Chapter 62

Shen Ruojin had some experience in family strife and spoke faster than she thought: “Today is a banquet hosted by the princess. It is her grace that we can attend. We can discuss these private matters at home. Please don’t disturb the princess’ banquet.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Fang smiled slyly. “I don’t usually see Lord Luo, and I only remembered this when I saw her for the first time. Help me solve this puzzle. Besides, this is a shameful thing for your Shen family. I just mentioned it casually. Why do you blame me for disrupting the banquet? Shen Ruojin, you are being unfair to me.”

“What’s wrong with our Shen family?” Ruojin snapped, furious. “Don’t slander me.”

“Am I slandering you?” Fang sneered. “You and Wenyuan Marquis have clearly discussed that the Shen family can’t pay back the debt, so you’re planning to take over the farm and shop under Lord Luo’s name. How am I wrong?”

The conversation between them held so much information that not only were the onlookers stunned, but even Tao Sheng, who knew the inside story, was taken aback.

That day, Shen Yu had gone to Ji’s house, insisting that he wanted to recognize her. Later, it was revealed that he only wanted to gain some assets, and recognizing her was just a coincidence. This was typical of him; he only thought of her when driven by interests. Tao Sheng had grown used to it.

She hadn’t expected this situation involved Shen Ruojin, and that she had instigated Shen Yu.

It was truly surprising.

Tao Sheng had come to enjoy the flowers today and hadn’t wanted to get involved in the disputes of the Duke Ling’s Mansion. However, after hearing Fang’s words, she paused, wanting to know if they had other plans to trick her.

Madam Guan  pulled at Fang, saying, “You have always been rude. You do things like this at home. What kind of occasion is this? Why are you making such a fuss here?”

Fang had only wanted to warn Shen Ruojin, but after hearing her mother-in-law, she felt even more dissatisfied: “You always say at home that the young lady only brought a small dowry, and the Shen family was somewhat unkind. But the Shen family’s unkindness is their business. What about her maternal grandfather, the Luo family? You must know how much Madam Luo’s dowry was back then, right? Don’t you find it strange? After being deceived for so many years, don’t you want to know the truth?”

“I don’t want to know anything,” Madam Guan replied. “Your nanny said you are not in good health and it’s not suitable for you to come to the banquet. I thought she was being too cautious. Now it seems to be true. Let’s go back today and not bother the princess here.”

Although she didn’t feel sorry for Fang, the concubine’s daughter-in-law, who was unlucky, Madam Guan knew Fang would bring trouble to the Guan family if she embarrassed herself at this occasion. She was responsible for the inner workings of the Guan family and couldn’t let this happen, especially to avoid being blamed by the Duke of Lingguo when they returned.

Princess Heqing had originally lagged behind but quickly approached when she saw the dispute.

She always wanted to witness turmoil, and her relationship with Princess He’en was delicate, so she wished for the farce to escalate.

Princess Heqing heard Madam Guan’s words and quickly intervened: “Don’t rush to send them back. Explain everything clearly before you leave. Lord Luo is the guest the Emperor allowed Seventh Sister to invite. You can’t just ruin her reputation and leave.”

Princess Heqing’s words made people realize the situation.

Princess He’en also realized that Tao Sheng was connected to the Emperor and had reported to her father before coming out this time. If she didn’t uncover the truth now, she wouldn’t know how to report to her father and might be suspected of other things.

Princess He’en glanced at Tao Sheng, who had been staring at Fang. She probably wanted to know how Shen Ruojin and the Shen family were plotting against her, so she followed Princess Heqing’s lead and said to Madam Guan, “Madam Ling Guo, don’t be so quick to silence her. Let this young lady finish her words. Who is plotting against Lord Luo’s private property?”

Now that things had reached this point, there was no way to remain silent. Fang hadn’t intended to explain everything so clearly; she just wanted to plant a seed of doubt so that the hidden matters concerning Shen Ruojin and the Shen family would slowly come to light. However, she hadn’t expected Madam Guan and the two princesses to confront her, making it difficult to leave without clarification.

She bowed to the two princesses and recalled, “I did hear that day that Shen Ruojin told Wenyuan Marquis that since she and Lord Luo are both daughters of the Shen family, they should contribute to the Shen family. So, Wenyuan Marquis shouldn’t just ask for money to pay off debts, but should also ask Lord Luo to pay as well.”

Fang deliberately left out that Shen Ruojin hadn’t agreed to give money to the Shen family, which also darkened Madam Guan’s expression.

Seeing that Mrs. Guan looked unhappy, Shen Ruojin subconsciously explained, “I don’t have much extra money, so I didn’t lend money to my father.”

“I testify that what my sister-in-law said is true,” Fang said. “She said that she has no money and asked Wenyuan Marquis to go to Lord Luo in the name of my father.”

After Fang’s words, everyone looked at Shen Ruojin with more contempt. She and Guan Muyun had always been known as a loving couple in the capital, and it was well-known that Guan Muyun doted on his wife. But how could such a legitimate daughter of a marquis’s mansion, a young lady from a duke’s mansion, actually tell her biological father that she had no money, and encourage him to ask for money from a helpless seventh-rank Dian Le? It was truly laughable.

Princess Heqing was not interested in the 100,000 or 80,000 silver coins but was very concerned about the complicated life story of Shen Ruojin. “Since they are all daughters of the Luo family, why has the Shen family girl only heard of the young lady of the Duke Ling’s Mansion, but never heard of Lord Luo? Is there any hidden story behind this?”

Princess Heqing had also heard of Shen Yu, who was known to be manipulative and scheming for personal gain. Could it be that he wanted to claim Lord Luo’s daughter just because Lord Luo had become rich? If so, then this family was really shameless.

“You’ll have to ask my sister-in-law about this,” Fang said. “Sister-in-law, what’s true won’t be false, and what’s false won’t be true, so why don’t you just tell me the truth?”

When Ruojin entered the venue, she noticed that everyone was gathered around Tao Sheng, trying to flatter her and gain her favor. This made her feel a bit disdainful.

She is just a girl from the countryside. She has achieved her current status by pleasing the emperor. What good is that? Do these noble ladies in the capital still have any dignity? Do they have any integrity as members of aristocratic families?

Even so, Shen Ruojin had to admit deep down in her heart that she was undeniably envious of Tao Sheng for becoming the focus of the whole audience at the princess’s banquet.

Now she hoped that no one could see her.

At this point, Shen Ruojin was filled with regret. If she had known this would happen, she would have given all her savings to Shen Yu and never led him to cause trouble for Tao Sheng.

But it’s too late to regret now.