The slowly opening door, yet no one went forward to take a look.

  The room where the Wolong Temple incense guest stayed was originally empty, not as good as his own luxurious mansion. Moreover, this was a specially selected house, which was even more spacious. The big bed lay in the middle of the room, without even a screen to block it, so everyone could see what was going on in the room at a glance.

  Shen Yue let out a scream first.

  But the ground was littered with torn clothes, really torn to shreds. The quilt on the bed was casually thrown aside, and all the books on the table were swept to the ground. The teapot was also broken, as if it had been through a disaster.

  But what's most surprising is not this.

  The woman on the bed, her jade-like body lying horizontally, was almost uncovered, half-propped up against the edge of the bed. On her back, there were red marks and bloodstains, as well as bruises, a shocking sight to behold. Under the bed lay a blood-stained leather whip, split in two. Looking at the marks on the woman's body, it was clear that the whip had been broken by force.

  "My goodness!" Shen Yue covered her mouth and stepped back: "Who... who is that? It can't be Big Sister, right?" She suddenly turned her head to look at Ren Yuanyun.

  Since Shen Miao said that she and Shen Qing had swapped rooms, the one in that room at this moment should be Ren Yuanyun. However, everything before her eyes clearly indicated that something had happened to Shen Qing! Even as an unmarried daughter, she knew that the scene before her was unmistakably the aftermath of a woman being ravished!

  Madam Gui did not expect that there was still someone in the house. Just now, she heard Shen Miao speaking and thought that Shen Miao had already agreed with Ren Yuanyun, and at this moment, she just wanted to go inside to talk. As a result, when she opened the door and saw a woman, she was surprised. Could it be that last night there were other women who were also played with by Prince Yu? If so, her errand would have been ruined. But Shen Miao's words almost made her soul fly away - Shen Qing? The woman lying inside is Shen Qing?

  Yanmei and Shuibei saw Shen Qing like this, their hearts almost cooled down. Since the young lady of their own family had done such a thing, they would certainly have no way to live, the two looked at each other, both seeing despair in each other's eyes, and knelt down together, kowtowing to Ren Yuanyun repeatedly.

  Ren Yuanyun stood still on the scene.

  "Doesn't Second Aunt want to take a look?" Shen Qing spoke softly in the midst of the silence. Her tone was calm, as if she hadn't seen the tragic scene before her eyes. Ren Yuanyun turned her head and saw that the girl was quietly staring at her.

  A storm of surprise and fear surged in her chest, but she quickly suppressed it, only to walk hastily into the room with a pale face, walking to the side of the woman who was half-lying on the bed.

  The girl's hair was disheveled, and there were many fallen hairs on the ground. It was obvious that a lot of her hair had been pulled out. Ren Yuanyun stretched out her trembling hand and turned the girl over.

  A loud rumble, as if echoing her emotions, the rain that had stopped suddenly fell again, and a burst of thunder exploded in everyone's ears from the accumulated dark clouds.

  Ren Yuanyun painfully closed her eyes, and the woman in her arms was actually Shen Qing!

  The closer you look, the more shocking it is. Shen Qing's face was swollen to a high degree, obviously brutally abused. And on her body at this moment, from top to bottom, there wasn't a single piece of intact flesh. And one of her hands was soft and limp, bent in a strange posture, as if...it had been broken!

  Henan's royal family is too cruel!

  However, she hated Shen Miao the most!

  All this should have been borne by Shen Miao, but now it was her Qing'er who suffered. Being tossed about to such an extent, Shen Qing's second half of life was almost over, she hated that she couldn't bite off Shen Miao's neck, drink Shen Miao's blood, and eat Shen Miao's flesh!

  Ren Yuanyun was still in charge at the Shen residence, and even at this time, she could hold back from going crazy. Instead, she trembled with rage as she ordered Xianglan beside her: "Go find a carriage, and immediately head down the mountain."

  "But..." Xiang Lan looked at her with a frightened expression: "Madam, it's pouring outside right now, we can't go out."

  The mountainous Yangjing Peak is already a bumpy road, and the rainwater has made it even more muddy and impassable. If we force our way down the mountain, I'm afraid we might encounter some accidents due to the slippery road. This kind of weather is not suitable for going out.

  "What about Qing'er?" Ren Yuanyun finally couldn't help but let out a sharp cry, she "slapped" a slap on Xianglan and viciously said: "Then what about my Qing'er?"

  Outside, Shen Miao quietly watched.

  She stood under the eaves, gazing at the rain curtain that shrouded the mountains and rivers, as if it also veiled some dirty tricks.

  It was originally supposed to be her who suffered such humiliation. But now it is also her who let Shen Qing suffer such humiliation.

  Personally hearing that her own daughter was humiliated by someone for a whole night, she could have been saved but instead stood by and did nothing for the entire night. Every time Ruan Yun thinks about it, will she feel a heart-piercing pain? Will she feel pain when she learns of Ruan Yu's death?

  Now wanting to take Shen Qing back to the city for medical treatment, but due to heavy rain, they cannot leave this place, unable to advance or retreat. Will Ruan Yun, who is in high spirits, feel a hint of despair?

  "Go find a doctor! No matter what means, go find a doctor! If you can't find a doctor, then die here!" Rèn Yuán Yún shouted at the top of her lungs.

  Xiang Lan had followed Ren Yuanyun for so many years, and had never been scolded by her like this before. Feeling both wronged and afraid, she covered her face and replied, then quickly ran out. As she ran out, she couldn't help but take a glance at Shen Miao.

  Everything was supposed to be planned, and Shen Miao should have been the one resting here last night. How could it be so coincidental? Shen Qing has never been a good talker, and now that she has a grudge against Shen Miao, she wouldn't agree to switch rooms with her. There must be some ulterior motive behind this. She saw the girl in white standing elegantly, with clear and pleasant eyebrows, but for some reason, she gave off an ominous aura.

  "Cai Ju, go and call a few people over, close the door." Ren Yuanyun said gritting her teeth.

  The door was closed, and inside and outside the door seemed like two different worlds.

  Shen Yue had yet to recover from the shock, she looked at Shen Miao and asked incredulously: "Fifth sister, was big sister bullied by bad people?"

  Shen Miao did not express her approval or disapproval. Yu Qin Wang had indeed only planned to toy with her, and so he left before dawn. He also understood that for a high-born lady, being ruined by an unknown person was the most terrifying thing. However, thinking about it, Yu Qin Wang wasn't stupid either, and would soon discover the truth. After all, this trick of switching places was simply too crude and rough.

  She was lost in thought, unaware that her current appearance had fallen into Shen Yue's eyes. To her surprise, Shen Yue's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly exclaimed: "Fifth sister, it can't be you who harmed big sister..."

  Last night, Shen Qing was supposed to stay in the south wing and Shen Miao in the north wing, but they somehow ended up switching rooms. If they hadn't switched, it should have been Shen Miao lying there instead. And from what Shen Yue knows of Shen Qing, he would never give his room to Shen Miao.

  Was all of this Shen Miao's doing? Shen Yue's gaze towards Shen Miao seemed to be looking at something extremely terrifying.

  But then Shen Miao let out a soft laugh: "Second sister, food can be eaten in disarray, but words cannot be spoken in disarray. I don't have such great abilities to harm big sister, you're overestimating me."

  "But... " Shen Yue still had some doubts in her heart, she didn't know why, but she always felt that something was off about Shen Miao. And last night's incident must have been related to Shen Miao.

  "Why bother with these things when you should be worried about yourself?" Shen Miao said.

  "What's wrong with me?" Shen Yue tensed up: "What happened to me?"

  "Do you think that after seeing such a private matter of Big Sister, these two girls by your side can still live?"

  "What?"

  "It seems that Second Sister indeed doesn't know the dangers of the world." Shen Miao smiled lightly: "This servant who knows the master's secrets, especially when this secret is an ugly matter, do you think they can live for much longer?"

  Huang Ying and Qing Luan beside Shen Yue suddenly turned pale. They naturally knew that the wealthy and powerful families were not lacking in those shady and dirty things, once discovered by the lower people, the lower people had only one dead end, only the dead could keep secrets. Shen Qing was insulted by evil people, both of her maids saw it, naturally there was no way to survive.

  Shen Yue was shocked and lost her color, she had just been surprised and had forgotten about this matter. It's not that she is particularly sentimental, but cultivating a personal maid requires a lot of effort as well. If it were to be sacrificed in vain because of this matter, especially the two most useful ones, how could she bear it?

  "It's not just the two of them." Shen Miao smiled slightly, her eyes sweeping over the scene, taking in Yan Mei, Shui Bi, and Gui Ya, her gaze full of meaning: "Not a single one can escape."

  Gu Yiguang and those two maids almost fainted on the spot.

  What's there to be afraid of? What's there to fear? When one attains the Tao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. But if the master is no good, then the servants will not escape either. In my past life when the Shen family was being searched, these slaves who relied on their power to bully others were also eating from within and peeling from outside; following what kind of master, they would have to accept what kind of outcome.

  Otherwise, if one only hurts one person when taking action, isn't it a bit of a waste of great talent?

  She turned around and was about to leave, Shen Yue saw this and hurriedly called out to her: "Where are you going?"

  "Didn't you come to Wòlóng Temple to burn incense?" Shen Miao replied calmly, "I also have many doubts, so I naturally want to ask the Buddha a few questions and burn some incense, or else it would be a wasted trip."

  She walked away in a simple white dress, her cold and indifferent back disappearing into the distance without any hesitation, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened here today. Everything went according to plan, sleep for a night, then go burn incense sticks, praying for peace.

  "Not so!" Shen Yue suddenly spoke up: "Her two maids, where are they?"

  Guī yǎo yǎo also stunned.

  Today, Shen Miao met Shen Yue early in the morning and told Jing Zhen and Gu Yu to go to the kitchen to fetch food. Until now, they have not appeared, and it is also unknown what happened to Shen Qing here. Now thinking about it, where is there such a coincidence? Shen Qing and Shen Yue's maids all witnessed the ugly affair and couldn't escape, but Shen Miao's maids were not around, obviously she deliberately kept them away.

  She had known all along that this would happen today. She had known all along that Shen Qing would get into trouble. Shen Qing's current situation was entirely her own arrangement!

  Shen Yue turned around to look, walking along the eaves, and Shen Miao's figure was already gone. But those clear yet sharp eyes seemed to appear in front of her, making her involuntarily feel a chill run down her spine.

  The rain stopped by noon.

  Xianglan searched the entire mountain peak, but couldn't find a doctor. Normally, this place was deserted except for occasional incense guests. When the monks in the temple fell ill, they would just pick some herbs and brew them to drink. Xianglan couldn't find a doctor, so she went to ask the monks for some calming medicine and external wound medicine, which she gave to Shen Qing.

  The room was filled with the smell of medicine and a strange odor that lingered even after cleaning. The woman on the bed had her eyes closed, while Ruan Yun sat by the window, but in just a short period of time, she seemed to have aged ten years between her eyebrows.

  The maids in the house didn't even dare to breathe loudly, such a big thing had happened, and it was hard to guarantee that their master wouldn't vent his anger on them.

  Ren Yuanyun stared blankly at the curtain when suddenly Shen Qing moved on the bed. She quickly lowered her head and called out, "Qing'er?"

  Shen Qing opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw Ren Yuanyun, a look of horror appeared on her face. She reached out with one hand to grab at Ren Yuanyun's face: "Let me go! Get away! Save me!"

  "Qing'er, I'm your mother! Don't be afraid, Mother is here!" Ren Yuanyun's heart was like a knife cut, but Shen Qing seemed to know nothing, only struggling desperately, staring fixedly at the ceiling and shouting wildly.

  Xianglan and Caiju rushed forward to help hold her down, but Shen Qing was like a madman, completely unconscious, not even recognizing Ren Yuanyun. As she struggled, the medicine that had just been applied was all messed up, and those bloody wounds were exposed in front of Ren Yuanyun, who suddenly looked pained and let out a mournful cry.

  "Madam." Xianglan and Caiju were shocked and frightened in their hearts. Ren Yuanyun had always been a decisive person, able to handle any big event calmly, but now she was being forced to this point. The two maids who had followed Ren Yuanyun for many years couldn't help but feel shocked in their hearts.

  "Where is Shen Miao?" Ren Yuanyun asked with a fierce tone.

  "Miss Wu... is in the main hall." Cai Ju said cautiously.

  "Take good care of Qing'er. If she makes another mistake, the two of you won't need to live either." Ren Yuanyun turned and walked out the door.

  In the Buddhist temple, a gigantic golden Buddha statue stands tall and majestic, benevolently gazing down at the faithful followers.

  Cao Dun stood in front of him, Shen Miao knelt on the ground, holding incense in her hand, but didn't know what she was thinking.

  She has been kneeling here from morning till now for several hours.

  "Girl, get up and rest for a while." Jing Zhen comforted: "Kneeling will hurt your body, it's not worth it. The Buddha must have already seen your sincerity, what you ask for will surely come true."

  Can what is sought be necessarily achieved? Shen Miao heard the words and a wry smile spread across her lips. What she had sought was already impossible to achieve. The mistakes of her past life, although she had the opportunity to start anew in this life, but in a life that had already gone wrong, those who had passed away would not return. Her Wen Yu, her Fu Ming, had they ever had the chance to come back?

  It's probably already turned into a faint light in this boundless red dust, leaving nothing behind.

  Moreover, she is not a believer.

  Shen Miao looked up at the huge golden Buddha statue, but it was just a cold sculpture and couldn't really save sentient beings. If heaven had eyes, how could good people end up with a miserable outcome? Bad people instead lived freely?

  She knelt here, constantly burning incense, but she wasn't worshiping Buddha, rather the people who died in her past life. Those who died because of her.

  Since her rebirth, she had no chance or reason to worship these people, including her non-existent children. Now that she was here, she lit incense in front of the Buddha and mourned for the dead.

  "Fantastic!" A loud and domineering voice suddenly burst in.

  Shen Miao smiled, people in this world just liked to be impatient.

  She rubbed her sore knees, stood up, turned around and smiled at Ren Yuanyun in front of her: "Second Aunt."

  Seeing Shen Miao's smile, Ren Yuanyun felt even more irritated. She quickly stepped forward and raised her palm to slap Shen Miao in the face.

  Jingzhen and Guyu wanted to stop them, but it was too late. The expected crisp sound did not appear, Shen Miao grasped Ran Yuanyun's arm with force, her palm barely stopping in front of her face.

  "Second Aunt, why are you so impulsive and unreasonable? Although you can help Father and Mother discipline me, it's not right to hit people without reason. I'm afraid even ordinary families don't have this kind of rule," she said.

  Ren Yuanyun never expected that Shen Miao would actually block her slap, the girl in front of her was slender, but her grip on her arm was painful. That original softie, who was easy to coax and could be grasped in the palm of one's hand, had unknowingly grown taller by a head at some point. She could no longer look down on her with the same condescending gaze as she did when they were younger, and if she wasn't careful for even a moment, she would be secretly attacked by this seemingly innocent little scoundrel.

  She reluctantly put down her hand and gritted her teeth: "Shen Miao, don't pretend to be stupid, Qing Er's matter, was it you who did it?"

  Now Shen Qing is unconscious and can't know how things have come to this. But Ren Yuanyun also knows that if she says it has nothing to do with Shen Miao, she won't believe it even if she's beaten to death. She doesn't know what method Shen Miao used, but since she moved Shen Qing and made her like this, she will not let her off lightly!

  "Elder sister was harmed by evil people, I'm also very regretful, but how can Second Aunt suspect me?" Shen Miao smiled slightly: "After all, if it wasn't for switching rooms with Elder Sister, the one who would have been harmed today would be me. Such a dangerous thing, I couldn't do it."

  It seems that I am the one who will meet with disaster today!

  It's better not to mention it, but once the words were spoken, Ren Yuanyun felt a sharp pain in her temples. She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes like venomous snakes: "That should have been what you endured, it was you who let Qing'er take your place and be harmed."

  Jingzhen and Guyu saw Ren Yuanyun like this, and their hearts were both shocked and angry. They were shocked that the usually gentle and kind-looking second lady had torn off her disguise and was so ruthless, and they were angry that if Shen Miao hadn't been quick-witted last night, today would have been a disaster for the three of them. But Ren Yuanyun actually blamed them, this was simply the villain accusing others first, without any shame!

  "Second Aunt, you absolutely cannot say that, with the Buddha's presence above," Shen Miao chuckled and her eyes sparkled with an unusual light: "In this world, all things have their own destiny. Last night's incident wasn't caused by me but by my elder sister, perhaps it was also predestined. Second Aunt, instead of blaming the culprit or fate, you're blaming me - what kind of logic is that?"

  Ren Yuanyun was almost suffocated by Shen Miao, she coldly laughed: "You're quite glib-tongued, I underestimated you before."

  "Oh, so Second Aunt has been looking at me like this all along." Shen Miao smiled slightly, seemingly unbothered.

  Ren Yuanyun gazed at Shen Miao in front of her. The gentle and elegant girl in white clothes had a warm demeanor, with delicate features that were already showing signs of maturity, slowly shedding the original greenness. Unbeknownst to her, the silly and foolish Shen Miao had completely disappeared. The past Shen Miao was nowhere to be found in front of this person. After playing power struggles in the back palace for so many years, she fell into a little girl's hands for the first time, at such a tragic cost. And the more Shen Miao fluttered and danced, the more it reminded her of the tragic Shen Qing lying on the bed.

  "Shen Miao, if you're pretending to be stupid, I'll tell you the truth. Ren Yuanyun suddenly sneered and said: "Do you think this matter is just a game? The old lady won't let you off, your second uncle won't let you off, and that person... also won't let you off. Your fate will be more miserable than Qing Er's by tens of thousands of times. You will inevitably become a lowly woman who can't show her face in public, with thousands of people trampling on you!"

  "Madam, watch your words!" exclaimed both Huan Chong and Gu Yu. As the second lady of the Shen household, Ren Yanyun was a noblewoman, and Shen Gui was also an official in the imperial court. Ren Yanyun usually carried herself with elegance and poise, yet she had uttered such vile and coarse curses. Even if it were to her arch-nemesis, it would be excessive; Shen Miaoru was still young, and having her ears sullied by such filthy language was unbearable!

  Ren Yuanyun seemed to have only just noticed Xing Feng and Yu Ru, and sneered: "You've even gone to the trouble of protecting two maidservants, I'd like to see how long you can keep them safe!" Having said that, she gave Shen Miao a strange look, turned around and left with a flick of her sleeve.

  After Dai Ren Wan Yun left, Jing Zhen and Gu Yu looked at Shen Miao with some anxiety, Gu Yu worriedly said: "Miss, is it really good to tear your face like this with her?"

  "It's going to be torn apart anyway. Even if she maintains a good face, she won't have the slightest softness in her heart. What's the point of doing something futile?" Shen Miao said.

  The way to survive in the harem is that if someone is an enemy, let them be in the light. If they are in the dark, find a way to bring them into the light. She didn't have the heart to play a game of superficial harmony with Ruan Yuanyun, this game was destined to be stormy from the start. Now that Ruan Yuanyun had been infuriated by her to the point of losing her mind, what would happen next would inevitably be a crazy revenge.

  "But... when we return to the mansion, Old Lady Shen will inevitably be biased towards them..." Jing Zhen said in a low voice. Old Lady Shen's favorite was indeed the second branch of the family, not only because Shen Gui was her own flesh and blood, but also because Ren Yuanyun had given birth to two sons for Shen Gui. As for Shen Yuanbai, it goes without saying that the eldest son of the second branch, who is currently serving in another place, will also return to Beijing by the end of the year. With two grandsons, how could Old Lady Shen not be biased towards the second branch?

  Besides, Ren Yuanyun turned Shen Lao's favor around with one mouth, and when she returned, everything was said to be Ren Yuanyun's idea. Who would believe Shen Miao's words?

  "Let them be biased then, I didn't expect these people to stand up for me anyway." Shen Miao smiled.

  Her smile fell into Gyu Yu's eyes, and Gyu Yu's nose suddenly turned sour. She said abruptly: "If it's really like that, I'll take this matter out to blackmail you. If there's anything wrong with the young lady, even if I have to risk my life, I'll make sure this affair is known throughout the world!"

  "Not bad." Jing Zhen's expression also changed: "This method of killing three thousand and losing ten thousand, although a bit stupid, will not let them have a good time when the time comes!"

  Shen Miao was somewhat stunned, not having expected that the two maids by her side had such courage. After being taken aback for a moment, she couldn't help but laugh. Indeed, in the past, Gu Yu had taken the blame for stealing the imperial jade and was executed by the Qin prince to protect her. Jing Xuan had tried to win over the powerful minister for her sake, using her beauty to entice him into taking her as his concubine, only to be beaten to death by that minister's wife. Those two women had been loyal to her, but unfortunately, in their past lives, she hadn't been able to give them anything.

  Reborn in this life, no matter what, I must protect these younger sisters. Some mistakes, making once is enough.

  "No need, I didn't plan on spreading this message anyway. Second Aunt won't let it be spread either."

  "This thing can't be covered up forever, and it will eventually come to light. If the eldest daughter gets married, it will naturally be discovered." Gu Yu was somewhat puzzled. You can deceive people for a while, but you can't deceive them for a lifetime. Unless Shen Qing never marries, once she does, everyone will know about her loss of innocence.

  "So they will definitely find a way to deceive me. As for their methods of dealing with me, it's nothing more than finding that person to help them."

  "Who is that person?" Jing Zhen asked hastily: "Who is that person?"

  "Nature is the scoundrel who bullied Big Sister." Shen Miao lightly smiled: "You all don't think that last night was an accident, do you?"

  Jing Zhen and Gu Yu's bodies trembled, although they had already vaguely guessed some clues, but they did not want to believe it. They did not believe that someone would harm Shen Miao so much, this method was really too vicious, pushing people to the end of the road at once. They did not believe that Shen Miao would be omniscient, nor did they believe that the one who did such a thing was the second house of the Shen family. Although they knew that the people in the East Wing were not righteous, they had not expected it to be so bad, this method was clearly used to deal with enemies.

  "Miss... is it really made by the second lady's own hands?" Gu Yu struggled to speak.

  If it was just an accident, they would think that Shen Miao was lucky to have escaped that night. But if it was intentional, then the second branch of the Shen family would only have themselves to blame for their own misfortune.

  "But, miss, why did you say that the second lady asked that person for help. That person... wasn't he just someone she randomly found?" Jing Zhen was stunned. If Ruan Yuanyun had randomly found someone to tarnish Shen Miao's reputation, and now things had turned out so wrong, wouldn't Ruan Yuanyun want to kill that person? How could she still ask for his help?

  "Because he is Prince Yu's relative."

  Jing Zhen and Gu Yu took a deep breath of cool air. Things that didn't make sense before now seemed clear. If that person was Yu Qin Wang, everything could be explained. Before, it seemed like Yu Qin Wang had taken a liking to Shen Miao, but Yu Qin Wang was not someone ordinary girls would dare to meet face-to-face. If Yu Qin Wang had made some kind of private deal with Ren Wan Yun, it was highly likely that Ren Wan Yun would help Yu Qin Wang humiliate Shen Miao.

  However, nowadays the two are at odds with each other. If Ren Yuanyun tells Prince Yu about this matter, with Prince Yu's unpredictable temper, having been deceived right under his nose, he will definitely not let Shen Miao off.

  "Miss, now... should we write a letter to Master?" Gu Yu and Jiu Zhen both panicked.

  Yuqin Wang, that is an existence that cannot be opposed, power and temperament are nothing, and there is also the shield of the imperial family.

  "It doesn't matter." Shen Miao's eyes gleamed strangely: "Shen Qing was just a pawn, the one I really need to deal with is actually... Prince Yu."

  She turned her head to look at the green smoke rising from the Buddha niche.

  Wanyu, this life of yours is really tough. At an age as delicate as a flower, your beauty has already faded away. With the title of princess, you're not even worth a grass. Mother can't do anything for you, but at least now, at least in this lifetime, those who have bullied you, mother will help you take revenge one by one.

  In a certain building outside the capital, a young man in white clothes played with a porcelain cup in his hand and said curiously: "So to speak, that Shen family girl actually has a feud with Prince Yu? Borrowing her own sister's hands to slowly pull Prince Yu into the pit, the means are indeed clever, but as a daughter of a family, it's also too ruthless."

  He shook his head, looking rather regretful.

  "Is it Yuqin Wang?" The purple-clothed young man in front of him raised an eyebrow and smiled, his handsome face with a pair of eyes sharp as a knife. He said lazily: "I think she wants to deal with isn't Yuqin Wang."

  "Isn't it Prince Yu? Who is that?" The young man in white clothes paused and looked at the person opposite him: "You think..."

  "With Yuqin Wang as the entrance, how can we break into the Mingqi imperial family?" The young man replied calmly.

  A burst of autumn rain brings a burst of coolness, but after a night of autumn rain, the summer heat is gone without a trace. Even the sun that comes out in the sky looks bleak and desolate.

  In the Shen Mansion, the East Wing was still bustling with activity. The Lunar New Year coincided with Old Madame Shen's birthday, and she loved to splurge on grand celebrations. Preparations would begin several months in advance, with considerable expenses incurred. Although Zhong Gong's silver was managed by Ren Yuanyun, who also embezzled a significant amount, the lavish displays were always impressive and seemed quite majestic.

  The task of writing the post and sending wooden invitations to the ladies of various households fell on the shoulders of Mistress Chen Ruoqiu, a talented woman from the third house.

  Although she has passed middle age, Chen Ruoqiu still maintains a maiden's figure. Perhaps the scholarly air has added to her demeanor, making her look more refined than Ren Yuanyun. Because of her beautiful appearance and gentle temperament, as well as her ability to recite poetry and compose couplets, Shen Wan is completely enchanted by her. After many years of marriage, even though Chen Ruoqiu has no sons, only a daughter named Shen Yue, Shen Wan has not taken any concubines except for the two servants given to him by Old Madame Shen.

  Among the three sons of Shen's family, each has a different temperament. Shen Xin is straightforward and resolute, but too rough and not meticulous enough, with some emphasis on loyalty. Shen Gui is good at socializing and has a smooth career in officialdom, but he is greedy for wealth and beauty. In addition to Ren Yuanyun, there are several concubines in the mansion, but Ren Yuanyun's methods are ruthless, and although there are many concubines, there is only one illegitimate daughter, which does not threaten the status of the legitimate children. Compared with his two brothers, Shen Wan has real talent and learning. If it can be said that among the three sons, Shen Xin followed the old general's path as a military officer, while Shen Gui and Shen Wan took the path of civil officials, then Shen Wan is more capable than his second brother.

  However, this does not mean that Shen Wanquan is flawless. He has a weakness for beauty and only has Chen Ruoqiu as his legitimate wife, but he values power too much and is determined to climb up the ranks. For this reason, he even stepped on his own superiors.

  At this moment, Ren Yuanyun was carefully writing a post, the sun shone through the window and slanted onto her body, making her features soft and gentle like a young girl. Shen Gui was adjusting his collar when he saw her and couldn't help but smile, walking over to her side and embracing her from behind.

  "Ah." Chen Ruoqiu scolded: "Master, what are you doing? You've ruined my writing and wasted a whole letter!"

  "I'll take a look." Shen Wan picked up the note with an air of pretentiousness and examined it, commenting: "The handwriting is elegant and refined, just like its owner. What's not well-written about it?"

  Chen Ruoqiu's face turned red with embarrassment. Shen Wan saw it and couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.

  Even after all these years, his wife still has a kind of captivating charm that makes him unable to see other women.

  This is where Chen Ruoqiu excels, among the many daughters of the Chen family, only she has a firm grasp on her husband's heart. It's not for anything else, but her tolerance. Shen Wanxi likes what kind of woman, she becomes that kind of woman. Temperament can be pretended, clothes can be changed, catering to his tastes, over time, men are like raised cats and dogs, they will always only have eyes for you.

  "Second sister should be back today, right?" Chen Ruoqiu leaned into Shen Wanhua's arms: "I don't know if Yu'er can get used to the food in the temple, or if the mountain road is easy to walk on, and whether it's bumpy."

  Shen Wan lost his smile: "What are you worried about, Second Aunt will not let Yu'er go hungry or cold." Seeing Chen Ruoqiu still looking worried, he smiled and said: "You always treat Yu'er as a child, but now she's grown up, in a few years she'll be old enough to get married, what will you do then?"

  "Yuer gets married, I naturally want to choose a perfect and beautiful marriage for her. The family background and character are all top-notch."