binnovel Chapter 344 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Chapter 344 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Afterwards, Lady Hou apologized to Princess Ning'an, saying that something had happened at home and she needed to return to her residence first.
Princess Ning'an seemed to know what had happened and did not try to stop them. She even let the second young mistress, Mei Zhixu, go back with her.
On the way back, Su Jinyue shared a carriage with her two half-sisters. Both of them looked somewhat displeased about returning so early, but they couldn't disobey the Lady of the Marquis's orders.
On the way back, the carriage speed increased significantly, and the two illegitimate daughters sensed something unusual from the faster-moving carriage.
His expression changed from dissatisfaction with going home early to anxiety.
Finally, the older of the two mustered up the courage to ask Su Jinyue for information.
"Sister-in-law, I wonder what happened? Why is Mother in such a hurry to return home?"
Su Jinyue was inwardly complaining about the bumpy ride of the carriage. That was the downside of ancient carriages—the shock absorption technology was terrible. She wondered if she should build one herself for her own comfort, otherwise it would be really inconvenient to go out.
Hearing the question from the illegitimate daughter, Su Jinyue suppressed her impatience and replied, "I don't know exactly what happened either. I guess I'll find out when I get back to the manor."
After saying this, Su Jinyue closed her eyes and stopped talking. The two illegitimate daughters exchanged a glance and then fell silent.
Back at the mansion, once they entered the second gate, Su Jinyue and the two illegitimate daughters were left unattended. The lady of the house directed a strong, rough-looking maid to carry Shen Yuxi into her boudoir.
The maids who accompanied Shen Yuxi out today have all been detained and are being interrogated severely.
Lady Hou was directing all the servants in Shen Yuxi's boudoir, who were running around fetching the family physician, bringing hot water to prepare a bath for Shen Yuxi to ward off the cold, finding clean clothes, and so on.
Su Jinyue and the two illegitimate daughters hid in a safe place and waited patiently. Without the order from the Lady of the Marquis, they dared not leave in advance.
Second Young Mistress Mei Zhixu initially entered Shen Yuxi's boudoir with Madam Hou, but was soon dismissed.
Su Jinyue sighed inwardly. No matter how high one's status, once one becomes a daughter-in-law, if something happens, even if it has nothing to do with her, she will inevitably be blamed by her mother-in-law.
Today's events were clearly orchestrated by Shen Yuxi in the power struggle within the royal family. Mei Zhixu had been serving Princess Ning'an all day and had no idea what had happened. Even now, Mei Zhixu was completely bewildered.
Although Su Jinyue knew the inside story, how could she, an unappreciated concubine's wife in a marquis's mansion, possibly know what had happened?
So, Su Jinyue shrank back and decided to continue to hide.
With such a big incident happening in the manor, the Lady of the Marquis sent someone to find Lord Shen early this morning.
When Lord Shen learned that something had happened at home, he rushed back, but he couldn't go into his daughter's room, so he could only wait in the outer room.
When the head of the household arrived, Su Jinyue and the two illegitimate daughters could no longer hide and had to step forward and bow respectfully.
This was the first time Su Jinyue had seen Lord Shen's true face after their marriage. After bowing, Su Jinyue secretly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
Lord Shen Mingze is 38 years old. In modern times, this is the prime of a man's life, but in ancient times, he was already close to becoming a grandfather.
Lord Shen had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his figure was as upright as a pine tree. Even though he was middle-aged, he still had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his temperament was outstanding. When he sat there with his head held high, every move he made exuded an innate nobility and majesty.
Su Jinyue inwardly admired Lord Shen's appearance. He must have been a handsome man in his youth, and with the added advantage of his family background, he must have made countless young ladies from noble families fall for him.
However, Su Jinyue was a little puzzled. Why did Shen Huaizhi's appearance not resemble Lord Shen at all? Could it be that Shen Huaizhi's appearance was inherited from his mother?
Lord Shen is still unaware of what has happened. Since it concerns his daughter's reputation, Lady Hou does not want it to become public knowledge.
After Lord Shen returned, a clever maidservant went into the inner room to report, but for some reason, she hasn't come out yet.
He had no choice but to first try to understand the situation from Su Jinyue and her two daughters, but they knew absolutely nothing about it.
After failing to get any answers from his inquiries, Lord Shen had no choice but to bring up other matters.
"Huai Zhi's health has improved a lot recently, according to the family physician. This is all thanks to you as his wife. I heard that you and your husband went out of the manor together yesterday."
"Great! Huaizhi's health has always been a worry for me. Now that he's married and his health is gradually improving, I can finally relax..."
Although Shen Huaizhi's health was indeed thanks to Su Jinyue, Su Jinyue could only humbly say that she dared not take credit for it at this time.
Afterwards, Su Jinyue and Lord Shen chatted casually about Shen Huaizhi's health condition, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
A short while later, someone came in from outside to report that Shen Huaizhi had arrived!
Su Jinyue was surprised. Why was Shen Huaizhi here?
Su Jinyue didn't have time to think much and took two quick steps toward the door to greet Shen Huaizhi.
Shen Huaizhi was walking slowly, but when he saw Su Jinyue's figure, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Upon approaching, Shen Huaizhi's eyes circled Su Jinyue twice, and only after confirming that she was safe and sound did he finally relax.
Shen Huaizhi had known about Su Jinyue and the others returning to the manor for a while. He originally thought that Su Jinyue would return soon, but he waited and waited and waited and the person did not come.
Shen Huaizhi then became anxious. Later, he heard that something seemed to have happened to the women in the mansion at the flower-viewing banquet, but he couldn't find out the specifics.
In his anxiety, he came to find her in person. Now that he saw Su Jinyue standing in front of him completely unharmed, he could finally rest assured.
Why did you come here?
"Are you OK?"
Su Jinyue and Shen Huaizhi spoke at the same time, but their words were both concerned about each other.
Su Jinyue looked at Shen Huaizhi with a smile, knowing what he was worried about, and immediately explained, "I'm fine, it's Yu Xi who fell into the water."
Shen Huaizhi nodded. There was no time for the two of them to go into details. Since Shen Huaizhi had come, he should first pay his respects to his father, Lord Shen.
"Huaizhi greets Father." Shen Huaizhi entered and respectfully bowed to Lord Shen.
"Alright, no need for formalities, please sit down." Before Shen Huaizhi could finish bowing to him, Lord Shen nimbly stood up, grabbed Shen Huaizhi's arm, and forcefully pulled him up.
"Uh, thank you, Father." Shen Huaizhi was startled by Lord Shen's actions for a moment, but quickly recovered and thanked Lord Shen before sitting down in the seat below him.
Su Jinyue sat down next to Shen Huaizhi. She looked at the father and son, who had lived in the same mansion for more than ten years, yet they seemed very awkward with each other.