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Shen Ning pondered alone for a moment before quickly falling into a light sleep.
With Lan Zhi and Lan Hua guarding, the Begonia Courtyard was peaceful.
However, in another courtyard of the Shen family, chaos had erupted.
“Ahhh!” Shen Yan’s abdominal pain was unbearable, causing her to writhe in bed and scream in agony, “Mother… Mother, it hurts, I’m in pain! Ahhh!”
“Yan, Yan! What’s wrong with you?” Mrs. Shen was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, constantly pleading with the physician, “She was fine this morning, how did she suddenly get a stomachache? Physician, please check on Yan properly, you must check her properly…”
The elderly physician, who was over fifty years old, sat beside her, carefully taking Shen Yan’s pulse, ignoring Mrs. Shen’s words.
“Mother.” Shen Shian finally couldn’t help but speak up, “Yan is probably poisoned.”
“Poisoned?” Mrs. Shen’s face changed dramatically, “How could she be poisoned?”
Shen Shian’s tone was displeased: “Shen Yan went to deliver lunch to Shen Ning and drank some soup together in her room, then she was poisoned.”
Mrs. Shen was shocked: “You… You mean Shen Ning poisoned Yan?”
The physician, who was taking the pulse, gave Shen Shian a meaningful look, stood up, and said to Mrs. Shen: “Madam, your daughter has not been poisoned, nor has a specific cause of illness been diagnosed.”
“Brother… Brother!” Shen Yan was in so much pain that she curled up, trembling all over, her face pale, “Brother… Brother, save me! It hurts so much, it hurts so much…”
Shen Shian quickly walked to the bedside: “Yan, Yan, tell me, did you add anything to the soup…”
“I… didn’t…” Shen Yan gritted her teeth, her voice trembling from the pain, “I only added a little sleeping aid, nothing else… Brother, Shen Ning poisoned me… she poisoned me…”
Shen Shian’s pupils contracted slightly: “Yan, is what you said true?”
“It’s true, it’s true.” Shen Yan tightly grabbed his hand, her sharp nails digging painfully into Shen Shian’s skin, “Brother, I was just worried about our eldest sister. She hasn’t had a good rest since yesterday… I… I wanted her to get some sleep…”
Shen Shian’s gaze turned icy, thinking about Shen Ning’s cold-blooded cruelty, feeling only heartache and disappointment for the moment.
If it weren’t for what happened yesterday, he really wouldn’t have known that Shen Ning could be so selfish and cold-blooded, so heartless to her own family.
What did Yan do to deserve this from her? How could she be so ruthless?
“Physician, is there really no way?” Mrs. Shen anxiously spoke up, “Yan is in so much pain…”
The physician helplessly replied, “Madam, the symptoms of your second daughter are truly strange. I cannot diagnose the cause of the illness, and it doesn’t appear to be poisoning. I am truly powerless. I’m sorry.”
With that, he could only take his leave.
“Mother, Mother!” Shen Yan continued to scream in agony, holding her stomach and rolling around on the bed, “Mother, save me! Brother… Brother, help me, it hurts…”
Mrs. Shen was distressed by her cries: “I’ll go ask Shen Ning. Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
She hurriedly arrived at the Begonia Courtyard, only to be told by the female officials guarding outside that the Regent’s Consort was resting and must not be disturbed by anyone.
“Please make an exception.” Mrs. Shen pleaded, disregarding her status, her face pale, “Yan is in so much pain. I beg you… I beg the Regent’s Consort…”
The two female officials stood guard like deities, their expressions gentle but unyielding: “Please understand, Madam. The Regent has given strict orders, we only follow the Consort’s commands.”
“But you can at least go in and inform her…”
“The Consort has ordered us to stay here. No one is allowed to disturb her while she rests. Madam, you may come back during dinner time.”
“But I really have an urgent matter!” Mrs. Shen was so anxious that her face turned pale and green. She spoke humbly, “Can you two please go in and inform her?”
Lan Zhi and Lan Hua remained silent, no longer responding.
Seeing this, Mrs. Shen looked at the two female officials with disappointment: “Even though Shen Ning is the Regent’s Consort, she is still my daughter. Can’t I, as her mother, see my own daughter at home?”
However, no matter what she said, whether she pleaded gently or threatened subtly, Lan Zhi and Lan Hua remained unmoved.
Mrs. Shen was so angry that her face turned green, almost unable to maintain the demeanor of a Duke’s wife. She turned around and left, her sleeves fluttering.
In her utter helplessness, she could only seek out the Duke of the State, anxiously telling her husband the situation and couldn’t help but complain, “Shen Ning’s airs are too big. I have to humble myself to see her, and those two female officials are clearly relying on the Regent’s power to bully others!”
“What’s the use of saying so much now?” The Duke, Shen Yunlin’s expression was gloomy, “If I had known earlier that the Regent had feelings for her, I would never have agreed to Qin Yanshu taking her as a concubine, nor would I have done such a shameless thing!”
Although until now, he didn’t feel that his actions were wrong. This world was like this. The daughters of noble families losing their purity were almost as good as dead.
If she had really died, it would have been a clean break, and she could have preserved the family’s reputation with her fierce nature. Otherwise, it would affect the future marriages of the daughters in the family and the future careers of the sons.
His actions were not wrong, and his mother wanting Shen Ning to commit suicide to apologize was also not wrong.
Their only mistake was not anticipating the Emperor’s marriage decree in advance.
They say the heart of the Emperor is hard to fathom.
At present, in the Great Yong Kingdom, the Regent’s thoughts were the hardest to predict.
Just like this sudden imperial decree.
Everyone knew that without the Regent’s permission, the imperial decree would never leave the palace, but no one could understand why the Regent would allow this decree to appear at the Duke’s residence.
Why did he suddenly have the whim to marry a woman whose reputation had been tarnished?
However, what was the use of saying these things now?
Duke Shen sighed heavily, “I’ll go to the palace. I’ll set aside my pride and beg the Emperor to see if he can send an imperial physician to check on Yan.”
Mrs. Shen was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, “It will take another hour to go back and forth. Yan…”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Duke Shen’s eyes turned cold, his anger uncontrollable, “I clearly told her to stay in her room and not go out. What was she trying to prove by insisting on delivering lunch to Shen Ning? Are the servants all dead?!”
Mrs. Shen was startled and dared not say more.
The Duke of the State left with a dark expression.
Not one of them was a source of comfort.