"You..." Shen Miao didn't expect Shen Li to use the position of side concubine to mock her. Immediately, she retorted without showing any weakness, "Sister, although I'm just a side concubine, at least I'm married to the Fourth Prince! He's a noble and handsome prince. I don't know how many people envy me. They're just sour grapes!"
Shen Li kept her eyes fixed on Shen Miao, looking at the smug look on her face that she couldn't hide no matter what. "Some grapes look big and red, but only the one who eats them knows the sour taste. Some things you think are good may not matter to others at all."
Hearing Shen Li's words, Shen Miao suddenly covered her mouth and burst out laughing, "Look at my stupid brain. Why am I talking about grapes with you, sister! Anyway, sister, you'll never get to taste them in the future!"
"Oops, I just remembered. Once before, I saw you performing sword - dancing for the Fourth Prince and then falling into the water. After that, you stared straight at the Fourth Prince with both eyes and shouted for him to save you! Could it be that you have some special feelings for the Fourth Prince?"
"Really? Special feelings? What do you mean by that, sister?" Shen Li propped her chin on her right hand and leaned on the table, looking at Shen Miao with a puzzled expression. "Don't forget, the Fourth Prince is your fiancé. But now you come to me, his elder sister - in - law, and say we have special feelings. If others hear this, I wonder what they'll think. If by chance, some rumors reach the ears of the Emperor and the imperial concubine, I'll surely be fine. But I don't know if you'll still be able to marry into the Fourth Prince's Mansion."
"You..." Shen Miao was again rendered speechless by Shen Li's words. "Hehe, I was thoughtless just now. I'm sorry, sister!"
Reluctantly apologizing to Shen Li, Shen Miao left in a fit of rage with her entourage.
"Pah! The Second Miss is so over - the - top! She even came here to show off in front of you!" As soon as Shen Miao left, Jiao Yue sneered towards the door, "She's just a side concubine. Is it really worth showing off like this? If someone doesn't know, they might think she's been made the main concubine by the Emperor!"
"The Second Miss won't have an easy life in the future! That Miss Wu doesn't seem to be a simple person. With her ambition, she won't be content to be just a side concubine. And the Second Miss is probably not satisfied with the position of side concubine either. They'll have plenty of competition in the future." Ming Yue also said at this moment.
"Humph! Let them fight! The things they're fighting over so desperately, our young lady doesn't even care about!"
"Jiao Yue! Stop talking! The dignity of the royal family can't be despised by us!" Seeing that Jiao Yue was going too far, Shen Li interrupted her.
...
In the past half - month, Lady Shen had been very satisfied. The power to manage the family had returned to her hands. Moreover, her daughter had been successfully made the side concubine of the Fourth Prince. Everything was going her way.
One day, Lady Shen suddenly thought that because of her mistake, Shen Li had burned nearly half of the Shen Mansion. More than a month had passed. She wondered how the restoration of the Shen Mansion was going.
So she took a carriage and headed towards the Shen Mansion.
Unexpectedly, this time when she returned home, not only was there no welcome from her sister - in - law Liang and her nieces, but even after she entered the mansion, the burned houses and yards were still as black as they were on the day of the fire. There was no sign of cleaning or reconstruction.
Full of doubts, Lady Shen went to see her mother, Old Lady Zhu.
"Mother! How's your health these days?" As soon as Lady Shen saw Old Lady Zhu, she put on a smiling face and stepped forward to show her concern.
"Fine! I'm doing just fine! I won't die for a year or two!"
"Mother, what are you saying!" Lady Shen didn't expect that Old Lady Zhu not only lost her former affection for her but also spoke to her in such an unfriendly tone.
"What am I saying? I'm just telling the truth! My children are unfilial. Even if I live longer, it's useless. I might as well go early so that I don't have to see you people and get angry. I don't want to be so angry that I die in vain!" Old Lady Zhu yanked her hand out of Lady Shen's and said coldly.
Lady Shen looked puzzled. "Mother, did my younger brother do something to make you and father angry again?"
"Your younger brother? He's fine!"
Hearing this, Lady Shen was shocked. If it wasn't Shen Feng, could it be her?
Thinking this way, Lady Shen left her seat and knelt in front of Old Lady Zhu. "Mother, is there something I've done wrong? Please tell me. I'll definitely correct it and be filial to you and father!"
Old Lady Zhu turned her face and glanced at her daughter who was kneeling in front of her with a wrinkled brow. Then she let out a long sigh. "I'll ask you. Your father and I asked Feng'er to go to your mansion to borrow some silver to repair the mansion. Why did you not only refuse to lend it to him but also drive him out?"
"Drive him out? Mother, how could I do such a thing?" Lady Shen was extremely surprised. She couldn't believe that someone would distort the facts and slander her like this.
"You didn't drive Feng'er out?" Old Lady Zhu asked tentatively.
"Mother, don't you know me well? It's just a matter of tens of thousands of taels of silver. How could I drive my own younger brother out of the house?"
"Then... maybe someone misspoke."
Hearing this, Lady Shen immediately gained confidence and stood up from the ground. "Mother, who is that gossiping person who came to you and said such slanderous things about me?"
Hearing this, Old Lady Zhu immediately looked a bit guilty. "It's no one. It's just a misunderstanding!"
"Mother! This matter can't be left like this. I don't want to be misunderstood again because of these back - biting words!" Lady Shen sat back on her seat angrily, showing an attitude that she would be angry until Old Lady Zhu told her who it was.
"Sigh! It's not a big deal. It's just... just your younger brother told me. He said you not only refused to lend him the silver but also drove him out of the Shen Mansion!"
"What? How could Shen Feng say such a thing? When have I ever refused to give him silver? I've given him fifteen thousand taels of silver in total in these two times. How could I not have given it to him?"
Lady Shen said in surprise at once.
"Fifteen thousand taels? Given to Feng'er? Why didn't he tell us?"
At this moment, Old Lady Zhu frowned into a "well" shape.
"Mother, look, I even have the receipt that Shen Feng wrote for me last time!" Lady Shen was a bit relieved. Fortunately, she had brought out this receipt signed by Shen Feng last time when she went out today. Otherwise, she might really not be able to explain things clearly today!