"Mother's here?"
As usual, Shen Yuan rose and bowed, respectfully bringing out her mother's favorite rattan chair. "Mother, please sit here."
Just like before, I brewed a cup of Madam Zheng's favorite chrysanthemum tea.
Madam Zheng watched all this silently, her eyes filled with complex emotions. The way she moved the chair and brewed tea for herself was exactly the same as before.
Will she still be exactly the same as before?
He couldn't believe that Shen Yu, whom he had doted on so much, wouldn't become just as cold and ruthless as his father once she gained power. They were born of the same man; how different could they be?
With a cold laugh, Madam Zheng asked directly after the other person sat down, "Did you do this on purpose?"
"Why do you say that, Mother?" Shen Yuan put down the teapot and looked at her.
"You deliberately acted that way towards me in front of others just so the Shen Family would send me to beg you in the end, didn't you? Now you've got your wish?" Madam Zheng mocked. "Tell me, how do you want me to beg you? Kneel? Or kneel down in public?"
Shen Yuan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then picked up a teacup and poured himself a cup of flower tea. He said in a low voice, "Whether Mother believes it or not, I only responded to Mother's words on an instinctive basis. Has Mother forgotten? I have always listened to you."
"Is that so?" Madam Zheng scoffed. "So you mean you'll listen to what I'm saying now?"
"As long as the child can do it."
"What if I ask you to hand over those crooked and unorthodox methods?"
"Okay," Shen Yuan took a sip of tea and replied casually.
"Ha, I knew it. Huh?" Madam Zheng was taken aback. "What did you say?"
"I said, Mother has given the order, so I will obey."
"You..." Madam Zheng stared blankly at the other person, a thousand difficult words prepared in her heart, but she found that none of them were suitable.
Are you kidding me?
"Isn't this why Mother came?" Shen Yuan said helplessly, "Why would I joke with you like this?"
"Are you serious?" Madam Zheng frowned. "Isn't that thing very important?"
"Mother, is it some kind of crooked or heretical practice?" Shen Yuan asked with a smile.
Madam Zheng: "."
This wasn't her saying, it was Shen Yu who said it. But it's shameless of her to be so enthusiastic about crooked and wicked ways.
"Mother wants me to pass on what I've learned to the Shen Family, so I Shen Family. But does Mother really want me to do that?" Shen Yuan sighed.
"What do you mean?" Madam Zheng frowned.
"My father doesn't dare show his face, and neither does my younger brother. They sent my mother, a woman, to test the waters. I really want to know what promises the Shen Family made to my mother?"
Madam Zheng paused for a moment, then finally said, "The position of matriarch of the Shen Family."
"Didn't those things originally belong to Mother?"
"No!" Madam Zheng stared intently at the other woman. "Don't you know? Ever since you proved you had no sorcerer aptitude, this position has never been stable!!"
"Is that so?" Shen Yuan looked at the other person. He had actually wanted to prove something for a long time, but he just hadn't had the chance. Now, he finally had the opportunity to say what he had been holding back for so long.
" Shen Yu's aptitude is the best among the three generations of the Shen Family. According to Mother, with him around, shouldn't you be as stable as Mount Tai?"
" Shen Yuan!!" Madam Zheng suddenly stood up, crushing the teacup in her hand, blood streaming down her face, clearly indicating a great emotional upheaval.
"Enough!" The door to the room suddenly opened, and Shen Yan appeared in the doorway, stopping Madam Zheng was about to explode.
Madam Zheng shuddered, while Shen Yan stared at her coldly. "You're utterly useless and only good for making things worse, get out!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a look of despair appeared in Madam Zheng's eyes, but then a warm feeling lifted her cold hands.
Madam Zheng was startled and looked up to see Shen Yuan. He was looking at her injured hand with a worried expression, which made Madam Zheng's despair and anger turn into a sense of realization.
A long-buried memory resurfaced.
It seems like it happened many years ago. I think I cut my hand too. Back then, I was only three years old, and this Xiaopang boy was holding his hand anxiously, looking so worried and distressed, like a little old man.
More than twenty years have passed, and when the two faces are superimposed, they are virtually identical.
The next instant, Shen Yuan's face turned icy cold as he looked towards the door, his entire aura chilling. "What business is it of yours that I'm talking to my mother? Get out!"
Shen Yan: "."
--
So you just came back like that?
Inside the Shen Family's inner hall, Shen Yan's father looked at him with disdain.
Shen Yan didn't bother with the other party. Given the situation, was he going to get angry and attack if he didn't come back?
"It seems sending Madam Zheng was the right decision," Old Master Shen nodded, adding, "That child has a grudge against Madam Zheng!"
"A knot in your heart?" The others were taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Everyone has a hurdle they can't get over," Old Master Shen chuckled. "For Shen Yuan, Madam Zheng's neglect over the years is that hurdle he can't overcome. Only when he gets over that hurdle will his thoughts be clear. Looking at it that way, he's still just a child."
--
How could you speak to your father like that?
Inside the room, Madam Zheng's voice softened considerably and became much more cautious. Only then did she truly realize that Shen Yuan was different.
"We're like strangers to each other. The only reason he's willing to talk to me is because of his own interests. Why should I be polite to him?" Shen Yuan carefully treated Madam Zheng's wound. Luckily, he had brought the original essence of the Mountain God Bluebird. Otherwise, such a deep wound would have left a huge scar.
"Then what am I?" After hesitating for a moment, Madam Zheng finally asked the question.
Shen Yan is indifferent to his son, but isn't she, as his mother, just as indifferent?
"Before I was seven, my mother was very good to me," Shen Yuan said while tending to his wounds.
"Just because of that?" Madam Zheng was taken aback.
Shen Yuan paused slightly as he tended to the wound, his voice becoming much softer. "But this is all I have left."
Thump!
Madam Zheng's heart skipped a beat, a strong surge of jealousy welled up inside her, and her vision blurred instantly!
"Why are you crying, Mother?" Shen Yuan was taken aback. After bandaging Madam Zheng's hand, he quickly took a handkerchief and wiped Madam Zheng's face. "Mother, don't worry. These things of mine can easily earn you a promise from the matriarch of the Shen Family."
"What's the use?" Madam Zheng finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears, sobbing, " Shen Yan despises me, and your brother despises me too. Even if I barely managed to get the position of the matriarch of the Shen Family, what's the use? The matriarchs of those noble families all look down on me. No matter how much I smile and fawn, they still look at me with disdain. I can't do anything, I can't do anything at all."
Shen Yuan immediately panicked and cried out, "Mother, don't cry!"
"Mother, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!" Madam Zheng became increasingly agitated, her eyes red. "I was scared! Every time I showed you concern, your father's gaze was terrifying. He was afraid I would mistreat those illegitimate children for your sake, since you're not qualified. How could I have such thoughts? But he wouldn't believe me, he wouldn't believe me! So I had to distance myself from you. I was scared!"
Shen Yuan's gaze softened considerably, and memories from many years ago resurfaced.
He remembered that his mother would secretly make his favorite sweet rice wine with eggs, without his father's knowledge, and she would always say the same thing, "Eat slowly, your father isn't here."
He knew long ago that his mother was hiding the fact that his father was being nice to him.
But I don't know when it started, my mother's personality became more and more indifferent, and she became more and more like Shen Family.
But he knew that his mother wasn't like this before!
The coldness was in the Shen Family's environment, not in her mother!
"Mother, do you really not want to continue being the matriarch of the Shen Family?"
With red eyes, Madam Zheng shook her head. "I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll go back and ask your father to cancel the spell. I don't want anything he promised."
"A spell bond?" Shen Yuan was taken aback, then chuckled, "Mother is quite shrewd, even forming this kind of bond with him. But it's fine, spell bonds have many loopholes. Mother, you're trying to get the Shen Family to promise you the position of mistress, right? But given his heartlessness, if he wants to change mistresses, he has the means. This kind of bond is useless."
Madam Zheng remained silent. Of course, she knew this. Shen Yuan's words were rather conservative. In fact, she had already thought of this earlier. So what if she became the mistress of the house?
If everyone thinks she's an obstacle, even if she becomes the matriarch, she won't have the life to enjoy it. She has no doubt that Shen Yan and his men will target her!
"Has Mother thought about what to do in the future?"
"I don't know." Madam Zheng shook her head. "I don't want to go back to my parents' home. I'm too old to go back home; I don't have the nerve."
"Don't worry, Mother, the Shen Family doesn't have the guts!" Shen Yuan stood up, looking outside with icy eyes, and said, "The position of the matriarch of the Shen Family will always belong to you, Mother, but the Shen Family is indeed no longer a suitable place to stay. Why don't you come with me to Jiangnan, Mother?"
"Go to Jiangnan?" Madam Zheng was taken aback.
"That's the best place in the world right now," Shen Yuan said with a smile. "Mother will definitely love it there."
" Jiangnan, huh?" Madam Zheng, somewhat bewildered.
"Let's go, Mother." Shen Yuan helped her up. "Let's go talk to the Shen Family!"
There will be another chapter tonight, but it won't be until after midnight.