The name of Madam Kou is Kou Lian. She was a distant relative of s.h.i.+ Lei. Her family declined, and thanks to the princess royal, she was sheltered in the s.h.i.+ Family and lived her life. However, she seduced Duke s.h.i.+ Junhe and at last married him. She even wanted to take the place of Dong Hui to be the d.u.c.h.ess.

It was pitiful that she only gave birth to a daughter, s.h.i.+ Baoyan, so she could just be an aggrieved concubine.

Dong Hui didn't want others to think that she was mean to the concubines. As long as Kou Lian didn't cause any serious trouble, she wouldn't bother to pay attention. But this time Kou Lian knelt on the ground as soon as she came in. She didn't talk, but burst into tears. She was acting aggrieved as if she had been bullied by someone.

Dong Hui watched coldly and didn't come up to stop her. When Kou Lian cried for a long time and started to feel out of breath, she slowly said, "You start to cry when you come in. Are you trying to make others think that I am mean to you?"

This straightforward question made Kou Lian's tear-stained face froze instantly, like a strangled hen, which looked very funny.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue almost laughed aside, secretly saying that her mother actually was also artful, and she was really good at arguing.

Look, even if Kou Lian originally had meant this.

At this time, she could only shake her head and quickly explained, "You misunderstood me. I just feel shameful and guilty that Baoyan had done such ugly things. It is difficult to restrain my sadness!"

Dong Hui made a look to show her understanding and nodded, "Sure. Baoyan is your own daughter. When she was born, she was raised but not as my daughter. Teaching her is your duty."

"That's right! It's all my fault. I didn't educate Baoyan well, so she made such an unforgivable mistake. I am really not worth of Master's trust!"

Kou Lian thought that she could retreat for the sake of advancing. She first admitted her mistakes, so that Dong Hui would comfort her, and then she captured the opportunity to exonerate s.h.i.+ Baoyan from a charge.

But she didn't expect that Dong Hui didn't make the thing went as she thought. Dong Hui said softly, "Since you already know that you're wrong, I won't punish you anymore. You should go back to your room for autocriticism!"

In a few words, Dong Hui began to send her away, so that Kou Lian was driven back without being able to say anything pleading.

"Mother, you are..." s.h.i.+ Qingxue witnessed the whole process, and for a while she was speechless.

Dong Hui grabbed s.h.i.+ Qingxue and checked her when no one's around. When she heard that s.h.i.+ Qingxue wanted to say something but stopped, she couldn't help but stare at her with rounded eyes, and said angrily, "Do you want to ask me why I don't let go of it this time?"

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was silent and did not speak. Was this really what her mother would do?

"You conscienceless!" Dong Hui reached out and pointed at s.h.i.+ Qingxue's forehead. She pretended to be angry and said, "No matter how weak and useless I am, I won't just watch my daughter hurt and ignore it.

In spare time, s.h.i.+ Baoyan is always in fight with you. I can just let go of it. But now she hurt you once and will definitely hurt you a second time. How can I keep such an evil by your side?"

s.h.i.+ Qingxue suddenly felt warm in her heart, and her face also showed a warm smile.

She gently grabbed Dong Hui's hand and whispered, "Mother, thank you!"

Dong Hui pouted, showing that she would not accept, "If you can listen to me more often, I will even laugh out when sleeping. Why do I still need you to thank me?

Just like this time, you can leave it to a subordinate to do the little things like finding the doctor, but you insist to going to Mang Mountain in person. Isn't it to make me worried?"

Thinking of s.h.i.+ Qingxue almost died in Mang Mountain, Dong Hui still felt scared for a while. She thought that the punishment given to s.h.i.+ Baoyan was still too little!

"Mother! How could Baoning's illness be a trivial matter? Besides, a skilled doctor invited by some other person, would you dare to let him give medical treatment to her?" s.h.i.+ Qingxue didn't think Dong Hui was scolding her, but realized that the concerns hidden in the criticism and quickly comforted Dong Hui.

And after the trip to Mang Mountain, she also picked out s.h.i.+ Baoyan from s.h.i.+ Family, like picking out a worm from a big tree. Wasn't this killing two birds with one stone?

Dong Hui was relieved when she heard the words, so she no longer criticized Qingxue. Then she talked with s.h.i.+ Qingxue about s.h.i.+ Baoning's medical treatment.

At this time, neither of them knew that the tapeworm was not so easy to get rid of. Not only was her vitality strong, she also wouldn't stop as long as she was alive.

It was useless no matter how hard s.h.i.+ Baoyan cried and acted shameless, Mammy Zheng instantly called a few servants, and they hurriedly packed a few sets of clothes, and threw her into the carriage. They were about to send her to the family temple.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Ruyu suddenly appeared and stopped the carriage.

Seeing this, Mammy Zheng quickly greeted her, squeezed a smile, and took the initiative to say, "Madam Dong asked me to send Fifth Lady to the family temple today without delay. Madam Zhou, do you have any important things?"

Zhou Ruyu saw that Mammy Zheng dared to use Dong Hui to suppress her, and her anger was soaring. She yelled in a cold voice, "I come to see Fifth Lady off. Do I need Dong Hui's approval? Don't you forget that Dong Hui is the hostess of the s.h.i.+ Family, and so am I. Don't you servants dare to say anything bad about me!"

Mammy Zheng was scolded by Zhou Ruyu's continuous words. She was very ashamed, but she could only squeeze a smile, "I don't dare. Madam Zhou, please speak to her quickly, in case we delay our departure!"

"Well!" Zhou Ruyu snorted coldly, and went straight into the carriage without answering.

When s.h.i.+ Baoyan met Zhou Ruyu, it was like she grabbed the last straw and screamed, "Auntie, you must save me! I was wronged. I didn't really add it to the sachet..."

"Shut up!" Zhou Ruyu yelled coldly at her and interrupted s.h.i.+ Baoyan's words roughly.

s.h.i.+ Baoyan was so scared that she shrank her neck. She didn't dare to say anything to explain, but just burst into tears with grievance.

While glancing at s.h.i.+ Baoyan, Zhou Ruyu secretly planned in her heart. Although this girl was a bit stupid, she could be a sharp knife to deal with the First Master's Family. It was a pity to give her up like this.

Furthermore, s.h.i.+ Baoyan also knew a lot about her secrets. Even if s.h.i.+ Baoyan confessed her guilt due to her coercion at this moment, she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't expose her in the future. She should first win her support.

Thinking about it this way, Zhou Ruyu put on another face with a kind smile, and tenderly grabbed s.h.i.+ Baoyan's arm, and said softly, "You silly girl, I know you are wronged. But why didn't you say it in front of your grandmother? Now who else believes you?"

"Wasn't it you who had changed it into the five poisonous powder secretly?" s.h.i.+ Baoyan complained in a low voice, feeling very dissatisfied.

Even though s.h.i.+ Baoyan was not very smart, she knew that the itch powder in the sachet would never become the deadly five poisonous powder for no reason. It was Zhou Ruyu who asked her to take the sachet from the embroider store. She wouldn't believe it that Zhou Ruyu had nothing to do with this thing!

Zhou Ruyu pretended not to understand s.h.i.+ Baoyan's resentful expression, and asked with a shocked look, "How do you think so? I am just a woman in this family. How can I find those poisonous things? Moreover, Qingxue is my niece anyway. No matter how vicious I am, I won't kill her!"

She said those words surely, as if she had meant it.

Even s.h.i.+ Baoyan who was sure that the one having changed the sachet was Zhou Ruyu， but she was a little uncertain at this moment. She murmured, "If it was not you, how could the itch powder to trick s.h.i.+ Qingxue be changed into five poisonous powder? No one touched it since I got the sachet!"

Zhou Ruyu rolled her eyes and asked, "Was it really not touched by others? The sachet was not in your hands in the end!"

"You mean..." s.h.i.+ Baoyan stared in shock, but immediately asked in confusion, "Why did Qingxue change the contents of sachet? That thing would be fatal!"

Zhou Ruyu shrugged and said casually, "Qingxue went up the mountain alone to seek the doctor. Whether anything had happened or not was only up to her words. Who knew what was going on in the dangerous environment?"

She only said those words, but it was enough to make s.h.i.+ Baoyan understand the so-called truth!

s.h.i.+ Baoyan gritted her teeth furiously, scolding sternly, "s.h.i.+ Qingxue, such a tricky person. I was almost disfigured, and she even wanted to drive me out of the s.h.i.+ Family completely. I won't let her go!"

Zhou Ruyu put on an anxious expression again, and took the initiative to comfort her, "Forget it! Your mother is kind of merciful. She just drove you to the family temple for five years, and you are still allowed to come back! Why do you have to fight with them?"

"Five years! Isn't that enough? My great youth is going to be wasted there.

Five years later, I will be already eighteen years old. How will I be able to marry to a famous family? I think they just don't want me to live a good life!"

s.h.i.+ Baoyan completely envied the mother and daughter in First Master's Family this time. She even wished that she could eat their flesh and drink their blood!

Zhou Ruyu was very satisfied with the effect of her stirring up the trouble. She also showed a look of concern on her face, and said, "Don't be upset. You can live in the family temple for a while. When your father comes back, I will say something nice for you and you can come back then!"

s.h.i.+ Baoyan was immediately overjoyed, and said with grat.i.tude, "Auntie was really good to me! I shouldn't have suspected you just now. Please forgive me this time!"

"You silly kid, I am your aunt. I will never blame you. You can rest a.s.sured to live in the family temple for a while, I will pick you up in person when it's the right time!"

Zhou Ruyu won s.h.i.+ Baoyan back in a few words. Not only did she not blame Zhou Ruyu for making her driven to the family temple, but she also felt pleasant with her caring and loving.

How could s.h.i.+ Qingxue know that she was framed again? She put all her attention on s.h.i.+ Baoning at this moment. Even if she had seen Shen Luo's ability, she was still scared when facing this thing.

What made her even more puzzled was that on the day when Shen Luo was treating s.h.i.+ Baoning, Prince Mo Junyu and King Rui's eldest son Mo Junyang both came to the s.h.i.+ Family in the name of bringing medicine to their cousin.

Mo Junyu was a respected prince, but his party had limited power in politics. Recently, he often came to s.h.i.+ Family, which made it hard for others to not think too much about it.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue didn't want s.h.i.+ Family to choose the side as early as they did in her previous life. Even if that person was her favorite prince, she didn't want to have too much involvement with him for the time being.

When Mo Junyu brought Mo Junyang to visit s.h.i.+ Family for the third time, s.h.i.+ Qingxue finally could not help but vaguely implied that Shen Luo alone was enough to treat s.h.i.+ Baoning and Mo Junyu didn't need to trouble himself and paid unnecessary attention to s.h.i.+ Family.

At this time, Mo Junyu looked serious and solemnly said, "Qingxue's words are wrong. Although I don't doubt Mr. Shen's medical skills, this is a matter of operation after all. How can Baoning bear that pain as a girl?"

s.h.i.+ Qingxue didn't take it seriously, "It doesn't matter if she uses anesthesia powder!"

She just said so casually, not taking it seriously, and didn't notice when she said those words, the man standing behind her was stunned and stared at her as if he was looking into her bones through her skin.