Duke Dingguo Manor still looked exactly as it did in Shen Wan’s memories.
Reserved and dignified, every corner of it carried an air of quiet authority.
Not like the flashy, extravagantly renovated estate the Second Branch had turned it into later, magnificent on the surface, yet stripped of all solemnity and prestige.
In her previous life, after her elder brother and father met with disaster one after another, the title had passed to the Second Branch. Once they inherited the dukedom, they completely remodeled the manor. By the time Shen Wan returned to see her mother for the last time before her death, Duke Dingguo Manor had already become almost unrecognizable.
And after that, Shen Wan never returned again.
As she walked past Qingyi Courtyard, a cold glint surfaced in her eyes.
That courtyard had originally belonged to her.
After her second uncle brought Ye Caiwei back to the manor, Ye Caiwei claimed she was lonely and wanted to live together with Shen Wan.
For a year and a half, the cousins ate together, slept together, and shared every secret. But after Shen Wan’s elder sister married and left the household, it suddenly became “inconvenient” for them to continue sharing quarters.
Using her late uncle’s sacrifice in saving Shen Wan’s father as leverage, they pressured her into giving up Qingyi Courtyard.
Though unwilling, Shen Wan still moved into Mingyue Courtyard, her elder sister’s former residence.
Over the years, more than half the valuable items given to her by the Duke’s household and the Yun family had remained behind in Qingyi Courtyard. Yet whenever Shen Wan wanted to reclaim them, people would say: “Her father is already dead. Why must you fight with Ye Caiwei over these worldly possessions?”
Clearly, they were the ones coveting her belongings, yet they shamelessly accused her instead, claiming she could not tolerate an orphaned cousin.
Everything that belonged to her.
She would reclaim it all.
And she would force Ye Caiwei back into the position she truly belonged in.
Qingyi Courtyard occupied an excellent location. Whether going to the front residence, paying respects to her parents, or visiting the Old Madam, it was convenient in every direction.
Mingyue Courtyard, on the other hand, was more remote and required at least another half cup of tea’s worth of walking time.
Inside Mingyue Courtyard, several maids were gathered together whispering among themselves. They were discussing Shen Wan’s decision to send Bao Cui to the estate for “retirement.”
They were so engrossed in gossip that they failed to notice Shen Wan returning.
One maid indignantly defended Bao Cui. “Aren’t people only sent to the estate after making mistakes? Sister Bao Cui helped Miss avoid a bloody disaster, so why is she being sent away too? Isn’t Miss worried the servants there will bully her?”
Shen Wan walked over calmly.
“That was my oversight,” she said coldly. “You can go to the estate and serve Bao Cui too.”
The sudden voice startled the maids so badly that they immediately dropped to their knees.
The maid who had spoken turned deathly pale and hurriedly apologized.
“This servant spoke out of turn! Please calm your anger, Miss!”
“Send her to the estate too.”
After leaving behind those words, Shen Wan walked straight into the room.
The maid’s name was Ziyuan. At present, she was only a second-rank maid.
In Shen Wan’s previous life, two months later, Bao Cui had secretly become pregnant and was beaten to death. Afterward, Shen Wan promoted Ziyuan to become one of her senior maids.
When the Consort Dowager of Prince Kang’s Manor celebrated her birthday banquet, Shen Wan had brought Ziyuan along.
That night, after Shen Wan was drugged and lost consciousness, it had been Ziyuan who helped her go find Xiao Yun.
Shen Wan remembered nothing clearly about what happened afterward. But before she fainted, she distinctly remembered seeing Xiao Yun approaching her from afar.
Afterward, Shen Wu and Ye Caiwei told her it was Xiao Yun who had saved her.
Ziyuan said the same.
That was why Shen Wan had never doubted them.
This time, she would never again keep disloyal servants by her side, allowing hidden dangers to grow around her.
Inside the room, another of Shen Wan’s senior maids, Shanhu, was dusting the antique shelf.
Shanhu was hardworking and quiet by nature.
But in her previous life, she had lost her life simply because she spoke too much on one occasion.
After Xiao Yun injured himself saving Shen Wan, her parents opposed marrying her to him. Bao Cui encouraged Shen Wan to secretly visit Prince Cheng’s Manor to meet Xiao Yun in private.
Shanhu had tried persuading her not to go, warning that the Duke and Madam would be displeased if they found out.
Her advice had worked, and Shen Wan ultimately did not dare go.
Yet that very evening, Shanhu drowned in the lotus pond.
Shanhu poured Shen Wan a cup of tea.
“Miss, have some tea to soothe your throat.”
Shen Wan sat down and casually asked, “I remember you mentioned having a fellow villager working in the manor. What was her name again?”
Shanhu had only casually mentioned it once and was surprised Shen Wan still remembered.
“Her name is Yinchuan,” Shanhu quickly replied. “She works in the garden tending flowers and plants.”
“Bring her to see me.”
After soaking comfortably in a hot bath and finishing dressing, Shen Wan finally met Yinchuan.
The little maid had no idea why Shen Wan had summoned her and looked extremely nervous.
Naturally, Shen Wan had not remembered Yinchuan simply because of one comment from Shanhu.
In her previous life, after Shanhu drowned, Yinchuan had secretly burned paper money for her near the spot where she died. Shen Wan’s mother had happened to catch her.
Only then did they learn the two girls were fellow villagers who had entered the manor together.
Yinchuan had once borrowed one tael of silver from Shanhu. After Shanhu died, there was no chance to repay it, so Yinchuan bought funeral paper offerings and secretly burned them for her at night, hoping Shanhu would at least have spending money in the underworld.
Madam Yun had found Yinchuan loyal and sentimental, so she promoted her into her own courtyard.
By the time Madam Yun died, Yinchuan had already become one of her first-rank senior maids.
Later, for reasons unknown, Yinchuan eventually committed suicide by stabbing herself in the throat with a silver hairpin.
The current Yinchuan was still young and inexperienced, but after proper training, she would become exceptionally skilled at managing accounts.
Shen Wan asked, “Would you be willing to serve under me from now on?”
Yinchuan froze for a moment before nodding rapidly.
“This servant is willing!”
Back then, when Shanhu mentioned Yinchuan, she had actually hoped to arrange for her fellow villager to transfer into Mingyue Courtyard so they could look after each other. But Shanhu had not dared say it directly, and Shen Wan had failed to understand the implication, so the matter was quietly dropped.
At present, Shen Wan did not dare trust the people in this courtyard too easily.
But anyone who had passed her mother’s judgment was someone Shen Wan could feel more at ease with.
“Go back and pack your things,” Shen Wan instructed. “Then move in and share quarters with Shanhu.”
Yinchuan nodded eagerly.
At that moment, a young maid entered from outside the beaded curtain.
“Miss, the eldest young master has arrived.”
Shen Wan immediately hurried out.
Under the sunlight, her elder brother Shen Li strode toward her with a handsome and upright bearing.
The moment she saw him, Shen Wan’s eyes turned red and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Shen Li frowned slightly.
“Why are you crying?”
“Who’s crying?” Shen Wan quickly denied. “Dust just got into my eyes.”
But there wasn’t any wind at all.
Shen Li looked puzzled.
“What urgent matter did my little sister have that required summoning me so anxiously?”
Shen Wan wiped away her tears, pulled him aside, and only spoke after confirming no one was nearby.
“Elder Brother, I don’t want to marry the heir of Duke Zheng’s household. Help me ruin this engagement.”
Ruining the match itself would actually be easy enough.
Truthfully, Shen Li already had someone he considered a far more suitable husband candidate for his sister.
But he didn’t dare interfere.
“Father and Mother have already agreed…” he said helplessly.
Shen Wan immediately countered, “If Elder Brother refuses to help me, then I’ll tell Father and Mother that you already have someone you like.”
Shen Li’s face instantly reddened.
“D-Don’t talk nonsense! Where would your brother get a lover from?!”
If he truly had none, then why was he blushing and stammering?
As his younger sister, how could Shen Wan possibly not understand him?
She narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t have someone you like, then why are you secretly hiding her portrait? And why didn’t you even dare draw her face?”
Shen Li froze completely.
“…!!!”
Wait.
How did his sister know about that?!
Now it was Shen Li who panicked that someone might overhear them.
Shen Wan pressed, “So are you helping me or not?”
“I’ll help! I’ll help!”
He looked exactly like someone whose greatest weakness had been seized, leaving him no choice but to surrender.
Shen Wan wanted to laugh.
But she wanted to cry even more.
In her previous life, her elder brother had never married the woman he truly loved.
Their father held military power, and the Yun family possessed immense wealth. Just as Shen Wan and her elder sister’s marriages had been manipulated by others, Shen Li had not escaped either.
He had been forced to marry his wife, and the two of them only maintained superficial harmony.
Later, his wife discovered a hidden portrait in a secret compartment inside his study. It was a painting of a woman without a face.
Only then did the family realize Shen Li had always loved someone deeply.
But no matter how they questioned him, he never revealed who she was.
Shen Wan asked softly, “If Elder Brother likes her so much, then why didn’t you go propose marriage?”
For a brief instant, Shen Li’s eyes dimmed.
But he quickly smiled and lightly knocked Shen Wan on the forehead.
“I rushed over here in such a panic because I heard you had urgent business with me. And in the end, you were only blackmailing your brother.”
He deliberately changed the subject stiffly.
Seeing that, Shen Wan chose not to press further.
She would find out eventually.
For her brother to hide that portrait for so many years, he must have loved that woman deeply.
This lifetime, Shen Wan would never allow her brother to be manipulated again and live with lifelong regret.