I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

#584 - Meeting the Old Lady (Thanks to the leader 'Feng Junzi Haoran')

In the end, Shen Ling was pulled away by Jiang Nan, and the group quickly disappeared outside the corridor.

After a night of rest, the next day, Butler Lai Changrong came to the gate with a respectful expression: "Young Master Biao, the Old Madam invites you to come over."

Zhang Chen had already dressed, still in neat coarse linen clothes, and did not change into the luxurious silk provided by the Shen family. Even in coarse linen, Zhang Chen still exuded a unique aura.

"Young Master Biao, the lords and ladies are already waiting for you at the Old Madam's place," the butler said respectfully.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded: "Please lead the way, Butler."

The group walked towards the Old Madam's residence in the distance, passing through a long corridor. Zhang Chen's ears twitched, noticing that Zhang Shi's breathing was a little rapid, so he turned his head and smiled at Zhang Shi. Seeing Zhang Chen's smile, Zhang Shi didn't know why, but the heavy stone pressing on her heart suddenly fell to the ground, and the tension disappeared at this moment. She held the hands of the two little ones, and her steps began to become steady.

When they arrived at the largest house in the backyard, Butler Lai Changrong went in to report. After a while, he came out again to invite Zhang Chen's family in. After Zhang Chen's family entered the house, they saw that the house was already full of people. Sitting in the center was an old lady with a full head of silver hair, slightly plump but full of energy.

"This is the Old Madam," Lai Changrong introduced to Zhang Chen's family.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen and the others quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Greetings, Grandmother!"

"Old Madam, this is the eldest son of the Little Miss, named Zhang Chen," Butler Lai Changrong pointed to Zhang Chen and said.

Then, pointing to Zhang Tuowei beside him, he said: "This is Zhang Tuowei, the daughter of the Little Miss. This is the son-in-law's second wife, Zhang Shi. This is Zhang Shi's son."

At this time, the Old Madam already had tears in her eyes and said to Zhang Chen: "Good child, get up quickly!"

Then, she personally walked down and helped Zhang Chen and his party up, and hugged Zhang Tuowei in her arms to tease her.

Zhang Chen looked at the Old Madam's expression at this time, which was indeed sincere. Then, he took the time to scan the crowd in the hall. He saw Shen Ling in a red dress with a gloomy face, and Jiang Nan, who was sitting in the corner eating melon seeds, as well as a group of young ladies, all of whom were beautiful women. There were also five middle-aged men with dignified faces, wearing luxurious clothes.

At this time, the Old Madam hugged Zhang Tuowei and sat back in her seat, and ordered Zhang Chen and his family to sit down. She also asked about the affairs of the Northern Lands, and after talking for a long time, the Old Madam said to Zhang Chen and his party: "Now that you have come here, treat this place as your own home. We will have people prepare all kinds of food, drink, and supplies for you, and there will be no shortage."

Speaking of this, the Old Madam said to Zhang Chen again: "I see that you are not young anymore, so choose a time to marry Shen Ling."

"Grandma, I disagree!"

As soon as the Old Madam's words fell, she heard a sound of opposition, and saw Shen Ling had already jumped out.

Hearing this, the Old Madam frowned: "The marriage is arranged by the parents and the matchmaker's words. This was agreed upon at the beginning, how can you object!"

"Old Madam, you love me the most. If you ask me to marry this country bumpkin, I might as well kill myself with a sword. You can just wait to collect my corpse," Shen Ling said stubbornly, her eyes full of stubbornness.

"Pa ~"

The Old Madam looked old and frail, but her body was light and healthy. She stood up and slapped Shen Ling directly on the face, leaving a clear palm print on Shen Ling's face, and her delicate face instantly turned red.

At this time, Shen Ling had tears in her eyes, looking at the Old Madam with disbelief: "You... you hit me? You actually hit me for a country bumpkin?"

After saying that, she suddenly turned around and rushed out. The maids and old women in the house cried out and chased after her, and in an instant, half of the house was empty.

"Mother, this matter needs to be discussed further," at this time, the eldest middle-aged man stood up and frowned.

Zhang Chen looked at this person, who was the head of the Shen family and also Zhang Chen's uncle: Shen Zhen. This person was also Shen Ling's father.

Hearing this, the Old Madam revealed a frightening light in her eyes: "What are you saying?"

Shen Zhen's body trembled, and he quickly knelt down and said: "Mother, Ling'er and Zhang Gaoqiu, the son of the Zhang family, have already privately arranged for life. If you force this marriage to continue, wouldn't it be breaking up a couple? When the time comes, we will not be able to explain to the direct line of the Zhang family in the capital."

"What? When did this happen?" The Old Madam was stunned when she heard this.

At this time, Shen Zhen said with a wry smile: "Before, my brother-in-law's family was exiled to the Northern Lands and deprived of their status as a direct line of the Zhang family. I thought their family would die in the Northern Lands and never come back, so this marriage could only be abandoned. Later, Zhang Gaoqiu, the second direct son of the Zhang family, came, and the child thought that he could continue the friendship between the two families and renew the friendship between the Zhang family and the Shen family. The friendship of several generations cannot be broken in our generation, so the child took the initiative to bring the two children together..."

Shen Zhen's voice was full of helplessness.

Who would have thought that Zhang Chen could walk out of the Northern Lands alive?

That old fellow Zhang Kecheng is already dead, who can bring Zhang Chen out?

Hearing Shen Zhen's words, the Old Madam took a long breath, looked at Shen Zhen with a meaningful look, and then scolded sharply: "Look at what you are doing every day, it's simply absurd! How can a woman be betrothed to two husbands?"

Shen Zhen knelt on the ground and apologized to Zhang Chen: "Nephew, it's all my fault. Don't blame your cousin, and don't blame the Old Madam. Blame me if you want. It's all my fault. Direct all your anger at me."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen looked Shen Zhen up and down, and quickly bent down to help him up: "Uncle, you are too serious. This matter cannot be blamed on Uncle. Who would have thought that I would walk out of the Northern Lands alive? Since Cousin has been betrothed to someone, then so be it. It can only be said that my fate with Cousin is shallow, and fate is so tricking. I will not force it. It's just that my father once said before his death that my mother once left some things in the Shen family as betrothal gifts. I only need to return the betrothal gifts to me, and this matter will be over!"

"This..." Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Shen Zhen was speechless for a while, not knowing what to say.

The Old Madam on the side also twitched her eyebrows, and then looked at Shen Zhen: "You beast, why don't you speak? Quickly give people an answer."

Shen Zhen's face was a little embarrassed at this time: "It's too early to talk about returning the betrothal gifts. The matter has not yet been settled. I will go back and persuade that girl again. Maybe that girl will change her mind. If she insists on her own way, it will not be too late to talk about returning the betrothal gifts."

At this time, Wang Xifeng on the side saw the clue and quickly stood up and said with a laugh: "That's right, since ancient times, it has been the parents' order and the matchmaker's words. How can the marriage that the eldest girl made at home be violated at will? If you tear up the agreement at will, wouldn't it make the widow sad? Let's persuade that girl again. If we can't persuade her, we will select an excellent girl from the clan to compensate the eldest nephew. In this way, we are still a family, and we are still a family, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Wang Xifeng is a shrewd person, and in the blink of an eye, she came up with a crooked idea, directly selecting one from the clan to replace Shen Ling. Such a shrewd mind is worthy of being a woman who can control the entire treasury of the Shen family.

Shen Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this: "That's right, that's the truth! This is the only way to have the best of both worlds."

Then, he turned his head to look at Zhang Chen: "Nephew, do you think this is the truth? If Shen Ling doesn't like you, our Shen family has other daughters, and you can choose them at that time."

Zhang Chen glanced at Shen Zhen, but he didn't want to give the other party this face. He was not a fool. From meeting Shen Qiu on the Shen family's big ship to Shen Zhen at this time, looking at the attitudes of both parties, I am afraid that the legacy left by his mother should have been an accident.

"Uncle, there is no need to say more. If I want to marry, I will follow my parents' last wishes and marry Miss Shen Ling. If this marriage cannot be made, the ladies of the Shen family look down on me, and I will not be a villain, and I will not embarrass the ladies of the Shen family. You only need to return the betrothal gifts that my mother left behind that year to me, and the marriage will be over," Zhang Chen's voice was soft, but it was full of strength.

"This..." Shen Zhen was directly put on the spot, and for a while, he didn't know what to say.

At this time, the Old Madam opened her mouth to break the stagnant atmosphere: "The marriage contract will be postponed for the time being. The two children are still young, and it will not be too late to mention it in three or five years. Let the two children get in touch, maybe that girl Shen Ling will realize Zhang Chen's goodness and change her mind?"

Hearing this, even with Zhang Chen's temperament, he couldn't help but twitch his face, but facing his elders, he couldn't open his mouth to contradict.

What did the Old Madam take Zhang Chen for? When did he, Zhang Chen, become a commodity, and actually asked that woman to pick and choose? What kind of arrogant person is he, Zhang Chen, and he was actually asked to choose like a commodity?

Zhang Chen took a deep breath, facing the Old Madam's words, he did not open his mouth to refute, but Zhang Shi on the side couldn't help it. She felt that the other party was bullying Zhang Chen for being young, and felt that Zhang Chen was easy to bully, so even in the face of power, she still stood up with a trembling voice and said: "Old Madam, this matter is inappropriate. Where is there such a thing as a woman being promised to two husbands? Such a thing is unheard of, and it will definitely ruin the Shen family's reputation if it spreads! Although my Zhang family has declined and been exiled to the Northern Lands to become criminals, we cannot suffer such humiliation."

As soon as Zhang Shi's words fell, the Old Madam's face became a little ugly, and Shen Zhen on the side became even more iron-blue, but his own family was at a loss, and he could not attack, so as not to spread it out in the future and reach the ears of the Zhang family in the capital, causing people to be dissatisfied.

"We are not discussing and looking for a proper solution, there is absolutely no intention of humiliation. I also know that this matter has wronged my nephew. It was I who did the wrong thing, it was I who was confused, but since things have come to this, I can only seek balance," Shen Zhen said with a wry smile, and quickly bowed to apologize.

PS: Thank you to the boss 'Feng Junzi Haoran' for the alliance leader, and I will add five more updates for the boss later.