Favoring the concubine and ignoring the wife? The mistress is reborn and marries the villain in the

Chapter 81 Take You Home
Xu Yan took two steps forward and took Shen Ling's arm: "Husband, listen to me, we can't just give up like this!"

Shen Ling wanted to get rid of Xu Yan, but Xu Yan refused to let go: "My husband, it is impossible for you to stand on the side of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince now. The future Crown Princess is Gu's cousin. Now Gu is eager for the Marquis' Mansion to suffer misfortune. She will never let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince help the Marquis' Mansion! My husband, you must make a decision early!"

Xu Yan's expression was very firm, not as timid as before. She just looked at Shen Ling. Shen Ling's eyes were a little evasive: "Yan'er, you know, our mansion is having a hard time now. If..."

Xu Yan interrupted him, "Husband, don't you see it? Gu doesn't regard the mansion as her own home at all. She keeps taking everything from the mansion into her hands. Ten shops and 100,000 taels of silver, she just puts them into her pocket with peace of mind! She has a lot of silver in her hands, but she still has to ask the government for money to pay for her food and drink, otherwise she will ruin the reputation of the mansion!"

"My husband, are you still dreaming, waiting for Gu to come up with money to save the Marquis's mansion?"

Shen Ling's fig leaf was exposed by Xu Yan. His face was very ugly: "Yan'er, Gu dare not divorce. As long as she doesn't divorce, I will always have a chance to make her spit out all this in the future."

Xu Yan sneered: "Husband, do you think Gu will still listen to you? From the moment she knew the truth, she decided that she would not register any child under her name! Husband, I know that you want her to give birth to your child, but do you think you can get close to her now? I heard that Gu had someone write a sign in Haitang Garden, saying that the Shen family and dogs are not allowed to enter. Does she treat the Shen family as her family?"

"No, in her eyes, the Shen family is not even as good as a dog!"

Shen Ling was so angry that he slapped Xu Yan hard. Xu Yan did not dodge and her head was hit crooked and hit the side of the carriage hard. She covered her face with her hands and looked up at Shen Ling provocatively.

Shen Ling reached out to hug Xu Yan: "Yan'er, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you, I just couldn't control my emotions for a moment, please forgive me."

Xu Yan nodded: "Husband, can we go now?"

Shen Ling asked in confusion: "Where are we going?"

Xu Yan smiled faintly: "Of course we should go to the right place. My husband has always wanted to know whose daughter I am. Yan'er will take you home to see me today."

It was already afternoon when Gu Nianchu returned home, and she had lunch at the Daguan Tower.

"The prince and Aunt Xu have been out and haven't come back yet."

Nanny Tian reported to Gu Nianchu in a low voice, and Gu Nianchu nodded: "Yes, I understand."

Han Chan sent people to follow them, waiting for them to come back and find out where they went.

Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not give them face in front of so many people, Shen Ling must have other ideas.

Today, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu both showed up, and this is a signal.

At night, the trackers came to report.

Shen Ling and Xu Yan went to Liu's house and had dinner there before returning to the Marquis' Mansion.

The Liu family is the eldest prince's in-laws. Originally, they were just a seventh-rank minor official. Later, their daughter entered the palace and gave birth to the eldest prince. Only then did their status rise and they were promoted two ranks. Now, they are only fifth-rank.

No wealthy family in the entire Kyoto city takes the Liu family seriously.

But it was this Liu family that became the biggest winner in the previous life.

Gu Nianchu frowned and said, "Go check what the relationship between Xu Yan and the Liu family is."

"Yes, Miss."

After waiting for everyone to leave, Han Chan asked Gu Nianchu in a low voice: "Miss, do you think Aunt Xu has any relationship with the Liu family?"

Gu Nianchu nodded: "Aunt Xu said that she is the prince's cousin, but she is not a relative from the old lady's family at all. There must be something wrong." Xu Yan is literate and can manage the household affairs when she enters the mansion. This is not something that ordinary girls from small families can do.

In that era, not many daughters of wealthy families were literate, and most of them were taught some methods of managing the rear house and some housekeeping skills.

Today, Xu Yan's reputation as a talented woman has not spread widely, but in her previous life, Xu Yan was known as a talented woman, proving that her family spent a lot of money to cultivate her.

Was it trained by the Liu family?

Gu Nianchu felt that he needed to think about it carefully.

Han Chan talked with Gu Nianchu for a while and then left.

"Miss Han Chan, the master asked you to tell the young lady a message. He will send someone to investigate."

Someone was waiting for Han Chan in Han Chan's room. Han Chan nodded and said, "Yes, I understand. The young lady has already sent someone to investigate. When the master finds out the news, let him come and report."

The person responded and quickly disappeared into the night.

Gossip spreads fast in Kyoto.

The news that the prince of Zhenbei Marquis's mansion paraded around town with his concubine on New Year's Day and failed to please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince soon spread to everyone in the streets and alleys.

There were rumors that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was supporting the future Crown Princess' cousin, Gu.

There were also rumors that Shen Ling's concubine was extremely talented, and the poems and essays she wrote in the Grand View Tower were stunningly brilliant. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's suppression, her fame would have spread quickly.

The news that the concubine of the prince of Zhenbei Marquis's mansion was a talented woman spread quickly.

The talented people in the capital soon began to recite the poems Xu Yan wrote in the Grand View Tower. Not only that, many poems that were said to have been written by Xu Yan in the past were also circulated.

For a time, Xu Yan's popularity in the capital city overshadowed that of the talented Beijing woman Li Lin'er.

When Gu Nianchu heard this, she just smiled faintly and said, "Let her be. The higher she stands now, the harder she will fall in the future."

The second day of the Chinese New Year is the day for married women to return to their parents' home to pay New Year's greetings. When Gu Nianchu went back, she did not call Shen Ling. Instead, Shen Ling changed his clothes eagerly and waited for Gu Nianchu to send someone to invite him. After waiting for a long time, no one came, so he asked his long-time attendant and found out that Gu Nianchu had already returned to her parents' home early in the morning.

"Prepare the car and go to the General's Mansion."

Shen Ling was very angry, but he quickly ordered someone to drive the carriage to the General's Mansion.

The gatekeeper of the General's Mansion stopped Shen Ling and refused to let him in.

"You are blind! You dare to stop me?"

Shen Ling was very angry and started yelling at the doorman: "I am your son-in-law!"

The doorman said coldly, "Son-in-law? Our eldest daughter has already returned to the mansion. If you are willing, why didn't you accompany the daughter back? The prince must have come to the general's mansion to see off his concubine, right? Our eldest daughter said that she doesn't want a son-in-law like this!"

(End of this chapter)