The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Wang's mother felt that the girl looked familiar, but after racking her brains, she couldn't remember who she was. She had no choice but to give up and hurry back to tell her the good news that her daughter had been released from confinement.

Meanwhile, in Yimei Garden, Madam Shen received her sister-in-law, Madam Min, from her maternal family.

"Sister-in-law, you've arrived so early? Come and sit down. I was just saying I'd come to the second gate to meet you once I was all ready." Although the Marquis's mansion was wealthier than the Shen mansion, Shen Shi still relied on her brothers' achievements to establish herself in the Marquis's mansion, so she always respected Min Shi.

"Please sit down, sister. This isn't my first time visiting your manor. I know the way, so I didn't need you to come and meet me. As for me, your sister-in-law, I went to pay my respects to the old lady of the manor before coming here."

The old lady understands how hard you work managing the Marquis's mansion every day, and asked me to excuse you from paying your respects today, so that we, as sisters-in-law, can have more time to talk intimately. Min was a shrewd and worldly person, and she always knew the benefits of currying favor with Shen.

"That's fine then. I won't do anything today, I'll just talk to my sister-in-law." After saying that, she looked at Wenqin and said, "Go and see the old lady. Tell her that I want my sister-in-law to stay for lunch, so I won't be going to keep the old lady company."

Wenqin naturally knew how to speak up for her mistress when she went to the old lady's place, so she accepted the order and went out.

"My sister is really good at training people. You've had several different servants, but they've all been very capable." Madam Min was being sincere about this.

If all her daughters had the same methods as their aunt, what would she, as a mother, have to worry about?

"My sister-in-law manages the Shen family so well, she wouldn't even look down on my little skills."

The two women, who were chatting idly, finally got to the point.

Seeing that her eldest sister-in-law didn't mention Hua Sirong, the orphan, Min had no choice but to bring it up first, "I heard that my third sister's daughter is now living in your house. Is that true? My mother also heard about it and asked me to come and see if it's true."

By using Shen's own mother as a shield, even if Shen was dissatisfied, she dared not show her displeasure.

He had to smile and tell the truth: "Yes, Rong'er was just brought to my residence a couple of days ago. Poor little girl, she's living in a nunnery near Baiyun Temple with an old woman and a little maid."

My maid, Zhang, happened to be making offerings at Baiyun Temple when she encountered them. As soon as I heard about it, I quickly brought them into the Marquis's residence.

Her family knew about Rong'er's situation, so she wasn't surprised at all. Many of the dowry she brought with her when she married into the Marquis's mansion had families with them in the Shen household, so it was perfectly normal for servants from both mansions to visit and interact with each other.

It was one thing when she was young, but now she's at the age where she's about to welcome her daughter-in-law into the family, so she can't have a servant who's trying to please both sides anymore.

Unaware of her sister-in-law's thoughts, Madam Min still offered her opinion on Rong'er's matter, saying, "It is not appropriate for Rong'er to come to the Marquis's residence while wearing mourning clothes."

I am here today on the orders of my father and mother to take Rong'er to the Shen residence. It is, after all, her maternal grandparents' home, to avoid gossip.

Madam Shen understood, her heart filled with disdain, but she didn't show it on her face. "Sister-in-law is kind-hearted. At this critical moment, she is willing to take in the orphans of married-out daughters. It is a blessing for us married-out Shen family girls."

Back when we were young, my third sister and I were the closest. Now, she only has Rong-jie as her bloodline, and as her aunt, I just can't bear to let her go live somewhere else."

"You don't know how pitiful that child looked when he first arrived."

The Hua family are truly inhuman! Not only did they rob that child of her family fortune, but they also wanted to give her away as a concubine. Did they think Rong-jie had no one to back her up? After saying this, Madam Shen pretended to wipe her eyes with a handkerchief.

Madam Min had always known that her eldest sister-in-law was difficult to deal with, so she wasn't in a hurry. "My third sister's husband left in a hurry, and it's almost the end of the year."

Family matters are very busy. I had planned to send your nephew to visit Xishan after the New Year, but I had just prepared to set off when I heard that Rongjie had come to the capital.

However, this child is rather reserved; having been here for so many days, she hasn't even visited her maternal grandparents' house once.

Fortunately, Hua Sirong wasn't here, otherwise she would definitely have taken the blame.

Having just received a favor from Hua Sirong, Madam Shen naturally spoke up for her, saying, "She's just a child, she's lost her father, and she's been forced into this situation by the elders of her clan. It's only by luck that she managed to survive and find us, her relatives, in the capital."

We are the elders, we should understand that it's not easy for her to be a child alone.

“Rong’er is a child, but she has an old woman from the Shen family with her. Is the old woman so ignorant?” Min Shi didn’t believe it. She was practically pointing her finger at Shen Shi’s nose and saying that she, as the nun, was blocking people from going to the Shen family.

Min was also a daughter from a scholarly family, but after the New Year, the family needed money everywhere. Without the subsidy from her third sister's husband, the family was struggling.

Actually, even without this extra income, life wouldn't be unbearable. But the lavish lifestyle that has already been cultivated is unlikely to be reversed in the short term.

Shen is also a woman with a temper. She kept things hidden before because she thought she could reap huge benefits, but now she knows that the benefits are limited.

And she got this only benefit, but she couldn't bear to share it with her family. So she bluntly said, "Sister-in-law, let's not beat around the bush. You don't need to be sarcastic in front of me."

"My third sister's husband passed away before the New Year. Both our families wanted to send people to Xishan to get a share of the spoils, but unfortunately, both of our families are prominent people and we can't do something like trying to seize the family fortune right after my brother-in-law's death."

At that time, the Empress Dowager was critically ill, and we were afraid that if we acted inappropriately, someone would seize upon it, we would attract the Emperor's attention, and it would bring disaster upon our household.

"So, each of our families sent a steward to attend the funeral, ostensibly to offer condolences, but in reality to observe how the Hua family treated the eldest branch of the Hua family, hoping to sabotage the situation and also to reap the benefits."

"If it weren't for the tacit approval of our two families, even if only the stewards from both families had gone to offer condolences at the time, as long as they were willing to support Rong'er, they could have intimidated the Hua family members to some extent, and Rong'er wouldn't have been forced to have nowhere to live before her third brother-in-law's body was even cold."

With no one left in the house to serve them, the two sisters-in-law spoke without any restraint.

Seeing that her sister-in-law had spoken frankly, Madam Min was not intimidated. "Since our two households share the same goal, we should be of one mind. Now that Rong'er has come to the capital, there is no reason for her to stay only in the Marquis's residence."

The golden doll is available to everyone who sees it; who wouldn't want a share?

"Besides, sister, your Marquis's mansion has been passed down for generations. It's a large and wealthy family. The storerooms are piled high with wealth that makes me envious. The family owns countless properties. Just two or three of your ornaments can be exchanged for enough to cover the mansion's expenses for the whole year."

Unlike the Shen family, which has a large family with several branches and a constant stream of children, the old master's meager assets are hardly enough to cover the family's expenses.

Your older brother's position looks prestigious, but he can't support a whole family on his own.