There was a while before the birthday banquet, the sisters of the Shen family gathered in the side hall, Shen Wanzhen saw the fourth girl Shen Wanyun, Shen Wanyun was wearing a long gown with a magenta silk treasure pattern today, her face was as delicate as fat, and her eyes were overflowing with brilliance, Shen Wanzhen pulled her and asked, "How are you doing?" Mother-in-law is not difficult for you, right? ”

Shen Wanyun said proudly: "The two rooms are separated, we came out alone, the original house sister-in-law and mother-in-law lived, our husband and wife moved out, lived in the house where I married, your sister-in-law is also honest, it's not what his mother says, my mother-in-law has been here twice, this is my mother's house, my mother-in-law can't straighten up the waist, my father-in-law was dismissed, the blow is not small, the confidence is insufficient, I don't look at my mother-in-law's face, now her son eats me and wears mine, she still has the face to say something else, I take out the past and say, My mother-in-law was ashamed and did not dare to instruct her son to make trouble with me, and since then, she has never been embarrassed to come. ”

Shen Wanyun really shows the style of a daughter-in-law, her mother-in-law probably doesn't know much about her, thinking that her daughter-in-law is dough, let her knead it flat and knead it, Shen Wanyun's temperament is very similar to Wu's, the city is very deep, implicit but not revealing, and knows how to shoot at the right time.

"Is the house spacious enough to live in?" Since she left that day, Shen Wanzhen has been thinking about whether she was blamed by her in-laws and her husband complained, and when she saw her vividness today, she thought, her mother-in-law's down-and-out family is better for her, from her mother-in-law's oppression, she is by no means a cowardly nature, her mother-in-law mistook her.

"The house I married was a three-entry courtyard, and the two husbands and wives lived in a spacious house, and I married four maids and two rooms, and after the family came out, I bought two maids and hired a cook, and the family population was clean."

Shen Wanyun only cared about being happy, and talked more, "The location of the shop where I marry is good, there are a lot of items every month, and there is a grange, and the things produced can't be eaten at home, most of them can be sold, and they can also make a lot of money, Shen Wanyun said to herself, Shen Wanzhen thought that she must have a lot of cash on hand, and her two sisters-in-law to marry were not even one-tenth of her.

Shen Wanyun's mother's family is going up, her mother-in-law's family is a failure, reduced to a common person, the status of the two parents' families is very different, her mother-in-law's family is to flatter her instead, that dare to be like the original, she finally raised her eyebrows.

Shen Wanyun said again: "My mother-in-law lives with my sister-in-law, and she wants to think about me, but my sister-in-law doesn't pay attention to her stubble at all. Shen Wanyun can calculate his tone, he is in a happy mood, and he is not as cold to Shen Wanzhen as he was when he was not married, and he talks more.

Shen Wanzhen looked back at Shen Wanyu sitting and asked, "Sixth sister is in good health?" ”

Shen Wanyu's face was pale, and she forced out a little smile, "It's good, Sister Xie is worried." ”

Shen Wanyun may be in a good mood, and she is not as cold as she used to be to her sister, and she is concerned, "I haven't seen my niece a few times, my sister is looking for a chance to bring it, I went shopping last time, I bought something interesting when I saw it, and I brought it with me, and my sister brought it back to my niece when I left." ”

Shen Wanyu's eyes were red, she was sad, she lowered her head, and whispered: "Dad sent someone to send me back to Wu Mansion, but Gongzi didn't let me see my daughter, saying that he was afraid that I would be sick and angry with her, so he took her to the young lady's house to raise her, and didn't let me see it, I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, and sat all night." "Say it, tears are falling in tears.

"My sister should talk to her cousin well, and she must be able to understand your mother's heart."

"The son didn't listen, so he believed the young lady, he didn't look at his face, it was difficult to say a few words, the two of them stared closely, I finally found an opportunity to say a few words, and they were also stirred up."

Shen Wanyu's shoulders and back twitched, heartbroken, Shen Wanzhen thought, she loved Wu Jinglan at the beginning, and she wanted to marry into Wu's mansion as a concubine, the big girl Duanyun's words, she ignored it, and the ghost lost her mind, it has only been a year or two, just like a stranger, it can be seen that the status of the concubine is humble, regarded as a plaything, there is not much weight in the man's heart, the wife who is not favored is more decent and noble than the favored concubine, Shen Wanyu once thought that it was love, men love concubines, love is the appearance of flowers and moons, without this capital, what is left.

Shen Wanzhen's eyes fell on her collar, a dark red patch on her snow-white skin, obviously a scar after recovering from the disease, it seemed that she heard that Wu Jinglan had a habit of cleanliness, how could she like her again.

Shen Wanzhen and Shen Wanyun looked at each other, showing a helpless expression, there is no doubt that Shen Wanyun is smart, in this world, male power is supreme, smart women are like Shen Wanyun, there will always be a day when they will live their own lives, and there are stupid and stupid people who are stupid, Shen Wanyu is obviously not.

Shen Wanzhen saw that she was sad, so she had to say two words of comfort and comfort, "Sister don't be too sad, my niece was conceived and born by my sister in October, mother and daughter are connected, and when they are sensible, they will naturally be close to you." ”

Shen Wanyu wiped a handful of tears, and the maid next to her handed over a new handkerchief, "Sister doesn't know, my sister is not worried about my niece, your niece is better than following my mother's room to be raised, I am resentful, those two people in the room see the stitches and needles to fix me, the son listened to her two instigations, all the former affection was thrown, and I was regarded as a stranger, and I couldn't wait for me to leave his eyes one day before I was clean." ”

Shen Wanzhen sighed in her heart, Shen Wanyu dared to be sad for her daughter, thinking about Wu Jinglan's poor love, she should have understood from the beginning that she would not last long with Wu Jinglan, and she said that it was better to put it with her mother-in-law than to raise her by herself, and she was so confused, what could she expect to do.

At this time, the maid at the door shouted, "The girls of the Wu Mansion are here." ”

The eighth girl, Shen Wanxin, watched a few sisters chatting, she was small and couldn't interject, when she heard the girl from Wufu's cousin, she was in a hurry to put on embroidered shoes and go to the ground, and her maid hurriedly took the embroidered shoes for her and put them on indiscriminately.

Wu Ailian and Wu Huilian entered the door one after another, and after Wu Ailian was dismissed, she was all a different person, quiet and introverted, and rarely spoken......

The Wu sisters and the Shen sisters greeted each other, Shen Wanzhen and Wu Ailian were not close, looking at Wu Huilian Mu Ne, she was very kind to her, Wu Huilian ran to the eight girls as soon as she entered the door, and the two were very close to each other.

Shen Wanyun took Wu Ailian's hand and asked with a smile, "I heard that my sister is talking about marriage?" ”

Wu Ailian nodded shyly and whispered, "It's not decided yet."

Shen Wanyun said: "Which one did you say in the end?" ”

"Wu'anhou Chen's family" Wu'anhou Chen's family is illustrious, Wu'anhou is a military general, the third son in the family, the second son-in-law are very promising, and he has military merits at a young age, Wu Ailian's marriage will of course not be a son-in-law, it is the son of Wu'an Hou, and it is a continuation of the string, I heard that this concubine's ex-wife left a daughter-in-law, and she was anxious to marry and raise her daughter-in-law.

This was lively, Shen Wanzhu and her aunt Zhang hid in Zhang's house and talked, "Auntie, how did I entrust you last time?" ”

Aunt Zhang hesitated, "It's just looking for the girl who used to wait for the third girl, I inquired, the girl went back to the countryside, the address of the countryside, and no one in the house knows the way." ”

Shen Wanzhu was a little disappointed, sitting on the edge of the kang in frustration, with an old face, Aunt Zhang persuaded when she saw this: "I said girl, don't hit the stone with eggs since ancient times, you just said that the third girl developed three concubines, it's not that she didn't treat you, this is not to care about sisterhood, or she doesn't miss sisterhood, and she cares about people's words, if she can't even tolerate her own sister, outsiders will say that she is mean." ”

"How long do you let me endure such days? It's not that she's in the way, jealous and jealous, can the prince not come to the concubine's house. ”

Aunt Zhang stopped talking, thinking in her heart, she couldn't even touch the prince's side, how could she give birth to a child.

"Auntie help me keep an eye on it, and tell me immediately if there is news about that girl."

Aunt Zhang nodded, she didn't listen to what she said, and she was worried about Bao'er's affairs, so she shut up.

Shen Wanzhen chatted with the sisters for a while, and a maid came to shout, "Please go out of the girls, the banquet has begun." ”

The banquet was full of their own relatives, unrestrained, the atmosphere was relaxed, Wu summoned Shen Wanzhen to sit on the table, Shen Wanzhen politely refused, saying that she hadn't seen the sisters for a long time, and she happened to have a chat in one place, and the Wu family saw that they were all their own people, and they were not reluctant.

Shen Wanzhen watched Jiang's, Wu's, Mrs. Xue and a few other ladies sit on the table, Zhen led the maid to stand on the upper seat and wait, and a small concubine of the Shen Mansion was in an inconspicuous place at the door of the hall and pressed the table.

Fortunately, Mrs. Zhan of Bofu will be in the future, and it will only be embarrassing to meet, the Zhan family has cut her title, and she has no face to show up on this occasion, not to mention that her former daughter-in-law is a princess, and she refuses to communicate.

Shen Wanyun sat next to Shen Wanzhen, and whispered: "My sister still remembers that cousin Ting once killed the woman named Yingniang who spoiled her concubine and killed his wife, gave birth to a daughter, the one in front of her had given birth to a child, and she was raised in the lady's house, and she gave birth to a daughter later, so no one paid attention to her, she took it alone and heard that she lived in a small courtyard in the middle of nowhere, and she didn't go out of the house all day, and begged to go several times, but the Zhan family didn't allow it." ”

Shen Wanzhen heard that she felt like a world away, and she didn't say anything with a smile, if she had promised to keep the festival, she wouldn't have ended up inferior to her.

The wine and food are almost eaten, the men in the front hall are drinking, and the female dependents retreat to the garden open Xuan, drink tea and chat, a maid turns the rockery, and looks at the water cloud pavilion where the female dependents are located.

"Prince An came to pick up the third aunt and grandmother back, and waited outside the mansion."

Wu listened to the maid's report and hurriedly asked, "Why didn't you invite the prince into the mansion?" ”

"Prince An said not to disturb the house, just wait for the three girls outside the house."

Wu was not very surprised, the others all looked at Shen Wanzhen in surprise, and cast envious eyes, Shen Wanzhen said goodbye to her mother-in-law, did not go to the front hall, said goodbye to her father, and hurriedly took the maid away.

A female family member of the Wu family was sent to the middle gate, and Shen Wanzhen glanced at Shen Wanzhu in the crowd and said, "Sister is also going back to the palace together." ”

The prince came to pick up the princess in person, and he didn't mention the concubine Shen Wanzhu, everyone peeked at her, Shen Wanzhu sneered, everyone watched Shen Wanzhen get on the sedan chair, Shen Wanzhu got on the sedan chair, and went to the door.

The sedan chair was carried out of the gate of the Shen Mansion, Shen Wanzhen rolled up the sedan curtain, and saw Zhao Shijiao riding on a horse, waiting at the door.

ordered the sedan chair man to fall off the sedan chair, Zhao Shijiao saw her in the sedan window, dismounted with a smile, handed over the horse to the guards, and got on Shen Wanzhen's sedan chair.

Zhao Shijiao sat down, and Shen Wanzhen smiled: "Why is the prince here?" ”

Zhao Shijiao said with a smile: "If I don't come, I'm afraid that you will come back like last time, come back late at night, and the air makes me worry, it is better to run errands and feel at ease." ”

Shen Wanzhen's heart was hot, and she leaned towards him, Zhao Shijiao grabbed her, snuggled, and stopped talking.

When he arrived at the palace, Zhao Shijiao got out of the sedan chair first, and then stretched out his hand, and Shen Wanzhen took his hand and came out of the sedan chair.

The two joined hands, and as soon as they walked into the gate of the palace, Chen Fu ran out of nowhere, approached the prince's side, and whispered a few words in his ear, Zhao Shijiao let go of Shen Xuanzhen's hand, and hurriedly said, "You go back first, I'll go to the study and see a guest." ”

strode in the direction of the outer study, and Chen Fu and Wang Wengui followed closely behind.

Shen Wanzhen watched them walk away, changed into a small sedan chair, and went to the inner courtyard.

The small sedan chair fell off the sedan chair outside the main room, Shen Wanzhen walked into the main courtyard, Mrs. Qian was tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard, and when she saw her, she said, "The master came back early?" ”

Shen Wanzhen snorted, and didn't pay attention to her, Mrs. Qian muttered in her heart, the master likes flowers and plants, why didn't he even look at it today, and hurried into the house, what is the matter.

There was a faint fragrance in the room, and there was a vase with azure glazed gold silk peony pattern on the wall in the east room, which was filled with seasonal flowers.

Xiuju waited for her to change into homely clothes, Shen Wanzhen was a little hot in her heart, grabbed the thin silk light Luo fan on the kang, shook it a few times, Mohe came in, holding a red glaze gold tray, on which was placed a small bowl of white jade, which contained a chilled sour plum soup, Shen Wanzhen drank it, and the heat in her heart slowly dissipated.

As the sun set, the light in the room dimmed, embroidered chrysanthemum palm lamps, and several glass lamps illuminated as bright as day, Shen Wanzhen said to Qiao Shan: "Go to the big kitchen to see the food, don't send it first, wait for the prince to come back and pass the meal." ”

The sky was completely dark, Zhao Shijiao's footsteps sounded, Shen Wanzhen hurriedly got up and greeted him, "The prince is back." "Immediately command the delivery of food.

Shen Wanzhen had a banquet at her mother's house, and waited for Zhao Shijiao to eat, Zhao Shijiao did not look around her in the past, but ate with his head bored, as if he had something on his mind.

As soon as he put down his chopsticks, Shen Wanzhen took the mouthwash tea, served him to wash his hands, and wiped his hands with a cotton towel, only then did Zhao Shijiao raise his head and look at her.

At this glance, Shen Wanzhen knew that something big had happened in Lu Dao, and the husband and wife went into the west room, and just sat down, Zhao Shijiao said: "I just went to see the person sent by Princess Jingyi, she said that Princess Jingyi got accurate information and impeached the person behind the King of Xiangyang, and the plan has been canceled. ”

Shen Wanzhen was shocked, what does this mean, that person has already carefully planned and deployed, premeditating the death of the king of Xiangyang, and it should have been planned for a long time, there is only one grass left to overwhelm the camel, how could he suddenly change his original intention, the person behind this is definitely not impulsive, what made him give up the plan?

It's almost summer, the weather is hot and dry, but she suddenly has a chill.

She looked at Zhao Shijiao, Zhao Shijiao also looked at her, and she said thoughtlessly: "He is one step late, and the whole game of chess is wasted." ”

Zhao Shijiao looked at a certain place, "We are fast, he loses the opportunity, he will still make a move." ”

"Does the prince have any plans?"

"I'll have to see what he does next."

At night, Zhao Shijiao was already asleep, he got up early every day, coupled with the hard work of the day, rested on time, and lived a very regular life, which was probably cultivated when he was a prince.

Shen Wanzhen got up late every day, and rested during the day, and there was not much sleepiness at this hour, she thought about the matter of the night, fortunately she sent away the Xu sisters early, and avoided the disaster of Xiangyang Hou's annihilation, and Princess Jingyi's husband and wife were also saved, that person must have heard the rumors, and the Xu sisters had been sent away.

I thought of the fact that my mother asked herself some words vaguely, which seemed to mean something, probably knowing that she had said this, mentioning herself, for fear that she would have a bad reputation and be poked in her back, but outsiders only knew that she had taken away the concubine, and a group of concubines of Prince An, which one was specific, probably unless someone who knew the inside story could know Lu Dao, this person who was scheming behind people seemed to know a lot about the palace, otherwise, based on rumors alone, how could he find out that it was the Xu sisters.

If the palace has his insider, who will it be? Shen Wanzhen checked everyone in the mansion, but there was still no head and tail, hundreds of people in the palace, if you want to find out the traitor, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, the bell tower drum beats the second watch, and Shen Wanzhen fell asleep in a daze.

But said that Shen Wanzhu came back from her mother's house, sat down and thought about her heart, every time she went to her mother's house, her self-esteem was frustrated, it was too embarrassing, the prince went to her mother's house Shen Mansion and shouted that the palace knew how to pick up the princess, and she didn't even say a word to herself.

Xiao Die'er raised his voice at the door: "Concubine Xue came to see the girl." ”

Shen Wanzhu stood up lazily, Xue Jin entered the door, she made a gesture to salute, Xue Jin grabbed her, "I said, my sister doesn't need to be outside, although we are not sisters, you and the princess are sisters, but I am closer to you than you and your sister, my sister said, isn't it?" ”

Shen Wanzhu gave up her seat and asked the maid to pour tea.

Xue Jin said: "Don't be busy, you all step down, I'll talk to your master." ”

The maid was clever, and she knew what the two of them were going to do in private, so she withdrew from Lu and watched people at the door.

"Sister, have you found your sister's girl?" Xue Jin whispered.

"No, my aunt said to go back to the countryside, I can't inquire, I told my aunt, there is news to tell me, but can this trick work? If you scratch the boots, it won't have much effect, and it will take half a day. Shen Wanzhu was a little suspicious of this matter, let the prince know that Sister Lu Dao had misbehaved in the past, and the prince would hate his sister for this?

"Sister think about it, your sister marrying Cousin Zhan is the fate of her parents, she can't help her, and Cousin Zhan is gone, the man your sister was engaged to in the past is still alive, your sister is in love with him, no better than Cousin Zhan, the prince knows if he wants to swallow a fly in his heart, he can't swallow it, he can't spit it out."

Shen Wanzhu thought about it and nodded, "Yes, if the prince knows that Sister Lu Dao is still in the boudoir, and the two of them have had an affair, they don't say it, and they probably have a diaphragm in their hearts." ”

"Is there any contact with your sister after she recovers?"

"It seems that there is no contact, the man has married a wife, but I heard that it seems that when we entered Beijing, we met him halfway.

"Then he is also in the capital, what is that person's surname?"

Shen Wanzhu thought about it for a long time, a little unable to remember, lowered her head and recalled carefully, as soon as she raised her head, her eyes lit up, "I remember, that person's surname is Fang, Fang Gongzi." ”