Meanwhile, Shen Xinglan was also stopped by Murong Rong. Her eyes brimmed with tears, looking pitiful and aggrieved.
“Your Highness, not being able to marry you is my misfortune. After all, you are the man my elder sister has longed for all this time. I… I truly had no way to stop her.”
Shen Xinglan’s face turned cold.
“The day before the wedding, I sent someone to inform you. Why did your people drive him away?”
Confusion, shock, anger, regret, and remorse flashed across Murong Rong’s face.
“Your Highness, I knew nothing about it.”
A complicated look appeared in Shen Xinglan’s eyes.
“Then let me ask you this. If I were to restore the marriage arrangement today, would you be willing? Just one sentence from you. No matter how difficult it is, I would make it happen.”
Murong Rong froze, tears falling drop by drop.
“I would be willing… it’s just…”
His gaze sharpened, as though trying to see straight through her.
“You only need to say whether you are willing or not. No other words are necessary.”
A trace of coldness flashed through Murong Rong’s eyes.
Even after being reborn, Shen Xinglan was still as distant as ever. He did not truly like her—he simply did not want to be with Mu Wanting.
She bowed slightly.
“A virtuous woman does not serve two husbands. No matter what—”
“Good.”
Before she could finish, Shen Xinglan interrupted her. When she looked up again, she saw only his elegant retreating figure.
A smile slowly curled on her lips.
Surely those words had made Shen Xinglan despise Mu Wanting even more.
If she was suffering today, Mu Wanting should not think she could fare any better.
As Shen Xinglan was about to board the carriage, his guard commander Zhang Yi looked at him worriedly.
“Your Highness, she is still your Princess Consort.”
Shen Xinglan shot Zhang Yi a cold glance before stepping into the carriage.
When he entered, Mu Wanting raised an eyebrow and instinctively moved farther away from him.
Shen Xinglan frowned at her, growing even more irritated.
Being in the same enclosed space with her meant the faint scent of lemon balm constantly drifted toward him.
“Mu Wanting.”
She lifted her crystal-clear eyes to look at him.
At that moment, he thought that even legendary femme fatales capable of toppling kingdoms could hardly compare to her beauty.
“You asked me to accompany you home in exchange for treating my injuries. I fulfilled my part.”
Mu Wanting nodded calmly before turning her gaze back out the window.
His irritation deepened.
In the past, if he had willingly spoken to her, she would have seized the opportunity to cling to him, chattering endlessly like an annoying magpie.
But now, her indifference hardly seemed like her at all.
“Murong Rong just said you stole the marriage.”
“Does Your Highness believe her?”
She didn’t even turn her head, as though something outside fascinated her more.
Shen Xinglan simply turned away as well, unwilling to look at her lest he become more annoyed.
“Your acting is decent, but your words and actions are full of flaws.”
After that, neither of them spoke again.
Yet Shen Xinglan subconsciously glanced toward the scenery outside Mu Wanting’s window.
Wasn’t it just the same bustling capital streets as always?
Why was she staring so intently?
Previously, her eyes had always been fixed on him.
After returning to Prince Pingxi’s residence, Shen’s mother handed the household authority over to Mu Wanting.
“Wanting, as Xinglan’s principal wife, you should begin learning to manage the household.”
Shen Yujiao immediately frowned and protested.
“Mother, what household is there for her to manage? They’re going to separate anyway.”
Madam Shen glanced at Shen Xinglan.
“Your second brother even accompanied her on the return visit. What separation? Surely he didn’t go there just to ask for a divorce. Did you, Xinglan?”
Shen Xinglan opened his mouth, unable to answer.
This trip had merely been repayment for her treatment of his injuries. How could he bring up divorce under such circumstances?
Madam Shen smiled and placed the keys into Mu Wanting’s hands.
“Take them, child.”
Mu Wanting raised an eyebrow.
In her previous life, she had spent her entire life as the mistress of a household, exhausting herself while even using her dowry to support the empty-shell marquis estate.
She had no desire to manage another household.
Besides, Prince Pingxi’s estate would soon be exiled. If she took charge now, it would become inconvenient later to empty out the treasury.
Smiling, she held Madam Shen’s hand and returned the keys.
“Mother, I fear I do not possess such ability. Under your management, the servants are obedient and the estate prospers. I believe you are the most suitable person to oversee the household.”
Madam Shen was surprised.
What newlywed bride didn’t eagerly long for control of the household?
Yet Mu Wanting was sincerely pushing it away.
Shen Yujiao, Shen Xinghe, and even the concubines and illegitimate children all thought Mu Wanting had gone mad.
Household authority!
The very thing mothers and concubines fought tooth and nail over—and Mu Wanting didn’t want it?
Shen Xinglan also looked at her in surprise.
He increasingly felt that Mu Wanting had changed far too much.
Meanwhile, at Yongle Marquis Manor, Murong Rong genuinely wanted control of the household.
During the tea ceremony, she repeatedly hinted at it both openly and indirectly, but the Marchioness pretended not to hear.
So after returning from her family visit, Murong Rong openly began criticizing Zhao Zhiyuan’s behavior since their marriage.
The Marchioness was displeased to hear her beloved youngest son being scolded.
But when she thought of the lavish dowry, she suppressed her anger.
The enormous marquis estate still depended on Murong Rong’s wealth to survive.
If Murong Rong managed the household, then naturally her dowry could be used openly.
Suppressing her irritation, the Marchioness smiled and patted Murong Rong’s hand.
“Rongrong, once the household authority is in your hands, you must manage things well. Zhiyuan may be a bit of a bastard right now, but with time he’ll surely become wholeheartedly devoted to you.”
Murong Rong believed so too.
Zhao Zhiyuan’s devoted and affectionate nature was undeniable. He would soon become this year’s top scholar and later rise to the position of Grand Chancellor.
Thinking of this, she felt everything was worth enduring.
Delighted, she accepted the keys.
Once the household authority was transferred, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law accompanied her to inspect the treasury.
But when they opened the chests according to the dowry list, they found nothing but stones inside.
The Marchioness’s smile instantly vanished.
“The Minister’s residence certainly showed great sincerity. Who would have thought those ten miles of dowry processions were filled with rocks?”
The sisters-in-law also mocked her from the side.
No matter how Murong Rong tried to explain, the Marchioness no longer cared to listen.
Zhao Zhiyuan treated her even more coldly, spending his days outside for reasons unknown.
But things should not have turned out this way.
In her previous life, Zhao Zhiyuan had treated Mu Wanting kindly even after her reputation was ruined.
Why then was his attitude toward her—a celebrated beauty and talented woman of the capital—so poor?
Determined to uncover the truth behind the dowry, she decided to return to her natal family.
The moment she arrived, she saw everyone in the Mu family looking miserable.
Mu Guozhong, who had always doted on Madam Liu, suddenly slapped her so hard she fell to the floor.
“You shameless woman! You dared consort with another man and even let him empty out the Minister’s residence!”
Tears streamed down Madam Liu’s face.
“My lord, I’m innocent! I’ve always been devoted to you. I never intended to empty the residence!”
Mu Guozhong slapped her again.
“Then how did he know your maiden name was Piaopiao?”
“Speak! Where did all the valuables from the residence go?”
When Murong Rong learned that the treasury had been emptied, her gaze toward Madam Liu also filled with resentment.
“Father, my dowry chests were all filled with stones too. Now the Yongle Marquis Manor says our family deceived them.”
Then Murong Rong anxiously turned toward Madam Liu.
“Mother, that dowry is truly important to me. It determines whether I can establish myself firmly in the marquis household. Please return it.”
Madam Liu looked at Murong Rong in disappointment.
She had never expected her own daughter to add fuel to the fire at a time like this.
Mu Guozhong slapped Madam Liu once more before ordering servants to lock her in the woodshed and have the steward torture her for answers.
Madam Liu continued crying out her innocence, but no one believed her.
After all, if Madam Liu had not instructed it, how could the dowry have been replaced with stones?
If she had not leaked information intentionally, how could anyone know the Minister’s residence so well?
And without inside assistance from the household manager, how could someone quietly empty the entire estate overnight?