By evening, the Shen family's main hall was buzzing with excitement. This was the very first time all four sons-in-law were dining together, and with every servant summoned as well, the courtyard outside split into two camps: one for the maids, one for the men. Luckily, the Shen estate was spacious enough that, even with the crowd, it never felt cramped.
Right now, four drop-dead gorgeous husbands sat at the dining table, making the maids outside practically drool. Sure, everyone knew these were the young miss’s official spouses, but come on—what girl wouldn’t get heart-eyes over men this stunning?
"Look at the second husband—he’s even more beautiful than Lady Jinzhi from Spring Full Pavilion!" one of the male servants whispered.
"Shh, keep it down! The second husband knows poisons—he could kill you with a glance," warned servant B. But even as he said that, he couldn’t help drooling at Lucian’s devilish looks. Seriously, compared to Lady Jinzhi, even her toes couldn’t compete with his!
"The young miss is here!" Little Mei’s shrill voice cut off all the gossip at once.
"Miss Ivy, you’ve arrived." Steward Liu quickly bowed with a kindly smile as she entered the hall.
"No need to be so formal, Steward Liu!" Ivy, sporting her signature over-the-top makeup, rushed to help him up. According to what she knew, Steward Liu was the only one in the household who truly cared for this so-called 'foolish' miss.
"Please, Miss," Steward Liu replied with a gentle smile.
"Steward Liu, come eat with us!" Ivy declared, trying to drag him over to the table.
"Miss Ivy, absolutely not! I’m just a servant—I couldn’t possibly dine with my mistress," Steward Liu protested, sticking to proper rules.
"Oh, what do you mean 'servant'? In my eyes, you're my dearest grandpa!" Ivy insisted, not giving Steward Liu a chance to refuse as she pulled him into a seat.
"Miss Ivy, I know you treat me well, but rules are rules—servants and masters must stay apart." With that, he tried to kneel, but Ivy quickly stopped him. Unable to force the issue, she let him go, but the scene moved Steward Liu to tears.
"Did you call us here just to put on a show of family affection? Or maybe to show off how nice you are to the servants?" Lucian Vane shot her a sarcastic look.
Ivy wasn’t angry at his words. She just smiled slightly and looked at her four husbands. Adrian Night didn’t even glance at her; Lucian Vane shot her a hostile sideways look; Caleb Miles was glued to his account book, abacus clicking away; only Liam Willow gazed at her with a gentle smile.
Taking a deep breath to hold back her irritation, Ivy shifted her gaze to the feast before them. Holy moly, this was basically a full imperial banquet! After marveling for a few seconds, she smiled at her husbands. "Don’t be shy—dig in!" she said, grabbing her chopsticks and eating first.
With a loud scrape, Adrian Night’s chair slid back. He stood up coldly and headed for the door.
"Stop right there!" Ivy suddenly shouted, startling even Caleb Miles, who paused mid-abacus.
Ivy slammed her chopsticks down and yelled at Adrian Night, "I called you all here because I have something to say. I wanted you to eat first, but clearly you can’t wait. Fine, let’s move things up. Here, these are for you four." With that, she had Lana hand out the envelopes.
"What’s this?" Liam Willow asked, puzzled as he looked at the envelope.
At that, Ivy curled her lips in a cold smile and loudly announced, "Divorce letters!"