Chapter 151

Shen Lantang came in carrying a food box. Madam Zhao looked surprised to see her. "You're here, sister? Why are you carrying that? How could I trouble a guest with it?"

She hurried to her feet.

"You're too polite, sister. I happened to run into Fangyun on my way here, so I helped carry one box. I'd feel awful if I did nothing at all."

Madam Zhao smiled and let the matter drop. Her two children were looking curiously at Shen Lantang, so she called them over.

"This is Madam Shen, Mother's guest. Come, greet her."

The two children said, one a beat after the other, "Good morning, Madam."

Shen Lantang smiled. "Good morning to you both. I've come empty-handed today, but I'll bring you gifts when we next meet."

Madam Zhao smiled warmly. "Have you had breakfast, sister?"

"Not yet."

"Then eat with us."

The servants set the table, and before long Shen Lantang was seated with Madam Zhao and her two children.

"Do you have any children of your own, sister?"

"One. A boy. He isn't three yet."

"Thank heavens you and Young Master Shen are safe. Money can be replaced. What matters is that you're both all right."

"Yes. My husband and I were saying the same thing. We ran into bandits, but everyone we met afterward was kind. Fortune and misfortune really do come hand in hand."

"I'm glad you can see it that way."

After a little more conversation, they began to eat.

Watching how lovingly and patiently Madam Zhao treated her children at the table, Shen Lantang gradually came to believe she was a kind person.

Everything had happened so suddenly, and Shen Lantang was a suspicious merchant by nature. Yesterday, she had wondered whether there was more to it. But seeing Madam Zhao