Chen Ruoqiu quickly said, “I was just spouting nonsense. Master, don’t take it to heart.” She was a little annoyed. Shen Wan hated supernatural things the most. What she blurted out just now might have displeased Shen Wan. “Speaking of which, it seems like the second branch has always been the one in trouble. Qing, Second Sister-in-law, and now Yuan…” The more Chen Ruoqiu spoke, the more ill at ease she became. Although she used to be jealous of Ren Wanyun for having more power, after Ren Wanyun went crazy, no one was in the same team with her. Luo Xueyan? Shen Xin and Shen Wan did not come from the same mother. How could they treat each other sincerely?
“That’s right.” Shen Wan said, “I wonder who Second Brother has offended. It seems like the plans are all well-thought-out.”
“Second Brother will inevitably offend some people in the bureaucracy.” Chen Ruoqiu said, “But why did so many bad things happen this year? It seems like it has been happening one after another after Fifth Sister fell into the water…”
“Are you saying it was Fifth Miss who did it?” Shen Wan was amused. “If Fifth Miss had that kind of ability, she wouldn’t be called an idiot.” He patted Chen Ruoqiu’s hand comfortingly. “I know you’ve been exhausted with handling family matters these days. Don’t think too much. Fifth Miss isn’t that capable. It’s more believable to say that Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law taught her to do it but Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law will never stab people in the back. They like to confront people face to face.” Shen Wan said, “I’ll pay attention to this matter. Don’t think too much. It’s better to think about Yue’s marriage. It’s about time for her to get engaged.”
At the mention of Shen Yue’s marriage, Chen Ruoqiu suppressed her doubts about Shen Miao. Shen Wan cared about his children more than Shen Gui. All these years, he had never disliked Shen Yue simply because she was a girl and really doted on her. Chen Ruoqiu smiled and said, “I’ll listen to you.”
In the west courtyard, Shen Miao was putting on her clothes. As Jingzhe tidied her hair, she said, “Second Young Master’s coffin has been brought back. I heard that he will be buried soon. There won’t even be a funeral.”
Other than the first branch, everyone in the Shen family liked grandiose occasions. For example, Old Madam Shen had to hold a big banquet for her birthday every single year. However, as the eldest son of the second branch, Shen Yuan did not even receive a proper funeral after his death. This was most likely because they knew that not many people in the imperial court were willing to offend Sun Tianzheng for Shen Gui. Even if a funeral was really held, not many people would come to pay their respects.
“Second Master hasn’t come back for a few days.” Gu Yu added, “Even if he comes back, he’ll only go to Concubine Wan’s courtyard. He doesn’t even want to see his son’s corpse. How cruel!”
Shen Miao smiled. “During the day, he’s busy winning over the officials who have distanced themselves from him. As for at night, if he doesn’t go to sleep with Concubine Wan, should he sleep with Second Aunt then?”
“Anything from the people we sent to spy on the Sun family?” Shen Miao asked.
“The Sun family hid it too well. Even the servants don’t know much about it.” Jingzhe quickly said, “The only thing we know is that Miss Jing is not having a good time. It was said that on the first day, on the first day…” She couldn’t bring herself to continue.