November 3rd was a fine day with bright sunshine, a rare good weather on winter days, coinciding with the 70th birthday banquet of Old Lady Shen.

  The general's mansion had been thoroughly cleaned inside and out, and the public area also brought out silver to purchase new items. The longevity banquet was naturally held in the East Wing, which had a quiet and elegant environment, with flowers trimmed neatly, and the maids wore clean and tidy skirts, their words and deeds were not common, each one was born with a clear and clever appearance. As soon as you walked in, you felt that it was worthy of being the style of a large family.

  Madam Shen sat in the main hall of Rongjing Hall, and many ladies and young ladies had come to pay their respects. The Shen family was a first-class military family in Mingqi after all, and officials and nobles would also come to make connections out of courtesy. Ren Yuanyun was busy entertaining the guests.

  Although Chen Ruoqiu is temporarily in charge of the family's power, in previous years, Madame Shen's birthday was always handed over to Ren Yuanyun to take care of. As for dealing with these noble ladies, Ren Yuanyun can do better than Chen Ruoqiu. After all, Chen Ruoqiu has a bit of an aristocratic air about her, but Ren Yuanyun is different, she handles things elegantly, and for a time, the Rongjing Hall was filled with laughter and joy.

  Shen Yuanbai leaned against Mrs. Shen, eating honey and milk sugar, while the ladies below occasionally complimented him for being so clever at a young age, and would surely achieve great things in the future. Mrs. Shen listened with a smile, and even Ren Yuanyun's heart, which had been gloomy due to Shen Qing, was cleared of clouds by these compliments.

  It was Chen Ruoqiu who felt uncomfortable when everyone praised Shen Yuanbai and Shen Yang, who had gone out to take office. In the three rooms, what was most feared was talking about sons. Everyone knew that Chen Ruoqiu had married Shen Wan for many years and had only given birth to a daughter, Shen Yue, but no son. Moreover, Shen Wan was not interested in other women, and when Old Lady Shen wanted to give him several concubines to have more children, he refused. As a result, Old Lady Shen vented her anger on Chen Ruoqiu, who compared to Chen Ruoqiu, Ren Yuanyun obviously won the favor of Old Lady Shen.

  "However, how come I didn't see Shen family's eldest daughter and fifth daughter today?" Madam Yi asked with a smile.

  Ren Yuanyun was in charge of receiving these ladies, while Shen Yue naturally went to get close to those noble young ladies. Taking them to the garden to have tea and snacks. But today, she still didn't see Shen Miao and Shen Qing.

  Ren Wanyun and Old Lady Shen's faces sank at the same time upon hearing this, while Chen Ruoqiu's mouth twitched.

  Shen Qing's body was still not fully recovered, but she could now see people with a clear mind. However, she kept saying that she must cut Shen Miao into pieces. These words couldn't be heard by outsiders. For these days, Ren Yuanyun had been comforting Shen Qing to prevent her from having suicidal thoughts. As for how she comforted her, Chen Ruoqiu could think of it - no more than promising Shen Miao a miserable ending.

  As for Shen Miao, she didn't know where she heard it from, but Shen Lao Furen had privately accepted the engagement letter from the Wei family on her behalf. From that day on, she changed her previous silence and resisted fiercely, even declaring that she would resist marriage and might even run away. When Shen Lao Furen heard this, she was shocked. Ren Yuanyun and Shen Lao Furen thought to themselves that the stubbornness in Shen Miao's bones was gradually appearing, and what she said about resisting marriage and running away was indeed possible. However, now Shen Miao absolutely cannot have any accidents. If she had an accident, it would be impossible for Shen Qing and her sister to get married.

  Then, from Shen Miao's refusal to marry, Madam Shen and Ren Yuanyun decided to take drastic measures and directly locked Shen Miao in the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall was located in the southwesternmost courtyard of the Shen estate, where no one usually ventured. The number of guards outside had increased by at least half, while the maids in the western courtyard, including Shen Miao's four personal maids, were all found to have sold their contracts and were tightly controlled by Madam Shen.

  The implication is that Shen Miao can't even make a slight move without these few maids being unable to protect her.

  These days, Shen Miao was locked in the Shen family ancestral hall, reciting scriptures and praying every day. Ren Yuanyun hoped to use this to temper Shen Miao's unruly temperament, and also to prevent any accidents. Today is Old Lady Shen's birthday, if Shen Miao were to be let out, she might say something shocking and unconventional in front of everyone, so after discussing with Old Lady Shen, they decided not to let Shen Miao appear in front of the crowd.

  Thinking of Shen Miao, Ren Yuanyun had a headache. She had been immersed in the mansion for so many years, but now she couldn't even figure out what was going on in a little girl's mind. People said Shen Miao was naive, but she quietly calculated everything regarding Shen Qing's matter, and while being calm, she openly and proudly announced her intention to escape marriage without hiding anything. She had no choice but to lock her up.

  Chen Ruoqiu had just finished admiring Ren Yuanyun's wonderful expression, and smiled: "Qing Jie'er is still not fully recovered from her illness, so she won't be coming out for now. We'll wait until the old lady's birthday celebration to bring her out again. Miao Jie'er has caught an illness and can't bear the wind, and there are rashes on her face. With so many young ladies present, we're afraid that some miss might catch it from her, so let her stay in her room by herself."

  If it's said that Shen Miao is ill, it's inevitable that someone will be curious and want to investigate. But if it's said that this illness can infect others, then naturally no one would dare to ask about her. Especially since all the young ladies love beauty, how could they possibly take such a great risk to see him?

  Madam Jiang also smiled, with a hint of probing in her words: "So that's how it is. I thought the two girls were busy embroidering their trousseau and didn't even want to see us. Yuanyun must take good care of the girls, so they won't delay things when they get married later." As soon as she finished speaking, she was met with a chorus of agreement from the surrounding ladies.

  The marriage between the Wei and Huang families has been a hot topic in the capital, but unfortunately, the Shen family has never publicly confirmed it, which makes people wonder. Many have tried to probe for information, but no one knows which young lady will marry whom, and everything is still unclear. So today, Madame Jiang asked directly, wanting to see if this rumored marriage can be verified as true.

  Ren Yuanyun's eyes flashed, and she also understood Mrs. Jiang's intention. She smiled and said: "What are you talking about? Even if I'm busy embroidering wedding dresses, if it's the old lady's birthday, I'll naturally come out to pay my respects. If it weren't for the two children being ill at an inopportune time, why wouldn't I come out to see all the ladies?"

  The words were mixed with evasion and avoidance, but they actually implied an acknowledgment of the engagement.

  The ladies present were all experienced in household matters and understood the meaning of Ren Yuanyun's words. Congratulations poured in, and Shen Lao Furen stroked Shen Yuanbai's face with a loving smile, presenting a harmonious host-guest atmosphere.

  In Qiushui Garden, a group of young girls were gathered around the stone table, playing chess and cards, eating snacks and chatting.

  "Speaking of which, Yue'er," Jiang Xiaojuan said: "Your sister and younger siblings, until now have not been seen, could it be that they are really ill?"

  "It's really an illness." Shen Yue shook her head, and a hint of worry appeared in her eyes: "Big sister's illness is mostly okay, but Fifth Sister's symptoms are quite severe. The rash on her face has even infected several maids by her side. This way," she lowered her head: "You came today, probably didn't even see the maids by their side."

  "No wonder." Bai Wei suddenly realized: "There are so many people guarding the outer courtyard of the West Wing, but no one has come out. It seems that the servants in those courtyards are also afraid to come out and get infected. Didn't Mr. Pei from the school say that in the past, when there were epidemics in some places, they would isolate the people who got sick to prevent the epidemic from spreading?"

  "That's exactly right." Shen Yue said.

  Yipai Lan touched her own shoulders and shivered: "It's really scary, don't let it infect us."

  "Don't worry." Shen Yue smiled and said: "As long as you don't go to the west wing, it's naturally safe. Look at me, I didn't get infected either?"

  "With a sister like that, you're really at ease." Yi Peilan rolled her eyes: "This Shen Miao is just like a disaster star, always getting into such things."

  On the other hand, Feng Anning's eyes flashed with anger, and he pressed it down, muttering: "I don't know if this is to make Shen Miao hate people or to invite hatred, it's really hypocritical."

  She said, naturally, was Shen Yue.

  Feng Anning's expression turned cold and proud as he let out a snort, his gaze at Shen Yue filled with disdain.

  The two of them, Feng Anning and Shen Miao, are now considered to be on good terms with each other, so they were naturally excluded by Shen Yue. As for Qin Qing, her beauty and temperament made her proud, and in the Guangwen Hall, she was already a rival of Shen Yue's. Today, Shen Yue came to invite all the girls, so Qin Qing was naturally ignored. Thus, these two people coincidentally sat together.

  "Who knows if she's really sick." Qin Qing had always been blunt about her disdain for Shen Yue, and when Feng Anning heard this, he immediately said: "So you think so too, why don't we go take a look at Shen Miao?"

  "I don't have much of a relationship with her, you go yourself." Qin Qing refused without hesitation and added another sentence: "However, the West Wing of Shen's residence is currently not allowing anyone to enter, for fear of being infected with smallpox. I'm afraid you won't be able to get in either."

  "How can this be?" Feng Anning's sense of justice was outraged: "Both are Shen Manor's granddaughters, why can't Shen Miao also participate in Old Madam Shen's birthday celebration? Locking one person in the West Wing is no different from being imprisoned!"

  "It's better for you not to interfere with others' business." Qin Qing glanced at Feng Anning: "In short, it has nothing to do with me."

  Feng Anning bit her lip in frustration, but couldn't say anything. She could only glare resentfully at Shen Yue, who was being surrounded by a crowd of people laughing and chatting with him.

  But no one saw a figure flashing in the shade of the tree, quickly disappearing into the flowers.

  The northwest corner of the Shen Mansion was a desolate courtyard, which had become overgrown with weeds due to its poor location. As a result, it had been abandoned. Except for the occasional bird flying overhead and the stray cats that made their home there, no one ever came near.

  Today, however, there were several people standing under the wall.

  The person in front had his back to the garden, hugging his chest and seemingly lost in thought. Someone behind him said, "Master, I passed by the east wing of the Shen residence and heard that someone in the west wing was making a hand gesture."

  Another person said: "I have investigated, the West Wing only has people guarding the outside, and the guards are not here. However, there are many experts waiting outside Shen's ancestral hall, could it be..."

  "Create a diversion in the east and strike in the west." The man turned his head, revealing a handsome face: "The thing is at Shen's ancestral temple."