Chapter 9: Fuming Within

Liu Xin'er replied sheepishly, "I was just speaking off the cuff."

Dou Hongyan smiled slightly, her gaze cold and leisurely as she stared at Liu Xin'er. "Then you had better be careful. In the capital, speaking off the cuff can cost you your head."

Shen Yishu disliked Dou Hongyan, but he could not help but agree with her words, so for once, he refrained from speaking up for Liu Xin'er.

Liu Xin'er’s fingertips tightened, and she said softly, "Thank you for the reminder, sister."

In reality, she was furious! How dare a merchant's daughter lecture her? Did the Dou woman think she had truly secured her position as the mistress of the Marquis's estate?

"That’s enough. Imperial Physician Zhou said Mother needs quiet and rest. Everyone leave; only one person should stay to serve her." Dou Hongyan withdrew her gaze, waved her hand, and took Heng’er and her maid out of Jifu Hall.

Shen Yishu and Liu Xin'er did not linger either.

Once everyone had left the room, Old Madam Shen, who was lying in bed, finally opened her eyes. She had heard every word of the conversation just now. Her son’s reaction did not seem to indicate that he knew the truth. She had panicked over nothing. Dou Hongyan was a master strategist, and the man behind her was ruthless; he would never allow anyone to expose their secrets. Old Madam Shen’s anxious heart settled slightly.

However, in the dark of night, she looked through the window and saw the chastity arch standing in the courtyard. Overcome with shame, she hurriedly buried herself back under her covers.

...

Dou Hongyan returned to Yifang Cottage. As for Shen Yishu’s family of six, they naturally returned to the Listen-to-the-Rain Garden where Shen Yishu had previously resided. Since the garden had been vacant for years, the air inside was unpleasant. She could hear the constant sound of them shouting orders at the servants. After all, Shen Yishu was the eldest master of the house, and the servants dared not neglect him.

Dou Hongyan could not be bothered to manage them and left them to their own devices. Soon, a maid from the courtyard came to report that Heng’er had arrived.

Her brows furrowed slightly. As a son grew up, he was expected to keep his distance from his mother; since turning ten, Heng’er rarely visited her courtyard except for his morning and evening greetings. He must be here tonight because of Shen Yishu.

Dou Hongyan considered herself unvirtuous and self-serving, but she did not want any rift between her and Heng’er. That was why she had never hidden his true parentage from him. At the time, when five-year-old Heng’er learned he was not of the Marquis’s bloodline, he had said something that warmed her heart for a lifetime: "No matter who my father is, I only acknowledge my mother. Even if you are not my birth mother, you are the only mother I recognize."

However, Shen Yishu’s return had been so sudden that she had not yet had the chance to sync up with Heng’er.

Dou Hongyan cast a faint glance at the maids in the room, and they immediately understood and withdrew.

When Shen Yuheng entered the room, he went straight to the point while they were alone. "Mother, the man surnamed Shen has returned. What should be done about the other one? He is so petty that he will surely cause trouble for the Shen family. If he stirs up a scandal, it will inevitably be bad for you."

By the end of his words, a flicker of murderous intent flashed in Shen Yuheng's eyes, though he hid it well in front of Dou Hongyan.

Dou Hongyan felt comforted by her son’s concern and reassured him, "Don't worry, Mother has her own countermeasures." That dog of a man had always wanted a daughter; now that one had been delivered to his doorstep, would he really turn her away?

Shen Yuheng pursed his lips and did not respond. Instead, he looked solemnly into Dou Hongyan’s eyes. "Mother, are you sad?"

Sad? Dou Hongyan only felt troubled. It was already taxing enough to have an illicit lover in the house who had to be pampered and served like an ancestor every night. Just as she had finally caught a breath of air while he was away on a long journey, her "dead husband" had returned, complete with a household in tow.

In this Marquis's estate, the only man who could bring her any comfort was surely her Heng’er.

Dou Hongyan looked at the obedient and thoughtful Shen Yuheng before her, her heart softening completely. "Heng’er, don't worry about Mother. When you have time in the future, go and spend more time with your grandmother."

Shen Yuheng understood the implication and looked puzzled. "Does Mother think Grandmother will expose us? But she has long been tied to us on the same rope—we rise and fall together."