Shen Shen Shen doesn't pursue men, only money

Chapter 138 Jing'an Duke's Mansion

The next day, he paid his respects to Daishan Court.

Ever since the old lady was exposed in front of her for tampering with 'grandmother's tea', she has not spoken a word to Shen Shenshen again, as if this legitimate granddaughter had never existed. Shen Shenshen didn't like the old lady in the first place, and there was no need for him to pretend to be nice to her after they had fallen out. Just having her show up as a tool every day was already the greatest 'filial piety' she could show.

Everyone in the Marquis' Mansion clearly felt the changes in the Old Lady and the Second Miss, but the Marquis and his wife didn't say a word, so everyone pretended not to know.

After the roll call today, when they returned to the main courtyard, Madam Shen told Shen Shenshen that if he felt unwell at the Duke of Jing'an's mansion, he should return home immediately, and his mother would take care of the rest. Shen Shenshen was touched.

"Second sister."

Shen Caizi called Shen Shenshen who had hurried back to Qinghua Xiaoyuan to change clothes. She was the only one there, without Pianyu and Yinhua. Shen Shenshen understood that her elder sister had something to say in private.

"Sister."

Shen Caizi glanced at Luhen who was following behind her sister.

"Green Trace, get out of the way."

Seeing Lu Hen walk away, Shen Caizi looked around again, and seeing no one nearby, she spoke cautiously.

"Second sister, if anyone makes things difficult for you today, just crush this jade talisman and the master will come to save you."

"No need, elder sister. Ziyuan is prepared."

"Zhu Yanxiao is His Majesty's man, so you can't trust him completely, second sister. The master is the only person you can trust."

"Okay, elder sister, the Jade Talisman God has accepted it."

Shen Shenshen has never been an argumentative person. Her attitude towards people with different opinions in both of her lives has been: as adults, don’t try to persuade them, just make a choice.

"Remember, if there is any danger, crush the jade talisman."

"Got it, elder sister. Thank you very much."

Shen Caizi showed a beautiful smile: "I must convey the gratitude to the gods, the master will be very happy. Go, it's getting late."

"Elder sister, Shen Shen will take his leave." After politely bowing, Shen Shenshen returned to the Qinghua Garden.

She changed into the sky-blue narrow-sleeved long gown and the Tianshui green horse-faced skirt that the clothing department had sent her yesterday. The bottom of the skirt was embroidered with koi carps in gold and silver threads. She walked with lotus steps, looking dignified and elegant.

She put on some makeup and combed her hair into a bun.

The woman in the mirror has bright and charming facial features, just the right amount of beauty.

Shen Shenshen wore the Dongzhu double gold hairpins given by Ziyuan today. The most ingenious "finishing touch" was the bun on the back of her head, where she asked Luhen to tie the men's sky blue brocade headband that Zhu Yanxiao gave her.

All the women in the capital who admired him knew that Zhu Yanxiao preferred the color sky blue, and the sky blue headband that matched his clothes had almost become the prince's exclusive color.

Shen Shenshen wanted to write on every piece of clothing: "Zhu Yanxiao belongs to me." Low-key? This word has never appeared in her dictionary.

She took the gift for the Zhou family and boarded the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion. The gift was also prepared by Zhu Yanxiao for her, a high-quality Duan inkstone.

"The eldest daughter of the Zhou family loves calligraphy, so it is most appropriate for the gods to give her a Duan inkstone."

"Oh. You remember Zhou Yunxi's preferences very clearly, Your Excellency." Shen·Weird·Magic came online.

"This gift of Duan Inkstone has been prepared by this prince for Shenshen."

"Ziyuan, don't try to change the subject. Random check, what are my preferences?"

"To make money and have a good appearance." Zhu Yanxiao looked up at her.

"Hahahaha, hahaha." The woman who was outmaneuvered tried to hide her embarrassment with laughter.

Sitting in the carriage, Shen Shenshen looked at the wrapped Duan inkstone. Thinking of their love words, her face turned slightly red, but her heart was very sweet.

Passing through Suzaku Street and Baicang Avenue, the carriage slowly drove into the wide road next to the imperial city.

The Duke of Jing'an's Palace is located on the edge of the imperial city on this road.

The Zhou family was not royal relatives and according to Dongxiang's ancestral system, they were not allowed to live in the imperial city. However, Emperor Huaisheng was grateful to the Zhou family for following him without hesitation and risking their lives and property when he fought for the throne, so he made an exception and conferred them with titles. He also awarded them mansions on the edge of the imperial city to demonstrate the emperor's great grace.

The carriage had just stopped and Shen Shenshen had not yet stepped out of the carriage when he heard the servants of the Duke's Mansion singing loudly.

"The Second Miss Shen from the Marquis An's Mansion has arrived."

Two women in red at the gate of the Duke of Jing'an's mansion looked towards the mansion's carriage.

What kind of woman could win the favor of Prince Zhu from Prince Zhong's Mansion?

Shen Shenshen got off the carriage slowly and walked towards the door. She looked at the two women in red. Her intuition told her that Zhou Yunxi was not any of them.

The two girls were surprised to see the bright and dazzling Shen Shen approaching them slowly. Is this... the stupid Second Miss Shen mentioned in the rumors?

The round-faced girl in a pomegranate red dress spoke first, "Second Miss Shen, the young ladies from all the mansions have arrived. My eldest sister is in the mansion greeting the sisters from all the mansions and was unable to greet them in person. I hope Second Miss will not blame me."

"That's not right, sister. The eldest lady should be busy hosting a banquet in the mansion."

The round-faced girl continued, "My sister is Zhou Wan, the sixth daughter of the Duke of Jing'an, two years younger than the second daughter of Shen."

Another pointed-faced girl in a red dress said, "Zhou Jing should be one year younger than Second Miss Shen. You can just call her Jing'er. She ranks fifth in the Duke's Mansion."

"Sister Wan'er, Sister Jing'er, you are too polite. Just call me Shenshen."

Both sides greeted each other.

"Wan'er, wait at the main entrance to see if there are any other distinguished guests. I will bring Miss Shen Er into the mansion for the banquet."

"Yes, Fifth Sister."

Shen Shenshen and Zhou Jing entered the Duke of Jing'an's Mansion.

The two of them stepped over the high threshold of the Duke's Mansion and entered the flat courtyard paved with bluestone. They could smell the cool breeze of the chrysanthemum moon and the faint fragrance of flowers. Looking up, they saw a straight corridor paved with bluestone slabs surrounded by potted chrysanthemums all over the ground. The corridor divided the left and right and led directly to the depths of the courtyard. They walked in silence all the way to a lotus pond in the mansion. The season had passed, and the pond was full of withered lotus stalks. There were many servants from the Duke's Mansion in the pond, busy fishing for lotus roots in the pond.

Zhou Jing noticed that Shen Shen's eyes kept looking at the lotus pond, so she explained with a smile: "Second Miss Shen, the main ingredients for the banquet later will be the fresh lotus roots caught today. This year, there is a good harvest of lotus roots, so Sister Yunxi invited the ladies of various mansions to the Duke's Mansion to participate in the lotus root tasting banquet."

"Miss Zhou is truly thoughtful and considerate. Thank you for your hospitality today."

Zhou Jing smiled politely and said nothing more.

Shen Shen thought in his heart: I'm afraid today is not a 'lotus tasting banquet', but a 'god tasting banquet'.

Going around the lotus pond, I walked on the path paved with blue bricks, stepping on the colorful fallen petals all over the ground. I saw patches of thin bamboos on the side of the road with lush bamboo leaves. Occasionally, there were melodious chirping sounds lingering in my ears, which was very pleasant to the ears. Looking far into the path, I saw a crescent-shaped arch in the depths.

We passed through the archway and arrived at the inner courtyard. Today's banquet for Zhou Yunxi was scheduled to be held at the waterside bridge in the inner house. There were winding corridors and koi swimming in the streams and ponds. From afar, we could hear the sounds of girls playing in a pavilion on the waterside bridge.

Zhou Jing raised her eyes to look at Shen Shenshen beside her, and Shen Shenshen also looked at her. For some reason, they both felt a sense of tacit understanding. They slowed down their pace without making any sound, and stopped not far from the pavilion where the noise of play came from. They stood sideways in the shadow of the turn of the corridor bridge. It was difficult to see her if you didn't look carefully, but she just happened to hear the voices in the pavilion.

"Sister Yunxi, why hasn't Miss Shen arrived yet? Is she going to become the Crown Prince's Consort to show us her face?"

"Li Fei'er, Miss Shen II and... are only discussing marriage. As long as they are not married, they are not the Crown Prince's Consort."

"What Zhenzhen said is very true. It's just a marriage proposal. We can still cancel the marriage. Besides, even if the marriage is concluded, we can still divorce amicably."

"Tan'er, now that we've entered the palace, how could Shen Shen possibly divorce the exiled prince? She should have been divorced by the prince directly."

"Hehehe, Li Fei'er is right. The prince divorced her because of her ugliness and stupidity. Yunxi, don't you agree?"

A tender voice sounded: "Ziyuan has never been a superficial person who judges women by their appearance. Moreover, I have also heard my father mention that it was Ziyuan who asked Prince Zhong to marry Miss Shen personally, which shows that he really likes Miss Shen. Yunxi wishes them a happy marriage."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Shenshen heard a familiar voice speaking indignantly.

"Hmph, Zhou Yunxi, stop pretending to be a good person and trying to smooth things over here. The person who is most unwilling to see Zhu Yanxiao marry someone else is Miss Zhou herself. Originally, Prince Zhu was supposed to marry you five years ago, but because the Queen Mother passed away, the royal family had to observe a five-year mourning period, so Miss Zhou was willing to wait for five years. When the twelfth lunar month was about to end, Shen Shen suddenly showed up. Zhou Yunxi, would you be willing to accept this? I'm afraid you still have feelings for him. Of course, all the ladies present here today admire Prince Zhu. Aren't you gathered in the Duke's Mansion just to see what Shen Shen has? Why are you pretending?"