Ren Yuanyun lowered her head and looked at the paper package that Shen Miao had placed in her hand, and she couldn't help but tremble all over.

  "Giving any aunt infertility medicine, what a good method is it? Even if one can't give birth to a son, there will be a second and third child. You can't prevent them all." Shen Miao's words seemed to carry a subtle temptation, falling into people's ears, and had a pleasant and moving sound.

  "What makes you think I'd believe you? Who knows if there's arsenic inside?" Ren Yuanyun said disdainfully.

  "Second Aunt doesn't believe me, so naturally she can let the maids take some out to ask a doctor or find an animal to feed. If not, losing herself to buy is also the same. I'm just showing the way, but Second Aunt has to be willing."

  "Why should I?" Ren Yuanyun stared at Shen Miao, her voice cold.

  "Why?" Shen Miao thought for a moment: "It's probably because if Second Uncle doesn't have any more children in the future, Seventh Brother's position as heir will be stable. Not only that, as Second Uncle's only son, Seventh Brother will definitely receive Second Uncle's favor. After all, rare things are precious."

  Ren Yuanyun smiled: "You think I don't know what you're up to, Shen Miao. I underestimated you, you want the second house to be childless!"

  "You can't say that." Shen Miao feigned surprise: "How can the second house be considered extinct, isn't there still Seventh Brother? However, does Second Aunt think that in the future, she can still have another child with Second Uncle?" She teased: "Even if Second Aunt has this ability and talent, it depends on whether Second Uncle is willing or not."

  "How dare you!" Xiang Lan rebuked angrily!

  "You have no shame!" Ren Yuanyun's face turned bright red with anger. Shen Miao's words were clearly mocking her for being old and past her prime, and that Shen Gui, a man who was infatuated with beauty, didn't even bother to look at her. However, Ren Yuanyun also understood that after all these years, Shen Gui had long stopped treating her with the tenderness he once had, and her face held no attraction for him anymore. Having another child would be extremely difficult.

  "Whether it's shamelessness or audacity, it's all for your sake." Shen Miao smiled slightly: "I've already given Second Aunt a way out, whether to take it or block the road is up to Second Aunt to decide." She stood up, as if thinking of something, and turned her head to say: "Of course, Second Aunt can also tell Second Uncle about this matter, after all, you are family. However, I must remind you that my parents and Old Madame have already fallen out with each other, their faces are no longer friendly, and they're not afraid of anything else."

  Ren Yuanyun sat silently without speaking, Xianglan and Caiju stared at Shen Miao vigilantly.

  "That's all I have to say, goodbye." Shen Miao smiled and walked out.

  After Shen Miao left, Xiang Lan stepped forward and looked at Ren Yuanyun, asking: "Madam, are you really going to listen to Fifth Miss's words?"

  "Miss Wu must be up to no good." Cai Ju echoed: "She's doing this, obviously on purpose to go against Master."

  "It's against Master and me," said Ren Yuanyun in a low voice: "But now, Master and I are no longer on the same line."

  "What does 'husband' mean?" Xiang Lan stared with wide eyes.

  Ren Yuanyun lowered her head and said, "Let me think again."

  In the East Wing, there were naturally people paying attention to her every move. As soon as Shen Miao and Jing Zhen stepped out of the door, a unfamiliar maid came over with a smile and said: "Fifth Miss, Madam Wan has heard that you've come to the courtyard and would like to invite you in for a chat."

  "There are some things, let's talk about it another day." Shen Miao didn't give her any face at all and directly refused. The maid was a bit embarrassed but also had no choice, she could only watch as Shen Miao and her group walked away, then turned around to report back to Wan Niang.

  "Is she trying to cut ties with us?" Madam Wan said, somewhat indignantly but more worriedly, turning to Shen Dongling: "Dongling, could it be that Fifth Miss is in cahoots with the mistress and they're going to gang up on us together?"

  "How is it possible?" Shen Dongling shook her head: "It's precisely because of big sister's affair that they won't come together."

  "Why does Fifth Miss always ignore our kindness?" Madam Wan paced back and forth: "Could it be that she looks down on our humble origins..." Her voice trailed off at this point: "After all, she is a legitimate miss..."

  "Aunt," Shen Dongling put down the book, somewhat headache said: "Where did you think of going? Fifth sister is not willing to associate with us, it must not be because of our own reasons. I see that fifth sister is not very enthusiastic about the entire Shen Fu, afraid of not wanting to have any connection with the second house, so she ignores us. Since this is the case, it's useless to try to curry favor, and such things should be done less in the future."

  "But..." Madam Wan wanted to say something else.

  "There's nothing to worry about." Shen Dongling interrupted her: "As long as we follow the rules and don't make any mistakes, there won't be any trouble."

  On the other hand, back in the house, Jing Zhen was whispering to Shen Miao: "Miss, will the second mistress really poison the second master?"

  "Of course." Shen Miao gazed at her fingernails, saying lightly: "Ren Yuanyun values her children the most. Now that she has lost one son and one daughter in a row, only Shen Yuanbai is left as the sole heir. Unfortunately, Shen Gui is not a kind-hearted person, so the only way to secure Shen Yuanbai's position is to poison Shen Gui."

  "What if the second lady tells this matter to the second master?" Gu Yu had been worried about this all along.

  "No, if Shen Gui knew that he had been given a medicine to make him infertile, he would definitely hate Ren Yuanyun to the bone. Even if Shen Yuanbai was his only son, he would still vent his anger on him because of this. Ren Yuanyun would keep this matter hidden even if it meant letting Shen Yuanbai live well. Perhaps Shen Gui would never discover the fact that he couldn't have children for his entire life, and even if a doctor examined him, they wouldn't think that it was Ren Yuanyun who gave him the medicine."

  "So... " Jing Zhen gritted his teeth, seemingly hesitant about something, and finally said with a determined heart: "Even if the second madam secretly gave the second master medicine without him knowing, even if the second master really can't have children anymore, isn't there still Seventh Young Master? Seventh Young Master is young now, but when he grows up and understands things, he might take revenge for Second Young Master and his sister on behalf of Miss. To raise an enemy from a young age for herself, Miss had also made such an oath... " Shen Miao said in front of Ren Yuanyun that she wouldn't plot against Shen Yuanbai, otherwise it would be like asking for heavenly punishment. Such a heavy poisonous oath, Jing Zhen now finds it somewhat shocking to hear.

  "Since I made a vow, I've never had any intention of hitting Shen Yuanbo." said Shen Miao.

  "Even so, Seventh Young Master will definitely treat the girl as an enemy." Gu Yu reminded: "Having an enemy lurking in the shadows every day..."

  "We'll talk about it when he grows up." Shen Miao smiled. Unfortunately, Shen Yuanbai didn't have the chance to grow up.

  Just a year later, the capital city was hit by the plague, and Shen Yuanbai died of smallpox. At that time, Shen Miao had already married Fu Xiuyi, and the whole capital city was in a state of panic. Fortunately, Shen Xin and his men were fighting battles in the northwest and escaped disaster. The wealthy families were safe, but many poor common people died. Shen Yuanbai did not escape this calamity.

  Shen Miao always believed that the heavenly principle is clear and the retribution will come, it's just a matter of whether it comes quickly or not. The evil deeds done by Shen Gui and his wife in their previous life were repaid on Shen Yuanbai. However, there are still Shen Keng and Shen Qing in the second house. Although Shen Keng and Shen Qing are no longer alive in this life, following the path of their past lives, Shen Yuanbai will ultimately lose his life because of this.

  Rather than killing them all now, it's better to let them live with hope in their hearts. Shen Gui thinks he still has a son, and Ren Yuanyun also thinks that Shen Yuanbo will replace Shen Geng. However, one day, when Shen Yuanbo also cannot escape the heavenly calamity, at that time, the desperate seeds hidden in the second house will sprout and engulf the entire second house.

  The two families are destined to be extinct, but they are now full of hope, unaware that the footsteps of disaster have slowly approached them, waiting for the day when the scythe will come down and thoroughly harvest all their vitality.

  The chessboard is all set, and the pieces are moving forward step by step according to the predetermined route. Isn't that great?

  "Miss, don't pretend you didn't come before." Bai Lu walked in, somewhat embarrassed: "I said the silver ticket I gave previously has been spent, do you still want to go to Bao Xiang Lou?"

  Bai Lu felt a bit awkward and didn't quite understand, since when did masters give their subordinates silver to find girls for them? Moreover, it wasn't just ordinary extravagance. This wasn't letting subordinates do errands, it was clearly spending money to let subordinates enjoy themselves. What's even more hateful is that Mo Jie got this wonderful task, and every time he still put on a miserable face, making people's teeth ache from watching.

  "Go and get him another 500 taels of silver." said Shen Miao.

  Bai Lu's face revealed a painful expression, and all she heard was Shen Miao instructing: "Also, let Mo Qing say that sentence to Liu Yue."

  Several maids in the house were all stunned, looking at Shen Miao with some curiosity. After all, no one knew what "that sentence" was that Shen Miao had said.

  Bai Lu was about to go out when she suddenly remembered something and said, "Right, young lady, previously Zhang Mama from Rong Jing Tang came over once, seemingly wanting to inquire about Master and Madam's separation."

  Since that day when Luo Xueyan learned the truth from Jing Guan's mouth, she had a big argument with Shen Lao Furen and then told Shen Xin about it. Shen Xin was naturally furious and immediately went to Rong Jing Tang and Lao Furen to reason things out. Luo Xueyan had been wanting to divide the family property, and after this incident, Shen Xin also became disheartened with the Shen family and agreed to the division. Even if they didn't want the wealth left behind by Shen Lao Jiangjun, they still wanted to firmly divide the family property. Shen Lao Furen knew that she still needed to borrow Shen Xin's money and prestige at this time, so when she saw this situation, she pretended to have a stroke and fainted, which was both infuriating and laughable.

  Now Zhang's mother came to ask for news, naturally wanting to get the wind of Da Fang's mouth by beating around the bush, thinking that Shen Xin and Luo Xueyan were just talking like this because they were temporarily angry.

  "If you come to ask again, I'll tell her that my decision to separate is final. Please take good care of the old lady, and if she doesn't recover soon, it's also fine to go to the clan and invite the elder to divide the family property."

  The elders in the family have always looked down on Madame Shen's background, and General Shen favored Xinyan when he was alive, so naturally the elders would also be biased towards Xinyan. When the relatives come to divide the property, they will not let Madame Shen get a good share.

  "I understand." Bai Lu smiled and walked out of the door.

  Shen Miao sat down at the table, and her journey in this life had just begun. She had to plan so much already, but it wasn't easy to avenge herself while also protecting the Shen family at the same time.

  It will come step by step.

  These disturbances in the imperial city are merely topics of conversation for people to chat about after meals, and once they've finished talking, they just laugh it off and no one remembers anything. They're just gossip, and a few days later, they're already covered up by new things.

  When people die, their lights go out; such is the way of the world, cold and thin.

  Baoxiang Building is still as bustling as ever, recently a new batch of Persian dancing girls arrived, born with beauty and boldness, the princes and young masters of the capital are flocking to them, Baoxiang Building was already booming, now it's almost bursting at the seams.

  Men are greedy for novelty and tired of the old. The new dancers were popular for a time, while those who were once famous became unpopular and depressed. However, among these men who indulged in pleasure, there was one who was particularly different. As soon as he walked to the door, the girl who welcomed guests at the door waved her handkerchief and laughed: "Mr. Mo, won't you ask for Liuxue today?"

  Mo Ke put the silver into the girl's hand and said, "Old rules."

  That girl was half jealous and half admiring, saying: "You're indeed a sentimental person, Flowing Firefly is truly blessed to have you as her husband." She then turned around and went upstairs, calling for someone.

  While everyone else was rushing to the new girl, Mo Jing calmly tapped on Liuyan's nameplate. Those who didn't know would have thought he had real feelings for Liuyan, but whether or not he actually did, only he and Liuyan themselves knew.

  Across from the Bao Xiang Lou, in a window seat at the Kuai Huo Lou, three people were drinking together. Ji Yu Shu pointed far away at Mo Jing's figure entering the Bao Xiang Lou and said: "Look, he's gone again!"

  "What's so good about it," Gao Yang glanced at Ji Yu Shu: "Going once every three days, staying for one night, leaving before dawn the next day, not staying a moment longer. You've memorized this routine like a familiar tune, do you need to be startled?"

  Ji Yu shot a glance at Gao Yang, "Are you stupid? We both know about this, but Xie San Ge just got back and doesn't know. I'm just explaining it to him."

  The two of them faced each other, Xie Jinghang leaned against the railing, lazily gazing at Baoxiang Building. Today, he was unusually not wearing purple clothes, but instead wore a black narrow-waisted long robe, making him look much colder. However, upon closer inspection, his eyebrows seemed to still hold a dusty and weary expression, clearly showing that he had just rushed back from a journey.

  "Thanks, how did you handle this matter? What about those people?" Gao Yang asked.

  "They're all dead men, can't get anything out of them, just kill them all." Xie Jinghang was somewhat distracted: "Time is pressing, we need to move quickly on this side."

  "What's the point of being faster?" Ji Yu Shu complained: "We haven't found anything yet."

  "Shen Yuan had made a move before, and Fu Xiuyi was close to him, perhaps with some chips in hand. But now he's dead..." Gao Yang pondered: "Fu Xiuyi should think of a way to search Shen Yuan's body for more things."

  "I'm going to Shen's house again." Xie Jinghang frowned: "It's impossible that you can't find it."

  "Ah, never mind, let's not mention this for now." Ji Yu Shu interrupted their conversation: "Speaking of which, we've been staking out here for so long. Looking at this Mr. Mo frequently running to the Treasure Fragrance Building, what does it mean? Is it that Miss Shen treats her servants so generously? She even paid for the servant's trip to find the girl. This is a beautiful errand, and she's being so generous, more so than the owner of my Rong Xian Pawnshop."

  "Have you ever seen a girl who runs away every day at dawn?" Gaoyang glanced at Ji Yushu: "I remember that when you were with the peony girl, you would linger in her boudoir and not leave, as if you wanted to stick together every day. The spring night is short, how can you be so unromantic? At least draw some eyebrows and chat, this way, it's like completing a task every time, leaving within an hour."

  "Have your eyes grown to the sky?" Xie Jinghang glanced at the two of them: "Didn't you see that there is still someone opposite?" His gaze swept down, and the other two were stunned, following Xie Jinghang's line of sight, they saw a man in a green shirt standing on the street corner opposite Baixiang Building, staring blankly at Liuxuan's small pavilion.

  "It looks quite ordinary." Ji Yu Shu said: "Look at what he's wearing, it's so shabby. One look and you can tell he wants to go in and find out if the girls have any money, just to satisfy his curiosity. What's the difference?"

  "This person..." Gao Yang looked at him from a distance: "The figure seems somewhat familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before."

  "Pei Lang." Xie Jinghang said.

  "Who is Pei Lang?" asked Ji Yu Shu.

  "Mr. Guang Wentang."

  "I remembered." Gaoyang also said: "I had seen him at a palace feast before. But what is he doing here?"

  "Sir?" Ji Yu swallowed hard: "You're also here to visit the brothel? This Guangwen Hall claims to be a prestigious school that even the nobles of the capital must attend, yet even a scholar like yourself is so morally corrupt."

  "Why don't you say that visiting brothels all day is a moral corruption?" Gao Yang asked Ji Yu Shu.

  Ji Yu Shu retorted: "I'm not even teaching students!"

  "Shut up." Xie Jing said: "Such a big person is here, and you two didn't even notice?"

  "I don't know him either." Ji Yu Shu said with a hint of grievance: "There are so many people coming and going outside Bao Xiang Lou, I only pay attention to the unusual ones. This gentleman looks no different from anyone else, how was I supposed to know he's a gentleman?"

  Gao Yang looked at Xie Jingxing: "You think Pei Lang has a problem? But he's just a poor scholar."

  "Shen Miao never does anything without a reason, so having his men search for Liu Yue must have a purpose. I didn't understand before, but now that I see him, I get it." Xie Jinghang's gaze fell on Pei Cang in the distance.

  "Are you saying..." Gao Yang seemed to be thinking: "This Shen Miao went around in such a big circle, actually aiming for Pei Lian?"

  Xie Jinghang raised an eyebrow and smiled, his eyes seeming to flow with deep meaning: "I don't know why, but I always feel that Shen Miao attaches special importance to this Pei Ceng. From what I've investigated, Pei Ceng is just a poor scholar, there must be some problem here."

  "This is easy!" Ji Yu Shu said with a "huh": "I know the reason behind it."

  Gao Yang and Xie Jingxing both turned their heads to stare at him.

  Ji Yu cleared his throat and said with a flourish: "Too simple! I observed his figure, and this person should be a jade tree in the wind, with an extraordinary appearance. Moreover, he is a scholar, so he must have profound knowledge. Miss Shen is still young and naive, and when she met such a talented and handsome scholar, her heart was filled with admiration and secret affection. Who would have thought that the scholar was rotten inside, and turned out to be a hypocrite who frequents brothels? In a fit of anger, Miss Shen decided to buy the courtesan's token..."

  "Wait," Gao Yang asked: "Why does Shen Miao like Pei Luan, but want to buy Liu Yue's token?"

  Ji Yu Shu thought for a moment and replied, "It's probably because Pei Lian couldn't afford the Flowing Fireworks brand, so Shen Miss had her servants buy it instead. Pei Lian can't even compare to Shen Miss's servants, she must be furious! Shen Miss is trying to drive Pei Lian to death!" Ji Yu Shu became more and more excited as he spoke, his words spilling out rapidly, almost jumping onto the table: "You see! Pei Lian has hurt Shen Miss so deeply! A young lady's family would spare no expense for her beauty!"

  Gao Yang rubbed his temples: "Ji Yu Shu, did you hear some absurd play in the kiln again?"

  "You guys play, I'll take a step first." Xie Jinghang stood up with an expressionless face and glanced at Ji Yushu: "If you're bored, the tower is short of people. Whenever you're free, go over with Tiejing."

  Ji Yu Shu immediately froze like a eggplant that had been struck by frost and didn't make a sound.

  On the other hand, in the Flowing Firefly Pavilion, Mo Qing was still sitting at his desk drinking tea as usual.

  Liuyue has now completely given up on Mo Qing, previously she still had some thoughts of conquering this man, but now not even a hint of that thought remains, her temper is completely gone. Therefore, without even fixing her hair, she walked over and picked up the silver ingot Mo Qing placed on the table and put it in her box, then sat down across from Mo Qing again, poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip, saying calmly: "Thank you, Young Master Mo, for once again giving Liuyue a boost, letting Liuyue not starve during this difficult time."

  While other girls were robbed of their old customers by the new Persian dancer, only Mo continued to give her a show. The girls in the building envied and hated Liuxuan, but they didn't know that in Liuxuan's eyes, Mo was just a strange person with unknown quirks.

  It seems that Mo Ye likes to spend money in brothels and indulge in fantasies.

  Liuxiao didn't plan to chat with Moqin either, as Moqin had come so many times and never exchanged a word with her. If not for the fact that he spoke to the girl who welcomed guests downstairs every time, Liuxiao would have thought Moqin was mute.

  But today, Mo Rong suddenly spoke to her in a rare tone. Mo Rong said: "It wasn't me."

  Too shocked, Firefly could only stare at him with wide eyes: "Huh?"

  "It wasn't me who gave you the silver," Mo Cheng said.

  Firefly didn't understand: "What silver?"

  "My master at home told me to come here every three days to find you, give you silver, and do nothing."

  This was the longest sentence Mo Qiang had ever spoken at Bao Xiang Lou, but as soon as he said it, Liu Yue's eyes suddenly became vigilant. She stood up: "Who is your master?"

  Mo Ang shook his head: "Can't say."

  "You!" The firefly glared at him angrily.

  "The master said, after a few more days, she will come to see you." Mo Jie said: "Temporarily do not receive other guests."

  "Big brother, I don't know who your master is or what he wants to do, but I'm a girl from Ba Xiang Lou. Now that things are so bad, I'm not some newly popular top courtesan, if I don't take on other customers, what will I eat, what will I drink? Will you support me?"

  Mo Gang didn't make another sound.

  Mo En didn't make a sound, and Liu Yue's anger grew. A nameless fire suddenly ignited in her heart. At this time, other men would usually try to comfort her with some soothing words: "I'll take care of you." Even if it was just a lie, no one on the social scene would take anyone's words seriously. But Mo En was different - he was like an unfeeling block of wood, too serious and unwilling to say even a few deceitful kind words. When he got angry, he wanted to coax her, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Liu Yue fell silent again. Mo En indeed wasn't someone from the social scene; he himself had said so, and was only acting on orders from his master. Thinking this way, she felt it was unfair to demand these things of him.

  Mo En saw the flowing fireflies, and his expression changed unpredictably. He was also somewhat inexplicable, hesitated for a moment, and still said something that Shen Miao had not instructed him to say. He said: "My master is a good person, you... don't be afraid."

  Liuxiao was taken aback, looking at Mo Qing, but Mo Qing lowered his head to drink tea again. For some reason, Liuxiao's mood improved, and she said, "Why should I believe you?"

  Mo Ke: "......"

  That night, without stars or moon, Shen Miao was in Luo Xueyan's house chatting with Luo Xueyan and was about to return to her own courtyard. On the way, Jing Yi told Shen Miao some news she had heard during the day: "Miss, I heard that the people from the Jing family are leaving for Suzhou this afternoon. Before they left, they took away all the valuable decorations in Rong Jing Tang's side house. It was really like a robbery! Old Madame was so angry that she almost had another stroke."

  "This 'stroke' again", the words are full of sarcastic meaning. Everyone knows that when Old Lady Shen gets anxious and flustered, she always "has a stroke". But now it seems like they've met their match, shameless people have met even more shameless ones. It's really admirable how thick-skinned the Jing family is, so calmly taking away Rong Jing Tang's things, it's truly outrageous to the extreme.

  "I didn't expect that the Jin family would say such grandiose words, vowing to get justice for Miss Bao, but now they're slinking back to Suzhou with their tails between their legs. And Miss Bao doesn't care about it anymore. They clearly know that Miss Bao is being mistreated at the Sun family's place, yet they don't lift a finger to help. Their previous tough talk was just for the sake of getting more silver." said Jing Zhen.

  "The people won't fight with officials," Shen said with a slight smile: "The Jing family knew they were in big trouble when they came."

  "None of them are good people." Jing Zhen curled up her lips.

  Shen Miao didn't say yes or no, and the Jing family rushed back to Suzhou overnight, but where could they rush back to? Sun Tianzheng was not a soft persimmon, after all. When Shen Qiu had an accident earlier, Jing Chuchu had escaped, but the others in the Jing family hadn't been so lucky. Sun Tianzheng had never been a kind-hearted person, and what happened on the way back to Suzhou was unknown to anyone.

  Fang walked into the courtyard, Shen Miao was about to push open the door and enter, when she suddenly stopped, glanced at the window.

  "Spring is approaching," Shen Miao said: "You go boil some water first, I want to take a bath, make it a bit hotter."

  She was startled for a moment, nodded and agreed. Shen Miao pushed the door and walked in, passing through the outer hall, passing through the screen, and walking into her own boudoir, closing the door behind her.

  The lamp's flame flickered slightly, and all that could be seen was a person sitting crookedly in front of the desk, wearing a robe that seemed to be a flowing dark gold color, which made the dark colors in the room shine brightly. He had one hand propping up his head, and with the other he listlessly flipped through the books on Shen Miao's desk. Upon hearing the noise, he carelessly turned his head, revealing a handsome face with red lips and white teeth.

  "How come you're back so late?" Xie Jinghang said with some dissatisfaction.

  "It seems I didn't invite you either." Shen Miao looked at him calmly and said, "Thank you, Young Master Xie."

  "I've been waiting for you for a long time." Xie Jinghang raised an eyebrow: "I'm already starving."

  "Get out."