“Yes, Aunt is right in saying that. This jade bottle used to be my Mother’s.” Shen Ninghua’s face carried a slight smile, but her eyes were teary, and with her pitiful appearance earned her sympathy from whoever looked at her.
She was without a biological mother since young, but she held Xia Jingyan dear in her heart. Her nursing mother told her things about her Mother since young. Her Mother was knowledgeable and wise beyond her age. However, because her entire family was prosecuted, she had to marry Shen Dong out of desperation. Her intelligence and beauty were supposed to earn her the love and adoration from any man, but reality was far from it as Shen Dong only gave his attention to his mistresses, and treated her coldly. In the end, she died while giving birth.
In her past life, she tried to uncover the truth after becoming Queen. But everytime she tried, Shen Dong would scold her for it, and to preserve the non-existent familial bond between them, she would back down. This time, she swore to uncover what really happened to her Mother.
“This child…” the Second lady said with a sad smile, she held Shen Ninghua’s hands and sighed, “sister-in-law took really good care of us. She was competent and fair in her work, it’s a pity that she…” When Xia Shi was still alive, the Shen house was managed very well under her leadership. She treated the Second house and Third house fairly as well. The Second lady was extremely impressed. Comparatively, Zhao Yunxiang, used her authority to scheme and plot. The Second house would definitely vie for influence against them.
“Ninghua has seen many of Mother’s items since coming home, Ninghua already feels very comforted. Please do not feel sad, Aunt, or it would be my wrongdoing.”
“Mm, sister-in-law’s items are always so delicate. The rest of us cannot even begin to compare. I still remember your Mother gifted me a set of head ornaments, I’ll have someone give it to you someday.”
“Since it was a gift from Mother, Ninghua can’t possibly accept it. Also, I heard from my nursing nanny that Mother used to praise Aunt’s beauty, and how Aunt looked good with flowers. That’s also why the head ornaments she gifted Aunt all had a Albizia flower etched on it.
The First lady’s expression hardened. Staring at the innocent smile on Shen Ninghua’s face, a bad premonition was building in her heart. The Second lady frowned slightly, “now that you mention it, she does have an azalea etched on all her jewelry… Oh, I remember now, no wonder that girl’s headdress looks so familiar, doesn’t that belong to my sister-in-law?”
Everyone followed the Second lady’s gaze and looked at the servant standing behind Shen Linghan. The servant’s face turned pale and she knelt down immediately,
Regardless of how poor the husband’s family was, to use his wife’s dowry was considered an extremely degrading act, even for a commoner’s household. If something like that were to happen in the Shen family, it would be an absolute scandal.
Xiao Shi turned to Shen Ninghua, only to see her looking at the servant’s headdress with eyes full of pain and disbelief.
The Second lady fell silent, almost as if she realised she had said something she should not have. However, she was extremely satisfied inside. To embarrass the First lady in front of so many people brought her much joy.
“What is this?” Shen Dong asked coldly. Family matters were always taken care of perfectly by Zhao Shi, and Shen Dong had never questioned her decisions. He had never expected Zhao Shi to actually do something so scandalous. If news of this were to spread, there would definitely be complaints filed against him on the Emperor’s table tomorrow.
Shen Linghan quickly recovered, “Father, Wan Xiang’s elder sister served under the First mother. Wan Xiang herself also served the First mother for a few days. I once asked about First mother and Mother gave me this headdress as a token to remember. Wan Xiang saw the headdress and started crying. After asking her, I realised that she felt some nostalgia towards First mother, so I gave the headdress to her on my own accord. Linghan acted without consulting, punish me instead, Father.” she explained with a smile, and knelt in front of Shen Dong.
Hearing the explanation, Shen Dong calmed down considerably. He personally went and helped Shen Linghan up. “You silly child, always so kind. Although this was a serious mistake, but since you acted out on good intention, I don’t see a need for you to be punished.” Shen Dong said gently.
“Thank you, Father.”
Looking at the “blissful” father-daughter interaction in front of her, Shen Ninghua clenched her fist. What a shameless pair, to treat such an obvious lie with so much sincerity!
Shen Dong had always doted on Shen Linghan. Shen Menghuan and Shen Yulan were all treated as bargaining chips, and sent off to other minister’s families as second wives or concubines*. Their entire life turned into sufferings just so that Shen Linghan could have her life paved out for her. Shen Ninghua was once sacrificed to pave the path as well. This time, she swore to not let history repeat itself.
*see TL notes if you are curious
“I was extremely shocked when I saw the headdress as well. I did not expect such a reason. So did Nanny Zhou also serve under Mother as well?” Shen Ninghua asked curiously.
Shen Dong frowned, his expression shifted slightly.
Nanny Zhou was stunned. “What are you saying, young miss, this servant does not understand?” she shouted after a pause.
Shen Ninghua paused slightly, “it’s nothing important. It’s just that the cloth of Nanny’s shirt does look very familiar.”
The Second lady studied it carefully for a while. “That cloth belonged to sister-in-law that passed away! The material is not exactly rare, but it’s pattern is very special. If I remember correctly, it was a gift from the palace. What a bold servant, to use it to make clothes for herself. You really think that you deserve such luxury?” she exclaimed angrily.
Shen Dong’s features darkened. Even Xiao Shi got up and walked up to Nanny Zhou. Xia Jingyan was given a title, and she did receive gifts from the palace. Even if she had passed away, these things should be kept properly.
The First lady had turned green a long time ago. With her mind set, she slapped Nanny Zhou across her face. “Filthy servant, kneel! I had sealed sister’s courtyard, and ordered people to clean it regularly. Everything was handled by you. Now explain, what have you done?” Zhao Shi had a pained expression, she maintained the Shen family courtyards and such a huge incident like this must not happen. Additionally, it was already hard enough being a Second wife. For matters which concerned the deceased First lady, Zhao Shi could not come up with a proper excuse. To actually use a dead person’s belonging, and what’s more a gift from the palace at that, when did Nanny Zhou become so impudent? If word got out, the Zhao family would definitely be in trouble.
Nanny Zhou turned white, “Lady……” Someone had remarked that the material looked really good. She had considered for a long while before using it to make clothes. She did not expect to get in trouble the moment she finally got to wear it.
Zhao Shi raised her hand and gave her another slap on the face.
“Dirty slave, using sister’s things without permission, are you trying to cause the death of me? Old madam, sir, I did not teach the servants well. They disregarded my orders and used sister’s belongings on their own. If sister knew this, how can I face her…. Do punish me, or I will not be able to rest easy.” a tear ran across Zhao Shi’s face as she spoke, showing a pitiable state.
Shen Ninghua looked at the impressive act that Zhao Shi displayed coldly with heart full of contempt. If the First lady was not lax in managing affairs, the servants under her would not have been so bold in the first place to use her dead Mother’s belongings. Now that she had gotten into trouble, to think she’d actually pushed all the blame to a single person, what a plan.
However, Shen Ninghua did not plan to make a fuss out of it. Shen Dong was very mindful of reputation and would definitely try to prevent this from spreading. All she merely wanted was to use this to take back Mother’s dowry.
“Mother, what do you think…” Shen Dong looked at Xiao Shi.
Xiao Shi frowned, feeling disgusted after looking at the First lady. “Give Nanny Zhou 30 strokes, and throw her out.”
“Also, since Ninghua is back, she is still the Eldest daughter in the house. Her own mother’s dowry should belong to her as well. When Ninghua marries, it would be her own dowry as well.” Xiao Shi’s words confirmed Shen Ninghua’s status within the house.
Zhao Shi had heaved a sigh of relief before clenching her fists again. Her head was spinning. Xia Shi had passed away years ago and she had given away many of Xiao Shi’s dowry. She even felt the satisfaction every time she saw Xiao Shi’s headdress on those lowly servants. How was she supposed to collect all of those?
Nanny Zhou, that scum. No matter that she was arrogant, but to actually use an imperial gift, looks like she could not keep Nanny Zhou anymore.
The air in the hall was heavy and Shen Ninghua put on a heartbroken expression. But she was filled with joy inside. From today, she was going to let the Shen house live in fear. These people were going to pay for what they have done. This was merely just a start.
After everyone left, Xiao Shi lied down with a satisfied smile on her face. “Old madam, looks like the Eldest Daughter is extremely smart, you can be more at ease now.”
“Mm, send some cloth to Ninghua later. She had lived a tough life till now. As her grandmother, I am going to take good care of her.”
Xue Zu acknowledged her, and thought, “old madam had always wanted control over family matters, the First lady was always a huge obstacle, not to mention she had the Zhao family’s support. Now that Miss Ninghua is here, the situation is finally going to change.”
TL notes:
*Second wives:
They are females who are married to a man after the man’s previous wife died. Since a man can only have one wife at any one point of time. Second wives are viewed as “replacement”. In Chinese, “继室”(referring to a woman’s marriage status) literally represents some sort of “continuation”. They are not held in as high regard as a “proper” wife, and do not have as much influence.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well~
