Yi Cui was in high spirits and she straightened her back a little. She did not dare to delay and quickly followed Shen Hua's instructions.
Seeing her walk away along the path that had just been shoveled, the servants in the courtyard were finally flustered.
"Mistress, are you selling us out?"
Shen Hua gave the person who spoke a very sharp look.
No one dared to breathe loudly.
The servants sold to the mansion were lowly servants. How could they expect to have a peaceful life?
Mrs. Xu was still standing at the side. She casually glanced at the sickly Shen Hua before lowering her eyes and sneering.
"What's there to be afraid of?! Now that Madam is in charge, how can the young mistress sell you off? I'll go look for Madam to make an inquiry now."
Shen Hua was really capable.
There was no change in her expression as she watched Mrs. Xu leave.
In her previous life, these servants fawningly accepted the silver rewards from Shen Qu while disregarding their past master-servant relationship and firmly kept her detained.
These people, led by Mrs. Xu, used harsh words to torment her, pushing her further into the ground.
She still remembered Mrs. Xu greedily biting a silver ingot and smiling sinisterly at her.
...
"Mistress, although the State Judge is your Second Uncle's father and it sounds like this relationship is a little messy, there are many people rushing to be his concubine. Why aren't you satisfied with him?"
"Who would dare to marry an invalid like you? If the State Judge dotes on you, he might be able to keep you alive with all kinds of precious supplements."
...
At that time, other than Yi Cui, who else had helped her?
Why should she give these people a way out now?
She ignored the servants and turned back to the house.
Outside, gossip slowly spread.
Shen Qu changed his appearance and went to the embroidery workshop as the owner to handle the accounts. He noticed that more than half of the customers in the past had disappeared. Passers-by would always stop when they walked by and size him up with indescribable gazes.
Shen Qu felt that something was wrong.
He suppressed his emotions and sent someone out to ask around. His fingertips streamed across the previous years' books, and his brows were filled with ambition.
In the Second Branch, apart from him, Shen Hewen had three other sons. He was the second son and was just an inconspicuous concubine's son.
He had to live under the eyes of his mother, Madam Shen Zhu.
Relying on the fact that her father was a judge from a seventh-grade prefecture, even Shen Hewen treated her nicely.
Now, however, he had completely made a comeback.
Everything in the main branch belonged to him.
Wearing gold and silver, he could enjoy the finest things. Even the material on his body was much more expensive than the clothes of the self-proclaimed noble Madam Shen Zhu.
The manager of the Shen embroidery workshop stood respectfully at the side.
"The Shen Embroidery Workshop is the largest embroidery workshop in Fengzhou. There are more than a thousand embroidered. The different types of embroidery—Su Xiu, Xiang Xiu, Shu Xiu, and Bian Xiu—all have embroiderers who are proficient in them. However, our Su Xiu is still the best."
Shen Qu listened carefully.
Then, he said gently, "I'll be in charge of the embroidery workshop from now on, but I still don't know much about it. I have to learn from scratch. I'll have to trouble Steward Cheng to take care of this."
The steward hurriedly agreed.
Soon, the attendant returned in a hurry.
Seeing that his expression was unusual, the steward left tactfully.
Shen Qu was pleased. "What's the news?"
The attendant lowered his head and appeared terrified. He was afraid that he would be implicated, but he had no choice but to make the report.
"Everyone is saying that Madam is an immoral woman and that Young Master is unkind and heartless. They say that you look like a good person on the outside, but you're actually as vicious as a scorpion. They say that you're secretly ruthless and disregard your kinship, planning to force the only remaining bloodline in the residence to their death."
The smile on Shen Qu's face disappeared.
He had already arranged for porridge to be sent to the deceased soul of Shen Wei, for the sake of accumulating good karma. He was waiting to hear the word of his good reputation, but what was this?
He held the ledger tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
The atmosphere instantly became icy.
After a long while, the wooden chair dragged across the ground, creating a sharp and ear-piercing sound. Shen Qu suddenly stood up with a dark expression.
"We're heading back!"
…
Ningyun Courtyard was the courtyard where Shen Xue stayed.
Since Chao Lu was here, she naturally could not be placed in an important position. However, Madam Shen Xue rewarded her with two taels of silver on account that she was Mrs. Wang's future daughter-in-law.
Chao Lu was not too satisfied. She secretly scolded Madam Shen Xue for being a little stingy. Usually, when Shen Hua was in a good mood, she would bring exquisite golden and silver hairpins to reward people.
Despite her thoughts, Chao Lu did not delay in sweeping the floor. With Mrs. Wang around, she would not be sweeping the floor for the rest of her life.
Her posture was improper, and the ground was not clean. It attracted the ridicule of the people around her.
"It's obvious that you've never done rough work. Usually, you only have to accompany your mistress to admire flowers and listen to music every day. You must be very happy now. Now that you've come to our courtyard, you don't have to be reduced to an inferior servant girl."
Chao Lu took a deep breath. "It's my wish to serve Madam. Sisters…"
Before she could finish this sentence, the expressions of these people changed. They all bowed in the same direction.
"Young Master."
Chao Lu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned around to pay her respects.
Shen Qu did not have the time to think about it. He headed straight for the main house.
Inside the house, Madam Shen Xue was looking at a box of gorgeous and expensive jewelry.
She was not particularly beautiful, but she had a flirtatious aura. She picked up a pearl hairpin with her fingertips and examined it carefully.
"I haven't enjoyed myself much in the first half of my life. I've always been worried about this and that. I've been restrained too much. Today is different. Unfortunately, I can't wear the new jewelry during the mourning period."
Beside her, Mrs. Wang smiled.
"But Madam, your good day is finally here."
"The entire Xue family has benefited from you. The Xue family is relying on you to move into the Shen family now."
Madam Shen Xue beamed as she listened. Who said that she could not succeed? She had finally made it through.
Just as she was about to say something, she heard footsteps approaching from afar.
"Young Master, wait outside for a moment. I'll go in and report to Madam," the maidservant outside the house said.
"Get out of the way!"
Shen Qu shouted at the servant at the door and strode in with a dark expression.
Madam Shen Xue put down the hairpin in her hand and met Shen Qu's gaze.
She frowned slightly, dissatisfied with Shen Qu's recklessness. However, they were in the same boat now. They were allies.
She intended to cultivate a mother-son relationship with Shen Qu, so she spoke with a smile.
"Qu'er, you came at the right time. The kitchen just sent over the cloud cake."
Madam Shen Xue invited him to sit down and instructed Mrs. Wang to take away the box of jewelry.
"Have you just returned from the embroidery workshop? Coincidentally, I'll introduce you to my family. My nephew, Liang'er, is about the same age as you. He's not that big of a deal. You've been taught by your brother-in-law since you were young. You're talented in literature and know how to conduct yourself. However, for the sake of your mother, you can bring him along if it's convenient."
Shen Qu suppressed his temper.
"You're right."
Shen Xue smiled sincerely.
"Quickly try this pastry. If you like it, get the kitchen to send more to your courtyard."
Shen Qu did not want to put on a show of his mother-son relationship with Madam Shen Xue right now.
He lifted his eyelids.
"What's the situation with Yangyang's courtyard?
"You're only giving this to me. How can you show less favor to Yangyang?"