooden box given to her by Old Madam Shen, and when she saw what was inside, her fingers trembled violently and her heart pounded wildly.