Chapter 43 - Old Shrew

Old Madam Shen secretly hated Shen Ziqiao. She wanted to harshly punish that girl, but at the same time, she needed to protect her for the sake of the Shen Family.

This was as disgusting as making her swallow a fly.

“Duke An, is this a misunderstanding? Although Ziqiao is a bit playful, she knows what she should and shouldn’t do. Young Master Qi is strong and tall, so how could she easily injure him?” Old Madam Shen laughed dryly. Actually, if people thought about this in detail, it was something impossible. Shen Ziqiao was small in size, so even if she fought Qi Zheng, she would probably be the one getting a beating.

Duke An coldly humphed and the anger on his refined and polite face didn’t disappear. He said furiously, “If it’s just fighting, then that’s fine. Your granddaughter probably didn't watch her words and said something to trigger my son.”

Old Madam Shen angrily thought, 'Is your son made from paper? He got triggered by a few sentences and fainted because of that?'

“What could Ziqiao have said to make the Young Master unconscious? Duke An, you probably just want to blame her.” Old Madam Shen said with a deep voice. So what if Duke An had an influential background? The Shen Family wasn’t easily bullied either. If they treated each other respectfully, it wouldn’t look bad in the future.

Duke An didn’t want to just let this go, wanting to see Shen Ziqiao.

Old Madam Shen wanted very badly to call Shen Ziqiao over and have her take the family punishment, but she still needed to speak up for her. She obviously didn’t believe that Shen Ziqiao caused Qi Zheng to become unconscious over several sentences. She was just angry that this girl had to go offend Qi Zheng out of nowhere. It must be because Qi Zheng was fated to become like this and he coincidentally just met Shen Ziqiao.

Actually, Duke An knew that a young girl would never have harmed his son to the point of critical danger. He just wanted to know what Shen Ziqiao had said to Zheng’er for him to be triggered and actually faint. A few days had passed and there was no sign of him waking up. If he… If he died just like that, he wouldn’t even know what Zheng’er’s last words were. That would be the biggest regret of his life.

Old Madam Shen was determined to not bring Shen Ziqiao back. She finally made her leave the capital with much difficulty, so how could she easily let her come back? She wasn’t done with a lot of things… Even more, she didn’t expect Pan Madam’s trusted aides to be at Liuyun Village. If she knew earlier, she wouldn’t have let Ziqiao go there.

Duke An softened his tone and said to Old Madam Shen, “Old Madam, why don’t you invite the Third Miss out for now? I just want to ask what sort of argument she got into with my son. After all, as the father, I should know. Maybe that was the source of my son’s sickness…”

Old Madam Shen rejected once again. “She’s not at home. Duke An, please head back.”

This… This old shrew! Duke An’s anger rose. He heard that the Old Madam of the Shen Family didn’t come from a wealthy background. It was unclear what sorts of dirty methods she used to marry Old Lord Shen. She was rude and unreasonable. Even Shen Xiao wasn’t that close to his birth mother. He thought that someone was just spreading rumors, but who knew this was the truth.

“No matter what, the Shen Family has to give our Qi Family an explanation. Old Madam, I don’t think you want the Emperor to know about it either. The Empress sent someone over every day to ask about her nephew’s situation. If she knows that the Shen Family has something to do with this…” Duke An had no choice but to bring out the Empress to intimidate Old Madam Shen.

Old Madam Shen’s expression slightly changed. She said angrily, “Don’t try to slander. Who believes that your son fainted because Ziqiao said a few sentences to him? Your son is tall and mighty, so would it be possible for a girl to bully him? He is dumb, but he’s not disabled. In terms of fighting, Ziqiao isn’t his match.”

“You…” Duke An choked and he suddenly violently coughed. Along with that, the servant that came along with Duke An revealed an angry expression as well upon hearing Old Madam Shen’s words.

She was being too excessive!

“Lord, Lord…” Uncle Qun’s anxious voice rang from outside.

Duke An thought that something had happened to Qi Zheng and he glanced icily at Old Madam Shen. Without even saying goodbye, he turned around and left.

When Uncle Qun saw Duke An coming out, he revealed a delighted expression. “Lord, the Eldest Master is awake. He wanted this servant to come over to invite you home quickly.”

“Zheng’er is awake?” Duke An was overjoyed. He walked out of the Shen Family residence without stopping.

After Duke An left, the Old Madam Shen’s tense face didn’t relax. The beads in her hands were about to break from her pressure. Mama Li dismissed all the maids out of the room and examined the Old Madam’s expression. She softly called out, “Old Madam…”

“She’s really a nemesis.” Old Madam Shen grabbed the pillow by her side and harshly smashed the table, knocking down the enamel incenser. It made a loud ear-piercing sound as it fell.

“Old Madam, please calm down. Your body is most important.” Mama Li was startled. She didn’t dare to feel bad about the things that were smashed nor about the value of these items. She softly comforted the Old Madam.

“Is she making it her goal to anger me to death, seeing that I’m getting old in age? I know what she’s thinking. She wants the Qi Family to hate her, so she wouldn’t need to marry Qi Zheng. How come she didn’t die in her mother’s womb back then?” Old Madam Shen sinisterly cursed. Whenever she thought of Ziqiao being the Pan Madam’s daughter, her heart was in knots and she hated her badly.

Mama Li hurriedly brought the tea over and said, “Old Madam, don’t say that.”

Old Madam Shen smacked her hands away and asked, “Why wouldn’t I dare to say it? Pan Madam deserved her death. How had she treated me all those years? How did she act as the Shen Family’s daughter-in-law? When had she placed me in her eyes? She had all those dowries and I wanted her to give some silver to her brother-in-law to help support his family, but the moment I spoke about it, she wanted to divide the family up. It’s not like you don’t know how she changed my people to hers soon after she married into the family.”

When the Pan Madam was alive and in charge of the Shen Family, Old Madam Shen lived a life of isolation. She spared the Pan Madam from visiting her every day and she just lived her life in her own De’an Courtyard. Although she never fought face to face with the Pan Madam, both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knew that two tigers couldn’t live in one mountain.

Old Madam Shen came from a military official’s family whose background wasn’t that good. Her father was originally Old Lord Shen’s foot soldier in the military camp. Because he had saved the Old Lord, the Lord married Old Madam Shen. Old Madam Shen didn’t recognize any words, but she had been living a frugal life, so she attached extreme importance to money. Even more, she wanted her sons to gain her permission before spending any money.

Although the Pan Madam came from a family of merchants, she was pampered and spoiled. Not only did they hire a teacher to teach her how to write and read, her four arts weren’t any worse than young ladies of prestigious families. Even more, she was skillful in handling her money. She knew how to make money from money. How could a woman like her possibly be kept under control by the Old Madam Shen?

Pan Madam was very stubborn and was unwilling to be controlled by the Old Madam. In less than half a year that she was married into the family, she skillfully reformed the Shen Family and changed the Old Madam’s trusted aides into her own ones. She spoke about worshipping the Old Madam and letting her live the rest of her life in peace.

Old Madam Shen was unwilling to become powerless. Even more, she thought that since the Pan Madam married into the Shen Family, then all her dowries belonged to her. She wanted the Pan Madam to give some land to the concubines, but the latter obviously wasn’t willing to. After a battle, the second master of the Shen Family preferred to live outside than to stay in the capital. From then on, the Old Madam Shen hated the Pan Madam.