"You're saying Sister wants to send me back?" Sun Wanzhu asked incredulously.
The young maid nodded. "Yes, I heard it from Lü Luo, who is by Madam's side."
Sun Wanzhu clutched her handkerchief tightly, unwilling to accept this. Was she, Sun Wanzhu, someone who could be summoned at will and dismissed just as easily by Zhou Fenli?
"What about the Master? Did he have any reaction when he heard?"
The maid faltered for a moment. "The Master doesn't know that Madam wants to send Miss back."
Sun Wanzhu bit her lower lip. Since Madam Zhou disregarded their relationship, she wouldn't either.
"Is the Master still in the study?" Sun Wanzhu asked.
The maid nodded. "Yes, the Master stays there until very late every day."
"Go to the kitchen and bring me a bowl of sweet soup," Sun Wanzhu said.
Shen Yunxuan looked at the memorial in his hands and couldn't help but rub his forehead. He wondered when the Empress would return and what she was doing now.
After a long while, he stood up, picked up a handkerchief from the basin, wrung it out, and pressed it to his face.
The cool touch made him much more awake.
But he still didn't move, just lay there. Suddenly, a faint fragrance reached his nose. He thought it was Madam Zhou's, but it wasn't.
He removed the handkerchief from his face, opened his eyes, and saw a beautiful young girl standing before him.
"Master, are you hungry?"
Shen Yunxuan shifted his gaze and saw the sweet soup in the girl's hand. He took it and drank it down. "Did Madam send you?"
Sun Wanzhu: "..."
After drinking, Shen Yunxuan placed the bowl in her hand. "It's a bit too sweet. Tell the kitchen not to make it so sweet."
It took Sun Wanzhu a while to realize that he had mistaken her for a maid.
"Master, I'm not from the manor, I'm..."
"Sun Wanzhu," Shen Yunxuan said slowly.
Sun Wanzhu was startled. "Master, you know?" She was somewhat surprised.
Shen Yunxuan heard this and said indifferently, "Madam mentioned it."
His voice was light but held a hint of coldness.
Sun Wanzhu bit her lower lip, then suddenly knelt on the ground. "Master, I don't want to leave. Please, keep me..."
Shen Yunxuan let out a light laugh, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Miss Sun, you're asking the wrong person. It's Madam who wants to send you away. You should ask Madam, not me."
"Master, Madam wants to send me back. I don't want to go back. Master, will you keep me?" Sun Wanzhu said, her eyes welling up with tears. Her mother had told her that men liked women who evoked pity.
"Keep you? On what grounds? As a maid?" Shen Yunxuan raised an eyebrow.
Sun Wanzhu was taken aback. A maid? She didn't want to be a maid. "Master, you must be joking."
"Joking? Am I?"
Sun Wanzhu shivered. She saw a hint of coldness appear on Shen Yunxuan's handsome face. "Master, I... I want to..."
"Shen Fei, take Miss Sun to Madam. Let her handle what needs to be done."
"Yes, Master." Shen Fei walked in from outside.
Sun Wanzhu knew that once she was sent to Madam Zhou, she would likely be sent back for good.
"Master, I admire you. I want to be your woman, even a concubine wouldn't matter." As she spoke, Sun Wanzhu crawled towards Shen Yunxuan's feet.
"You are willing, but I am not." Shen Yunxuan got up and moved away from his seat, preventing Sun Wanzhu from touching him.
"Master..."
"Take her away," Shen Yunxuan said coldly.
Shen Fei knew his Master was angry and quickly stepped forward, about to grab Sun Wanzhu.
Sun Wanzhu gritted her teeth, then tore at her own clothes and lunged towards the table nearby, hitting her head.
Zhou Shi heard the news and, without even putting on her cloak, rushed over. She saw Sun Wanzhu lying on the bed in the study, a large bump on her head.
Seeing her approach, Shen Yunxuan walked over and said coldly, "Madam, she is your responsibility. When she wakes up, send her back." With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
It was the first time Zhou Shi had seen Shen Yunxuan so angry, and she was somewhat flustered. She asked Hong Yan to invite Shen Fei, Shen Yunxuan's bodyguard, over.
Shen Fei saw Zhou Shi and said, "Madam, you may not know, but Miss Sun heard from somewhere that Madam wanted to send her back. She came to beg Master to keep her. Master said that it was entirely up to Madam to decide. Miss Sun suddenly tore her own clothes and hit her head."
Zhou Shi knew Shen Fei wouldn't lie, and Shen Yunxuan had been very angry just now.
She looked at Hong Yan and said coldly, "Go and find out who told Sun Wanzhu that I was going to send her back. Also, invite my mother here tomorrow."
"Yes, Madam." Hong Yan replied.
When Sun Wanzhu woke up, she saw Zhou Shi's icy expression and knew that Zhou Shi likely knew everything.
"Sister..."
"Miss Sun should address me as Madam Shen. I cannot bear to be called 'Sister'." Zhou Shi said coldly.
Sun Wanzhu heard this, and tears began to stream down her face. "Sister, I know you are angry with me, but I was also forced. You found me, and now that you don't need me, you want to send me back? How will I face the world then?"
"It is true that my Zhou family has wronged you. I will ask my mother to find a good marriage for you."
Could any good marriage compare to the residence of a third-rank official?
Sun Wanzhu bit her lower lip. "Sister, please, keep me. Master will eventually take concubines. I promise I will never fight with Sister for Master. I..."
"Whether he takes concubines in the future, I don't know, but even if he does, I will not agree to him taking you as a concubine. So, put away those thoughts!"
"Sister, do you know how tragic my fate will be if I'm sent back?"
"Rest well and recover from your injuries. Tomorrow, my mother will be here, and I will have her send you back." With that, Zhou Shi turned and left.
Sun Wanzhu watched Zhou Shi's retreating figure, filled with both anger and hatred.
She absolutely could not leave. She had to stay. In the darkness, her eyes glinted with a wolf-like gaze.
The next day, Madam Fan arrived at the Shen Manor. "My dear son, why did you so urgently ask your mother to come to the manor? Is something the matter?"
Zhou Shi nodded. "It concerns Wanzhu."
Madam Fan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Could it be that Wanzhu and the Master have achieved something?"
"Mother, you really like the idea of Wanzhu staying here."
Madam Fan nodded. "Of course. With Wanzhu staying, you'll have an assistant, won't you?"
"But Mother, do you think that with Wanzhu staying, my life will only get better?"
"My dear, what is wrong with you?" Madam Fan felt that Zhou Shi was a bit unusual today.
"Mother, my husband and I have only been married for half a year. Is it too soon to take a concubine at this time?"
"My dear, has someone said something to you?"
"Mother, the Master doesn't want to take a concubine," Zhou Shi said slowly.
Madam Fan frowned and looked at Zhou Shi. "Is it that Master Shen doesn't want to, or is it you who doesn't want to?"
Zhou Shi looked at Madam Fan. "Mother, if the Master doesn't take a concubine, shouldn't you be happy for your daughter?"
"Happy? If he doesn't take a concubine, perhaps he has an outside lover. My dear, you mustn't be foolish!"