Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Chapter 726 I Can’t Be the Only One to Suffer

Dujuan took the blood bird's nest and went to the small kitchen.

After the bird's nest soup was ready, she came back to report: "Young Madam, the bird's nest soup has been delivered to various places according to your instructions."

Qi Yu had already brought the hot bird's nest soup to Shen Wantang. As she ate, she asked, "What do they say everywhere?"

Du Juan counted on her fingers earnestly as she spoke, "The Duke praised your filial piety and said that the Second Young Master's son wasn't particularly good, but he had good taste in marrying a good wife who knew how to respect her parents-in-law. The Duke was so pleased that he gave me a reward of fifty taels of silver."

"Madam, when I went there, she had a gloomy face. But when she heard that you had specially sent me to bring her the blood bird's nest soup, her face brightened up a lot, and she also gave me a reward of twenty taels."

"The eldest master seemed a little surprised to hear that you gave him bird's nest soup, but he accepted it and gave me ten taels of silver as a reward. He also asked me to thank you on his behalf."

"As for Miss Qiao, when I went there, the eldest young lady's wife was there too. After the two sisters left the lady's courtyard, they went to Fu Cui Courtyard together. Miss Qiao is staying there tonight. Miss Qiao received a bird's nest soup and expressed her gratitude profusely, but the eldest young lady's wife was not in a good mood and had a stern face the whole time!"

"Oh, by the way, when I went to Fu Cui Courtyard, the eldest young lady was scolding Miss Qiao, scolding her for being shameless and actually... actually trying to seduce her own brother-in-law."

Shen Wantang smiled, and this time it was a genuine smile. "Yes, the mansion is bustling now. That's right. I can't be the only one suffering in silence. Let's all eat a little, eat more!"

After she said that, she took another mouthful of the bird's nest soup.

Dujuan looked at her eating bird's nest soup and felt that what her master was eating was not bird's nest soup, but meat.

She smiled foolishly. No wonder the master wanted to send bird's nest soup to everywhere. It turned out that what he sent was not bird's nest soup. What a loss!

She took out the reward money she had collected from various sources and presented it to Shen Wantang: "Young Madam, this reward money..."

"Well, just keep it. Buy whatever you want and spend it as you please."

Qi Yu and Shu Xiang on the side both looked at him with envy.

They all knew that such a high reward was obviously given by the Duke and the Duchess out of respect for Shen Wantang. Normally, the masters in the mansion would give rewards of two or three taels, and no one would give fifty taels at once.

Dujuan just went out for a trip and got a reward of eighty taels of silver. It was so easy to earn this money!

But they had no other emotions except envy, because there was a rule at Shen Wantang's place that the errands were taken in turns, and today was supposed to be Dujuan's turn.

Next time it will be their turn.

Dujuan happily put away the silver and started eating bird's nest soup with Qiyu Shuxiang.

As she ate, she asked, "Young Madam, that Miss Qiao doesn't look like a good person. Will she say bad things about you in front of the eldest young lady just to make herself feel better? What if she says you brought her to the Duke's Mansion?"

Shen Wantang chuckled. "What I want is for her to gossip about me in front of Meng Yunlan. If she doesn't, then my trip today would be in vain! I hope she says more bad things about me!"

Du Juan was surprised: "Ah? Why are you still expecting her to say bad things about you? Is this... is this right?"

Shen Wantang looked at her innocent maid and patiently taught her, "People who like to gossip are the ones who cause the most trouble. A person is already restless and anxious, changing doctors and prescriptions every day. Now, a cousin comes and gossips in her ear every day. How do you think she'll feel? Will she be happy? Or even more annoyed?"

Du Juan nodded: "It will definitely be more irritating."

Qi Yu pondered, "Maybe we'll have to ask more doctors to see us."

Shu Xiangju, however, had other doubts: "But Madam, will this be detrimental to your reputation? What if the two sisters go out and spread nonsense?"

Shen Wantang's fair face was filled with a smile of confidence: "So, before I left, didn't I ask Qin Xin to spread the news of today's events to everyone?"

"By now, everyone in the mansion should know that Meng Yunlan successfully entered Gu Qianhan's study and chatted with him for a long time, but I, the wife, was stopped outside the door, right?"

"This move is called preemptive strike. I'm clearly the one who was wronged today. Not only can people outside of the situation not find fault with me, even the Duke and his wife can't say anything, right?"

"Besides, I didn't bring Qiao Zhiyu back to the mansion. My eldest brother brought her back. Everyone saw it with their own eyes. Even if Qiao Zhiyu wanted to put the blame on me to please Meng Yunlan, only Meng Yunlan would believe her. Would anyone else believe her?"

Du Juan and the others nodded in unison, looking at Shen Wantang with admiration.

"Young Madam is truly amazing! It turns out you've already figured this out!"

"Young Madam went out in the rain today. I thought you were angry and sad, and went out to relieve your sorrow. It turns out you went there to calmly plan your plans! Young Madam is truly someone who can accomplish great things!"

"Today, everyone, human and ghost, is making a fuss, but the young lady is the only one who remains quiet despite being wronged. She's even thinking about the Duke and his wife, and showing her filial piety! I think the direction of the Duke's Mansion is about to change!"

Shen Wantang shook her head, the smile on her face disappearing, replaced by a solemn expression. "That's far from enough. Why is Meng Yunlan respected by everyone in the Duke's Mansion? Even my husband's guards respect her and give her enough respect, while I'm looked down upon by the guards? Have you ever thought about the reason?"

Du Juan comforted her: "Young Madam, it's the guard who has a problem with his brain. Don't be too sad."

Qi Yu touched his chin and answered the question: "The reason... should it be the eldest young master's wife's housekeeper? She is the mistress of the house, so our young master's guards also look up to her."

Shuxiang pondered, "It could also be because the eldest son is the prince of the Duke's Mansion, and the eldest young lady's wife is the prince's wife. Her status is different, so everyone in the mansion looks up to her?"

Shen Wantang watched the candle flame flickering in the wind and whispered, "Yes, but not entirely. There are many reasons, but the main ones are three: one, Meng Yunlan is the housekeeper; two, Meng Yunlan comes from a good family; and three, she is respected by her husband and parents-in-law."

"But these three points can actually be said to be one, that is, she has hard power that everyone can see, so no one will look down on her. Therefore, even if she has been married for more than five years and still can't get pregnant, her status remains unbreakable."

"And I, neither a head of household nor a well-off family, have any claim to these three. Of these three, only the third one can be considered as a passing achievement. But today, I was stopped at the door by my husband's guards, a slap in the face. Now, I can't even meet the third one."