Young widow in her boudoir

Xie Rutang raised her eyes and glanced at her indifferently, "The calligraphy and paintings are fragile, and the account books and receipts are numerous and trivial, so it is inconvenient to move them all into the mansion. Besides, it would be better to go there in person to take stock of the items in the shop and take care of the mementos left by my late husband."

"My sister-in-law lives a peaceful life in the inner quarters and has never handled any external property, so naturally she doesn't know the difficulties involved."

Ye Wanyu pursed her lips unhappily, not expecting Xie Rutang to so easily silence her with a kiss.

"Furthermore, my mother-in-law already investigated this morning and confirmed that I did not steal the jade bracelet with the auspicious symbols of fortune, prosperity, and longevity. My sister-in-law should no longer restrict my movements."

Xie Rutang looked up, her eyes, as clear as autumn water, fixed on Ye Wanyu. "Sister-in-law, have you been able to find out why that old woman named Bao Niang framed me?"

The old lady had instructed Ye Wanyu to investigate the matter thoroughly early on.

Upon hearing this, Ye Wanyu gave a hypocritical smile: "Speaking of that old woman, this morning when I interrogated her, I only ordered her to be beaten with a dozen or so strokes. Who knew that the servants below would be so reckless and accidentally beat her to death. The old woman lost too much blood and stopped breathing..."

She felt that such words were tainted with bad luck, so she quickly took out a handkerchief and covered the corner of her lips, feigning disgust.

Xie Rutang's face paled even more, her expression gentle yet reluctant.

She never imagined that simply investigating the culprit would end up drawing blood and costing someone their life for no reason...

Xie Rutang frowned slightly. Ye Wanyu had eliminated the only witness and cut off all clues so quietly. Now that the old woman was dead, there was no way to verify the story, and no matter how much she wanted to investigate, she would have no way to find out.

Looking at her pitiful and weak appearance, Ye Wanyu felt a little relieved, assuming that Xie Rutang was truly shocked by a human life and dared not investigate further.

Upon seeing Xie Rutang, he wanted to bypass them and leave the mansion.

Having received a signal from her master, Tao Lü pretended to slip, cried out in surprise, and stumbled towards her.

Caught off guard, Xie Rutang was suddenly bumped on the shoulder. Her body swayed slightly, and the painting she was holding tightly slipped from her grasp and fell heavily to the ground.

The scroll that rolled onto the ground was quickly soiled by mud.

Painting is her life.

Xie Rutang's expression turned cold.

One of her paintings, "Living Alone in the Ink Forest," took her a full ten days to complete, using only the finest ink and inkstone. It could have fetched a good price at an art shop...

Xie Rutang lowered her eyes, feeling a pang of heartache.

Seeing this, Ye Wanyu feigned concern and sternly reprimanded Tao Lü: "How could you be so reckless! You knocked your sister-in-law's painting to the ground. Such clumsiness is unacceptable!"

Tao Lü immediately knelt down to apologize, "This servant knows she was wrong. She slipped and bumped into the First Madam, soiling the painting. It was all my negligence. Please forgive me, First Madam!"

The master and servant responded in unison, seemingly trying to downplay the matter.

Xie Rutang saw this and, noticing the large number of Shen family servants coming and going around, squatted down and slowly reached out to brush away the dust that had fallen on the scroll.

She was already extremely beautiful, like a willow swaying in the breeze, her white clothes wrapped in a soft halo, and her lowered eyes carried a hint of fragility.

Xie Rutang looked at the tattered painting on the ground and paled.

More and more servants from the nearby corridors looked over.

Xie Rutang was a widow, in a pitiful situation, which would easily evoke some pity in anyone.

Ye Wanyu stood to the side, her face gradually tightening and turning ugly.

It's just a painting that's been ruined, is it really necessary to deliberately play the victim?

And the painting was in pretty good condition, just covered in mud! Now it's all wiped clean, and it's as good as new!

Because of Xie Rutang's actions, it seemed to others that she, as the matriarch of the family, was deliberately abusing her power to bully her widowed sister-in-law!

Seeing the whispers in the distance, Ye Wanyu felt a surge of anger, but she dared not lash out in public.

She forced a smile and hurriedly reassured her, "Sister-in-law, please don't worry too much. It's just a little dusty. After a careful wipe, it's perfectly fine and not damaged at all. I'll have someone bring you some fine silk and ink to help you clean it up..."

"It was my oversight that I didn't understand what my sister-in-law was thinking. It's all my fault for being so reckless. I will definitely punish Taolu properly and apologize to my sister-in-law later."

Ye Wanyu gritted her teeth in hatred, wanting only to calm the situation down as soon as possible.

Seeing that the time was right, Xie Rutang slowly stood up, holding the painting. When she looked up, there was still a faint sadness in her eyes.

Even in her distress, she maintained an exquisite demeanor. "This painting is no ordinary work; it was created by my late husband himself and is a keepsake I cherish. Once damaged, it can never be restored..."

Ye Wanyu looked up in surprise.

Shen Yuan's paintings?

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Was it really Shen Yuan's? Or was Xie Rutang bluffing her?

Xie Rutang feigned sadness and dejection, "This painting was originally intended for the old lady. In that case, you and your sister-in-law should go and explain it to her yourselves."

Ye Wanyu almost fainted.

You must know that the eldest brother-in-law, Shen Yuan, was the old lady's lifeblood, not to mention his heirlooms of calligraphy and paintings!

If the old lady finds out that she defaced Shen Yuan's painting, she will definitely not let her off! Ye Wanyu felt a wave of fear.

After Xie Rutang finished speaking, she did not linger. However, after today's clash, she could only go to Chengxin Bookstore again tomorrow.

When Pei Zhiheng returned to the Shen residence at night, he saw someone burning paper money under a peach tree in the backyard.

Having adjudicated several cases today, spending the entire day at his desk, the man is now utterly exhausted.

As the night deepened and he grew weary, Pei Zhiheng found himself longing for Xie Rutang's unique gentle and tender nature.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already in the backyard of the Shen residence.

Upon closer inspection, one could see Xie Rutang burning paper money for her deceased husband.

The woman had a face as smooth as jade, a slender and graceful figure, and seemed too delicate for her clothes to bear. She exuded a fragile, cool, and gentle aura, and looking at her from behind evoked feelings of pity.

A soft, delicate sob drifted on the wind, its trembling tone carrying the faint sound of a cry, as if the victim had been bullied.

Perhaps it was Ye Wanyu's targeting that provoked her again today, causing her to be overwhelmed with emotion. Xie Rutang cried so hard that her body trembled, and her handkerchief was soaked with tears.

Pei Zhiheng's voice suddenly appeared behind her.

Why are you crying?

His face was handsome and dashing under the moonlight, with eyebrows as sharp as if cut by a knife.

When she turned around and saw it was him, Xie Rutang clutched her handkerchief.

Before burning paper money, she drank some warm wine.

Now that she thought about it again, since he would be her husband in the future and they would be honest with each other in bed, why should she feel embarrassed and awkward? She should relax and be more at ease. What was there to be afraid of him doing?

Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, coupled with the recent string of misfortunes, Xie Rutang couldn't help but sob softly, like a resentful woman confined to her chambers, speaking to him with barbs, "What are you crying for? Crying because I lost my husband so early and still have to put up with your whole family's attitude!"

She was a nobody in the household, so what was she anyway?

No one can compare to him, the second master of the Shen and Pei families.

Pei Zhiheng frowned upon hearing this, wondering what was wrong with her.

Xie Rutang had been holding back her anger ever since the last time, furious that her maid, Zhulan, could so easily humiliate her, the widowed Madam Shen.

She was waiting for him to ask that question tonight, to guide his conversation so that she could vent all the grievances she had suffered at Su Xue Residence.

Xie Rutang gently twirled the handkerchief with her fingertips and recounted the whole story of her last trip to Suxue Residence to deliver clothes and Jade Skin Cream.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Pei Zhiheng's eyes turned icy cold, completely different from before.

"So when you came to deliver the clothes last time, you were trying to distance yourself from me?"