After giving her contraceptives, she went mad, criticizing the prince for turning white-haired overn

Madam Shen managed a forced smile.

"I see. Now that the Second Miss is with Princess Chaoyang, I am relieved."

She paused slightly, then politely said to Granny Fang, "Please convey my regards to the princess."

Granny Fang nodded slightly, a faint smile on her face: "Of course."

She turned her gaze to Shen Ning and said in a gentle tone, "Second Miss Shen, come here to this old servant."

Shen Ning slowly stepped forward, walking very carefully.

As soon as she approached, Granny Fang gently handed her a dagger.

"Second Miss, do you recognize whose dagger this is?"

Shen Ning was a little puzzled. She took the dagger and examined it carefully before slowly drawing it from its sheath.

The hilt is decorated with phoenix feather patterns, and the blade gleams with a cold light, like a phoenix dancing in the sky.

It is light yet sharp.

This is……

Phoenix Feather Dagger.

It was the most cherished possession of the late Emperor Emeritus, who later gave it to Consort Liu.

Consort Liu then gave it to Chaoyang.

Shen Ning immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Replying to Granny, this item is far too valuable for me to presume to claim."

The smile in Granny Fang's eyes deepened: "It seems that Miss Shen recognizes this item."

"This item is the Phoenix Feather Dagger."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the front hall fell silent, followed by a few soft gasps.

Madam Shen, Madam Yu, and even Shen Rou all had disbelief written all over their faces.

Everyone has heard of the origin of this Phoenix Feather Dagger.

Back then, the retired emperor personally led an expedition and captured a female general from the Li Kingdom. This phoenix feather dagger was taken from that female general.

That female general later became the current Empress Dowager Liu.

The Emperor Emeritus and Consort Liu had a deep affection for each other, so this phoenix feather dagger was always by the Emperor Emeritus's side.

Popular belief even circulated that this dagger was "capable of executing a tyrannical emperor above and beheading a treacherous minister below," and was an object cherished by the retired emperor.

After the Emperor Emeritus fell seriously ill, this item was kept by Consort Liu.

In her past life, after marrying Xie Linyuan and giving birth to Jing'er, Consort Liu gave her this dagger.

But it was precisely this phoenix feather dagger that indirectly led to the death of Consort Liu…

Shen Ning's eyes stung slightly.

In her past life, how foolish must she have been to repeatedly betray those who were truly kind to her?

Let them all meet a tragic end.

"Granny, this is far too precious for Shen Ning to accept."

She carefully lifted the dagger and returned it to Granny Fang.

Granny Fang did not accept it, but said gently.

"This is a token of Princess Chaoyang's affection."

"Does the young lady not wish to go on the spring hunt? With this phoenix feather dagger on my person, it might be able to protect you during the hunt."

"This phoenix feather dagger can be used to punish a tyrannical ruler or a treacherous minister. Now that General Shen is far away beyond the Great Wall, although you have the old lady and your clan to take care of you, you are still a young lady from a wealthy family. Having this dagger will give you more support."

"Miss Shen, please accept this."

Shen Ning remained silent for a moment, then her gaze fell on the dagger again.

But the image of Consort Liu's tragic deathbed flashed through his mind.

At that time, Consort Liu was bleeding from all seven orifices and her breath was weak, but she still held onto her hand tightly.

"Ah Ning, I believe you."

Why was she so foolish back then?

Why would they rather believe Shen Rou's instigation than those other people?

When Jing'er died young, Consort Liu was devastated and even fainted from crying.

"Please accept this, young lady."

Granny Fang urged him softly again.

Shen Ning finally took a deep breath and solemnly accepted the dagger.

"Yes, Granny. Please convey my gratitude to Princess Chaoyang."

Granny Fang rose from her chair and said with a smile, "Of course."

"Now that the princess has completed her task, this old servant will return to the palace to report back."

She gave a slight curtsy to Madam Shen, then turned and left with her maids and servants.

After carefully putting the phoenix feather dagger into her sleeve, Shen Ning turned around and looked at Madam Yu, Old Madam Shen, and Shen Rou.

"Grandmother, Second Aunt, is there anything else you want to ask?"

"Just now, my second aunt kept saying that I was having an affair with a lover. Could it be that lover?"

"Is it... Princess Chaoyang?"

Madam Yu's expression froze, her gaze sweeping over the cuffs of her sleeves.

"Second Miss, your second aunt has misunderstood."

"I never expected the Second Miss to be so capable. She only went to Wangjing Tower and managed to establish a relationship with Princess Chaoyang."

"Ah, the eldest princess is of noble status. Countless noble ladies and young misses in Yanjing City want to curry favor with her but cannot. The second young lady is truly remarkable."

She spoke flattering words, but her eyes betrayed her disgust.

"Since you, Second Miss, have this connection with the Eldest Princess, why don't you bring your eldest sister, fourth sister, and fifth sister along to meet her another day?"

"Perhaps in the future, our Shen family will have more powerful backers."

Shen Ning smiled gently, her gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Shen Rou.

"My second aunt really thinks of my eldest sister in everything she does. If you didn't know better, you would really think that my eldest sister is my second aunt's biological daughter."

As soon as the words were spoken, both Madam Yu and Shen Rou's expressions changed.

Old Madam Shen said coldly, "Your second aunt feels sorry for your eldest sister and knows how hard she has worked."

"You, as her younger sister, instead of being considerate, you just cause her trouble!"

Madam Yu quickly chimed in, smiling, "The eldest daughter is the most talented woman in Yanjing, and also the legitimate daughter of our Shen family. I truly wish she were my own daughter."

Shen Ning was too lazy to watch their acting anymore.

What do you mean by hoping it's your own daughter?

Shen Rou is clearly her illegitimate child with an outsider.

"Grandmother, Second Aunt, if there's nothing else, I'll head back to Zhaohua Courtyard now."

"There's one more thing. The cold weather hasn't subsided yet, and it's still snowing in many towns in the north. My third sister's health hasn't improved, so I'd like to ask my second aunt to provide her with more charcoal for the fire."

Madam Yu looked troubled: "In previous years, the charcoal distribution was the same for each courtyard. If we give more to the Third Miss, I'm afraid the other households will complain."

"Besides, charcoal is in short supply in Yanjing right now, and the household is also short of funds."

Shen Ning scoffed lightly: "Second Aunt said charcoal is scarce and the household isn't well-off. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for Miss Cousin and Second Aunt's family to come at this time?"

"We can barely take care of our own family, why bother taking care of those two distant relatives?"

"You..." Madam Yu was so angry that she choked. She was about to retort, but seeing the displeasure on Old Madam Shen's face, she had no choice but to swallow her words.

Shen Ning said no more, gripped the phoenix feather dagger, and turned to go straight to Shen Wan's courtyard.

Only after her figure disappeared outside the door did Madam Yu speak angrily:

"Grandmother, look at this, the second young lady is becoming more and more unruly, and she doesn't even listen to Rou'er."

"The men of the Shen family are all fighting on the frontier, and I manage the household affairs, but I am not her biological mother after all, let alone listen to her."

With a sullen face, Madam Shen picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"What the second young lady said makes sense. If you can't even take care of your own family, there's really no need to worry about your maternal family."

"Moreover, it's her own ability that she managed to get close to Princess Chaoyang."

Madam Yu looked embarrassed: "My elder brother and niece won't be staying in Yanjing for long. If our grand General's Mansion neglects them, wouldn't we become a laughing stock?"

Madam Shen said calmly, "In that case, give the order to add more charcoal to each room and courtyard."