Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Chapter 739: Isn’t it a waste for the sister-in-law to be the mistress?

"Sister-in-law."

Shen Wantang entered the front hall and called out with a smile as he walked towards Meng Yunlan.

When Meng Yunlan saw her coming, a smile appeared on his face: "Sister-in-law, am I disturbing you?"

Shen Wantang looked very amiable. "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I'm so glad to see you here, how could I bother you? Please take a seat! Dujuan, bring the tea. Qinxin, bring the snacks. Qiyu, bring up the fruit that was sent from the farm this morning. Shuxiang..."

Meng Yunlan's expression was gentle and soft. He grabbed Shen Wantang and said, "I'm really touched by your kindness, sister-in-law. But please don't bother the servants. I just want to say a few words and then I'll leave. My mother is waiting for me at home!"

"If you have anything to say, just ask the servants to pass it on. Why bother going there in person? It would be so embarrassing if it delayed your return to your parents' home."

"How can that be? Servants are servants after all, and we are sisters-in-law. Let me tell you, we are naturally different."

The two of them chatted back and forth, looking both affectionate and polite, which made Qiao Zhiyu behind Meng Yunlan almost roll his eyes.

She was secretly complaining in her heart, these two sisters-in-law are really good at pretending. If you don't know, you would think they have a very good relationship, but in fact they want to kill each other behind each other's backs!

As expected, none of the women in this aristocratic family are easy to get along with. They all speak with masks on and are not sincere at all.

The two of them talked for a long time before finally getting to the point.

"Sister-in-law, I was originally planning to go back to my parents' home with my friends, but halfway there I saw someone kneeling outside your yard, so I came over to ask a few more questions."

Meng Yunlan said sincerely, "I'm not trying to meddle in your affairs. You know, I've always been in charge of all matters in the mansion. We've never punished a servant so mercilessly before. I saw that man seemed to be about to faint from kneeling, so naturally I had to ask what was going on."

Shen Wantang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, sister-in-law is in charge of all matters in the mansion. It is really hard. Now even the people in our courtyard have to worry about sister-in-law. It is really not right."

Meng Yunlan said with relief, "My sister-in-law is just as I thought, understanding and sensible. In that case, why not spare the guard outside from punishment? It's not a big deal to keep him kneeling. What do you think?"

Shen Wantang suddenly realized, "So my sister-in-law is here to plead for the guard. Oh, that guard is so lucky! How could he deserve my sister-in-law to personally plead for him? I'll definitely have him kowtow to my sister-in-law and thank her someday!"

"So, your sister-in-law agrees to exempt him from punishment?"

"This one……"

"Why, sister-in-law doesn't want to? Do you still want to continue punishing him?"

"Not really, it's just...it's just...he...ah!"

Shen Wantang's face was full of hesitation, he stammered, and refused to continue speaking.

Meng Yunlan sighed and said earnestly, "Sister-in-law, are you angry because the guard stopped you from entering Qianhan's study yesterday, and deliberately made him kneel? Sister-in-law, that's really petty, isn't it? Why bother with a guard? You made him kneel, isn't that a slap in Qianhan's face?"

Shen Wantang was horrified: "I'm not, I didn't, sister-in-law, don't talk nonsense! How could I be that kind of person!"

"Don't panic, sister-in-law. I won't tell anyone about this, but you should immediately spare the guard's punishment!"

"Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't want to exempt him, it's really... really..."

Shen Wantang finished her words halfway and stopped talking afterwards.

Meng Yunlan assumed she was unwilling, so he acted like an older sister-in-law, half admonishing, half warning, "Sister-in-law, I heard that the guard has been kneeling outside all night. If he continues to kneel, his legs might be gone. Are you planning to cripple his legs? He's not one of my men, he's Qianhan's! Have you considered Qianhan's dignity by doing this?"

Shen Wantang: “…”

So she also knew that they were Gu Qianhan's men? Then why would she, as a sister-in-law, come to care about Gu Qianhan's men?

Or did she simply want to cause trouble for her?

Or maybe, she is here to sow discord between her and Gu Qianhan?

"You've just been married to Qianhan for a short time, maybe you don't know him well enough?"

Shen Wantang glanced at her and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you mean that you understand him?"

"After all, I've been married for five years and have been Qianhan's sister-in-law for five years. I've lived under the same roof with him for so long, so I must know a lot more than you do."

"Oh, is it so?"

"Qianhan looks cold, but he actually cares about his people. He assigned that guard to guard the first gate of the front yard, so he must be someone he trusts and relies on. He will definitely be angry if you punish him so indiscriminately."

Shen Wantang smiled and said, "Sister-in-law knows him so well, but I don't think he will be angry with me because of this. He is not that petty."

Seeing her calm and composed look, Meng Yunlan felt as if he had punched cotton.

However, this angle didn't work, so she immediately changed it: "This matter is not only about Qianhan's reputation, but also about my sister-in-law's. If the guard breaks his legs from kneeling, and word gets out, people who don't know will think that my sister-in-law is mistreating her servants. I'm doing this for my sister-in-law's reputation. Please don't think I'm meddling too much."

"Sister-in-law, I'm relieved! Sister-in-law will definitely not let anyone spread these fabricated and messy things. Otherwise, wouldn't Sister-in-law's role as mistress be in vain?"

Meng Yunlan's face froze. She hadn't expected that Shen Wantang would actually outmaneuver her!

She gave a wink to Qiao Zhiyu beside her, indicating that she should speak.

Qiao Zhiyu took a step forward and said with a forced smile, "Sister, have you heard the old saying? An elder sister-in-law is like a mother. You should listen to her. Just do whatever she tells you to do. If she tells you to forgive the guard, just forgive him. Why are you rambling on about so much useless things? Aren't you just wasting my cousin's time and delaying her return home?"

Shen Wantang said indifferently, "You mean, I was the one who stopped my sister-in-law from going back to her parents' home? How come I didn't know I had such a great ability?"

"Oh, you're incredibly capable! Not only did you deliberately delay my cousin's return to her parents' home, but yesterday you also deliberately ran to the Zhanshi Mansion to deliver an umbrella to my brother-in-law, deliberately rode in the same carriage with him, and deliberately fawned over him. I don't know what you were up to!"

Shen Wantang's face was filled with sarcasm. "Sister-in-law, how could your cousin accuse me of something so arbitrarily? How can you slander someone's innocence like this? Her character is so low. I wonder if she was not well-educated or if there is something wrong with her ancestors."