Duke Jing's younger sister

Ren Jiaorui opened her mouth, unable to speak for a long time.

what's the situation?

This was completely different from the scene she had imagined!

Not only did Shen Li not kneel down and beg for mercy, crying and begging her to help hide the truth, but she supported her to tell others, the more the better?

Ren Jiaorui felt that Shen Li must be crazy!

"Do you know what you are saying? Not only will I tell my aunt that you seduced my cousin, I will also tell everyone else that you, Shen Li, have lost your moral character and are a fallen woman. By then, you will either have your hair cut off and become a nun, or you will be tied up in a three-foot white silk. Let's see how you can still be stubborn!"

"You are wrong. I have a third way to go."

Ren Jiaorui looked at her in confusion, Shen Li smiled at her.

"After all, I am just a step-sister and have no blood relationship with my brother."

She paused, leaning on the silk pillow and continued, "If things get out of hand and can't be resolved, my brother will definitely marry me, considering his personality of taking responsibility for his own actions. Wouldn't that create a good story?"

"As for mother, she has never been able to make decisions for my brother. If my brother is determined to marry me, who can stop him?"

"You..." Ren Jiaorui was choked for a moment, and immediately realized what Shen Li meant. She was so angry that her face turned green. "Oh, it's ridiculous. Your wishful thinking is too loud!"

"What else?" Shen Li asked, "Cousin, haven't you ever thought about this? Or, you don't want to marry your brother?"

Ren Jiaorui gritted her teeth secretly, nonsense, of course she wanted to marry her cousin!

but!

She would never allow Shen Li to marry her cousin, even as a concubine!

"Don't dream like a fool. I tell you, you will never succeed!"

Shen Li pretended to be disappointed and sighed, "I thought my cousin could lend me a hand, but it seems I thought too much? Then I have to make a new plan. Cousin, I won't see you off."

Ren Jiaorui thought she had caught Shen Li's handle, and hurried to Qinghui Courtyard hoping to gain the upper hand, but she never expected to end up with a huge setback.

But if you think about it carefully, what Shen Li said is not unreasonable.

Now it seems that she can only help to conceal this matter, otherwise she would be making wedding dresses for Shen Li and creating a way for her to climb up to her cousin.

It doesn’t matter. If this plan doesn’t work, she has another one. She can always find other ways to deal with Shen Li!

Ren Jiaorui glanced at Shen Li hatefully, stomped her feet and quickly left Qinghui Courtyard.

Shen Li looked at the smoke rising from the Boshan stove on the table, and her eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling, gradually dimmed.

The fewer people who knew about this, the better, but now Ren Jiaorui knew about it.

She just used a trick to provoke Ren Jiaorui, and she should not go out and talk nonsense again.

But who could be this informer?

How did this person know about the entanglement between her and Shen Beiqi?

Was it an accidental discovery or just conjecture?

She had a vague intuition that this person was either from the Yang family or from Qinghui Courtyard and was someone around her.

……

It is nearly April, and the snow-white buds on the white magnolia trees in Qinghui Courtyard are about to bloom, like bright pearls dotted among the green branches and leaves, shining brightly in the sunlight.

The carved lattice window was half-propped up with a bamboo stick. When Shen Zhiyan entered the room, Shen Li was sitting in front of the embroidery frame, concentrating on embroidering a picture of a hundred years of longevity on a bright red satin cloth with gold thread.

"Your injury hasn't healed yet, and you're doing something that hurts your eyes and mind?"

Shen Zhiyan sat down by herself, Ziyuan served her some fresh fruit drinks, and then left.

Shen Li did not stop the needle in her hand and replied casually, "Seven days later it will be Old Lady Luo's 70th birthday. If I don't hurry up and finish it, I'm afraid I will come to her empty-handed by then."

"What's the big deal? Just go to the storehouse and pick out a piece of gold, silver or jade as a birthday gift."

Shen Zhiyan disagreed. She believed that the old lady Shen, from the Wenchang Marquis Luo family, was her father's aunt, so she should call her aunt.

Speaking of this lady, she was also a remarkable person when she was young. Although her appearance was not the best, she had great attainments in playing the musical instrument.

When the late emperor was alive, he personally praised her for her intoxicating music, and awarded her a high-quality guqin called "Jinghong".

My father respected this aunt very much, but Shen Zhiyan couldn't get close to her.

The reason was that when my father was alive in the early years, this aunt disliked the fact that the Shen family had too few descendants, and repeatedly bypassed my mother to take charge of the family and put people in my father's backyard.

Yang therefore disliked Old Lady Luo. As Yang's daughter, Shen Zhiyan naturally colluded with her mother and also developed a dislike for this lady.

Shen Li stood up from the embroidery frame, gently kneaded the back of her neck and said,

"Lady Luo is highly respected, and this year is her 70th birthday. How can there be few people going to congratulate her? I'm afraid even the palace will have to send people, and by then there will be all kinds of rare items. If the gift we send is too expensive, it will be inappropriate, and if it is too frivolous, it will seem neglectful. It is better to do it ourselves."

Older people often have an obsession with longevity. Shen Li presented a hand-embroidered picture of a hundred years of longevity, which not only expressed the thoughts of a younger generation, but also had nothing wrong with it.

Isn’t there such a saying?

The gift may be small, but the sentiment is great.

Besides, she and Shen Zhiyan are different after all.

There are countless rare treasures in the Duke's Mansion's storehouse. Shen Zhiyan can take them and give them away at will, but Shen Li cannot do so recklessly.

"That's right," Shen Zhiyan nodded in agreement, "Cousin Luo has also earned military merit in the northern border this time, and has been rewarded by His Majesty. There will be more people rushing to curry favor with him, not fewer."

The Luo family is a family of three dynasties, and their ancestors made great contributions to the emperor, thus obtaining the title of marquis.

The current Marquis Wenchang, Luo Quanliang, the son of old Lady Luo, is a mediocre man who cannot write a thousand words or quell a rebellion on horseback.

Even though he has the title of Marquis, it is ultimately just a useless showpiece.

Therefore, in the city of Jiangdu where powerful people are everywhere, there are not many people who really look up to Marquis Wenchang, and the old lady’s birthday banquets in previous years were also simply prepared.

But this year is different. Luo Jue, the eldest son of the Luo family, and Shen Beiqi made military achievements in the northern border, and His Majesty personally conferred him the title of Wu Yilan, a fourth-rank official.

Although Shen Li is a woman and does not understand court affairs, she can see through people's hearts.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the eldest son of the Luo family had a promising future, and this happened to be old lady Luo’s 70th birthday.

Those who are of lower status than the Luo family can openly and reasonably curry favor with them.

Those who are higher in rank than the Luo family might as well show some goodwill to pave the way for pulling Luo Jue into their camp in advance.

It is said that businessmen value profit and will not get up early without profit, but in Shen Li's opinion, this is the case with all human relationships in the world.

It's nothing more than whether you are worth my effort and what equal value I can get in return after my effort.

"My lord."

Zi Yuan's gentle call brought Shen Li back to her senses. She turned around and looked into the courtyard through the open lattice window.

Shen Beiqi was wearing a light green round-necked suit with cloud patterns embroidered on it. His figure was as white as jade, and he had black hair and a jade crown.

He looked straight ahead, nodded slightly, and walked as lightly as the wind, entering the house in a moment.

Shen Li and Shen Zhiyan stood up together and bowed, "Brother."