Chapter 322 What will Prince An think?

Yang was only halfway through her sentence when Zhu Weiyu looked at her questioningly. Yang quickly waved her hand, indicating that she didn't want to continue. Seeing this, Zhu Weiyu didn't press the matter further.

“I originally thought that you and Ding Shaojie had already consummated your marriage. Ding Shaojie was dismissed from his post and would definitely have to return to his ancestral home. I heard that the Ding family is also a prominent clan. If you leave the capital with him, it can be considered as escaping this hellhole,” Madam Yang said, holding Zhu Weiyu’s hand.

Zhu Weiyu smiled bitterly, "He thought the whole thing was a trap, even my meeting with him at the temple was the same."

"This... didn't you explain it clearly to him?" Madam Yang asked.

Zhu Weiyu shook her head. "How could I have had a chance? That day... after my father barged into the room that day, I didn't have a chance to speak to him. I wanted to explain things to him today, but he clearly hates me, so... I didn't say anything."

"How can you be so stubborn at a time like this?" Madam Yang said, somewhat exasperated.

Zhu Weiyu smiled bitterly, "Mother, he's already in this situation. What good would it do for me to explain to him? I can't deny that he got to where he is today because of me. Based on that alone, I can't leave with him."

“But if you don’t leave, your father will find you another family.” Madam Yang said anxiously, “Last time he betrothed you to a royal merchant as his second wife, but now you… have lost your chastity, and he doesn’t know what kind of family he will find for you.”

Zhu Weiyu sneered, "Mother, do you think I can still escape now? I should have died back in the temple."

Zhu Weiyu's tears flowed again. Ding Shaojie misunderstood that she had been lying to him from the beginning, but she had genuinely intended to commit suicide. It was only after seeing Ding Shaojie that she changed her mind.

Although Ding Shaojie was nearly 40, he was tall and handsome, a world apart from the fifty-something-year-old man that Marquis Qiyang had chosen for her. Upon discovering that Ding Shaojie was attracted to her beauty, she decided to follow him, even if it meant living under an assumed name as his mistress.

Later, when Ding Shaojie learned of her identity and wanted to sever their relationship, she took a bold step and seduced him into bed. Afterwards, Ding Shaojie became increasingly fond of her, and she even considered replacing his wife and becoming his legal wife.

However, she never expected that her biological father would ruin everything as the plan was progressing step by step.

"He's blocked all my paths, what else do I have to worry about?" Zhu Weiyu said with a mocking smile and a leisurely look in her eyes.

Seeing her like this, Madam Yang became even more worried. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing. There was nothing she could do to help; anything she said would be useless.

Meanwhile, Marquis Qiyang was also in a bad mood. After Ding Shaojie left, he paced anxiously back and forth in his room, unsure of what to do. The person he had finally managed to get in touch with told him not to contact him unless it was a matter of life or death, otherwise it would attract attention.

However, Ding Shaojie was clearly prepared to fight to the death. If he didn't go to find that person and actually went to meet the emperor, then the title of Marquis of Qiyang might really be lost. But if he went to find that person and was discovered, his fate wouldn't be good either.

At this moment, Marquis Qiyang realized that he might have made a mistake again.

The Qiyang Marquis's mansion had already completely fallen into ruin by his father's generation. When his father died, the Qiyang Marquis's mansion was just an empty shell, and it was also heavily in debt.

After inheriting the title of Marquis of Qiyang, he sold everything he could, but still couldn't cover the financial losses. He clearly remembered the desolation he felt looking at the empty mansion that day. It was at that moment that he made up his mind to revitalize the Marquis of Qiyang's mansion.

But he had neither money nor connections, and his grandfather and father had long since squandered the Qiyang Marquis's network of relationships, making revitalization an impossible task. Over the years, he had shamelessly schemed and maneuvered, but to no avail. Therefore, upon learning that the head of the imperial merchant Yan family was about to take a second wife, he sidled up to them.

Considering Wei Yu's beauty and the fact that the Marquis of Qiyang's title was still intact, the Yan family agreed to give him 50,000 taels of silver and 100 acres of fertile land. At that moment, he was so happy that he almost wanted to kowtow to the head of the Yan family. With this silver and land, he would have the leverage to pull strings.

But he never expected that the unfilial daughter would run away. He searched for her for months but couldn't find her, and the marriage with the Yan family naturally fell through.

Just as he was furiously about to kill Yang to vent his hatred, someone he had tried so hard to get close to, but could never manage, sent someone to find him. This person told him that the wicked daughter was having an affair with Ding Shaojie and gave him a task. Of course, they also made him promises.

So he went to catch Ding Shaojie in the act of adultery and coerced him into writing a memorial. He thought it wouldn't be difficult; as long as Ding Shaojie wanted to keep his official position and avoid imprisonment, he would have to do as he was told. Besides, the content of the memorial wasn't a big deal. It was just about a noblewoman from outside the capital who admired Prince Rui. There were plenty of women in the capital who admired Prince Rui.

But he never expected that the Emperor would have Ding Shaojie dragged out of court, and then Ding Shaojie would be dismissed from his post. At that moment, he realized that things might not be as simple as he had imagined. However, as long as Ding Shaojie kept quiet, no one would know that the memorial was related to him. And since he had leverage over Ding Shaojie, he shouldn't expose him.

But things always seem to take a turn for the worse. Ding Shaojie wasn't going to swallow his anger; he was ready to fight to the death. If Ding Shaojie really got to meet the emperor, everything would be over.

"I've been set up!"

"I've been set up!"

........

Marquis Qiyang paced back and forth, talking incessantly.

He thought to himself, "Those who wanted to climb up to him tried every means but failed, so why did they suddenly come looking for him? It turns out they're using him as a scapegoat!" Although he still couldn't figure out what role this memorial had played, he knew that if he made one wrong step, the Qiyang Marquis's mansion would be doomed.

...

Chu State Duke's Mansion

"Ding Shaojie went to the Marquis of Qiyang's residence and stayed there for a little over a quarter of an hour."

After listening to the steward's report, Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Have someone continue to keep an eye on the Ding family."

"yes."

The housekeeper acknowledged and left. Jiang Yu leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. After a while, she picked up a pen to write a letter. But as soon as the pen touched the paper, she stopped.

She couldn't handle the matters of the Marquis of Qiyang's residence alone, so she wanted to inform Prince Rui. Prince Rui would likely inform Prince An and let him handle it. Previously, she had communicated directly with Prince An on some matters; now that Prince Rui was involved, what would Prince An think?

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