C17

Shen Ling Han's eyes were filled with glee. After a few attempts at controlling herself, her lips were not able to brighten up too much. On the first day that Shen Ninghua came back, she heard the servants in the mansion discussing about her being more beautiful and respected than herself, and even said that the number one beauty in the capital would have to be replaced by someone else … Hmph, you're already dead. Let's see how you compete!

Shen Dong frowned, a crack forming on his forehead: "Open!"

The heavy lid of the box was suddenly opened.

Shen Ling Han clenched her fist as her heartbeat thumped loudly. Shen Ling Hua, today is the day you die!

"Huh?"

A stifled scream sounded out, startling her. Shen Ling Han subconsciously looked towards Shen Dong, only to find that he also had a look of surprise on his face.

"This... "What is this?"

Within the large box, there was not the corpse of Senior Servant Zhou that they had expected at all. Instead, there was a neatly rolled piece of silk, with a book faintly peeking out from beneath the silk cloth.

Shen Ninghua coldly walked in front of the chest and said, "Father, this piece of silk contains one of my embroidery items. It turns out that I wanted to give it to Father as a gift, but aside from greeting Grandmother, I have never had the opportunity to meet with Father. Bluebird and Hong Ling, show Father the items."

The green sparrow kicked away the guards who were blocking her, and together with Hong Ling, they unfurled an embroidery that was about one zhang long, with a map of the rising sun embroidered on it. The embroidery surface was shining with a bright light, looking like a long, flowing river, lush and verdant, graceful mountains and rivers shining under the morning sun.

Shen Dong's chest tightened and his emotions became a little complicated. With a single glance, he could tell that this amazing piece of embroidery had been completed with a great deal of effort. Shen Ninghua's words could be said to be worthy of praise.

After the two of them put away the embroidery items, Shen Ninghua continued, "I personally copied the rest of the scriptures. There were a total of 981 scrolls. Grandmother believes in Buddha. I originally thought that I would present them on her birthday …"

Shen Ninghua didn't cry due to grievance, but her voice carried a trace of depression. People couldn't help but think that her filial piety had been suspected without reason, and that she had even been forced to reveal it to the public.

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Shen Ninghua's lips curled up into a faint smile. He didn't waste such a long time preparing these things. The First Wife did things meticulously, and Senior Servant Zhou had helped her deal with many matters that couldn't be exposed. Once she was abandoned and no longer had any use for her, she would definitely not let her life be spared.

Since he had forced her to hand over her mother's dowry, how could the Madam be willing? With this, Zhou mama would finally be of use. Using the life of a servant to scheme and get rid of him, this deal was very worthwhile.

At this moment, Zhao Yunxiang was staring at the items in the box, unable to believe her eyes. She had clearly ordered for Senior Servant Zhou to be strangled to death in this box, so how could something have gone wrong? Her sharp gaze suddenly turned towards Qin mama, who was doing things for her. She had an ugly expression on her face and appeared extremely shocked.

Compared to Senior Servant Zhou, she was his most trusted confidante. She had always been a dependable person when it came to handling matters, and she probably wouldn't make any mistakes in this matter. Just who was it? The first wife looked around before her sight finally landed on Shen Ninghua's body. Could it be that this girl … She had this kind of plan?

"Senior Qin, you just brought people to search the courtyard, are there any other problems?" Shen Ninghua asked with an expressionless face.

Qin mama choked and paused before shaking her head. "There are no other problems." It wasn't just that there was no problem. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought that no one lived in that courtyard. Back then, she had led people to clean Tranquil Heart Garden. Now, apart from some additional clothes and luggage, their original looks, even the position of their tea set in their vases, had not changed.

Shen Ninghua raised her head to look at Shen Dong and asked, "Father, can you restore me to my innocence now?"

Shen Dong's brows relaxed, and he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

He had painstakingly designed it for a while, and he thought that it would be a foolproof plan, but none of them worked! The first wife didn't seem to notice anything other than the tension on her face. However, Shen Ling Han was so angry that her face contorted.

"Elder sister, the things in this box were originally filial piety on your part, so you should just take it out. There's no need to beat around the bush and cause others to misunderstand."

"Heh," Shen Ninghua scoffed, "Little sister's words are funny. Today, come and search my yard. I'll open the courtyard door to welcome you. Tomorrow, come and search my yard. I'm still the eldest miss of the Shen family, what do you think this place is!" If he did not retaliate now, people would think he was weak and could be bullied.

"You clearly had a guilty conscience just now." Shen Ling Han gritted her teeth.

"I feel guilty for being a thief when I refute my words for myself? How could my sister have been so sure that there was something wrong with my box? "Do you know how to predict the future?" Shen Ninghua sneered.

Shen Lingghan wanted to say something, but was stopped by Zhao Yunxiang, signaling her to stop. They had already lost the initiative, and Shen Ninghua was standing under the word 'filial'. No matter what they said, it was not worth it.

"Father, I've looked through the courtyard of the Congealed Flower and found no problems, but the crow is still hovering in the sky for a long time. Should I check out the other parts of the manor as well?"

Shen Dong was silent. Today's matter was already a joke, there was no need to continue causing trouble in front of the Fifth Prince and the others.

Seeing his hesitation, the smile on Shen Ninghua's face became even colder. "I can stop worrying now that I've searched for it, but I've never checked on any of the siblings. If something bad comes into the yard and scares people, that would be bad."

Shen Zhu nodded his head, "Mn, Madam, arrange for someone to search the area." The Zhao Family had a sense of propriety. If anything happened, it could be arranged appropriately. Shen Ling Han was the daughter that he valued the most. She carried the title of the Shen family's direct daughter, was the current empress's niece, and had the auspicious sign of being a twin dragon and phoenix. He did not wish for anything to ruin his painstaking plans.

When Shen Ninghua heard this, she understood what was going on. Shen Dong must have also noticed it, but he did not want to hurt this precious daughter of his. It would be strange if he let Mrs Zhao search the yard!

Hearing this, Mrs Zhao's heart relaxed, her eyes turned to Shen Ninghua as she thought to herself, "Yes, Old Master. The matters in the front courtyard have not been settled yet. Let's invite Fifth Prince and Young Master Chu to the front courtyard. I'll take care of the matters in the back courtyard." After escaping from Senior Servant Zhou's death and the incident where Shen Ninghua was poisoned, the matter of him poisoning was already set in stone. She didn't believe that there was anything else that could come up out of Shen Ninghua's mouth.