Chen Ruoqiu forced a smile. She did not want to make Shen Wan worried about trivial matters, so she said, “The Jing family is causing trouble in the mansion all day long. It’s inevitable that I’m annoyed by them.”
Shen Wan sighed. “Mother has suffered a double loss this time. Yuan is also greatly hindered.”
Everyone in the Shen family knew what was really going on between Shen Yuan and Jing Chuchu. Regarding this scandal, the third branch chose to sit back and watch. At least, compared to Shen Yuan, the first branch was more terrifying.
“You must also be exhausted these days.” Chen Ruoqiu said gently, “What happened in the mansion has also caused people to point a finger at you.”
The chaotic situation in the Shen mansion was naturally taken as a joke among the big families. Shen Xin was a rough person and did not care about what people thought of him, but Shen Wan was of a sensitive nature and paid attention to the gossip. It must have been difficult for him these days.
Shen Wan held Chen Ruoqiu’s hand and shook his head. “That’s nothing. It’s just that Jing Chuchu can’t help Yuan with his official career. It’s a little unfortunate.” He sighed. “Among the kids, Yuan is the most promising.”
Hearing this, Chen Ruoqiu was flustered. Shen Wan did not have a son of his own, so in the next generation of the Shen family, only Shen Yuan could take on the heavy responsibility. The most important thing in the bureaucracy was nepotism. If Shen Yuan married an official’s daughter, it would be much easier for him to climb the ladder. Marrying Jing Chuchu now was no different from a life sentence.
Chen Ruoqiu lowered her head and said, “Who knows? Shen Miao has become smarter and the entire First Branch has deliberately estranged from us. Nothing is predictable at this moment.”
“Don’t worry.” Seeing that Chen Ruoqiu was worried, Shen Wan patted her shoulder. “Yuan is not an ordinary person. If Shen Miao schemes against him, he will definitely strike back. Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law are not almighty. There will be a time when they can’t do anything.”
“Husband, you mean…” Chen Ruoqiu’s heart skipped a beat.
“Yuan has been acting a little strangely recently.” Shen Wan said in a low voice, “I keep feeling that something is going to happen.”
In the west courtyard, Shen Miao put down the book in her hand and frowned. “What exactly does Shen Yuan want to do?”
Mo Qing said in a low voice, “Miss, you have asked me to keep an eye on the Treasure Fragrance Chamber for a long time. Now…”
“Keep it up.” Shen Miao interrupted him, and Mo Qing’s expression immediately darkened. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Scholar Pei from Guangwen Hall has shown up. What should I do, Miss?”
All along, Mo Qing did not know why Shen Miao wanted him to go to the Treasure Fragrance Chamber to see Liu Ying. That day, when he left, he accidentally saw Pei Lang. For some reason, Mo Qing had a feeling that Shen Miao probably already knew that Pei Lang would appear at some point. Everything Shen Miao did had been well-planned. However, this time, when she heard that Pei Lang had shown up, Shen Miao did not say anything.
“Nothing.” Shen Miao said, “Just do your job.”
“I didn’t expect a scholar like Pei Lang would patronize a place like the Treasure Fragrance Chamber.” Gu Yu said with her mouth open in surprise. “He really doesn’t look like that kind of person.” After a pause, she added, “Guard Mo doesn’t look like that either.”
Mo Qing blushed.
“Mo Qing, other than going to the Treasure Fragrance Restaurant these days, keeping an eye on Shen Yuan too,” Shen Miao said. For some reason, Shen Yuan always made her feel a little uneasy.
After Mo Qing left, Jingzhe asked, “Miss, is Second Young Master up to something?”
“It’s very strange,” Shen Miao said.
After the scandal, Shen Yuan did not try to investigate it, and nor did he try to stop the engagement from happening. Although Jing Chuchu wanted to marry Shen Yuan, if Shen Yuan tried his best, he could easily have put off the engagement. However, Shen Yuan did not even bother to do anything about it. This could only mean that he was doing something more important now. Shen Miao could not think of anything more important than dealing with Jing Chuchu.
