"Haha! It's been a while since I last came home, and you're still as warm as ever!"
Madam Shen rarely showed a genuine smile.
"Since elder sister is here today, of course I have to be a warm host!"
Madam Liang, Madam Shen's younger brother's wife, chatted with Madam Shen affectionately.
Madam Liang took Madam Shen's hand and walked up the steps. Then she pointed at the few young boys and girls standing above and said, "Knowing you were coming today, these juniors have been waiting here early."
Hearing this, the two young girls and two young boys standing at the door all paid their respects to Madam Shen.
Madam Liang turned around and warmly pulled Shen Miao, who was close to Madam Shen, and said, "The last time I saw Miao'er was during the New Year festival. I haven't seen her for a few months, and Miao'er has grown even more beautiful!"
"Aunt, you're overpraising me!" A hint of shyness appeared on Shen Miao's face.
"Don't praise her. I'm afraid she'll get conceited!" Madam Shen said to Madam Liang, "Siyi and Sijia are also becoming more and more charming. They truly look like young ladies from a noble family!"
Hearing Madam Shen's words, a young girl in a pink dress said with a smile, "Thank you, aunt, for your praise!"
Everyone around was amused by her words, except for a young girl in a blue dress in the corner by the door, whose expression remained calm from beginning to end.
Madam Liang pointed at her youngest daughter, Shen Sijia, and scolded with a smile, "You! You just can't take praise!"
Madam Shen's smiling face glanced at the girl in blue just now, and her smile faded a bit. "Simin is also not bad!"
It was a rather ambiguous remark, and Madam Shen clearly showed her preferences. Shen Li couldn't help but feel like laughing when she saw this.
In her previous life, Shen Li always respected Madam Shen. She thought Madam Shen managed the household strictly, was strict with her children, could talk and get along well with many noble ladies, and truly had the demeanor of a mistress. She even wanted to learn from her.
After being reborn, with the experience of being the mother of the nation in her previous life, when she looked at Madam Shen now, she only thought that Madam Shen was vicious, narrow - minded, and full of petty bourgeoisie vulgarity.
Madam Liang also glanced at Shen Li out of the corner of her eye but didn't say a word. She just pretended not to see her and still pulled Shen Miao and Madam Shen, chatting as they walked into the Shen Mansion.
Shen Li didn't take such a small matter to heart and still followed the group unhurriedly at the end.
Once inside the Shen Mansion, they entered the courtyard where Madam Shen's mother lived. An old woman with a fair complexion, wearing a blue - lotus - colored upper garment and a red headband, was sitting in the upper seat. This was Madam Shen's mother, Old Madam Zhu.
Beside her, sat a man with half - white beard and hair. He was Madam Shen's father, Shen Zhuo.
As soon as Madam Shen saw the old woman, she quickened her steps and said, "Father, Mother! Your daughter has come to see you!"
"It's Wanqiu coming back! Come, come here quickly. Let me have a good look at you!" Old Madam Zhu's hair was already half - white, and she was over sixty years old. Her eyesight didn't seem very good.
Hearing this, Madam Shen stood beside Old Madam Zhu and bent down to talk to her. "Mother, how have you been lately? How's your appetite?"
Old Madam Zhu used to have big eyes, but now they were replaced by loose wrinkles. Her droopy eyelids covered her squinted eyes. "Hehe! I'm fine. Everything is fine! You can rest assured. You don't come back often. You must stay at home for a few more days this time!"
Madam Shen naturally agreed with a smile. Then she pulled Shen Miao forward and chatted cheerfully with the two old people.
The joy of the people present had nothing to do with two people. One was Shen Li. No one welcomed her arrival. The other was the young girl in blue, Shen Simin. She also had no sense of presence here.
Shen Li's eyes swept across everyone present. Old Madam Zhu's thin and pointed face, Shen Zhuo's long beard on his chin, Madam Liang's plump figure, Shen Feng's tiny slitted eyes, the young faces of Shen Siyi and Shen Sijia, the young statures of the brothers Shen Yuwen and Shen Yuhao. Finally, her eyes landed on Shen Simin's cold and calm face, and the disgust and hatred in her eyes that were almost impossible to hide.
Maybe feeling Shen Li's gaze, Shen Simin turned to look at Shen Li. Then, without a trace of expression on her face, she turned away.
At lunch, Shen Li only took a few bites and then put down her chopsticks and stopped eating.
Old Madam Zhu then ordered the servant girl to take her to the prepared room to rest. Since no one cared about her, Shen Li was happy to be at ease.
The servant girl who led the way was not very old but had a big temper. She led Shen Li to a nearby courtyard, impatiently left a sentence saying that Shen Li could just find a room to stay in, and then turned around and left.
Jiao Yue, knowing they were not in their own mansion, only whispered a few curses, saying that if someone treated Shen Li like this in the Shen Mansion, they would have been punished long ago!
After scolding, she still fetched water with Han Yue and cleaned the room thoroughly from inside to outside.
This time when she went out, Shen Li didn't bring Ming Yue with her. She was not at ease with anything in the Shen Mansion. Jiao Yue and Han Yue carefully checked the room twice before they felt relieved.
Shen Li only ate a little food at noon. Firstly, she was not at ease with the food in the Shen Mansion. Secondly, recently, she had been nourished by Ming Yue's medicinal diet, and her taste had become more delicate. She found the food in the Shen Mansion hard to swallow.
Shen Li ate a few pieces of the dim sum she had brought from the Shen Mansion in the morning and then went to rest.
In the evening, Jiao Yue bribed an old woman guarding the back door and secretly received a food box sent by Ming Yue. Shen Li then made an excuse that she was not feeling well and didn't show up at the dinner table in the Shen Mansion.
The Shen Mansion was really bustling. Madam Shen and Old Madam Zhu, mother and daughter, naturally had a lot of intimate things to say.
Madam Shen supported Old Madam Zhu's hand and helped her sit on the small couch in the room. Then she sat down beside her. At this time, there were only the mother - daughter duo in the room.
Madam Shen personally poured a cup of tea for Old Madam Zhu and said, "Mother, I came home this time because I need Father and Mother's help with something!"
"You! You! What should I say about you! You're just so impatient. Now look, you've suffered losses, haven't you!" Old Madam Zhu looked at the anxious - looking Madam Shen and scolded.
"Mother doesn't know! That little girl Shen Li is very shrewd! I've suffered losses at her hands several times! It was the same with the last incident. It was supposed to be a sure thing, but unexpectedly, in the end, that little girl turned the tables on me!"
"I've lost all my face! I've heard a lot of gossips these days!"
Old Madam Zhu squinted her already slightly cloudy eyes. Her eyelids drooped even more, and it seemed that one could hardly see her eyes. "That little girl is so shrewd? She can't be left alive any longer! In the next few days, I'll think of a way for you to get rid of her!"
"Thank you, Mother!" Madam Shen clearly had great trust in Old Madam Zhu's methods.
At this moment, Old Madam Zhu didn't forget to teach her daughter. "If you had calmed down earlier and thought things through carefully, planned more meticulously, how could a little girl in her teens escape your control?
"All in all, you were too eager for quick success and instant benefits. You showed your cards and let that girl notice. That's why you suffered such a big loss! For the next six months, you should just stay at home. After a while, the gossip will die down, and no one will mention it anymore. Then everything will be fine!"