"Is my mother's name something you are worthy of calling?"
Shen Qingyuan now looked at Nanny Liu as if she were looking at a dead person.
"Furthermore, my father demoting a wife to a concubine is already against the law. Not to mention that this Shen Mansion is originally my mother's dowry; it is not your place to act so arrogantly here."
Nanny Liu was knocked onto the floor.
Clutching her cheek, she was in pain and furious, yet she dared not talk back to this person before her again.
She could only roar at the servants behind her.
"What are you all standing there for? Get her! Didn't you hear the Master say to hand both of these sluts over to Madam to deal with?"
The servants looked at one another.
Recalling Shen Qingyuan's methods from the morning, no one wanted to be the first to confront her.
They only shuffled forward half a step, dragging their feet.
Shen Qingyuan sneered and walked a few steps closer.
"Who is coming first?"
As Shen Qingyuan approached, the servants all retreated in unison.
The young maids had already seen the bruised and swollen faces of the servants who had gone out earlier.
They knew this was a person not to be trifled with.
They hurried forward to help Nanny Liu up.
"Nanny, let's not use force with them; we should just invite them over properly.
I assume they wouldn't dare use force against Madam."
Behind Madam, there was still the Liu Family.
The previous generation of the Liu Family was very prolific.
Madam had three older brothers and two younger brothers.
Among them, two brothers were quite learned.
They had passed the imperial examinations to become scholars.
Now, they were also serving at the Capital Magistrate's office.
The Capital Magistrate was a truly formidable force in the Capital City.
If the two of them dared to hit Madam,
then they would have absolutely no way to survive.
Nanny Liu thought of this as well.
That's right, she had hit her.
At most, Madam would offer a few words of comfort, and there wouldn't even be any compensation; it wasn't worth it.
It would be better to politely invite the two of them to Madam's side.
And let Madam deal with them.
If she could get them killed, wouldn't her bracelet come back to her?
Nanny Liu stood up with the help of the maids.
Suppressing her anger, she squeezed out an ugly smile.
"It is this old servant who was ignorant and offended you. Madam just invites the two of you over to have a chat; there is no other meaning. You see..."
Shen Qingyuan glanced at her coldly and did not respond.
Gu Minglan spoke up instead.
"Let's make it later; we need to go out and purchase some things first."
They would meet, but not right now.
Nanny Liu's expression was ugly, but she had to force a smile.
"What are you saying? The mansion lacks nothing. Why not follow this old servant to see Madam first?"
Shen Qingyuan looked at the black aura covering Nanny Liu's face.
Then she looked at her mother's forehead.
The death qi had faded a little more.
The death qi on her mother's forehead was indeed related to this Nanny Liu.
The remaining portion was likely related to the Madam she spoke of.
However, right now,
Shen Qingyuan really had no time to go see that so-called Madam.
In her mother's sleeve, there was still the pawn shop contract.
In her own bosom, she also had her grandfather's notebook.
It was truly inconvenient to read them in this mansion.
Shen Qingyuan suddenly remembered something.
"Isn't that Lady Liu just calling me over to talk about the wedding for luck? I'll go to Prince Jing's Mansion to take a look first."
At the beginning,
Shen Qingyuan thought that being the widow of a wealthy prince wouldn't be bad.
But now, she had returned to the mansion.
She suddenly realized that she was the one who was the hidden rich woman.
The idea of marrying over seemed to have faded.
However, when she came down the mountain, Master said she had her own destiny.
So she should still go and take a look.
Perhaps there was something strange about Prince Jing's illness.
If she cured him, not to mention gaining merit,
he should at least give her a large sum of money.
After all, a prince's life was still valuable.
When Nanny Liu heard this, her expression became even uglier.
"This, this... to see His Highness Prince Jing, one must first submit a request and have it arranged by Madam..."
"No need," Shen Qingyuan interrupted her.
"I can get in just fine. As for my mother, she naturally must accompany me."
Her mother probably needed to go to the pawn shop first.
That pawn shop likely had some peculiar aspects.
Her mother had lost the land deed to the house and only held this one contract.
When Nanny Liu heard that the two were leaving the mansion, her expression changed completely.
"How can this be! Madam said to let you two rest in the mansion."
"Rest?" Shen Qingyuan sneered.
"My mother is the Mistress of the House; is it your place, a servant, to question where we go?"
Shen Qingyuan ignored Nanny Liu and walked out, supporting Gu Minglan.
Nanny Liu wanted to stop them, but looking at Shen Qingyuan's cold eyes,
she ultimately dared not step forward, and the group could only watch helplessly as the mother and daughter left the courtyard gate.
Once they were far away, Gu Minglan asked in a low voice, "Qingyuan, are you really going to Prince Jing's Mansion?"
"Yes, I'm going to see what exactly is wrong with that Prince Jing."
Although she didn't study the medical arts on the mountain, she had Fourth Senior Brother.
Fourth Senior Brother was a Daoist Physician, and his medical arts were peerless.
Having been down the mountain for many years, he was also quite famous abroad.
If she used his name, she assumed no one would stop her.
If she really couldn't handle it, she could just call Fourth Senior Brother over.
"Mother, that pawn shop is also an asset left by Maternal Grandfather; do Scum Father and Lady Liu know about it?"
As Shen Qingyuan spoke,
she took a talisman paper folded into a triangle from her bosom and tucked it into Gu Minglan's sleeve.
"Keep this talisman close to you; if you encounter danger, just tear it open."
Gu Minglan nodded and did not refuse.
The two left the Shen Mansion, and Shen Qingyuan hired a carriage to head to the west of the city first.
✦✦✦
Inside Prince Jing's Mansion.
The personal guard was kneeling on one knee beside Prince Jing's bed, whispering.
"Your Highness, the Emperor has arranged a wedding for luck for you, and the date is set for five days from now.
It is the Eldest Legitimate Daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites' family."
On the bed, Prince Jing, who was rumored to be in a coma,
slowly opened his eyes.
"The Emperor is truly impatient; whose faction does that person belong to?"
The guard shook his head.
"Actually, it's not. This candidate for the wedding for luck was decided by the Emperor himself; no one recommended her."
Prince Jing was somewhat surprised.
The Emperor had always been indifferent to all the Imperial Princes.
This candidate was actually chosen by the Emperor, and not a spy planted by his rivals?
But it didn't matter; even if she were a spy, so what?
In his current state, he truly didn't fear spies.
Prince Jing had indeed been attacked and shot with an arrow, and the arrow was poisoned.
The palace had sent imperial physicians, but for some reason, they were unable to fully detoxify him.
They could only try their best to prevent it from spreading, keeping the toxins around the wound on the right side of his chest.
But because the detoxification was delayed,
the toxins were now slowly spreading to his heart meridian.
Prince Jing stayed in bed to make the toxins spread slower, and even slower.
No matter who came to check, Prince Jing appeared half-dead.
Such a Prince Jing had long since lost his position in the struggle for the throne.
As for the wedding for luck, no matter how unwilling Prince Jing was,
he had no energy to deal with it now.
The most urgent matter was the poison in his body.
"Has Master Xuanzhou been found?"
The guard sighed.
"Master Xuanzhou travels the world; he was last seen a week ago. By the time Xiao Jiu arrived, Master Xuanzhou had already left."
Prince Jing closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Master Xuanzhou's medical arts were divine.
If he could find him, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope for the poison in his body.
Now it seemed he could only think of other ways.
✦✦✦
On the other side.
The carriage carrying Shen Qingyuan and Gu Minglan had arrived in front of "Fuyuan Pawn Shop" in the west of the city.
The two walked into the pawn shop; the windows inside were small, and the light was dim.
This was the standard layout for pawn shops, which could make jewelry look a bit dull, making it easier for the pawn shop to drive down the price.
A shop assistant was sitting behind the counter, bored.
Seeing someone enter, he hurriedly stood up to welcome them.
"Two guests, are you here to pawn something or redeem something?"
✦✦✦