Volume 1 Chapter 117 Night Request

  Back at General's Mansion, the gate had already been closed. Zhen Shining was about to order Qiuju to go and call out, when Honglian lifted up the carriage curtain and jumped down.

  She saw her go down and then sat back.

  Hong Lian didn't go forward to knock on the door, but instead bowed to the four guards who escorted them back, "The General's Mansion has arrived, Madam asked me to thank you gentlemen for escorting us all the way."

  This girl is really lawless and unscrupulous.

  Zhen Shining furrowed her brow upon hearing this.

  Hong Lian waited until the guard was out of sight before going forward to knock on the door.

  The gatekeeper sleepily poked his head out, "......You've come to the wrong door, what's with the 'General's wife'?" After speaking, he withdrew his head and went back inside.

  Hong Lian let out a burst of laughter and turned her head towards Zhen Shiniang.

  "Let the servant girl go and knock on the door!" Qiu Ju suddenly stood up, but was pulled back by Zhen Shi Niang, "Forget it, Old Madam is afraid that I will not leave the General's residence, so she is driving me out ahead of time."

  Hong Lian first sent Rong Sheng's guards away, then also sent Shen Zhongjie's attendants away before approaching the door to call out. If she still doesn't understand Hong Lian's intentions by now, she might as well have lived in vain.

  "But our things are all in the mansion." Qiu Ju was somewhat unwilling, "Brother Chi and Brother Guo didn't come either." Shen Zhongge had already invited Chi Jizhong and Guo Xiu back to the General's Mansion and arranged for them to stay in a superior guest room. Since they were imperial guards, he was afraid that if they entered the palace during the day, someone would recognize them and arouse Zhen Shiniang's suspicion.

  At the mention of them, Zhen Shining frowned and said, "Then try knocking again." As she spoke, Zhen Shining helped Qiuju down from the carriage.

  "...kept knocking on the door, asking to send things and guards out." Chu Xinyi hadn't rested yet, was still embroidering flowers while chatting with Chunhong and Chunlan. After hearing the little maid's report, she frowned, "What did Old Madam say?"

  “……The old lady has already rested and doesn't want to be disturbed. The second door's Come Shun is asking if you'd like to have the lady's things sent out.” Come Shun's face was full of entreaty as he spoke. The little maid secretly peeked at Chu Xinyi's expression.

  "Just say I'm also taking a break." Chu Xinyi thought for a moment.

  The little maid retreated at the sound, Chun Hong felt a bit unbearable, "Auntie, why not let Chi Hu Yin take out Madam's things? It's late at night, and Madam is a woman after all..."

  "What's it to me if the old lady has made arrangements?" Chu Xinyi yawned. "The general isn't coming back, let's just go to bed."

  Give her the hospital bill?

  It's a joke that she was kidnapped and sold into a brothel, this matter is the old lady's idea, Shen Zhongqiu can't blame her even if he's angry!

  Chrysanthemum knocked on the door for a long time, but nobody inside responded.

  Hong Lian stood on one side and smiled coldly.

  Jian Qiuju was about to cry when Zhen Shiniang stepped forward and pulled her, "Forget it. Let's go."

  "What a dark and desperate situation we're in! Where can we go?" Qiu Ju struggled to hold back her tears, not wanting to cry in front of Hong Liu.

  "You go rent a carriage, we...” Zhen Shining caught Red Lotus eavesdropping and paused for a moment, “Return to Wutong Town.” She quietly pinched Autumn Chrysanthemum's small hand.

  Qiu Ju let out an "ai" and lifted her foot to hail a rickshaw.

  Fortunately, it was the Lantern Festival, and the crowd hadn't completely dispersed yet. Autumn Chrysanthemum quickly hired a horse carriage to return. Fu Xiangniang got on the carriage, and the two of them left General's Mansion alone.

  Just as Zhen Shining's carriage disappeared from view, the gate of the General's Mansion creaked open from inside. The little gatekeeper poked his head out to beckon Hong Lian in.

  "What... was kicked out of General's Mansion?" Old Lady Xiao asked in surprise while stretching her arm to let the maid dress her.

  “……Qiu Ju knocked on the door for half a day. The things and guards she brought from Wutong Town, neither the master nor the servants would give her, and the two of them were frozen with pale faces.” Xichun said while helping the old lady put on her shoes.

  Since Xiao Yu already knew her identity, and it was late at night that she came to the door dressed like this, anyone would be surprised. Zhen Shi Niang simply told Xi Chun, who had come out to greet her, that she was Shen Zhong Shuai's legitimate wife.

  Originally, Xi Chun heard the second gate's little servant pass on a message that "Jian Dafu" had arrived. Thinking it was already late at night, she didn't want to wake up Old Lady Xiao, but also feared neglecting Jian Dafu. So, Xi Chun put on her clothes and personally came out to receive Zhen Shiying. Upon seeing Zhen Shiying's luxurious attire, she was shocked. After hearing that she was actually Shen Zhongjie's legitimate wife, Xi Chun was so startled that she couldn't speak. How could she dare take matters into her own hands? Ignoring Zhen Shiying's repeated attempts to stop her, she called Old Lady Xiao awake in the middle of the night.

  "Hurry, hurry and come in!" The old lady put on her clothes and ordered Xi Hua, "Tell the kitchen to cook a bowl of hot noodles..." She muttered to herself, "Even if you don't like it, at this late hour...a woman's home alone..." Her teeth chattered with anger, "This stubborn fool, doesn't he have any conscience? Go tell Master Zhong to call him over, I'll hit him with my cane!"

  Shen Zhongge was stubborn since childhood, with a temper that could not be restrained even by eight oxen, earning him the nickname "Second Stubborn Head".

  Shen Zhongge originally came to the capital for the imperial examination and stayed at Xiao's residence, where he was taken care of by Old Lady Xiao in terms of food, clothing, and daily needs. She treated him like her own son, scolding him whenever she was displeased. However, after he became a general, he restrained himself. Tonight, however, even Old Lady Xiao was truly furious.

  At this moment, if Shen Zhongge were here, she would have hit him with her crutch.

  Knowing it was just a figure of speech, Xi Chun didn't dare to actually go and pass on the message. She turned around and threw a towel over to help the old lady wipe her face.

  She dismissed the young maidservant in the house and quietly brought Zhen Shiyin and her maid into the room.

  "Old Madam..." As soon as she saw the old madam, before Zhen Shiniang could even open her mouth, Qiuju suddenly knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times, startling the old madam. She hastily stretched out her hand to pull her up, "This girl, the ground is cold, quickly get up, quickly get up..."

  As soon as she grasped the old lady's hand, Qiuju let out a wail and burst into tears. "Thank you, milady, for taking in my mistress." Zhen Shiniang had long since told her to change her way of addressing her, but whenever Qiuju got anxious, she would revert to calling her "mistress".

  This chrysanthemum has finally found its mother.

  Seeing Qiu Ju's expression like a child who has just found its mother, Zhen Shi Nang opened her mouth to smile, but she had a sour feeling in her heart and couldn't smile. She saw Xi Chun turn around to wipe away tears, even Xiao Fu Ren also shed tears, and felt that Qiu Ju was somewhat impolite.

  But also knew that after suffering such a great grievance, she was afraid of being overcome with emotion on the way to Xiao Fu's residence. With Autumn Chrysanthemum's temperament, it wasn't easy for her to hold back her tears until now, so she let her cry for a while, letting her sob uncontrollably on Old Madam's lap before patting her and saying, "Get up quickly." Then she bowed to Old Madam, "Autumn Chrysanthemum doesn't understand things, making Grandmother laugh."

  Having vented her emotions, Qiu Ju also realized that she had been impolite and hastily wiped away her tears. She stood up awkwardly and formally greeted the old lady with a bow to apologize for her mistake.

  The old lady pulled her hand, "...... such a big child, suffered so much grievance and you still don't let her cry, I like this kind of thing the most, can't stand those who are pretending to be pitiful." Looking at Zhen Shiniang, "You are not allowed to blame her." Turning back to instruct Xichun, "Quickly take her down to wash up, find a clean set of clothes for her to change into."

  Qiu Ju was taken away by Xishun, and Zhen Shi Niang came forward to pay her respects to Xiao Lao Furen, "Coming in the middle of the night, I'm disturbing Aunt."

  Upon seeing Zhen Shiniang's attire, Old Lady Xiao finally believed that she was indeed the legitimate wife of Shen Zhongjie, who had been abandoned in Wutong Town. She was shocked and thought to herself, "They said she was a formidable person, but why is she so gentle?" Seeing her pale face and smile that didn't seem as warm as before, it seemed like she was forcing herself to be strong, which made Old Lady Xiao feel a pang of sympathy. She turned around and instructed Xiumei, "Go and have the steward bring back Zhongtang. Let him tell General Shen to bring eight sedan chairs to take her away. I don't believe that even if she hadn't committed any heinous crimes, as a legitimate wife who had been married with proper rituals and brought into the house in a grand procession, she would be driven out in the middle of the night!"

  Xiao Ye had already sent a message back, he was going to stay in the palace tonight, but the old lady and others didn't know that just two hours ago, a coup had occurred in the palace, now she couldn't find Xiao Ye and Shen Zhongshuo with any token.

  Xian Xi Hua was about to leave when Zhen Shi Niang grabbed her, turned around and looked at the old lady, "Auntie, absolutely not, I've already told the people from the General's mansion that we're going back to Wutong Town tonight..."

  It's not her own home, but if the news gets out that she came to rely on the Zhong Dang Fu in the middle of the night, it would be a bad rumor. After all, Xiao Yu is a widower, and his mother-in-law might put a hat on her head saying she doesn't follow the rules of being a good wife. More importantly, everyone in the Zhong Dang Fu knows that she is Jian Da Fu, if Shen Zhong Jue comes to pick her up so openly, it won't take half a day for the whole world to know that the General's wife is actually the folk's Jian Da Fu.

  The old lady's maidservant, one or two can be silenced, but the hundreds of people in the Zhong Tang Fu, from top to bottom, cannot all be silenced at once.

  After listening to Zhen Shining's explanation, the old lady thought it was reasonable and felt a bit resentful. "It's better not to tell him, you can stay here with me, let him look for you in vain, and make him anxious!"

  What's making Shen Zhongjie anxious?

  She's been missing for ten years, and Shen Zhong Xiao still wouldn't be anxious!

  Zhen Shining smiled to herself, but didn't want to say these useless things to Old Madam. She looked at Old Madam sincerely and said, "I know you have many questions for me, but it's too late today. Please find a room for me to rest in for the night first, and whatever you want to ask, we can talk about it tomorrow."

  Logically speaking, she had just come out of the palace and couldn't say anything else. At least she should have told Old Lady Xiao about Cao Shangye's bad news, but she really didn't have the energy to do so.

  The whole day was spent in extreme tension, and at this time, Zhen Shiniang only felt that her body was like a heavy mountain, and her head was like lead, dazed and confused. It wasn't that she had nowhere to spend the night, but she had to open her mouth to ask someone for help. She really wanted to lie down somewhere and pretend to be dead.

  The news of Mr. Cao's death will be announced tomorrow morning, and it won't be too impolite for her to mention it again when she gets up tomorrow morning.

  Jian's wife suddenly became a general's wife, and the old lady indeed had many questions stuck in her chest that she couldn't ask without feeling unwell. Hearing Zhen Shining say this, she felt a flash of displeasure in her heart. She raised her head to look at her and saw that her face was as white as if all the blood had been drained from it, and her body, which was barely standing upright, seemed like a willow in the wind, swaying precariously. Silently, she thought, "She really can't hold on anymore."

  Otherwise, with her chastity and modesty, she would never say such an impolite thing.