With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

Shen Nannan put down her teacup and looked at him with a smile.

"Fifth Uncle, that sachet on your waist is quite unique. I wonder where you bought it?"

Shen Laowu was startled and subconsciously covered the sachet.

"This... I just bought it randomly on the street."

"Bought randomly?" Shen Nannan tilted her head.

"It doesn't look like it to me. This embroidery style... seems more like the work of the girls from Chunfeng Tower."

The elders exchanged glances, Tong's expression changed, and Shen Laowu's smile froze on his face.

Chunfeng Tower, the largest brothel in the capital.

Everyone here is a man; who doesn't know that?

Shen Laowu's face flushed red. "You, you're talking nonsense! What Chunfeng Pavilion! How could a respectable man like me go to a place like that!"

"Really?" Shen Nannan asked calmly.

"How come I heard that Fifth Uncle is very fond of Miss Ruyan from Chunfeng Pavilion? He's been giving her jewelry and fabrics, he's incredibly generous."

She paused and glanced at Madam Tong.

Tong's face turned even uglier.

She stared at the sachet, her eyes gleaming with a murderous light.

Old Shen was furious, pointing at Shen Nannan: "You, you unmarried woman, how dare you speak ill of your elders like this! Who told you that?!"

"Of course I heard it from my brother," Shen Nannan said matter-of-factly.

"My brother is a regular at Chunfeng Tower. He told me that... Shen Laowu is quite powerful there."

He silently prayed, "Brother, I'll borrow your reputation for now!"

"My brother said that Fifth Uncle spent a fortune on Miss Ruyan. He gave her 10,000 taels of silver that very day at Chunfeng Tower. My brother was in a private room upstairs at the time."

Shen Nannan sighed, "Fifth Uncle, you're really rich! My brother said you owed so much at the gambling den? Fifty thousand taels? Or eighty thousand taels?"

Shen Laowu's face turned from red to white, his forehead covered in sweat: "You...you're making false accusations! I didn't..."

"No?"

Shen Nannan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you questioning my brother? Should I ask him to talk to me?"

The elders' expressions changed; they only dared to come because they knew Shen Run had gone out.

If that troublemaker came, he'd really dare to pluck out every single hair on their beards.

Shen Nannan understood their intentions perfectly well and continued to add fuel to the fire.

"But... where did Fifth Uncle get so much money? Oh! Right! I remember, you're in charge of all the money in our Shen family ancestral hall."

She deliberately frowned. "I wonder if that silver is still there?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other elders changed.

When it comes to money, no one is confused.

"Fifth son," Old Master Shen said with a stern face.

"Where did you get the money? I know your regular monthly allowance! Misappropriating the ancestral hall's public funds! That's a crime punishable by imprisonment! How dare you!"

Sweat dripped down Shen Laowu's forehead, his lips trembled, and he wanted to deny it.

But Shen Nannan's eyes were fixed on him, as if she could see through all his secrets.

His legs went weak, and he stammered...

"I...I didn't touch the money in the ancestral hall!"

His finger trembled as he pointed at the Tong family.

"That was—that was given to me by her! It was, it was from Madam Tong…it was given to me by my second sister-in-law…"

Tong suddenly stood up, her face contorted in anger: "You're talking nonsense! When did I ever give you any money!"

"You gave it to me! You said I could use it to start a business and you'd get half the profits!"

Shen Laowu also became anxious.

"I...I gambled it away...and lost...and then you gave me another 100,000 taels..."

"You—!" Madam Tong trembled with rage.

"That's the money I told you to use for loan sharking! You've spent it all on whoring and gambling! How could you do this to me?"

"I don't!"

"You don't have one? Then what's with that sachet on your waist!"

The two of them argued back and forth, getting into a huge fight.

The elders looked at each other, wanting to offer advice but unsure where to begin.

Shen Nannan leaned back in her chair, holding a teacup, watching the play with great interest.

Shen Nian stood behind her and poked her back with her small hand again.

She turned around, and Shen Nian winked at her, her lips curving into a smile, as if to say, "Sister, you see, I was right."

Shen Nannan reached out and pinched her cheek, whispering, "I'll give you an extra chicken leg when we get back."

Shen Nian's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

The argument over there was getting more and more heated.

"Tell me! Are you keeping another woman on the side?!"

Tong pointed at Shen Laowu's nose, spitting everywhere.

"How could you do this to me?!"

Driven to desperation, Shen Laowu's face flushed red, and he blurted out...

"Why would I keep a woman? It's all for you! You were the one who said you wanted to divorce that good-for-nothing Shen Zhong! You've been lying to me all this time!"

He was stunned after saying that, as if he hadn't expected to say it.

The hall fell silent instantly.

The elders looked at each other, none of them expecting to hear such sordid things.

Looking at the Tong family, and then at Shen Laowu,

—Are these two having an affair?!

Shen Zhong also raised his head, "You...you all..." His voice was trembling.

Shen Laowu realized he had spoken out of turn, his face turned as white as paper, and he wanted to explain but didn't know what to say.

Tong panicked, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

"OK."

Shen Zhong stood up, his voice not loud, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"When...did this happen between you two?"

"Master, please let me explain..." Madam Tong reached out to pull him, but he shook her off.

"Explain what?" Shen Zhong's eyes reddened.

"Explain why you took the Shen family's money to support him? Explain why you've been sleeping with him for so many years? You're cheating on me?!"

Tong's tears fell, but Shen Zhong didn't even glance at her.

He turned around, walked up to Old Master Shen, and bowed deeply.

"Uncle, your unfilial nephew has married such a thing. From this day forward, the Tong family member is no longer a member of the Shen family!"

Tong's face was as white as paper: "You...you want to divorce me?"

Uncle Shen didn't look at her, but turned to look at Shen Nannan, his eyes red-rimmed.

"My dear, your second uncle is sorry for you, for my elder brother, and for the Shen family."

He pulled a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and handed them over with both hands:

"It's my second uncle's fault for being useless. He's been muddle-headed all these years, leaving your father to shoulder the burden alone at the border. I always knew that Tong Shi was hiding something, but I was useless and dared not interfere."

"This is what I saved up myself, not much, fifty thousand taels. I'm using it to buy provisions for my elder brother, consider it... consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Looking at Shen Zhong kneeling on the ground, Shen Nannan suddenly felt a complex mix of emotions.

This man, had been a coward for half his life.

"Second Uncle..." Her voice was a little hoarse.

"Don't say anymore." Uncle Shen waved his hand. "I'm the one who wronged your father. Take this money. If it's not enough, I'll find another way."

He stuffed the banknote into Shen Nannan's hand, stood up, and turned to look at Madam Tong.

"You can leave," he said, his voice unusually calm for a man who had just discovered he'd been cuckolded.

"I will have someone send the letter of divorce. You can't take any of the Shen family's belongings with you."

Tong slumped in the chair, her face as white as a corpse.

Shen Laowu huddled in the corner, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Old Master Shen's cane paused again, this time aimed at Fifth Brother Shen: "Fifth Brother! You—what a mess you've made!"

Shen Laowu's legs went weak, and he almost slipped off the chair.

Shen Nannan watched the farce unfold and a slight smile curved her lips.

She stood up and said with a smile:

"My dear uncles, shall we discuss the household affairs another day? The manor is a bit chaotic today, so I won't keep you for dinner."

The elders looked at each other, then slunk away.