She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

Jiang Jin'an, holding Bi Yi and Chen Kangnian's confessions, prepared to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Before leaving, he instructed Tong Qingyun to make a trip to Yulu Garden to inform Shen Jingshu that he would be busy with official duties that night and would probably not be able to return home until later.

Shen Jingshu understood after hearing Tong Qingyun's words.

He will surely have to spend a lot of time and effort to speak to the emperor, so he probably won't have a moment of peace tonight.

With this in mind, she simply ordered a sedan chair to be prepared and returned to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence.

Rather than sitting idly at home and only increasing my boredom, I should go back home to visit my mother.

She didn't send anyone to deliver a message beforehand, but the gatekeeper of the Marquis's mansion had sharp eyes. Before the carriage even got close, he saw the familiar insignia from afar and knew that his eldest daughter had returned.

His face immediately lit up with joy, and he jogged forward to greet her, bowing respectfully: "This humble servant greets you, young lady. It's such a good time for you to return! The Marquis and his wife have been talking about you for days."

Shen Jingshu alighted from the sedan chair and entered the mansion. As she walked to the main hall, she heard low voices coming from inside.

Lifting the curtain, one could see that her mother, Song Wan, was sitting opposite Bai Shi. Song Wan held a teacup in her hand, her eyes smiling, and she was listening attentively to what Bai Shi was saying. The atmosphere between the two seemed very harmonious, like two close friends chatting casually.

Shen Jingshu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This Bai family had quite the skill to make her usually dignified and composed mother so happy.

"Mother."

Upon hearing the sound, Madam Bai looked over and immediately stood up to bow to Shen Jingzhu, her smile widening, "The Commandant's wife is back."

Shen Jingshu nodded slightly in return, "Mrs. Cheng."

Turning my gaze back to my mother, I saw that Song Wan had a slight smile on her face, clearly in a good mood.

Shen Jingshu stepped forward and affectionately took Song Wan's arm.

Song Wan patted her hand and scolded, "You silly child, why did you come back so suddenly? You didn't even tell me beforehand so I could have asked the kitchen to prepare more of your favorite dishes."

"My daughter missed her mother, so she came back." Shen Jingshu said with a smile, her voice soft and sweet, as she took Song Wan's arm and sat down beside her.

Seeing this, Madam Bai knew it was time for her to take her leave, so she stood up and said, "Madam, Madam of the Commandant, it's getting late, and I should go back now. I won't disturb your conversation any longer."

Seeing that Madam Bai was about to leave, Song Wan made a token attempt to persuade her to stay, saying, "Won't Madam Cheng stay a little longer?"

Madam Bai smiled and shook her head, bowing again: "No, no, thank you for your hospitality, Madam. I have troubled you for too long today. I will prepare a small gift and visit you another day to have a proper chat with you."

After saying that, he followed the maid and left the main hall.

After Madam Bai left, Shen Jingshu asked curiously, "Mother, why are there people from the Cheng family here again?"

After announcing the engagement with Xie Wanqing, the Shen and Cheng families should have no further connection.

Song Wan pulled Shen Jingshu to sit down on the soft couch. "It's all because of the Xie family's mess. They're desperate and have been going to Madam Cheng several times, insisting on marrying the eldest daughter of the main branch to the Cheng family. They're just delusional."

As Song Wan spoke, her tone carried a hint of disdain, "The Cheng family now wishes they could sever all ties with the Xie family, so they would be better off having nothing to do with them at all. Why would they marry a daughter of the Xie family again? The Xie family is really shameless, daring to come to our door to beg for help. They are truly ignorant."

I heard that Madam Xie almost knelt before Madam Cheng to get the Cheng family's approval; it was truly shameful! Old Madam Cheng's face darkened immediately, and she ordered Madam Xie to be thrown out.

Shen Jingshu found it amusing; the Xie family's impatience was truly shameless.

They didn't even consider that Xie Wanqing's vicious behavior was known throughout the capital. Any family with even a shred of sense would never have anything to do with the Xie family again, let alone get married.

That's why Mother and Bai got along so well; they must have been shocked by the shamelessness of the Xie family.

After venting her dissatisfaction with the Xie family, Song Wan put down the disgusting topic and turned to carefully examine Shen Jingshu's expression.

Seeing her rosy complexion and energetic spirit, he felt more at ease and asked with concern, "Look at you, your complexion has improved a lot? Have you seen the imperial physician again? Have you been taking good care of yourself? Have the people in the Jiang family been serving you diligently?"

Shen Jingshu knew her mother was worried about her health after being poisoned, but she couldn't explain it to her mother. Song Wan was convinced that she was weak and wouldn't believe her no matter what she said, so she didn't bother to argue anymore and only make her mother more worried.

"Mother, please rest assured, I am much better now. The imperial physician also said that I only need to take good care of myself. Everyone in the Jiang family treats me very well, so you don't need to worry too much."

Song Wan was still worried. Holding Shen Jingshu's hand, she said earnestly, "You child, you're so stubborn. Your body is your own, so you can't be careless. Now that you've married into the Jiang family, you need to be even more careful in everything you do. Only when you take good care of yourself can your father and I be at ease. In the future, you can also help the Jiang family to have many children."

Feeling a little embarrassed by her mother's nagging, Shen Jingshu quickly changed the subject: "Mother, what about Feiyun? What did you do with her?"

Seeing her daughter blush, Song Wan assumed she was shy and went along with her words: "That kind of maid who can't distinguish right from wrong is only a nuisance to keep. Just sell her off and send her far away to clean things up."

Shen Jingshu nodded, thinking to herself that this kind of person really shouldn't be kept around; who knows what trouble they might cause if left behind.

When Shen Zizhong and Shen Yuanzhou returned to the mansion, the family sat together for dinner.

When Song Wan mentioned the Bai family's visit, Shen Zizhong frowned and said, "The Xie family is barely able to protect itself now, yet they still want to curry favor with the Cheng family. They're just daydreaming."

Shen Yuanzhou, young and impetuous, was even more ruthless in his words: "I've met the second young lady of the Xie family a few times. She always acts all high and mighty. I don't know where she gets her confidence from."

After dinner, Shen Jingshu made an excuse that she wanted to visit the Cherry Blossom Courtyard where Xie Wanqing used to live, and Shen Yuanzhou immediately offered to go with her.

Song Wan wanted to stop her, saying that the place was unlucky, but seeing that Shen Jingshu insisted, she had no choice but to give up.

The Cherry Blossom Courtyard, once Xie Wanqing's boudoir, has already become somewhat desolate in just a few days.

The flowers and trees in the courtyard were left unattended, and most of the furnishings inside the house had been removed, leaving only some simple furniture.

Shen Jingshu walked into the room, looked around, and her gaze lingered on every corner.

Shen Jingshu inspected every chest, cabinet, drawer, and even the hidden compartment under the bed in the room.

However, after a thorough search, she was disappointed to find that the place was empty and there was nothing there!

"Sister, what are you looking for?" Shen Yuanzhou couldn't help but ask when he saw her searching around.

Shen Jingshu frowned. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she felt that there was something she had overlooked.

Perhaps she should find an opportunity to bring Bi Yi back and let her recognize her?