Chapter 67 Did the Zhao Family Intend to Rebel?

Seeing the person coming, Shen Dong and Old Lady Xiao stood up abruptly.

Shen Ninghua’s eyes turned slightly cold as she slightly lowered her eyes and stood still.

The person coming was the Zhao family’s matriarch, Old Lady Feng. Many years ago, when the Old Grand Tutor Zhao was alive and was in charge of the Zhao family, she moved into the Zhao Mansion as a distant cousin. Three years later, Old Grand Tutor Zhao’s wife passed away, and she became his second wife. She gave birth to three sons respectively named Zhao Kun, Zhao Yi, and Zhao Ying, as well as a daughter named Zhao Huiying. The three children born by Old Grand Tutor Zhao’s first wife died one after another, and of the daughters who were born by concubines, only Zhao Yunxiang and Zhao Yunxue survived.

Old Lady Xiao wore a fake smile on her face. “My kinswoman, why are you here?”

Old Lady Feng curled her lips and revealed a half-smile. “If I didn’t come, my granddaughter would be tortured to death by you!”

Zhao Yunxiang walked forward and bowed with an anxious expression. “Greetings, Mother. Mother, have you found Linghan? Her maidservant said that she ran out. I…”

Old Lady Xiao frowned coldly. “You are pregnant. Don’t be too excited. What if you hurt my grandson?” Her words sounded like she was concerned but she was actually making complaints. Did she really think that others would not be able to tell?

Old Lady Feng turned her head and said, “My kinswoman, are you accusing my pitiful daughter? If she didn’t care about the child in her belly, how would she hand over the power of managing the family?”

Old Lady Xiao could not say that she had forced Madam Zhao to hand over her power to Madam Su, so she could only remain silent with a sullen expression.

Old Lady Feng looked at Madam Zhao and said, “You should relax and nourish the fetus these days. I heard that Nurse Qin was punished for her wrongdoing some days ago. You can’t do without a considerate servant. I specially brought two nurses here to serve you.”

“Thank you, mother.” Madam Zhao’s heart was filled with excitement. Without Nurse Qin, she lived as if without one of her arms. The two reliable nurses that Old Lady Feng gave her just came in handy.

Two nurses in navy blue dresses stood out and respectfully stood behind Madam Zhao. Shen Ninghua looked at the two of them and her eyes became slightly cold. These two people’s footsteps were very light, and they landed without making any sound. The callus between their thumbs and index fingers was very thick. They must be experts in martial arts sent by the Zhao family to deal with Qing Que and Hong Ling. She had to be more careful in the future.

Old Lady Xiao’s expression was very gloomy. The Zhao family did not respect the Shen family at all! She just drove out that annoying old servant, and they sent two more. Which servant from the Zhao family was easy to deal with? With these two people, Madam Zhao was probably not far from returning to power.

She had only managed to hold Madam Zhao in rein and lived comfortably for a few days. How could she be willing to let Madam Zhao stage a comeback and make trouble? She turned to look at Shen Dong with disappointment in her eyes. Her own son didn’t say anything at all!

How could Shen Dong not sense Old Lady Xiao’s intentions? However, with the current upheaval in the court, his influence in the Jiangnan region would probably be implicated. If he was found guilty, the consequences would be unimaginable. He needed the Zhao family to help him deal with the situation. How could he offend Old Lady Feng at this time?

“It’s good that Zhao has two servants by her side.”

Old Lady Feng curled her lips in satisfaction, and her expression relaxed a lot. However, Old Lady Xiao’s face turned purple with anger. She paused for a long time and suddenly stood up. “I’m not feeling well, so please excuse me, my kinswoman. My son Shen Dong would stay and serve you.”

Old Lady Feng raised her eyes to look at her. “Since you don’t feel well, you should stay in your courtyard to rest. Let the younger generation take care of these matters outside.” Don’t stretch out your hand that long when you were old. Did she really think that other people didn’t know what she was thinking? Humph, even if you hated the Zhao family, you still needed to treat people from the Zhao family as guests of honor.

Old Lady Xiao’s hands that were holding Xue Zhu trembled slightly as she forcefully suppressed the anger in her heart and walked towards the door.

As soon as she arrived at the door, Old Lady Xiao saw Shen Linghan dressed in gorgeous clothes walking into the room with a smile on her face. When she passed by, she did not even pause, but directly walked over to Old Lady Feng. “Grandmother, you’re finally here. I’m going to be bullied to death here at home. You must speak up for me.”

Old Lady Xiao’s breathing stifled, and she almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Why didn’t she mercilessly have this monster beaten to death earlier?

Xue Zhu supported her and asked worriedly, “Old Lady, are you alright?”

Old Lady Xiao stiffly turned around and glanced at the hall. Seeing Shen Dong smilingly talking with Old Lady Feng, she didn’t say anything more. She turned around and walked away with large strides.

Shen Ninghua watched this scene and her heart stirred. Old Lady Xiao had managed to control her anger not because of the Shen family, but because of Shen Dong. Shen Dong was her favorite son for whom she had the highest expectation. Unfortunately, Shen Dong cared too much about power. He only wanted to rely on the Zhao family to strengthen himself, but he overlooked Old Lady Xiao’s thoughts. Both of them were living a pathetic life.

Hearing Old Lady Feng’s request to release Shen Linghan, Shen Dong said, “Mother-in-law, Linghan is the first daughter of the Shen family. I will not treat her unfairly. It is just that she went too far.”

Old Lady Feng’s gaze was sharp. “To feed without teaching is the father’s fault. Linghan has misbehaved because you, as her father, didn’t teach her properly. Although she made a mistake, she has repented and it’s fine. Are you going to imprison her for the rest of her life for making a mistake?”

Shen Dong frowned. “Days ago, a few princes were here, but she ran wild and ruined her reputation. It would be better for her not to come out during this time and to rest quietly for a while.”

“What are you talking about!” Old Lady Feng coldly put down the teacup. “Linghan is your daughter. After something bad happened, you didn’t think of ways to solve it, but you wanted her to vanish and rest. Doesn’t your Shen family want this daughter? Oh, I forgot. You have another first daughter back. Which one is Shen Ninghua? Come out and let me see.”

Shen Ninghua took two steps forward and bowed slightly. “I am Shen Ninghua. Greetings, grandmother.”

Old Lady Feng’s tone was contemptuous, with an inherent sense of superiority. She looked at Shen Ninghua as if she was looking at an ant that could easily be crushed to death. “Grandmother? Ha-ha, no wonder you can suppress Linghan to such an extent. It turned out that she was defeated because she’s not as cheeky as you. My Zhao family does not have a granddaughter born by a woman from the Xia family.”

These words were extremely unpleasant to hear, and Shen Dong’s expression was somewhat embarrassed.

Shen Ninghua looked up. Her calm and deep gaze showed as if she was looking at a dead object. “Since you said that I am a first daughter of the Shen family, I shall call your daughter my mother and you my grandmother. If you don’t want me to address you as grandmother, it doesn’t matter. At most, I won’t have to address your daughter as mother in the future.”

If the daughter left behind by the first wife refused to call the stepmother her mother, it meant she simply did not recognize the status of the stepmother. People who heard about this would say that the stepmother was unkind to the stepdaughter. Let’s see who had more to lose.

Hearing this, Old Lady Feng raised her eyes to look at her. “You’re a sharp-tongued girl.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “Thank you, grandmother.”

Old Lady Feng’s expression was gloomy. When did anyone dare to talk to her like this? She grabbed a teacup and threw it at Shen Ninghua’s feet with a bang. “Kneel down!”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes suddenly twitched, but her body remained upright.

“What, you called me grandmother, but you don’t even listen to me?”

Shen Ninghua swept her gaze over the teacup on the ground. “Grandmother, is the Zhao family planning to rebel?”

Old Lady Feng raised her eyebrows in anger. ‘”What nonsense are you talking about? Shen Dong, this is the daughter you are protecting. I simply don’t know what to say about you!”

Shen Dong’s expression was extremely bad, and he was suppressing the anger he couldn’t vent. When he glanced at Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan’s smiling faces, he felt that they were such an eyesore. “Mother-in-law, Ninghua is the kindest person. Even His Majesty knows this. She is very good.”

Old Lady Feng did not expect Shen Dong to refute her. She paused and then sneered, “Looks like you are sincerely protecting this ungrateful girl. When Xia gave birth to her for you, you said that she was not the Shen family’s bloodline. But now, you are protecting her?”

Shen Ninghua’s heart trembled. What did Old Lady Feng mean? Shen Dong had suspected her origin? Why was that?

Seeing Shen Ninghua’s expression finally change, Old Lady Feng’s sneer deepened. “She’s just a wild girl. She’s merely an ignorant bumpkin. Shen Ninghua, didn’t you hear me telling you to kneel down? Do you still need me to teach you how to kneel? Nurse Qian, Nurse Wu, go and teach her.”

The two nurses bowed. “Yes, Old Lady.”

After saying that, the two nurses expressionlessly walked behind Shen Ninghua and raised their hands to grab her shoulders, threatening to press her onto the broken porcelain on the ground.

Just as Shen Dong was about to shout to stop them, Shen Ninghua suddenly laughed. “Ha-ha, people say that the Zhao family can cover the sky with one hand but I didn’t believe it. Now that you even dare to rebel, what else is it that the Zhao family didn’t dare to do? Old Lady, are you going to kill witnesses to keep their mouths shut? So many people present here all saw it. Do you even want to kill my father?”

Old Lady Feng frowned. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Shen Ninghua abruptly shook off the two nurses behind her and raised her hands to slap them each in the face. “You are the real bold ones! The teacup that was smashed to the ground was conferred by the emperor. How many times are you going to die to make for that?”

Madam Zhao and Shen Linghan’s smiling faces suddenly stiffened. “What did you say?”

Shen Ninghua raised her clear and black eyes. “This teacup was bestowed upon the Second Prince by the His Majesty. The Second Prince gave me a set of teacups after getting the His Majesty’s consent because he saw that I liked tea. I was afraid that I couldn’t use them carefully, so I gave them to my father. The maidservant made a mistake and took them out to use. Now, grandmother broke one of them. This is truly ungrateful to the His Majesty’s benevolence.”

As long as something was conferred by the emperor, even if it was only a single strand of hair, it must be enshrined like one’s ancestors, let alone a set of teacups.

Old Lady Feng’s face darkened. “Nonsense.”

Shen Ninghua bent down to pick up a piece of broken porcelain and looked at her with a smile. “Grandmother must know about imperial gifts. There is also the seal of the Internal Affairs Department on it. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself.”

Old Lady Feng took a glance and her pupils contracted. This teacup was indeed made by the Internal Affairs Department.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze. Shen Linghan raised her head and looked at Old Lady Feng with a shudder. “Grandmother…”

Old Lady Feng opened her eyes and swept her cold gaze over Shen Ninghua. Finally, she looked at Shen Dong and said, “Gifts conferred by the emperor should be well worshipped in the ancestral hall. My son-in-law, you should know best.”

Shen Dong looked at the broken porcelain on the ground and said, “Logically speaking, it should be…”

Old Lady Feng snorted coldly. “Although Shen Ninghua is unfamiliar with the etiquettes, she can be taught to be useful. If you’re willing to raise her, just do it. After all, you don’t lack food for her. As for Linghan, let her rest for another two months. Two months later will be my birthday. Let her attend the birthday banquet then.”

Hearing Old Lady Feng’s words, Shen Linghan suddenly raised her head. However, she was frightened by Old Lady Feng’s stern gaze. She looked at Shen Ninghua hatefully and lowered her head.

Shen Dong knew that the old woman in front of him had compromised. Nevertheless, she was the empress’ birth mother, so he couldn’t be too disrespectful to her. “Mother-in-law, you are right.”

Old Lady Feng coldly glanced at Shen Ninghua and suddenly said, “I heard that Xuanye offered a lot of prescriptions. There is a plague in Ping City. If he has the prescription, give it to me and I will ask someone to take a look. After all, this matter is of great importance. It’s better not to let anything unexpected happen.”