Article 578 Family Protection

"Do we need to spell out how Miss Situ became the third-ranked scholar?"

Miss Li spoke in a low, mocking voice, while the surrounding ladies from prominent families all looked at her with disdain.

Situ Man looked bewildered: "Miss Li, I really don't understand what you're saying..."

"The He family and Lord Cheng were already discussing a marriage, but your Situ family suddenly got involved. It was supposed to be Second Miss He marrying Lord Cheng, but you got a great bargain." Miss Li said coldly, "You and Lord Cheng must have had an affair before the wedding. Otherwise, why would Lord Cheng abandon the He family and marry your Situ family? He's really scheming..."

Before Situ Man could say anything, a figure suddenly jumped up from behind him.

"You shameless little wench, saying such things in broad daylight!"

Grandma Cheng rushed over and shielded Situ Man behind her.

The reading pavilion opened today and was crowded with people. She came specially to help. As an old country woman, she didn't know how to do much else, so she just helped to make tea and clean up. She was just sweeping up fallen leaves outside when she heard these nasty words.

These young women are shamelessly trying to smear the Cheng family on their own turf.

"Judging by your attire, you're all still unmarried, aren't you? Acting like proper young ladies, yet spouting such shameless things. What do you mean by 'having a beginning and an end'? Tell me, what does 'having a beginning and an end' mean between a man and a woman? Are you hiding under their bed every day? Come on, tell me what you heard, how are you so sure they slept together..."

Grandma Cheng grabbed Miss Li's wrist and pulled her out of the crowd.

Miss Li was no match for the old rural lady. She staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Her maidservant rushed forward and angrily said, "You old woman, let go of our young lady right now! Do you know who our young lady is?"

"I'll go out and yell around, and then they'll know who you are!" Old Madam Cheng gritted her teeth. "It'd be best if all the scholars out there knew what dirty talk you, an unmarried little girl, say all day long. And let your parents know what kind of creature you've given birth to!"

Ms. Li was so upset about being arrested that she almost cried.

She only said "it has a beginning and an end," and this old lady interpreted so much information from it. If this gets out, how will she ever get married?

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on here?" Sister-in-law Cheng, who had come over to help out, saw the scene and quickly tried to mediate. "It's the first day of business today, let's sit down and talk about it. Why did it turn into this?"

Grandma Cheng turned her head and glared at her eldest daughter-in-law: "This little wench said that Zhao'er and Xiaoman were already involved before their marriage."

"What?!" Sister-in-law Cheng immediately exploded. "You look so respectable and glamorous, how can you speak so rudely? What did my Zhao'er do to you? Since you can't speak properly, let me teach you a lesson on behalf of your mother!"

After arriving in the capital, Sister-in-law Cheng kept a low profile when she went out, afraid of causing trouble. But now that the old lady had taken action, she was Zhao'er's biological mother, so how could she just stand by and watch?

So she rolled up her sleeves, raised her hand, and slapped him twice across the face.

Even in their village, if a man and woman had an affair before marriage, they would be gossiped about behind their backs, let alone in the capital.

Their Zhao'er is destined to be a high-ranking official; his reputation cannot be tarnished.

Sister-in-law Cheng wanted to make another move, but Situ Man stopped her.

She never expected that her husband's grandmother and mother would be so fierce, not only scolding Miss Li but also slapping her twice.

The other young ladies from prominent families in the room were all terrified. They dared not step forward to mediate the fight, nor did they dare to utter a sound, for fear that they would be the next targets.

Although their family background far surpasses that of the Cheng family, if this matter really blows up, they will only lose face and be married off to any random man chosen by their family to a distant place...

"Mother, stop hitting her." Situ Man grabbed Sister-in-law Cheng's arm and said in a low voice, "Miss Li's father is a fourth-rank official in the court. Let's not make things difficult for my husband."

Sister-in-law Cheng felt a chill run down her spine. Good heavens, she actually beat up the daughter of a fourth-rank official?

Before taking action, Old Madam Cheng had already thought it through. These ladies from prestigious families valued their reputation the most, and dealing with people who cared about their image was the easiest thing to do.

The old woman said coldly, "Miss Li, is it? Apologize to my granddaughter-in-law now, and this matter will be over. As long as you don't say anything, our Cheng family will not tell anyone that Miss Li likes to talk dirty. You can still marry a good husband in the future."

Miss Li's tears flowed freely.

This means that if she doesn't apologize, what happened in the side room today will be exaggerated and spread around by this vulgar old woman.

She was the one who got scolded and slapped twice, yet she was still expected to bow her head and apologize.

She looked in the direction of Miss He Er.

Miss He hid behind the maid, clearly not wanting to get involved in this mess.

Miss Li could only stand up with a wronged expression and curtsy to Situ Man: "Third Miss Situ, I was impolite today. Please forgive my rudeness and don't hold it against me."

Grandma Cheng waved her hand: "Our Xiaoman is magnanimous and will naturally not hold it against you. Goodbye, everyone. We won't see you off."

The ladies in the side rooms left quickly.

Fortunately, this was the entrance to the women's library, a semi-open foyer with huge bookshelves blocking the view, so outsiders didn't know what had happened; otherwise, they would have been utterly humiliated.

Once outside, Miss He said, "Everyone must keep quiet about what happened today. Do not tell anyone, not even your mother and sisters."

If this gets back to her stepmother's ears, she'll think she still has feelings for Cheng Zhao and definitely won't give her a good look.

The other young ladies were also encountering this kind of thing for the first time. Getting entangled with a country woman was really shameful and disgraceful, so naturally they wouldn't tell anyone.

A group of young ladies hurriedly left the reading room.

Sister-in-law Cheng was somewhat uneasy: "Won't Miss Li go back and complain, and have the Li family come to retaliate?"

A while ago, my second sister-in-law offended the Ye family, and the matter between them caused quite a stir. She doesn't want to go against the Li family; the thought of it is terrifying.

Grandma Cheng picked up the rag and continued wiping the cabinet: "If she had any shame, she wouldn't have spread this around. If the Li family really dares to come knocking on our door, this old woman will take a rope and go to their doorstep to give them a good talking about what happened today. Anyway, I'm a country bumpkin, I don't care about saving face..."

Sister-in-law Cheng: "..."

Mother is truly brilliant!

Situ Man: "..."

She could never have come up with her grandmother's trick, no matter how hard she tried.

She sincerely said, "Thank you, Grandma and Mother, for standing up for me."

Sister-in-law Cheng didn't miss any opportunity to educate her daughter-in-law, saying, "Knowing we're good to you, then be good to Zhao'er and share some of the miscellaneous chores with her..."

“I was just about to take over my husband’s account books,” Situ Man said slowly. “If only you could do the accounting and write, it would be better to have you manage my husband’s accounts.”

She used to think that she could appease her mother-in-law with small favors, but now that her mother-in-law is defending her, she still wants her to do something worthwhile.