In the end, Sheng Yong had to be supported and led away by Dongsheng and another young servant.
Because he was so angry, Sheng Yong fell ill.
He no longer had the energy to warn those doctors or to keep the household servants in check.
Sheng Yong didn’t have the energy to manage things, and Sheng Minmin certainly wasn’t going to step in.
So after just two days, the people in the capital had a fresh new batch of drama to feast on.
And it was still the Sheng family’s drama.
Everyone was thoroughly enjoying it.
Because this time, the news was particularly interesting.
Rumor had it that the eldest young master of the Sheng family was fond of men!
Even though he usually appeared gentle and refined,
in reality, he was quite fierce!
He could take on seven men in one night…
He wore his body out completely…
Some were envious, some were jealous, and some found it disgusting.
Some remarked on how chaotic the “noble circle” really was, and how the rich young masters knew how to have too much fun…
Others said that the fifth young master of the Sheng family got so excited when he heard the news about his older brother that he accidentally knocked out his front teeth.
Still, others claimed that the fifth young master didn’t knock out his tooth from excitement but because he saw the sixth young miss eating a toad and got so scared that he fell and broke it.
Speaking of the sixth young miss, she seemed so delicate and gentle, yet she had this bizarre habit of eating toads!
Among these bits of news, there was also the story of how the seventh young miss had encountered assassins but was rescued…
But compared to the earlier gossip, this last piece was just too ordinary, too dull to satisfy people’s curiosity for the strange and unusual, so it didn’t spread very widely.
People much preferred discussing what type of men the eldest young master liked.
Did he prefer the delicate and refined type, or the strong and sturdy type?
Did the eldest young master like to be on top or on the bottom?
Or perhaps, was the toad that the sixth young miss ate male or female? Did she swallow it alive or dead…
Some thought swallowing it alive was more acceptable, because a dead one would be fishy and smelly.
If it was dead, she’d probably have bad breath after a while…
In short, on every street corner and in every alley, you could often see groups of people gathered together, their faces glowing with excitement as they discussed the Sheng family’s scandals.
The news spread so quickly, of course, thanks to the little beggars Sheng Minmin had raised.
The original group of little beggars had already scattered into all sorts of trades, and they were all experts at gathering and spreading information.
Another small group, still working their old trade, had taken on a new batch of little beggars of their own.
So all she had to do was give the order, and by the next day, the news was flying everywhere.
Back when Sheng Minmin had made Sheng Mingjian go through that kind of ordeal, she had already wanted to spread the news across the entire capital so everyone could laugh at his humiliation.
If it hadn’t been such a rushed situation that day, she would have had Qingdai find a painter to illustrate the whole scene…
All in all, Sheng Minmin couldn’t have been more satisfied with what had recently happened to her enemies.
There was only one thing she was a bit worried about.
That day, while Huang Yaning was “closing the door to beat the dogs,” Sheng Minmin had actually been secretly helping Sheng Mingzhu.
Somehow, someone had managed to get out of the mansion and tip off Zhu Qisheng.
She suspected that this person might be one of Sheng Yong’s men.
This person usually stayed hidden in the shadows, helping Sheng Yong keep tabs on what was happening inside the mansion.
Maybe they were worried that Huang Yaning would cause a death that day, so they notified Zhu Qisheng?
Another possibility was that there was someone sent by Master Daluo to protect Sheng Mingzhu in secret?
There was also a chance that Tao Niang had asked a black-clothed person to protect Sheng Mingzhu secretly…
Tao Niang had saved a skilled martial artist in her early years. In the previous life, Tao Niang said that person had agreed to help her three times.
Switching her and Sheng Mingzhu was the first favor. Sending a beggar to Peony Courtyard six years ago was the second.
Counting it up, that person still owed Tao Niang one more favor…
For now, she couldn’t catch that person, so she could only act cautiously and investigate slowly.
There was one more matter. The Princess Jing of Prince Qi’s household had sent word that she would come to take Xia Zhi into the mansion in three days.
So Sheng Minmin sent Qingying to Lotus Courtyard. Right in front of Sheng Mingzhu, she returned Xia Zhi’s indenture contract to Xia Zhi and delivered a few more words.
——-
Lotus Courtyard.
Sheng Mingzhu had been badly injured that day.
Especially the wound on her head. The imperial physician said that if she didn’t take good care of it, her hair might just… fall out completely…
Terrified of becoming bald, Sheng Mingzhu applied her medicine diligently every day.
The medicine had to be changed three times a day. Each time, her scalp had to be thoroughly cleaned with water.
The whole process required three sharp-eyed maids with steady, gentle hands. Three more people had to help hold her hair up. And several others were needed to fetch water and change towels…
With all those people attending to her, each round of medicine change still took an entire hour.
And during that hour, Sheng Mingzhu would be in so much pain that she would break out in a cold sweat…
Applying the medicine was almost as torturous as being put on the rack.
So after the medicine was applied, Sheng Mingzhu would throw a massive tantrum. She would either punish the servants or smash things left and right, and only then would she go bathe.
With all this commotion, most of each day was spent changing the medicine, throwing fits, and bathing…
And then she had to do it all over again in the middle of the night. Sheng Mingzhu couldn’t sleep well, and the servants got even less rest.
Within just a few days, the servants all had dark, bruised circles under their eyes from exhaustion.
On top of that, the toad incident had left Sheng Mingzhu deeply traumatized.
Her body craved meat, but her mind rejected the taste of it.
For the past two days, every time she took a single bite of meat or fish, she would throw up for half a day. She could only eat vegetables, pickles, plain porridge, and plain noodles…
But Sheng Mingzhu had grown up eating delicacies from land and sea. How could she be content with plain congee and simple dishes?
So she found all sorts of ways to torment the kitchen staff.
She also often forced the people in her courtyard to kneel under the scorching sun, saying that they smelled like meat and that the smell made her nauseous…
This made all the maids, nannies, and older serving women in the courtyard tremble with fear, wishing they could turn invisible.
Last night, on a whim, Sheng Mingzhu decided she wanted fresh meat wontons.
The cook quickly prepared several batches and sent them over, including chicken fillings, pork fillings, and even vegetarian fillings…
She was terrified of angering Sheng Mingzhu.
But after eating just one pork wonton, Sheng Mingzhu threw up violently.
She vomited until there was nothing left but bile, nearly throwing up her entire intestines.
Sheng Mingjian scolded the cook, calling her a useless fool, and wanted to have her beaten.
The cook was so scared her face went pale. She went to beg the madam for help. Finally, Qingxiang, the young lady from Peony Courtyard, came.
Qingxiang said that the madam had given an order: if Sheng Mingzhu continued to abuse and mistreat the servants for no reason, she wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the mansion any longer. She could pack up and go seek refuge with Master Daluo.
This infuriated Sheng Mingzhu, but at least she stopped punishing the servants.
She barely managed to get through until today. Then just now, Qingying came to return Xia Zhi’s indenture contract and also delivered a few messages.
“The madam said that Miss Xia Zhi, after all, is the Sixth Miss’s biological older sister, and she’ll be entering Prince Qi’s mansion in three days.
“During these three days, why doesn’t the Sixth Miss help Miss Xia Zhi prepare some dowry? Otherwise, if she goes over there lacking things, it will be an embarrassment to the Sixth Miss’s reputation…”
Sheng Mingzhu was so angry that the hand holding her teacup showed bulging veins.
Prepare a dowry for Xia Zhi? She would have to pay the money, but Xia Zhi would get all the benefits.
If she did it well, it was expected. If she did it poorly, she would be the one who looked bad.
“Thank you, Qingying, for delivering the message. I understand. Please tell Mother not to worry.”
Only then did Qingying leave.
Xia Zhi immediately knelt on the ground.
Knowing that she would be able to go to Prince Qi’s mansion in three days,
she was absolutely overjoyed inside. But she didn’t dare show any excitement at all.
Because the way Sheng Mingzhu was looking at her right now was too sinister, too terrifying.
It was as if at any moment she would bite her to death or order someone to drag her out and beat her—
Xia Zhi quickly prostrated herself on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.
After that day, Prince Qi had not come to see Sheng Mingzhu even once.
Nor had he sent a single person to offer a word of concern.
He was probably truly frightened by Sheng Mingzhu.
If she showed any hint of delight in front of Sheng Mingzhu and provoked this madwoman, she would be in big trouble.
