She pointed to a piece of celestial silk brocade. "This one will do."
It was a bolt of lotus-green fabric. Young ladies rarely chose this color. Lotus-green was picky about who could wear it. Ordinary girls wearing it often looked too mature. Without a natural noble aura, this color could overwhelm someone—quite unflattering.
Chen Ruoqiu's eyes flickered as she smiled. "Why has Little Fifth chosen such a dark color? Young ladies should wear bright, vibrant colors like your two sisters. Such a dark color might make you look too old."
"Indeed," Ren Wanyun added. She would have been delighted to see someone from the first branch make a fool of themselves, but this lotus-green was simply too wrong. If outsiders saw it, they might think all the Shen family's young ladies were unfashionably dull. Qing'er still needed to make a good impression at the Chrysanthemum Banquet—how could they let Shen Miao drag them down?
Shen Yue and Shen Qing secretly laughed. Shen Qing said, "I think this lotus-green is quite nice. Fifth Sister hasn't worn such a deep color before, right? It's good to try something new. I've heard this color looks quite dignified."
"If I hadn't already chosen my fabric, I would certainly have tried that lotus-green as well," Shen Yue said with a smile.
Limniang looked at the two honey-mouthed, poison-hearted legitimate daughters of the Shen family, then at the calm-faced Shen Miao, and sighed inwardly. Everyone in the capital knew that Shen Miao, the legitimate daughter of Shen Xin from the first branch, was foolish and ignorant. But who would have thought her seemingly kind and gentle cousins could be so cruel, constantly finding ways to humiliate Shen Miao?
She felt some sympathy for Shen Miao. General Shen was away protecting the country, yet his legitimate daughter was being schemed against by her relatives at home—truly pitiful. With this in mind, she gently suggested, "This lotus-green is indeed too formal. For a Chrysanthemum Banquet, it might be better to choose lighter colors. Miss, why not select this jade-white instead?"
Shen Miao glanced at Limniang—she was a rare honest person. In her previous life, Limniang had warned her like this too, but back then, Shen Miao had trusted her cousins and aunts completely and hadn't listened. Now, however, she politely declined. "That won't be necessary. I prefer this lotus-green fabric."
Her response made Shen Qing and Shen Yue, who had started to frown with concern, relax. Shen Yue smiled. "Fifth Sister indeed has good taste. Now, let's trouble Madam Limniang to take our measurements."
Limniang sighed inwardly but knew she couldn't say more. She proceeded to take measurements for each of the young ladies.
Throughout the entire process, Old Madam Shen reclined on the couch with her eyes closed, pretending to doze, seemingly oblivious to everything happening. Whenever money was involved, she was always happy to play ignorant. Today's tailoring expenses and fabrics were paid from the family's common fund, which Ren Wanyun managed.
After the measurements were done and Limniang had left, Ren Wanyun smiled. "All the children are grown young ladies now. When our Shen family's daughters go out, we cannot let others look down on them. I've had some jewelry made for each of you, which you can wear at the Chrysanthemum Banquet." She instructed Xianglan behind her to bring out several boxes, giving one to Shen Qing and one to Shen Miao.
Shen Miao's box was quite heavy. Ren Wanyun looked at her with an unusually affectionate tone. "Second Aunt saw that you've been busy preparing for the validation at Guangwen Hall lately, so I had these made for you when I went to the jewelry shop. They're all in the best styles—I hope you like them."
On her high seat, Old Madam Shen's brows furrowed slightly, as if she wanted to open her eyes, but after a moment's hesitation, she continued pretending to sleep.
"Thank you, Second Aunt," Shen Miao said courteously. Shen Qing and Shen Yue had been able to select their own styles to be made and delivered, yet they hadn't taken her along when visiting the shops, claiming they didn't want to disturb her. Now they had presented her with a complete set as a formality, too late for any changes.
"Let's go back and take a look," Shen Yue said, pulling Chen Ruoqiu along and winking at Shen Miao. "Fifth Sister's jewelry must be the most impressive."
Shen Miao smiled faintly but said nothing.
Back at the west courtyard, Shen Miao tossed the box aside without examining it closely. Jingzhe, seeing this, asked curiously, "Isn't Miss going to open it and take a look?"
"What's there to look at? It's all the same anyway," Shen Miao replied without turning her head.
Jingzhe wanted to say something but hesitated. Every time their Miss received jewelry from the second and third branches, she would treasure it greatly. Unfortunately, even the servants could tell the jewelry was rather tacky. Shen Miao had been influenced by the second and third branches to develop flashy tastes, and she loved these rather vulgar gold and silver pieces.
After a moment, Shen Miao reached over and opened the box.
As soon as it opened, a dazzling golden light flooded out. Inside were bracelets and necklaces made of gold and silver, and even hairpins. The red gemstones set in them were large but of very poor quality.
Jingzhe couldn't help but show a flash of anger.
Shen Miao almost laughed. Before her marriage, all her jewelry had been like this. Such golden hairpins and silver necklaces wouldn't even be worn by country girls. Whenever she wore brightly colored clothes with these gleaming gold ornaments, she looked like a walking jewelry box. Next to the gentle and graceful Shen Yue and the vibrant and cheerful Shen Qing, she resembled a lowly chambermaid.
Now, seeing these items before her again, Shen Miao found them ridiculous. Jingzhe watched her mistress, surprised to find she didn't show her usual excitement. Just as she wondered about this, Shen Miao closed the box and pushed it toward Jingzhe. "Take it to a pawnshop. And buy a silver hairpin while you're there—nothing too fancy, just one with some engravings."
"Miss..." Jingzhe exclaimed in surprise. "If we pawn these and the people from the east courtyard find out, they'll surely use it against you."
Though she was glad Shen Miao finally no longer treasured these gold and silver pieces, this action seemed too bold.
"Since these ornaments can no longer be worn, what's the use of keeping them? Better to exchange them for real money, which will be more convenient for daily use," Shen Miao replied calmly. Everything should be practical—this was a principle she had learned during her time as Empress. The Shen household distributed a monthly allowance, with each young lady receiving two taels of silver per month. However, how much extra did Shen Yue and Shen Qing receive from their own families? Shen Miao didn't know, but one thing was certain: she didn't receive any such supplement.
Despite being a daughter of the General's household, she couldn't spend as freely as her two cousins. She used to think it was because Second Aunt and Third Aunt willingly supplemented their daughters' allowances, but what about now?
The family's common funds were controlled by Ren Wanyun, but Shen Gui and Shen Wan's official salaries were barely enough for their various expenses at court—where would they find extra money?
It was Shen Xin who, risking his life and sweating blood on the battlefield, received many rewards from the Emperor. And these rewards, Shen Xin had never kept for himself but had given them all to the family's common fund.
Using their family's money while treating her like this—only someone as shameless as Old Madam Shen's family could do such a thing.
She would have to find a way to separate the household.
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