The daily life of a concubine's daughter

Chapter 276 Tearing the Painting

Shen was as if deafened by the words. She leaned back in her chair dejectedly, staring blankly at the three ignorant children.

After a while, she waved her hand and said, "You guys step back first, let me think about it carefully."

Tao Ziyi and Qi Wan were overjoyed and bowed their heads, saying, "The daughter-in-law would like to thank the madam first!"

After saying that, the two of them took the children out.

Shen sat alone in deep thought.

The maid came to ask if dinner was ready.

Shen waved her hands and wanted to say that she had no appetite, but when the words came to her lips, she said, "Bring it up."

Now, she is the backbone of the Second House, and the Second House is the spiritual support of the Duke's Mansion. She must not fall.

There was still a lot of mess waiting for her to clean up inside and outside the mansion.

She had no appetite and forced herself to eat more until she was really full, then she told the maids to leave.

The maid brought tea, Shen took a sip, and when she spit it out, she suddenly felt nauseous in her chest and vomited all the breakfast she had eaten.

The waiter was terrified and shouted in panic: "Madam, madam, are you okay?"

After Shen finished vomiting, she sat on a stool exhausted, with her back leaning against the maid. She looked tired, as if she had just had a serious illness.

She shook her head weakly: "It's okay, just help me to rest. I think I'm tired from traveling day and night to get back to Beijing, and my body didn't get enough rest. Don't tell anyone."

The maid agreed and went out to tell the people in the yard not to spread the news.

Shen rinsed her mouth again, drank some calming tea, and took an hour's sleep. After getting up, she felt full of energy and ate the freshly made breakfast.

After thinking about it, he called the confidants who stayed in the Duke's Mansion and asked them in detail about the daily interactions between his two sons and his two daughters-in-law.

Upon hearing this, Shen became furious.

She was asking about the affairs between her son and daughter-in-law, but she didn't expect that her niece Shi Mingzhu was always involved in their affairs.

"…The Third Master often bought some exquisite things for the eldest daughter from outside, and the Third Mistress secretly felt jealous…"

"…The Fifth Grandma and the Fifth Master had a fight, and the Fifth Master shouted very loudly, saying that the Fifth Grandma was jealous of the eldest girl…"

"Where are the third and fifth brothers?"

"Madam, Master Wu has gone to the Handan Courtyard to look for Madam Wu, and Master San is in the study in the outer courtyard."

Shen held her forehead, changed her clothes, and ran straight to Shi Mingzhen's study with a whip in hand. She walked with big strides and shouted with a sullen face, "Call Lao Wu over here too!"

The maid shuddered all over and ran to call for help.

Shen was full of murderous intent. The old woman guarding the second gate did not dare to stop her or even ask a question. She quickly made way for her.

Arriving at Shi Mingzhen's study, Shen kicked away the servant guarding the door, and then kicked open the door of the study.

With a bang, the door panel hit the wall hard and shook twice.

Inside the door, Shi Mingzhen, who was sitting at the desk reading a book, suddenly looked up and asked in surprise, "How dare you... Mother, why are you here with your son? Is there something important?"

Seeing Shen holding the horsewhip in her hand, Shi Mingzhen's heart twitched.

Some things are inconvenient to say, and saying them out will bring disaster. Shen simply didn't mention Shi Mingzhu, and slapped the horse whip on the ground, sneering:

"I was just about to ask you, how do you treat your wife? Did you know that today your wife came to me and asked you to write a divorce letter?"

Shi Mingzhen dropped the book in his hand to the ground. He stood up suddenly and frowned, "How is it possible? Ziyi never said anything about divorce. Is she still being petty with me?"

Shen was so angry that she laughed and whipped Shi Mingzhen with a whip: "You don't even know where you are wrong, you deserve to be beaten!"

Shi Mingzhen dodged backwards in fear.

Shen was really angry: "Rebellious son! How dare you hide!"

Shi Mingzhen tied his robe around his waist and ran while saying, "Mother, you have to explain clearly why you beat your son. My son's injuries haven't healed yet, and he got new ones. I am happy at this moment, but at the same time, aren't you the one who is heartbroken?"

Shen whipped the horse whip vigorously: "Stop right there, you rebellious son! I don't feel sorry for you, I only feel sorry for my three grandchildren who have no father to love them, and my fourth grandson who has not yet been born! Your father and I have worked hard to guard the border, and this is how you harm your parents in the capital? Stop!"

Shi Mingzhen sighed, he couldn't avoid this beating.

He thought he could wait until his injuries healed before taking the beating.

His mother was so anxious that she whipped him the next day after returning to Beijing.

He was two steps slow, and Shen's whip hit him hard on the back.

Shi Mingzhen groaned and fell forward to the ground.

Shen's hand trembled, and she quickly whipped the third time to the side, which knocked over a large vase next to the bookshelf. With a loud crash, the vase broke into pieces, and a dozen scrolls inside rolled to the ground.

One of the scrolls was opened, revealing a picture of Shi Mingzhu swinging on a swing, about seven or eight years old.

Shen was feeling sorry for Shi Mingzhen as he couldn't get up. However, when Shi Mingzhen saw the scroll fall to the ground, he nimbly got up, hurried to pick up the scrolls, and carefully rolled up the scattered painting.

Shen felt something was wrong, so she snatched the scroll and opened it one picture at a time. When she opened three pictures in a row, she found that they were all of Shi Mingzhu at different ages.

Shi Mingzhen watched with her and said with a smile: "Mother, Zhuzhu was pretty when she was young, wasn't she? It's a pity that you and father were not in the capital and missed her childhood and youth. Now that she is married, it is difficult to see her even if you want to."

Having said this, his face was full of melancholy.

Shen ignored him and opened the rest of the scroll.

Sure enough, starting from the time Shi Mingzhu was born, he painted one painting a year, for a total of seventeen paintings, which were completed when Shi Mingzhu was seventeen years old. Judging from the brushwork, it was painted by Shi Mingzhen himself.

Shen asked in a trembling voice, "Where's your wife's?"

Shi Mingzhen was puzzled: "What?"

"Where are your wife's paintings?"

Shi Mingzhen was stunned: "Why should I paint her? She is with me every day, why should I paint to commemorate her?"

Shen slowly raised her eyes and gazed deeply at her eldest son: "What about my paintings? Didn't you paint them for me? I'm far away at the border, have you never missed me?"

Shi Mingzhen smiled helplessly: "How dare I paint you? Father will be jealous. Mother wants a portrait, so let father paint it. However, I can paint a picture for mother secretly..."

Before he finished his words, a loud slap landed on Shi Mingzhen's face.

Shi Mingzhen's face was hit sideways, the whip marks on his back and cheeks were burning with pain, and his mind was completely confused.

Thinking carefully about what he had said, he slowly stiffened.

Shen was so angry that her hands were shaking. With a loud bang, she tore the portrait in her hand into two halves, and then tore the second and third ones...

Shi Mingzhen seemed to be coming back to life, and hurriedly stopped him: "Mother! Don't tear it! Mother, it's not what you think! How dare your son have such dirty thoughts!"

"Get out of here! I'm going to tear them all apart!" Shen's face was terribly gloomy.

Shi Mingzhen watched as one portrait after another was torn into pieces. His heart ached and he fell to his knees. The broken porcelain pieces scratched his knees, oozing blood.

"Mother, please show mercy! Things are not what mother thinks!"

For most of these portraits, Shi Mingzhu posed for them.

He can paint again, but he certainly won't be in the same happy and joyful mood as before.