Shen Sijia had originally planned to teach Shen Li a lesson on behalf of Shen Miao today. An ordinary young lady from a noble family, upon hearing such mockery, would either fly into a rage or at least feel extremely ashamed.
However, she never expected that Shen Li would come over with an innocent look and ask her if she was friends with a prostitute!
"You... What are you talking nonsense about? Who knows that wretched Zihong girl!"
"Eh? Didn't you, Sister Sijia, just say that the Zihong girl was beautiful? If you've never been to Yuhua Tower and seen her, how could you know so clearly?"
Shen Sijia's face suddenly turned awkward. Of course, she knew how important a young lady's reputation was, which was why she had thought of mocking Shen Li and splashing dirt on her. She never thought that Shen Li would turn around and splash it back on her.
At the moment, Shen Sijia could only explain in a muddle: "I... I heard it from others! How could I have been to such a place? Don't talk nonsense!"
Hearing this, Shen Li looked at Shen Siyi beside Shen Sijia with a curious face. "Heard it from others? Could it be from Sister Siyi and Sister Miao? You two sisters are really something. You secretly went to Yuhua Tower without even taking me. That's so not nice of you!"
"Stop talking nonsense! We've never been there! Don't slander us!" Shen Siyi, hearing Shen Li's words being directed at her, quickly came out and explained loudly.
"Oh? If you two haven't been there either, then who did Sister Sijia hear it from? Could it be Uncle from the Second Branch?"
Upon hearing Shen Li's words, everyone present couldn't help but twitch their eyelids.
Just as Shen Li was still struggling with the question of who had been to Yuhua Tower, Old Lady Zhu said in an unfriendly tone, "That's enough! Stop talking about these nonsense things! It's better for young ladies to be generous and polite!"
After saying that, she gave Shen Li a meaningful sidelong glance.
Shen Li just sat quietly and gracefully in her seat. Her dignified posture made Old Lady Zhu seem even more petty!
Old Lady Zhu felt even more convinced in her heart that, as Shen Shi had said, Shen Li was indeed sharp - tongued and intelligent. She was really a tough nut to crack.
But no matter how capable Shen Li was, she was just a young girl. Old Lady Zhu had already come up with a way to deal with her.
After that, the atmosphere in the room became a bit dull. Shen Li didn't really care. Dealing with this whole family of wolves and tigers was so tiring for her. It was actually more comfortable like this, with everyone keeping silent.
A maid came in to report that the meals were ready and asked when they should start.
Old Lady Zhu then stood up with the support of Liang Shi and Shen Shi. "The meals are ready. Let's go to the table!"
Since this was just a family dinner in the Shen Mansion, the meals were served in the main hall. The men and women sat at separate tables, separated by a screen. On the women's side, it was okay. On the men's side, there were only Shen Zhuo, his second son Shen Feng, and his two grandsons Shen Yuwen and Shen Yuhao. It seemed a bit empty. Moreover, since Shen Shi had returned to her natal home, Shen Junming had never shown up at the Shen Mansion.
Shen Li pretended to casually glance at Shen Shi. She was talking to Old Lady Zhu. Both mother and daughter were smiling. Since Shen Sijia had deliberately made things difficult for her just now, she couldn't not fight back and let them think she was easy to bully.
On her right sat Shen Miao, and on her left sat Shen Simin. Shen Li picked up a piece of food with the serving chopsticks and put it in Shen Miao's bowl. "Come, Sister, try this dish. It tastes good! I remember Uncle used to like this dish. By the way, Uncle hasn't come with Aunt these days?"
When Shen Li picked up food for her, Shen Miao knew she must have had ill intentions. As expected, Shen Li brought up her father who hadn't shown up. She smiled brightly.
"Thank you for your concern, Sister. Father is busy with important matters, so he couldn't come. Mother didn't want Father to delay his important business, so she kindly brought you and me here!"
"Right! Uncle now holds a high - ranking position and is in the good graces of the Emperor. It's only right that he's busy with the Emperor's important affairs."
As soon as Shen Li said this, Shen Shi's face turned ugly. Everyone knew that Shen Junming only held an honorary position and had no real power at all, let alone being in the good graces of the Emperor.
Shen Li was scolding them for lying in a roundabout way! What could a person like Shen Junming be busy with? And since he wasn't busy, why didn't he accompany Shen Shi back to her natal home? There was something fishy about it.
The joy on Old Lady Zhu's face also faded. She had privately asked Shen Shi about this question, and Shen Shi's reason at that time was also that Shen Junming was busy with important matters.
Although everyone understood that this was just an excuse, now Shen Li had blatantly exposed it in front of so many people. This was a direct slap in Shen Shi's face.
It was telling everyone that Shen Shi didn't matter to Shen Junming at all, so he didn't even show up on such an important occasion.
Naturally, everyone lost their appetite for the rest of the meal. Shen Li just ate a little symbolically and then got up to leave.
After everyone finished eating, the maids in the mansion filed in one after another to clear away the dishes. Shen Shi supported Old Lady Zhu's hand and escorted her back to her room for a nap.
Old Lady Zhu lay on the small couch, and Shen Shi massaged her legs beside her.
Old Lady Zhu stared at a delicate vase in the room and said, "We can't wait any longer! That girl is a tough one. Once we let the tiger return to the mountains, you won't be able to deal with her!"
Shen Shi nodded absent - mindedly. At this moment, she was actually thinking about what Shen Junming was doing in the mansion. Was it just convenient for him to enjoy himself with his two beautiful concubines during her absence?
Just thinking about those two concubines who were like vixens, Shen Shi felt her teeth itch with anger and her heart ache. But now that she was in her thirties, it wasn't appropriate for her to bother her mother with such matters about the concubines in the backyard. She secretly made up her mind that when she got back, she must come up with a way to punish those two vixens.
It was already the fourth lunar month. The sun at noon was very strong, and it wasn't pleasant to be exposed to it. Shen Li took big steps, wanting to go back earlier.
But when she passed by the courtyard of the Shen Mansion, she heard someone talking. She was wondering who would come out to soak up the sun at noon. She stopped under the corridor and heard a man's voice.
"Master, why didn't you go to the banquet today? You should go out for a walk! If you keep staying like this, how can your body recover quickly?"
The reply was a weak voice: "I don't want to join in the fun. I'd better not annoy others!"
From afar, Shen Li saw that the two men who had just spoken were facing away from them. A young boy in blue was pushing a wooden wheelchair, but she couldn't see the person in the wheelchair. She could only vaguely see a section of cyan sleeves.
The wheelchair made a rather loud "rumbling" sound as it rolled on the ground.
"Brother? The sun is so strong. Why did you come out at noon?"