The granddaughter, raised by her grandmother since childhood, made her so angry that she had a stroke. In this era, where filial piety ^[1]refers to duty of children to respect their parents. is the highest priority in family conflicts, this is a huge issue and almost a denial of her character.

But now that Shen Ruojin’s reputation has fallen, people have become numb to her actions. Instead of being shocked by her deeds, they quickly accept the thought that “she is indeed that kind of person.”

Madam Shen did have a stroke in Duke Ling’s mansion, which was undeniable, especially since Lord Bao was there to witness it.

Since the decision was made to split the family, the Duke’s Mansion would not take the blame for Shen Ruojin. Their first reaction was to protect the Duke’s Mansion and place all the blame for angering the old lady on Shen Ruojin.

So, the rumors about Shen Ruojin angering old Madam Shen were actually released by Duke Ling to clear his family’s name.

After Lady Wen’an left, the next visitors to Ji’s house were relatives of the Shen family. When he saw Tao Sheng, he introduced himself as the second uncle of the family and came to see her today as a representative of the clan.

Seeing Tao Sheng’s obviously cold demeanor, Shen’s second uncle showed fiery enthusiasm: “Xiao Sheng, I know you have many grievances against the Marquis’s wife, my elder brother Shen Yu, and my former niece Shen Ruojin, but your second uncle is different. I am not someone who creates trouble or cannot distinguish right from wrong.”

This self-introduction was a bit long. Tao Sheng listened patiently until the end and asked, “Excuse me, Mr. Shen, what can I do for you?”

Second Uncle Shen took out a family tree from his robe and showed it to Tao Sheng: “Second Uncle sincerely invites you back this time. If you are willing, we will go back and open the ancestral hall immediately and add your name to this family tree.”

Tao Sheng replied, “I don’t plan to go back.”

“No, listen to me,” Uncle Shen said. “Shen Ruojin made the old lady so angry. She is not her own child; she just isn’t good enough. It’s no wonder she is ungrateful. Your father hesitated at first, thinking it was hard to give up the father-daughter relationship after so many years. Now that he sees the old lady on the sickbed, he didn’t hesitate and expelled her from the family. It was because of her that you suffered so much outside for so many years. Now that this matter has been dealt with, it’s time for you to go home, right?”

It seems that these people have persuaded Shen Yu to expel Shen Ruojin from the family, and she can no longer be called the daughter of the Shen family.

In the past, Shen Yu doted on Shen Ruojin so much that even her brothers Shen Yue and Shen Ci had to take a back seat. Shen Taosheng, who arrived later, was almost bullied by Shen Ruojin.

Tao Sheng was surprised that Shen Yu could be so decisive in expelling Shen Ruojin this time.

However, considering the situation comprehensively, Tao Sheng found her answer.

Shen Yu has always been soft-hearted. He used to listen to his mother, old Madam Shen, but now that she has had a stroke and can’t speak well, the relatives pressured Shen Yu with their opinions. Shen Ruojin was too busy dealing with issues at the Guan family to go to Shen Yu and plead her case.

The final result was that Shen Yu listened to the advice of these relatives and didn’t want to involve other girls in the family because of Ruojin’s actions, so he decisively cut ties with the daughter he once cared about the most.

Having raised a son and daughter for so many years, to sever the relationship without hesitation shows that both Shen Yu and Duke Ling are ruthless.

Although Shen Ruojin went too far, this second uncle knew she didn’t want to return home but still brought the family tree, showing his intentions were not pure.

Tao Sheng said slowly, “I remember that during the New Year banquet at the Ningyuan Marquis’s residence, you kept saying that Shen Ruojin was the real lady from a noble family and that our relatives’ children couldn’t compare to her in terms of appearance and temperament. You said Ruojin was the best at treating others and being filial. How come you think she is ungrateful now?”

After hearing this, the second uncle of the Shen family replied awkwardly, “I didn’t know people well at first. I understand now. Other things may be bad, but character is the most important. We all think highly of you. If you keep wandering around like this, we will be unable to sleep or eat. We hope that you will come back for the sake of our common ancestry and fulfill the wishes of your family.”

“I still say the same thing, Uncle Shen. Please don’t say more.” Tao Sheng said, “For so many years, everyone has lived their own lives well. There is no need to force you to live together. I have other guests to receive tonight, so I will not keep you here for now.

When he first heard that Tao Sheng refused to return to the Marquis’ Mansion, Second Uncle Shen thought that Tao Sheng was just sulking. After all, the Marquis’ Mansion was wealthy and powerful, and becoming the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’ Mansion would give her the highest status, which would be hard for anyone to refuse.

So they quickly decided and let Shen Yu deal with Shen Ruojin quickly to correct the chaos at the root, hoping that there would be no more ridiculous situations like the cuckoo occupying the magpie’s nest. They thought that Tao Sheng would return after she calmed down.

However, Tao Sheng’s resolute look and words today made him realize that she truly didn’t want to go back to the Marquis’ Mansion. This matter had nothing to do with anger, nothing to do with Shen Ruojin, and nothing to do with anything. It might simply be that she looked down on them.

He had always believed that everyone would covet the wealth and status of a rich family’s daughter. So no matter how the girl from the small town behaved on the surface, she actually wanted to connect with them in her heart.

But they didn’t expect reality to slap them hard in the face.

Second Uncle Shen left in a distraught state.

Tao Sheng watched him leave and said to Mother Zhou beside her, “Tell the concierge not to receive not only the Marquis of the Shen family but also any other relatives of the Shen family.”

It seems that the Shen family’s wishful thinking will continue for some time, and only by taking some physical separation can they find peace and quiet.

Tao Sheng’s mention of entertaining guests tonight was not empty talk. Xie Huaian sent someone to tell them early in the morning that he would come to Ji’s house that night to have a drink with Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming.

Xie Huaian was on duty in the palace. He followed the emperor to court in the morning and got the day’s first-hand information. After leaving the yamen, he came to talk to Tao Sheng without even changing out of his official uniform.

“You don’t know, the scene of the morning court today was really eye-opening.” Xie Huaian began, “Duke Ling came forward to openly apologize, saying that his son and daughter-in-law’s misbehavior was due to his poor upbringing as a father. Guan Muyun was too ashamed to stay in the position of Duke Ling’s son, so Duke Ling resigned and separated his son and daughter-in-law from the mansion to prevent them from using the power of the Duke’s Mansion to cause trouble. Let’s see what happens next.”

I have to say that Duke Lingguo is worthy of being the emperor’s childhood friend. He can understand the emperor’s mind, and what he said was really well-phrased.