After seeing her mother and elder brother, Shen Wan desperately wanted to see her father, Shen Ji.
Unfortunately, wanting it was useless.
Military affairs kept Shen Ji occupied, and it was already dark by the time he returned to the manor. Shen Wan went to the front courtyard twice but still failed to see him, so she had no choice but to give up.
That night, she retired to bed early.
Now that she had returned, her life naturally resumed the rhythm of her days as an unmarried young lady.
The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Wan brought Shanhu with her to Shou’an Hall to pay respects to the Old Madam.
Before even entering, she could already hear laughter coming from inside.
The Old Madam sat upright on the luohan couch. Her hair, streaked faintly with white, was combed meticulously without a strand out of place. A kind smile rested on her face, anyone who saw her would think she was a warm and benevolent grandmother.
But how could a woman who had raised the wolf-hearted Second and Fourth Branches truly be kind?
In Shen Wan’s previous life, after her elder brother met with disaster on the battlefield, her father was devastated. Yet only a few days later, enemy troops cut off his head.
The military prestige Shen Ji had built over more than ten years collapsed overnight, and Duke Dingguo Manor itself seemed on the verge of falling apart.
At that critical moment, Second Uncle Shen Gu was appointed to replace her father.
Within little more than a month, he avenged Shen Ji by capturing alive the enemy general who had severed her father’s head.
Shen Gu rose to fame by stepping on her father’s corpse. His reputation even surpassed Shen Ji’s while alive.
Back then, Shen Wan had been completely deceived and had even been deeply grateful to Shen Gu.
Only after death did she learn the truth behind the scheme: It was Shen Gu himself who had secretly presented her father’s severed head to Nanliang.
And the “capture” of the enemy general that boosted Shen Gu’s reputation was merely Nanliang’s reward in return.
After both her father and Prince Jingbei died on the battlefield, Shen Gu practically monopolized military power.
Arrogant and self-serving, he promoted people based on favoritism. The army under his command became lax and undisciplined.
Otherwise, when Xie Jingyu later raised troops in rebellion, he would never have gained so much support.
Nor would he have been able to march into the capital within only three years and drag them from the clouds into the mud, condemning them to eternal ruin.
Shen Wan called the Old Madam “Grandmother,” but in truth, she was not Shen Wan’s biological grandmother.
She was merely the younger sister of the late Old Madam.
The late Old Madam died from hemorrhaging during childbirth while giving birth to Ye Caiwei’s mother. Before dying, she feared that if Shen Wan’s grandfather remarried, a stepmother would mistreat her son and daughter.
So she asked her natal family to marry one of her younger sisters into the household instead.
In the end, it was the current Old Madam who married in, after breaking off her original engagement to wed Shen Wan’s grandfather.
The Old Madam later bore two sons and one daughter for him.
While Shen Wan’s grandfather was alive, he treated the Old Madam with great respect. After Shen Ji inherited the ducal title, the Old Madam’s authority within the manor became absolute.
Duke Dingguo Manor had four branches.
Madam Yun, the Second Madam, Third Madam, and Fourth Madam were all present today, making the hall lively and crowded.
“Grandmother.”
Shen Wan stepped forward obediently and curtsied.
The Old Madam smiled warmly. But when her gaze fell upon Shen Wan, the smile dimmed slightly, though she still appeared benevolent.
After first asking how Shen Wan had slept the previous night, the Old Madam said: “Bao Cui was publicly rescued by Prince Cheng. Since you have your concerns and no longer dare treat her like an ordinary maid, sending her to the estate for retirement is understandable. But now that you’re missing a senior maid, let Bi Po serve you from now on.”
Bi Po was one of the Old Madam’s second-rank maids.
In Shen Wan’s previous life, after Shanhu drowned, the Old Madam had likewise gifted Bi Po to her.
Even while Bao Cui was still around, the Old Madam had already tried placing Bi Po beside her. Now that Bao Cui was gone, it became even more obvious.
Only by surrounding Shen Wan entirely with their own people could they tightly control every word and action of hers.
Shen Wu even pretended to sound jealous.
“Grandmother truly favors Second Sister the most. The moment she loses a maid, Grandmother immediately replaces her, afraid she won’t be properly cared for.”
That was exactly the line Shen Wan had been waiting for.
She stepped forward and sat affectionately beside the Old Madam, speaking in a spoiled tone.
“I know Grandmother loves me the most. But can Grandmother love me just a little more? I don’t want Bi Po. Her personality is too similar to Shanhu’s. I prefer Hongxiu instead. Grandmother, could you bear to part with Hongxiu and give her to me?”
Hongxiu was one of the Old Madam’s personal senior maids.
A younger person could not refuse gifts bestowed by an elder. Since the Old Madam insisted on placing a maid beside her, Shen Wan could not reject it outright.
But she could choose which maid she wanted.
And naturally, she had not chosen randomly.
In her previous life, Hongxiu, the Old Madam’s trusted senior maid, was secretly executed not long afterward.
Shen Wan had once heard a rumor about it, though she never knew whether it was true.
Only by bringing Hongxiu to her side could she uncover that hidden secret.
Madam Yun lightly scolded her.
“Hongxiu has served mother for years. How could she be given to you? Mother will give you Dongmei instead.”
But the Old Madam replied immediately: “She rarely asks me for anything. Since she likes Hongxiu so much, could I, as her grandmother, really be unwilling to part with a maid?”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
Shen Wan smiled sweetly and affectionately.
Then she turned toward Shen Wu and Ye Caiwei.
“Thanks to that Taoist priest yesterday, I avoided a bloody disaster. I haven’t properly thanked him yet. I’m planning to return to Huguo Temple today. Why don’t you come with me?”
Huguo Temple was located outside the city. The journey was long and the roads difficult.
Having just gone yesterday, neither Shen Wu nor Ye Caiwei wanted to return.
Shen Wu immediately said, “I need to practice the qin today, so I won’t accompany you.”
Ye Caiwei added, “I also need to practice dancing.”
Since neither of them would go, Shen Wan looked toward Shen Yin of the Third Branch and Shen Yao of the Fourth Branch.
Yet none of them volunteered either.
These people usually revolved around Shen Wu all day long. Only when they needed money did they cling to Shen Wan.
Madam Yun said, “If it’s only to offer thanks, you can simply send a servant. There’s no need for you to personally go.”
Although Shen Wan had escaped unharmed yesterday, Madam Yun still felt frightened whenever she recalled it. She did not dare let Shen Wan travel to Huguo Temple alone again.
But Shen Wan insisted.
“If Mother is worried, then Mother can accompany me.”
“Fine,” Madam Yun agreed. “I’ll go with you.”
Yet in the end, Shen Wan still left alone.
Just as they were preparing to depart, the Duchess of Zheng arrived unexpectedly at the manor.
She had come so quickly that Shen Wan could not tell whether she was here to return the birth chart and cancel the marriage arrangement.
Madam Yun needed to entertain the Duchess of Zheng and could not spare herself.
Meanwhile, Shen Wan refused to postpone her trip.
So she had no choice but to leave alone.
The moment the carriage departed from Duke Dingguo Manor, Shen Wan instructed the coachman: “To the Yun residence.”