Sheng Mingjian was extremely pleased.
He had long disliked how close his mother was to Sheng Mingshu!
Sheng Mingshu had a gift for scholarship and would likely achieve something significant in the future.
If Sheng Mingshu were willing to come and show him respect, acknowledge him as the superior, and be at his disposal in the future, Sheng Mingjian wouldn’t oppose his mother nurturing the boy. In fact, he’d even be willing to cultivate Sheng Mingshu himself!
But Sheng Mingshu was far too proud and had never taken him, his eldest brother, seriously!
What’s more, he’d been getting far too cozy with that person over at Haitang Court!
For that very reason, Sheng Mingjian had harbored a grudge against Sheng Mingshu for a long time.
He’d originally planned to deal with Sheng Mingshu after passing the imperial exams, but unexpectedly, the other had fallen out with their mother ahead of time.
Though Sheng Mingjian didn’t know who had orchestrated this behind the scenes, he was more than happy to see it happen.
So, after having his fill of glee, Sheng Mingjian threw himself wholeheartedly into his studies, preparing for the metropolitan examinations.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yong also learned about what had happened between “Madam Huang” and the fourth son and his mother.
Over the years, he’d kept many loyal servants in plain sight around the household. Quite a few had been weeded out by “Madam Huang” in the early years, but some still remained.
Most importantly, he’d planted a secret informant within the manor.
The servants he’d positioned openly couldn’t uncover the slightest whisper of activity within the estate, but his secret agent could.
That person had long since told him that his third son had been directing servants to poison Concubine Ruan and pin the crime on “Madam Huang.”
In the end, the truth came to light, and “Madam Huang” turned against her fourth son, becoming bitter enemies…
Sheng Yong was absolutely delighted by this.
As the head of the household, he didn’t want a son who was accomplished but disobedient.
If the fourth son could no longer rely on “Madam Huang,” he’d naturally come to seek refuge with him—that was a good thing for Sheng Yong!
And the third son had such skill at stirring up trouble—it showed he had a promising future!
Sheng Yong felt that everything had been going his way lately, and his mood was excellent.
He never dreamed that his secret agent had long since developed a mind of his own and had kept many things from him.
When the day of reckoning finally came for Sheng Yong, he would regret his arrogance more than words could say…
“Young Master, wake up. It’s time to take your medicine…”
Yannian set the steaming bowl of herbal medicine on the small table beside the bed and called out softly to the figure lying there.
His eyes were filled with worry.
In the past, the young master might have been frail, but his eyes had been bright. He’d still had about four hours of good energy each day—enough to read, write, play chess…
But over the past two days, his condition had suddenly worsened. He’d even started slipping into a stupor…
The household physician had come, examined him, and only sighed, saying the young master’s constitution was too weak…
Yannian had sent someone to request an audience with the madam, hoping she’d invite a doctor from Renxin Hall.
The madam had sent word back saying she’d been informed—but no doctor from Renxin Hall ever came.
When he was little, every time the young master felt unwell, the madam had always been the first to appear…
But in recent years, ever since the seventh young lady returned to the household, the madam no longer came when the young master fell ill…
She was probably upset with the young master for being close to the sixth young lady and not favoring the seventh.
Ah—
But the sixth young lady had grown up alongside the young master since childhood—their bond was naturally different from that with the seventh young lady.
Besides, later on, the young master had stopped targeting the seventh young lady entirely. He even prepared gifts for her during festivals and holidays.
After the sixth young lady returned from Baima Temple, the young master had rarely taken the initiative to visit her.
The few times the seventh young lady had bullied the sixth young lady in the past, the young master hadn’t gone after the seventh young lady even after hearing about it…
The young master had tried his best to treat everyone fairly. So why wouldn’t the madam treat him the way she used to?
Even Qiuju, the maidservant the madam had sent over, had her eyes on the young master and was full of mischief.
Yet the young master, out of respect for the madam, had been remarkably lenient with Qiuju…
He’d given way so much, but the madam still wouldn’t come see him.
The madam was far too heartless—
The young master had orchestrated the poisoning of Concubine Ruan to drive a wedge between the madam and the fourth young master…
He was probably jealous of the fourth young master…
In that moment, Yannian felt his young master was truly pitiful.
“Young Master…”
Yannian called out twice more before Sheng Mingyi finally opened his eyes.
A flicker of confusion passed through those beautiful eyes before he slowly came back to himself.
That sluggish look made Yannian’s heart ache—and also filled him with a faint dread.
His young master had always been brilliantly sharp. But now…
Surely nothing serious would happen to the young master…
Yannian did his best to suppress his negative emotions and gently helped him sit up.
“Young Master, the medicine’s ready—”
Sheng Mingyi pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to drink it. His mouth was already full of the bitter, astringent taste of medicinal broth.
Besides, the more he drank this medicine, the more lethargic he felt. It wasn’t doing him any good anyway.
Suddenly, he remembered when he was little and sick—his mother had made him a bowl of chicken congee.
She’d fed him while praising him, her smile so gentle and warm.
It had been so many years since he’d seen that smile on his mother’s face.
“Get me a bowl of chicken congee instead,” he said.
Yannian wanted to dissuade him, but he knew his master’s temperament all too well. Persuasion was useless. He could only send word to the main kitchen to prepare the chicken congee.
After giving the order, he noticed the exhaustion etched across the face of the man in bed. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he relayed the news about the madam’s outburst at Peony Court, hoping to lift the young master’s spirits.
“Now that the madam and the fourth young master… have fallen out, the fourth young master must be running around like a headless chicken…”
Sheng Mingyi let out a cold laugh at that.
If Sheng Mingshu couldn’t rely on his mother, he could still turn to their father. What was there to be anxious about?
He hadn’t orchestrated this whole chain of events to suppress Sheng Mingshu. He simply didn’t like seeing Sheng Mingshu and his mother… being so close.
What right did a concubine-born son have to cling to his own mother?
For the past few years, Sheng Mingyi had gradually developed a strange, unsettling feeling.
He felt that everything around him was somehow wrong.
He felt that his life shouldn’t be like this.
He should be enjoying his father’s regard, his mother’s affection. He should be healthy, brilliant, and radiant…
Not like this—so sick he couldn’t even leave his room, wasting away in this courtyard.
Over the past two days, his condition had suddenly deteriorated. At this moment, Sheng Mingyi felt his mind had grown much slower, his memory seemed to be fading too…
He didn’t know where the problem lay.
He regularly had his medicine taken out for examination by other doctors, and they all said there was nothing wrong with it.
Sheng Mingyi couldn’t figure it out. And he felt utterly exhausted, so much so that he almost wanted to just drift off to sleep.
Sheng Mingyi’s current state was all thanks to Qingdai’s handiwork.
Sheng Minmin felt that if Sheng Mingyi still had the energy to scheme against others, then his health was still too good. So she’d instructed Qingdai to step up her efforts…
And so, Sheng Mingyi had ended up like this.
Sheng Minmin shared all the information she’d gathered with Sheng Mingshu, adding one final remark:
“In the future, do whatever you want. Don’t hold back on my account.”
