Chapter 383: Mrs. Shen’s Level
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Song Rui’s eyes flickered, and he immediately bowed to Mrs. Shen without saying anything else.
When Mrs. Shen saw this, she felt even more sorry for her daughter.
This person indeed had some feelings for Rong’er. Unfortunately, her daughter had been bewitched by that rascal Meng Xuan.
When she looked at the female corpse in the coffin again, Mrs. Shen wiped away her tears once more.
“Send me back to my residence,” she said after a while.
“Mistress, this way please…” Song Rui said quickly.
Only then did Mrs. Shen leave.
Outside the house, Song Rui saw the horse carriage off.
He waited until the candlelight on the horse carriage had disappeared from his sight before turning around and returning to the house.
He instructed some people to bury the two coffins.
After personally watching over the people carrying out this task until they were done, Song Rui then mounted his horse and returned to the Prime Minister’s residence.
The next day, the Prime Minister’s residence finally held the funeral.
The news of the sudden death of the Prime Minister’s daughter the night before spread throughout the capital.
On the night of that very day, Mrs. Shen sent someone to look for Minister Shen and proposed to have a talk with him.
Initially, Minister Shen did not want to bother with Mrs. Shen, but then he thought since she was the matriarch of the Shen residence, she would definitely have to attend Shen Rong’s funeral.
After thinking for a while, he consented.
Soon, Mrs. Shen was invited to the study.
When Mrs. Shen entered the room, she saw Minister Shen looking at his official documents with his head lowered.
In the past, she found Minister Shen’s busy appearance very attractive, but now, she only felt disgusted.
After entering, Mrs. Shen only sized up Minister Shen and did not speak.
As for Minister Shen, he already knew that his wife had entered his study.
However, he still kept his head lowered and busied himself, pretending to be unaware.
After an unknown period of time, Minister Shen finally finished approving the official documents on the desk.
Then, he raised his head to look at Mrs. Shen.
“When did you arrive?” he asked.
Of course, he knew when she came in, but he didn’t want to admit it.
In the past, he had been too accommodating towards the Mistress, which was why the mother and daughter pair had caused him this kind of trouble.
Now, he had to be stricter with the Mistress.
A look of fear flashed across Mrs. Shen’s face.
She hurriedly bowed to Minister Shen.
“I have been here… here for quite a while, Master,” she said fearfully.
Minister Shen was very pleased when he saw her behavior.
There was finally a smile on his face.
“Since you’ve come in, why didn’t you call out to me?” he said in a good mood.
When she saw his smile, Mrs. Shen only felt a chill.
“I wouldn’t dare. Master is busy with important matters. 1 can wait,” Mrs. Shen continued to speak cautiously.
The smile on Minister Shen’s face deepened.
A sense of elation surged up from the depths of his heart.
He and the Mistress had been husband and wife for nearly twenty years. When the two of them were together, he had always been the one who had to tread cautiously.
Now, their positions had finally changed.
“Ahem… I heard from the servants that Mistress has something to discuss with me?” Minister Shen asked.
“Yes.” Mrs. Shen still maintained a docile appearance.
Raising her head once more, she looked at Minister Shen fearfully.
“What is it?” Minister Shen quickly spoke.
Mrs. Shen’s body trembled and she raised her head again.
“I saw a white banner hanging in the residence…
“I was panicking, so I came to ask Master. Who in the residence… had passed away?” As she spoke, Mrs. Shen looked at Minister Shen nervously.
She looked like she wanted to know the answer but was afraid to hear it.
When Minister Shen saw this, his eyes finally showed some tenderness.
A moment later, he nodded with a troubled look.
“You guessed right. It’s our Rong’er,” he said.
Mrs. Shen staggered and almost fell.
Minister Shen’s eyes were filled with pity when he saw her reaction.
“Rong’er… is gone?” Mrs. Shen’s eyes instantly lost their vigor.
Minister Shen frowned.
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded.
“How… how did it happen? Is the… the information accurate?” Mrs. Shen continued.
Minister Shen glanced at Mrs. Shen.
“She was infected with a nasty disease and died suddenly. In order to avoid infection, I have already ordered Rong’er to be buried tomorrow,” he said. When he said this, his tone had already become more icy.
Mrs. Shen’s eyes widened as she looked at Minister Shen in disbelief.
Just when Minister Shen thought that the woman opposite him was going to yell at him like usual, he saw Mrs. Shen kneel down in front of him.
“Rong’er is the well-born daughter of the Prime Minister’s residence and my only daughter.
“How can 1 not participate in her funeral?”
“Please, Master. Let me preside over Rong’er’s funeral.” As she spoke, Mrs. Shen looked at Minister Shen with a face full of pleading.
Minister Shen was startled.
He was surprised by Mrs. Shen’s behavior.
After the initial shock, he fell silent and did not immediately agree to Mrs. Shen’s request.
Something was amiss if things were out of the ordinary. He was worried that his wife was formulating some unsavory thoughts.
However, what his wife said was right. The Shen residence’s only daughter died of illness and if the Mistress of the house did not appear during the funeral, it would attract many people’s suspicions.
In addition, Shen Rong had the blood of the Jia family in her after all.
It was fine if he did not extend any courtesy to the Mistress, but he could not do the same to the Jia family and the Empress.
“Mm-hmm.” After much hesitation, Minister Shen finally consented.
Mrs. Shen’s face lit up at once
However, Minister Shen spoke again.
“But I have one condition.”
Mrs. Shen’s face froze.
Then the expression on her face disappeared.
Following that, she bowed to Minister Shen again with deference.
“Master, please feel free to speak,” she said.
Minister Shen felt another burst of joy in his heart.
“All these years, we only have one daughter, Rong’er.
“Now, Rong’er has passed away. In order to ensure that you don’t feel lonely, 1 want to take in an adopted daughter, arrange for her to enter the residence and attend to you and make you happy,” Minister Shen said as he observed Mrs. Shen’s reaction.
“What do you think?”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Shen immediately raised her head and looked at Minister Shen.
There was fury in her eyes, but it only lasted for an instant before it vanished.
Her expression then turned into one of helplessness and sorrow.
When Minister Shen saw this, he felt somewhat gratified in his heart.
Back then, the Mistress had harmed a kept woman whom he liked very much, as well as the daughter he had with that woman.
At that time, he had made up his mind that sooner or later, he would slowly bring his children into the residence to spite his wife.
Now, he had finally achieved his wish.
Mrs. Shen lowered her head and finally nodded with much effort.
Suppressing the bitterness in her throat, she answered, “I will… follow everything as instructed by Master.”
Minister Shen was delighted.
He personally got up from the chair and walked over to Mrs. Shen to help her up.
“That’s right. You and 1 have been husband and wife for more than twenty years. The Prime Minister’s residence can only be peaceful if we give in to each other.”
Mrs. Shen wiped away her tears.
“Master, you’re right.” She gave a smile.
“Haha…” Minister Shen laughed out loud and even reached out to pull Mrs. Shen into his arms.
“If you had been so sensible earlier, we husband and wife would not have ended up like this,” he said with a sigh.
Thereafter, he even helped Mrs. Shen to a chair to sit down.
“Lian’er is obedient and sensible. She doesn’t lose out to Rong’er in the realms of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. You will definitely like her,” Minister Shen said enthusiastically.
Mrs. Shen’s face stiffened at once. In her heart, she wished she could kill Minister Shen’s illegitimate daughter.
However, she didn’t show it on her face. She even nodded as if she had accepted her fate.
Thus, the couple in the Prime Minister’s residence reconciled peacefully on the surface..