Chapter 85

Madam Shen’s eyes were vacant, and she alternated between laughing and crying, seemingly lost in memories. Shen Yan held her close and called softly.

“Mother, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t scare me like this.”

Madam Shen finally returned to reality, pulled back by Shen Yan’s voice.

She looked up at Shen Yu and muttered, “You missed your deceased wife and wanted to be buried with her, didn’t you? I will not let you have your way.”

Shen Yu’s expression changed.

Madam Shen then laughed, “I will bury you in Shengjing, ensuring you never reunite with your beloved wife in life or death. You didn’t want to see me, but once I’m dead, I’ll be buried beside you, so you’ll see my face every day, forever and ever, ha ha ha ha…”

She looked at Shen Yu as if she were seeing Shen Zhong’an.

Shen Yan’s face turned pale. She shook Madam Shen, “Mother, what’s wrong with you?”

Madam Shen turned her head, her gaze strange, “Qiu Rui, how long until my wedding with General Shen?”

Qiu Rui was her maid before she got married, who had long since married and left.

It seemed she had lost her mind.

Shen Yan sat back, stunned, and began to cry, “Mother! It’s me, Yan’er.”

Shen Yu turned her face away.

Madam Shen going mad was something she hadn’t expected. It was clear she had feelings for Shen Zhong’an. Without love, there wouldn’t be such deep hatred; otherwise, how could she harbor so much resentment?

It was probably the bad news from the border that had knotted up her heart. Now, recalling the pain, it had driven her to madness.

Shen Yan cried for a while, then suddenly turned to Shen Yu, “I already said you could take everything, what more do you want?!”

Shen Yu shook her head in disappointment, “I’m just taking back what’s mine. Who’s really pushing whom here?”

Shen Yan opened her mouth but found herself unable to retort. She could only hold Madam Shen and cry.

“Shen Yan,” Shen Yu sighed, “Father once told me he regretted not spending more time with you. He didn’t want your mother to teach you because he knew she wouldn’t raise you well. He originally wanted to take you to the border, but your mother threatened to die if he did. You yourself said you couldn’t endure the harsh border life.”

“Father told me that you were my sister, that as girls we should be close. He asked me to take care of you. That’s why I always sent the best things to you first, not because they were leftovers I didn’t want.”

At this point, Shen Yu turned away and choked up before continuing, “I never cared about those riches. I care about family. If you had asked, I could have given you everything. I treated you like my sister. I trusted you and wrote to you, but what did you do… It was you all who pushed me.”

Shen Yan lowered her head and wept.

Shen Yu lifted her head, forcing back the tears, “I’m the type who repays kindness thrice over and remembers every wrong done to me. We can no longer be sisters. From now on, you don’t trouble me, and I won’t trouble you.”

She turned to ask, “Is everything moved?”

“All moved,” Shopkeeper Lu walked over with the inventory list, “but some items were missing from the storage.”

How could everything be there? Some had surely been squandered already.

“How much is missing?”

Shopkeeper Lu replied, “About ten to twenty percent.”

Shen Yu looked at Shen Yan, “Forget it, you wouldn’t be able to repay it anyway. What Father left behind is enough for you and your mother to live well. Just don’t provoke me again.”

Outside, a string of fully loaded carts waited.

Shopkeeper Lu finished the inventory check but didn’t see Shen Yu, so he asked a worker, “Where is the young master?”

The worker replied, “The young master said she was going to her own courtyard and would be back soon.”

The courtyard seemed long neglected, with the plants wilted under winter snow, leaving a scene of desolation as the snow melted.

Shen Yu pushed open the bedroom door, finding thick dust covering the furniture.

She walked over and stopped in front of the dressing table.

There was a drawer under the table containing her treasured items. Shen Yu opened it and rummaged through, each item holding a memory.

She found a box to store the items, noticing one was missing—a small wooden sword her brother made for her as a child. She wondered where it had been stored.

Shopkeeper Lu waited at the back gate until he saw Shen Yu approaching with a box.

“Young master.”

Shen Yu said, “Let’s go.”

Shopkeeper Lu hesitated, “Young master, there’s a problem. The tailor shop only has a few workers, so…”

Shen Yu understood his unfinished sentence.

With only a few workers at the tailor shop, such a large haul of treasures couldn’t be safely guarded.

“I recall there’s a bank in the capital, right?” Shen Yu asked.

“There is,” Shopkeeper Lu said, troubled, “but the bank’s vaults can’t hold this much.”

Shen Yu thought for a moment, then had an idea, “Send it to the prince’s mansion. My courtyard there is big enough.”

Since she had already confronted Xie Tingzhou, there was no concern about exposure.

Shopkeeper Lu clapped his hands, “That’s a great idea. No one would dare steal from the prince’s mansion.”

They immediately set to work, disguising the long line of carts as a delivery to the mansion by first stopping at the Lu shop, then proceeding to Beilin Prince’s Mansion.

Shen Yu had the carts wait outside while she went to Qingpu Residence to ask Xie Tingzhou for permission, since it was his mansion after all.

When Shen Yu arrived at Qingpu Residence, guards were on duty both inside and outside.

The guards recognized her and didn’t stop her, opening the door for her.

As she approached, she saw that the lights in both the study and bedroom were out. She pulled a guard aside and asked softly, “Has His Highness retired?”

The guard replied, “Yes, he’s already asleep.”

Xie Tingzhou needed rest, and the doctor had given him a calming medicine, so he slept early.

Shen Yu nodded, “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

A white bird perched under the eaves hadn’t slept, and upon hearing movement, fluttered its wings.

Its wings brushed against a hanging iron horse, causing it to jingle.

Inside, Xie Tingzhou opened his eyes.