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"Ahhh!"

As soon as the servant finished the last word, Xie Ying sprang up and clung to her mother's arm. Madam Zhou looked ready to collapse herself.

After two ghost stories in a row, Xie Madam could take no more. "All right, all right. Keep going and you'll ruin a perfectly good evening."

"Yes, exactly."

Madam Zhu rubbed her arms. "It's late, and I still have to go home. Madam Zhou, you spent years away. Did you come across anything interesting?"

"Interesting? Not really. But when my husband served as a county magistrate, he did encounter quite a few baffling cases."

"In one case, a woman came to the yamen and accused her daughter-in-law of murdering her son. She claimed the young woman planned to take the family fortune and run away with her lover. My husband went to the victim's home and found a young man dead there. All the valuables had been packed up, and the neighbors said the daughter-in-law had indeed been intimate with another man."

"But after a careful investigation, my husband discovered that the knife wound in the victim's chest didn't match the suspect's height. Further questioning revealed the truth: the mother and her second son had killed her eldest son together."

"What?!"

Several people cried out.

"Yes. The eldest son had always given his earnings to his mother and younger brother, and he and his wife had quarreled over it many times. She had found someone else and planned to elope. Hoping to win her back, the eldest son stopped giving his mother money. Furious, his mother joined forces with her second son to kill him, then pinned the crime on her daughter-in-law."

Everyone shook their heads.

"How horrifying! That woman was utterly heartless!"

"They were both her sons!"

Shen Lantang shook her head too. "That's why blind obedience to your parents is a bad idea. Oh, did the daughter-in-law get the family property in the end?"

That story set them off, and the conversation gradually turned to other subjects.

Madam Zhu said, "Back when I was a girl, a family next door had two daughters. The sisters were only two years apart and both were beautiful. They had an elder brother too, and a good friend of his often came to visit..."

"He visited so frequently that everyone assumed he fancied one of the sisters—either the elder or the younger, perhaps even both. But who could have guessed that one afternoon, while Madam Wang was watering the flowers in her courtyard, Young Master Zhang would suddenly appear, stride up to her, and take her hand?"

Madam Zhu lowered her voice and delivered his words with uncanny conviction. "Madam, I have adored you for so long. I ask not for a lifetime together, only one night of passion to sustain me through all my remaining years."

Everyone leaned back in unison. "Wow."

Shen Lantang quietly cracked another melon seed. Now this is a juicy story. Is there more? Give me more.

The older ladies had years of stories to draw on. Anecdotes from noble circles came spilling out, most of them steamy tales of love affairs, and Shen Lantang listened with delight.

The "sisters' gathering" did not end until late at night. Everyone was still reluctant to leave, and Madam Zhu repeatedly asked Xie Madam to invite her again if they held another gathering like this. Xie Madam could only rub her forehead.

She didn't know whether the others could bear it. She certainly couldn't.

She had wanted to test whether extreme emotions would make Shen Lantang lose control and let her thoughts slip out. Instead, the girl had remained bold and calm. Everyone else had been frightened by the ghost stories, while she alone had looked excited.

Forget it. With nerves like hers, little things were hardly going to scare her.

After everyone left, Shen Lantang returned to her courtyard. It was already late, but a lamp was still burning in her room. Hearing her arrive, Lan Xin and Baozhu came out.

"Miss."

Lan Xin hurried forward and removed the veiled hat Shen Lantang wore to keep insects away at night. "You were gone so long, Miss. Did something happen?"

"No, I just..."

Shen Lantang tilted her head and smiled at Lan Xin. "I heard lots of ghost stories and scandalous tales. It was so much fun!"

To Shen Lantang, the next few days flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was time for Xie Jin to come home again. Her only regret was that nothing interesting had happened since the "sisters' gathering."

"Is my husband with Mother?"

"Yes. He's already arrived."

"All right, then." Shen Lantang waved a sleeve. "Set out breakfast."

In the main courtyard's reception hall, Xie Father was home for once. The three members of the family had gathered that morning, but the atmosphere was far from relaxed.

Xie Jin's expression was grave. "I can't believe this happened. Nanny Feng always seemed so honest and steady. I never thought she would deceive us and abuse her position like this."

"It was my failure to keep her in line. I also let her off lightly out of consideration for the Zheng Family's reputation. We both bear some blame, but Lan Tang should not have to bear the consequences. I've already given her two shops as compensation, but you must make it up to her yourself when you go back."

A mother could not mend the bond between husband and wife for them.

"I understand."

"You've always been sensible. Since you understand, go back. Don't keep Lan Tang waiting."

"Yes. I'll take my leave."

Xie Jin bowed and left the room. As soon as he turned away, his expression went cold. He had shown Nanny Feng consideration for her years of service, only to embolden her. His mother had been too softhearted. A country had laws, and a household had rules. Had he been here, he would never have let her off so easily.

Then he thought of how Shen Lantang had been wronged, and unease stirred in him. It was not because of Lan Tang herself. He simply had never known how to be close to a woman. With both his wives, he had always been courteous and respectful. They had never so much as quarreled, and he had no idea what to do when his wife had suffered an injustice. He sighed inwardly. Whatever the case, he had to make it up to her.

"The young master's here! He's here!"

A servant hurried in from the courtyard, and the others quickened their work. Shen Lantang watched from the side, amused. What a production. It's almost like an emperor visiting one of his consorts.