This burst of laughter brought the previously stagnant dining hall back to life in an instant.
Shen Qingyao let out a sharp scream, clutched her chest, and scrambled away in a panic.
It was summer, and her clothes were thin; the soaked fabric revealed the color of her bodice underneath.
Seeing her daughter’s clothes drenched, Lady Liu also felt her temper flare.
"You wretch, how dare you splash my Yao'er!"
Shen Qingyuan calmly picked up another teacup and poured some water into it.
"What is Concubine Liu saying? That teacup was snatched away by her just now.
She was thirsty and wanted water, so I, being magnanimous, let her have it, but she spilled it herself. How can you blame me for this?"
After Lady Liu went from being a mistress to a principal wife and married Shen Shiqian.
She was known as a government official's wife to the outside world and had lived in luxury for so long, accustomed to hearing flattery.
It had been a long, long time since anyone dared to speak to her like this.
Lady Liu was so furious that she momentarily forgot that her daughter had just been bullied and ran off.
"You wretch, what did you call me?"
Shen Qingyuan sipped her tea; she had spoken clearly just a moment ago.
There was no need to repeat herself for a deaf person.
Beside her, Gu Minglan finished her tea and set down the cup.
"Concubine Liu, have you perhaps forgotten your own status?"
Lady Liu whipped her head around to glare at Gu Minglan, her tone sharp.
"What is my status? I am the principal wife of the Shen Mansion!
Gu Minglan, you are nothing but a cast-off wife who was despised by the Master and abandoned in the countryside for years. Do you really think you are qualified to lecture me?"
Gu Minglan’s expression remained calm as her fingertips gently rubbed the rim of her teacup.
She spoke faintly.
"Principal wife? You were originally just a concubine-born daughter of the Liu Family, given to Shen Shiqian as a mistress.
I only spent a few years at the estate, and you truly think you are a legitimate, high-born official's wife?"
Stung in her most sensitive spot, Lady Liu’s face turned bright red instantly. She pointed at Gu Minglan, trembling with rage.
"You... you are spouting nonsense! I am the principal wife legally wed by the Master. Stop your slanderous accusations here!"
"Legally wed?" Gu Minglan scoffed.
"The Master and I have yet to divorce, so where did this 'legally wed' status of yours even come from?"
Once these words were out, Lady Liu looked at Shen Shiqian in shock.
She reached out, wanting to grab his sleeve.
"Master, you said you gave her a letter of divorce back then and drove her to the countryside."
Shen Shiqian’s eyes darted to the side.
He awkwardly avoided Lady Liu’s hand.
"Well, you know, the Founding Empress was very strict about these things. The Shen family didn't meet any of the Seven Grounds for Divorce."
The Founding Empress had modified the laws significantly.
Especially regarding the Seven Grounds for Divorce, the definitions were extremely strict.
Even if one had truly committed one of the Seven Grounds, the Founding Empress did not allow for divorce while she was alive.
Now that she was gone, the Emperor had continued those laws out of filial piety.
As a capital official living under the Emperor’s feet, he naturally dared not divorce his wife so blatantly.
But if they were to follow the law and propose a divorce.
The dowry brought by the Shen family would have to be returned in full.
The amount given by the Gu Family was simply too much.
Shen Shiqian could not bear to part with it.
Lady Liu felt as if she had been struck by lightning and staggered back two steps.
She only managed to stand steady by holding onto the edge of the table.
Lady Liu stared fixedly at Shen Shiqian, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"So you never divorced her? For all these years, I have borne your children and managed the household, and you have been hiding this from me, making me a concubine?!"
Shen Shiqian dared not look at her and only said in a low voice.
"Yan'er, it is not like that. How could you be a concubine? You are an equal wife. Everything in the mansion is under your management."
Shen Qingyuan watched the drama from the side, feeling that the situation was not yet chaotic enough.
So, in the gap between sips of tea, she interjected.
"Isn't an equal wife still a concubine?"
Lady Liu had been looking at Shen Shiqian with anger and resentment, but upon hearing Shen Qingyuan speak.
She immediately dropped her dissatisfaction with Shen Shiqian and lashed out at Shen Qingyuan.
"Shut your mouth! There is no place for a wretch like you to speak here!"
Gu Minglan stood up and slapped Lady Liu across the face.
"Concubine Liu, keep your mouth clean."
Lady Liu stumbled from the blow and fell into Shen Shiqian’s arms.
Seeing Lady Liu covering her face and looking at him with teary eyes.
Shen Shiqian’s heart softened after all.
Lady Liu was currently more beautiful than Gu Minglan, and she had always been gentle and submissive before him, treating him as her heaven.
How could he bear to see Lady Liu get hit?
He stood up, intending to strike back.
Shen Qingyuan spoke up coolly from the side.
"Master Shen, you had better think carefully. If that slap lands, my mother will divorce you tomorrow."
Master Shen paused, his mind racing.
No matter how much the Founding Empress had changed things, there was no precedent for a woman to initiate a divorce.
If Gu Minglan dared to propose a divorce, he would dare to withhold her entire dowry as compensation.
He could also openly cast off the stain of having once married this merchant household daughter.
Thinking this, Shen Shiqian was eager for Gu Minglan to propose a divorce right now.
He was no longer who he used to be; he was now a fifth-rank Vice Minister of Rites.
And as for Gu Minglan, an orphan who had lost her father, even if she wanted to reclaim her dowry according to the law.
The Government Office would not offend him for the sake of a merchant's daughter.
Moreover, the dowry Gu Minglan had placed in the storeroom.
He had long since used up most of it.
He had even burned the dowry list clean; he was not afraid.
"Divorce then! But for a woman to initiate a divorce is an insult to my reputation. Don't even think about taking a single cent of the dowry!"
Hearing the word "divorce," Lady Liu also felt a surge of joy.
Ignoring her face, she called out from behind Shen Shiqian.
"Master, look, these two wretches clearly do not hold you in any regard.
All these years, they have eaten the Shen family's food and used the Shen family's things, yet they still want the dowry. Where in the world is there such a good deal!
Since they want a divorce, have them return all the money."
Gu Minglan was so angered by the words of these two people that she laughed.
She must have been kicked in the head by a donkey back then.
How on earth did she ever fall for such trash?
Every word out of their mouths was about swallowing her dowry.
This Lady Liu was truly worthy of being born to a concubine.
Not only did she want her dowry, but she even wanted to squeeze more money out of her.
Gu Minglan looked at the pair of greedy, shameless wretches before her.
The last shred of affection she had for Shen Shiqian was completely worn away.
She reached into her sleeve, wanting to pull out the Token of the Marquis of Zhenbei.
Shen Qingyuan stepped forward and pressed down on her hand.
"Mother, wait a little longer. There is no rush."
If they just divorced so easily, even if they got the dowry back, Shen Qingyuan would still feel it was a loss.
After all, they had suffered for so many years in the countryside.
At the very least, she had to watch this pair of wretches develop a rift and put on a good show of dogs biting dogs.
It wouldn't be too late to divorce after ruining their Luck.
（Daoist Xuan Liang: My good disciple, do you have any conscience? When did you ever suffer? With you around, the spiritual plants on my mountain are the ones who truly suffered.）
Seeing Shen Qingyuan hold Gu Minglan back, Lady Liu felt a bit panicked.
This is bad; this dead girl must be coveting the Master's official status and doesn't want to follow her mother and be a lowly merchant's daughter.
If she convinces Gu Minglan to continue clinging to the Shen Mansion and occupying the title of principal wife, that would be troublesome.
"Qingyuan, you just said yourself that your mother wants a divorce, so why are you stopping her now?
Let me tell you, this was your own proposal. If you want to go back on your word and refuse to leave, don't even think about it."
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