The old lady of the Shen family set out from Qi County to Yongzhou Prefecture, but after leaving Shanxi, Shen Yunyao fell ill as soon as she entered Henan.
Everyone had to find an inn to stay and waited for Shen Yunyao to recover from his illness before continuing to set off.
So when Shen Zhonglei picked up Mrs. Shen on the official road on the outskirts of Yongzhou Prefecture, it was already mid-May and the weather was getting hot.
"Mother!" Shen Zhonglei had not seen Mrs. Shen for several years, but now that he saw her, he immediately stepped forward to salute, "In the past few years, my son has been far away in Yongzhou and has not been able to serve his mother. Every time he thinks about it, he feels extremely guilty.
"Fortunately, my mother is in good health. I will stay longer in Yongzhou this time and give my son a chance to fulfill his filial piety."
Mrs. Shen was also very happy when she saw her son. Seeing his sunburned face and sweat, she didn't know how long she had been waiting here. She quickly said: "I'm very happy that you can have this kind of heart. What can I say?" Let's talk slowly when we return home. Someone, please help your master up quickly."
"That's right, Huguang is much hotter than my hometown. Mom has worked hard all the way. Let's go home quickly."
When the group returned to Shen's Mansion, Mrs. Xu had already received the news, and she, Shen Yunhui, Ping Niang and others were waiting at the second gate for a long time.
Ever since she learned that Mrs. Shen had brought Shen Yunyao back with her this time, Mrs. Xu felt much better. Although she was a little worried because Shen Yunyao was ill, she still felt happy to see her daughter soon. The smile on his face is a little more genuine.
Shen Yunhui is full of sorrow and worry. Now that the eldest sister is not at home and Shen Yunyao is back, she will definitely be bullied again.
Ping Niang was also a little anxious. She really didn't expect that Shen Tianshu hadn't come back for so long after leaving. He even spent the Dragon Boat Festival at Prince Rui's Mansion.
Fortunately, Mrs. Shen was delayed for a while on the road, otherwise she would have been really anxious.
Old Mrs. Shen was helped out of the carriage by Shen Zhonglei. Her sharp eyes swept over the faces of everyone at the door, without any smile on her face.
Everyone felt tense at the sight of her, and they felt like although they didn't know what they had done wrong, they still wanted to admit it immediately.
Mrs. Xu calmed herself down, and hurriedly greeted her and said, "Mother, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you so much that I've been waiting for you for a while..."
As she spoke, her eyes were already looking past Mrs. Shen and towards Shen Yunyao behind her.
She found that Shen Yunyao was much thinner and haggard than when she left home at the beginning of the year, and she didn't know if she was recovering from her illness.
"Cough!" Shen Zhonglei saw that she was distracted and hurriedly coughed to remind her.
Mrs. Xu came to her senses and hurriedly reached out to help Old Mrs. Shen's other arm.
Mrs. Shen snorted coldly, avoided her hand, and waved her hand behind her.
Chunlan had just gotten off the carriage. When she saw this, she hurriedly took a few steps and stepped forward to hold Old Mrs. Shen's arm.
When Mrs. Xu saw Chunlan, her expression immediately changed. She opened her mouth several times, but didn't know what to say. She even forgot about the fact that Mrs. Shen didn't give her any face.
Even more frightened than Mrs. Xu was Han Qiao, who had taken advantage of Chunlan's trust and coaxed her to drink the drug and personally put her on the carriage of the young master of the Xu family.
Logically speaking, Chunlan should have been beaten to death by the Xu family after Xu Yihao's death, just like several other maids.
When she first learned the news, she felt really uneasy for a while. She secretly burned paper for Chunlan several times, begging her not to cause trouble for her.
But now, not only is Chunlan not dead, why has she transformed into a maid next to Mrs. Shen?
The master and the servant had their own thoughts, and they were both a little absent-minded. They didn't even notice that Old Mrs. Shen had gone so far away.
"Mother!" Shen Yunyao stepped forward and hugged Mrs. Xu's arm. As soon as she called her mother, she couldn't help but have red circles in her eyes.
Mrs. Xu stretched out her hand to touch her daughter's thin cheek, and asked with heartache: "Have you recovered from your illness? How come you are so ill? You are so haggard. Fortunately, you are home now, and I wish you a happy life." Make up for it.”
Shen Yunyao was full of words, but now was not the best time to talk. She could only hold back and said: "Mom, let's go in quickly, otherwise grandma will be angry."
When Mrs. Xu heard what Shen Yunyao said, her heart was as sharp as a knife. The daughter she held in the palm of her hand and whom she loved so much had been frightened into this state by Mrs. Shen only a short time after returning to her hometown.
But she felt sad because she was still afraid of Mrs. Shen.
The mother and daughter both quickened their pace at the same time, but entered the main hall one step later than others. Old Mrs. Shen and Shen Zhonglei had already taken their seats in the first and second seats respectively.
Shen Zhonglei looked at Xu with dissatisfaction.
Xu and Shen Yunyao hurriedly sat down in their seats.
Mrs. Shen ignored them and only said to Shen Zhonglei, "Have you been in good health these past few years?"
"Don't worry, mother, my son has always been in good health. Apart from the occasional cold, he has never had any problems in the past few years.
"That's good." Old Mrs. Shen nodded, "I'm often worried at home that you are too busy with official duties and will be exhausted if you are exhausted."
"There is indeed a lot of official work, but the staff and subordinates are very capable and can usually share the workload for my son, so it is not too busy."
Facing Mrs. Shen's rare concern, Shen Zhonglei couldn't hide his excitement, but he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.
"It's really inappropriate for my son to worry about his mother when he is so old."
"No matter how old you are, you are still my son. No matter how talented you are, I can't stop me from thinking about you. This is the heart of a parent." Old Mrs. Shen said, looking at Mrs. Xu, "Just like Mother Yuan Lin, when she sees Yun Yao, Immediately I lost sight of this old woman."
Mrs. Xu originally thought that the story just now was over, but she didn't expect it to be waiting for her here!
She hurriedly stood up and knelt down to apologize: "Mom, it's all my daughter-in-law's fault. I heard that Yunyao fell ill on the way, and I have been thinking about her so much that I just neglected my mother. I hope my mother will forgive her."
Mrs. Shen, however, had no intention of telling her to get up. She turned around and continued to say to Shen Zhonglei: "Since you are not so busy with official work and the family is not large, why can't you take care of the house?
"Two big living people, you can't even take care of a child, and you have to send me, an old woman, back to your hometown to worry about you." Old Mrs. Shen said very unhappy, "I think you just don't want me to have a few days of leisure. I’ll be willing to do it only if I’m exhausted!”
Hearing this, Shen Zhonglei stood up quickly, knelt down side by side with Mrs. Xu, and said repeatedly: "My son doesn't dare. It's all his fault. Not only did he fail to teach his children well, but he also caused trouble to his mother. I hope my mother will forgive me."
"Mother, forgive me." Although Mrs. Xu felt dissatisfied, she did not dare to contradict her, and she also lowered her head deeply, pretending to be humbly repentant.
