Ziyun Temple.
Madam Yao conveyed Shen Huaiming’s words word for word.
“Eldest Miss, this is the current stance of the Shen family. The head of the household and the madam both hope that you will conduct yourself properly.”
“Conduct myself properly?” Man Yin frowned in confusion and asked sharply, “Madam Yao, since the Eldest Miss came to Ziyun Temple, she has been copying scriptures the entire time. I don’t understand how did it become such a different attitude from the head of the household and madam after you went back and forth?”
Madam Yao said coldly, “The head of the household and madam are displeased that the Eldest Miss is staying in Yuqing Courtyard.”
After all, it was a place under a man’s jurisdiction.
And she was still unmarried.
If word got out, it would become a joke.
Man Yin grew even angrier. “What’s wrong with Yuqing Courtyard?”
“Yuqing Courtyard was built by Old Madam Xie. Every month on the eighteenth, Old Madam Xie comes to Ziyun Temple to cultivate in seclusion for ten days, and she stays in Yuqing Courtyard.”
Shen Zhao, who had been sitting at the desk silently copying scriptures, spoke in a long, calm tone.
Only after finishing did she set down her brush and slowly lift her eyes toward Madam Yao.
Her gaze was sharp and piercing, forcing Madam Yao to avoid eye contact.
A master shapes the servant.
Not a noble young lady, nor a servant of a great household.
What one sees, what one knows, what one does all serve one’s own interest first.
She was no longer the Shen family’s highly anticipated future Crown Princess.
And this opportunistic Madam Yao was no longer as respectful as before.
But Shen Zhao was no longer the same Shen Zhao as in her previous life.
“Madam Yao, after you returned to the Shen residence, how did you report what you saw in Yuqing Courtyard to my parents?”
Madam Yao frowned slightly. “This servant spoke truthfully. Eldest Miss indeed should not be staying in Old Xie’s Yuqing Courtyard, as it damages Second Miss’s reputation. After all, you and the Duke Jin are not yet married.”
“So that is how you reported it.” Shen Zhao slowly stood up.
Her gaze drifted past Madam Yao’s shoulder and landed on a figure standing outside the door.
He wore a dark black robe, gripping a sword tightly, stepping over the threshold.
Then.
He shut the door heavily.
Madam Yao was startled. She turned abruptly, but before she could even see clearly, a sharp blade flashing with cold light was already pressed against her neck.
She cried out and stumbled back several steps before collapsing heavily into a grand chair.
Looking closely
She finally saw it was… Xie Chenyu.
Madam Yao panicked. “Duke Jin, what are you doing?!”
“Nothing much. I just hate liars.” Xie Chenyu’s tone was icy.
He had been closely monitoring all movements in the capital.
The Crown Prince’s night departure from the city and subsequent injury had once again shaken the imperial harem.
The Imperial Preceptor Lianping had conducted divination late into the night.
All of them blamed the “disaster star,” believing Shen Zhao to be a source of calamity.
And all of this the source was inseparable from this Madam Yao.
“I didn’t… I didn’t lie! The madam asked me, I only told the truth…” she stammered.
With a sharp “clang,” the blade swept across, and Madam Yao’s hair bun was instantly cut loose.
Hair scattered all over the ground.
Madam Yao screamed in terror, clutching her head. “I am the steward of the Shen household’s mistress! If the Duke Jin dares to kill me, my mistress will never let you off!”
As she finished speaking and looked up
The person holding the sword had changed.
It was now Shen Zhao.
Madam Yao stared in disbelief. “E-Eldest Miss, y-you…”
“Madam Yao, what was my mother’s name twenty years ago?”
What?
Madam Yao’s eyes widened like copper bells.
She didn’t understand why would Shen Zhao ask such a question?
“Eldest Miss, what are you saying? The madam is the eldest daughter of the Cui family, named…”
“Peony. Zhen Mudan!”
The words “Cui Xuenian” were cut off by Shen Zhao’s voice.
Madam Yao’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
How could the Eldest Miss possibly know… that name?
“My mother is not the Cui family’s eldest daughter. Her surname was originally Zhen, and her name was Mudan.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Yao was terrified out of her wits.
Instinctively, she denied it.
“This servant… this servant doesn’t know what the Eldest Miss is talking about.”
“What Zhen Mudan? The madam is the Cui family’s legitimate eldest daughter of the Chenjun aristocratic clan.”
“She is your own biological mother.”
Her final sentence was a warning an attempt to restrain Shen Zhao.
No matter what shocking secret she had heard, the identity of the madam was tied to her honor and future status.
Once that identity was exposed, not only would it bring her no benefit, but it would turn her into a laughingstock of the entire capital.
Madam Yao was certain Shen Zhao would not dare say it in front of Xie Chenyu.
“Eldest Miss…”
“My mother is Zhen Mudan. She never kept peonies in the courtyard because she destroyed my peony hairpin and floral ornaments it was because…”
“She is the daughter of a gardener. My maternal grandfather was very skilled at growing peonies.”
“After giving birth to my mother, he named her Mudan.”
“So…”
“My mother is not allergic to peonies. She simply hates hearing the word ‘peony.’”
These were all findings Xie Chenyu had ordered people to investigate in Chenjun.
When spoken by Shen Zhao, Madam Yao, who had been about to argue, froze completely.
Her mind felt like a tangled mess of knotted rope, impossible to untangle.
For a moment, she did not know how to respond.
Then she suddenly collapsed to her knees before Shen Zhao.
“Eldest Miss, if you want to use this to threaten the madam, there is no need to fabricate such absurd lies to ruin her reputation.”
“You can simply have me taken back and punished severely. Such jokes must not be spoken lightly!”
“Good.” Shen Zhao lowered her gaze, looking down at Madam Yao.
“Good.” Shen Zhao lowered her eyes, looking down at Madam Yao.
The sword in her hand had already been returned to Xie Chenyu.
In her previous life, her tragic ending was tied to everyone in that courtyard.
Not a single disloyal servant could escape responsibility they even aided the Shen family in committing wrongdoing.
Her left and right arms had been severed Man Yin and Man Su.
And Madam Yao had been the very first to strike.
Shen Zhao looked at Xie Chenyu and asked, “Duke Jin, how do you interrogate stubborn prisoners in the Si Du Bureau?”
Xie Chenyu not only commanded an army of three hundred thousand troops.
He also served as the Director of the Si Du Bureau.
In the three years since he took over, he had uncovered six wrongful cases.
Because of this…
He was able to uncover the secret of Shen Zhao’s mother Cui Xuenian’s identity in the shortest possible time.
His highly efficient handling of affairs earned the emperor’s deep trust.
Even Shen Zhao’s elder brother, Shen Rong, could not keep up with him no matter how hard he tried.
And he deeply resented Xie Chenyu for it.
Xie Chenyu said, “If the bones are hard, then break her bones.”
Madam Yao felt a chill crawl across her scalp, her face turning ashen.
Yet she still believed they would not dare openly take her life.
“Eldest Miss, this servant truly knows nothing…”
Shen Zhao glanced at Madam Yao and said nothing more.
Xie Chenyu immediately grabbed Madam Yao’s wrist and pressed it against the table.
He raised the sword hilt high and brought it down hard.
Madam Yao was so terrified that, almost at the same moment, she wet herself.
Just as the cold, heavy sword hilt was about to crush the back of her hand
She screamed, “Eldest Miss! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Her voice came out rapid and panicked.
The sword hilt stopped just half a centimeter from her hand.
She could already feel the intense pain and icy pressure, as if it struck straight into her heart.
For the first time, she felt that death was so close.
Xie Chenyu released his grip and stepped back.
Shen Zhao stepped forward and stood before Madam Yao.
Madam Yao, trembling and gasping for breath, repeated, “I… I’ll talk!”