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

Madam Wang was puzzled. "The young lady is making a living under the care of the Lady of the Marquis, and she is counting on the Lady to find you a good marriage. How come it's the other way around now, and she's trying to please the young lady?"

In Wang's mother's mind, Shen was not that kind of person. Besides, given their daughters' status, frankly speaking, they weren't worthy of her.

Hua Sirong touched her face. "She probably values ​​me as her niece. Mom, don't worry about it. Let's stick to our original plan."

The old women in the manor who weren't on duty spent their free time either drinking or playing cards. Mama simply picked up a handful of coins and joined in.

"But because of this matter concerning Miss Wenqin, several old women in the manor who were previously on good terms with me are now using their youngest grandson as an excuse to avoid talking to me."

Hua Sirong gently shook her head, "They can refuse once, but can they refuse a second or third time? Their monthly salary is finite. They're not exactly trusted servants of their masters, so how can they expect to receive rewards every few days?"

"Gambling and drinking every day, do you expect money to fall from the sky? There will always be times when you're short of cash. Just be patient, Mom." After all, opportunity favors the prepared.

"On Madam Hou's side..." Wang Mama was a little uneasy. She always felt that Madam Shen was not a kind person and would not easily let anyone play tricks on her.

"It's alright, we're just getting to know each other normally, there's no taboo involved."

I remember when we went to Yimei Garden before, your aunt told you to take some time to reconnect with your old friends from the Shen family. What I mean is, if Mom happens to run into them, it would be nice to catch up.”

Wang Mama is not as good as Zhang Mama by the side of the Marquis's wife, nor as good as Xie Mama by the side of the old lady, but her greatest advantage is that she listens to her master.

She simply does whatever her daughter asks her to do.

"Is there anything I need to inquire about?" Madam Wang pressed.

"No need to do it on purpose, Mom. Just treat it as a relaxing outing. If you hear anything, just come back and tell me."

"Okay, whatever you say, miss." There's no need to try to get information out of her; she's good at just paying for drinks and losing a few coins at the card table—it's all her natural talent.

Wang's mother felt no pressure about this.

Hua Sirong pursed her lips helplessly and went with Wang's mother.

Within a few days, Wang's mother was back in the circle of women at the very bottom of society.

At Yimei Garden, Wenqin, after recovering from her injury for a few days, has started working again despite being ill.

"Madam, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family has arrived." No invitation was presented, but since she was the eldest sister-in-law of the madam's family, the gatekeeper had no choice but to let her in.

Shen finally got a little free time and took a short nap on the couch.

Hearing this, she sat up. "Who? Sister-in-law? I don't remember receiving any invitations from family members these past few days. What's going on..."

Madam Shen was in a bind, but her family had always been so rude, and this wasn't the first time they had barged in without an invitation.

"What are you standing there for? Go make some tea." Madam Shen was angry. She had a bad ending with Madam Min last time, and now she had come again, and she didn't know what she wanted.

Despite the pain in her buttocks, Wenqin prepared to go to the break room.

"Wait, just tell the maid to go. Didn't I grant you leave to recover properly? Why are you here serving at the front?" Although Madam Shen wasn't very considerate to her servants, she still valued their loyalty and knew how to win people's hearts.

"This servant is of lowly birth, and I used the best medicine bestowed upon me by my master, so my wound has already scabbed over." He's not the master; how could he possibly give her so much time to properly heal?

Besides, although she was Shen's head maid, there were plenty of other women in the courtyard waiting to oust her and take her place.

"And I know that the old woman who gave me the beating that day showed mercy and didn't kill me. I've been shirking my duties for several days now, how can I continue to lie here with a clear conscience?"

Madam Shen nodded in satisfaction, "After all, you are someone I work for. Those old women naturally understand the principle of 'when beating a dog, consider its owner.'"

Question to Dog Qin: ...

"Alright, now that you're fully recovered, just do your job well and don't make the same mistake again, understand?"

"Yes, this servant will certainly not cause trouble for my master again." Wenqin looked extremely grateful.

Just as the master and servant finished speaking, the curtain outside was lifted, and the sound of Granny Zhang greeting Madam Min followed.

Madam Shen remained seated in the main seat and instructed Wenqin, "Go to the outer room and relax for a while. I'll leave Granny Zhang to serve you in the room. You can just give orders to a few of the younger servants in the outer room."

Wenqin once again expressed her true feelings, feeling immense gratitude towards Madam Shen. She then bowed to Madam Min before quietly leaving.

"Sister-in-law is here, please have a seat." Madam Shen smiled, but there was less patience in her eyes.

Min has come today to demand an explanation and has no intention of being overly polite with Shen.

She sat down directly next to Madam Shen, picked up the tea that Granny Zhang handed her, and took a big gulp.

If things get out of hand, I don't know if I'll even get a sip of tea from my sister-in-law.

Shen sensed that the visitor was up to no good, but she had no idea what Min wanted, so she could only wait patiently.

Madam Min: "It is said that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. I used to think that this saying was not appropriate for you, my sister-in-law."

Little did I know I had overestimated myself. My sister got something good and kept it a secret from her family. She really is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family.

After a barrage of sarcastic remarks from Madam Min, Madam Shen also became a little angry. "My sister-in-law came to visit today without even sending an invitation. She just came to criticize me, a married woman."

"I am, after all, the Lady of a Marquis now, and I have some dignity to maintain. If you're going to keep insulting me instead of getting to the point, then I'm sorry, I'm busy today and don't have time for idle chatter."

Madam Min: What? Feeling guilty? You've even disappeared from your family?

When you swindled the gold shop from that little girl Hua Sirong, why weren't you guilty?

When I came to your house earlier, weeping and complaining about our family's poverty, why weren't you ashamed?

Only then did Madam Shen realize that the shop's affairs had been exposed.

As for how it was exposed, that can only be investigated later; right now, she has to deal with her family.

Madam Shen: "Sister-in-law, be careful what you say. Rong'er's parents are not here. If you use words like 'deceive' to describe her, you are letting down the aunt who saved her from dire straits."

Min scoffed, but Shen didn't care and continued, "The shop that my sister-in-law mentioned, I didn't trick Rong into giving it to me."

Although our Marquis's family cannot compare to our ancestors', we are not lacking in what Rong-jie has. Rong-jie said that it was a wedding gift prepared by my third sister's husband for the two unfilial children I gave birth to when he was alive.

“My brother-in-law is financially well-off, as my sister-in-law knows. We also know he has a knack for turning things into gold. Giving two shops to his nephew and niece to cultivate relationships with powerful and influential families makes perfect sense.”