Ling Ce then recalled a time when he and Rou Rou had talked about how the Zhu family treated their servants harshly.

Rou Rou nestled in his arms, saying that if it were her, she would never be so strict. Servants are people too, and she believed that treating them well would earn their loyalty in return.

She did the same after entering the mansion, always speaking softly to the servants. Today, according to the old maid and maid kneeling on the ground, she only spoke softly when he saw her!

The Zhu family only dealt severely with servants when they made mistakes, and only sold them off when they made serious mistakes. He used to think that was harsh, but Rou Rou always talked about selling them off, no matter how big or small the matter was!

He looked at Sang Rou, suppressed his disappointment, and asked calmly, "Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, you are no more noble than farmers, and even less so. If you can be my legal wife, why can't a farmer be Qiang'er's legal wife?"

Sang Rou's background has always been a source of pain. Her father was a carpenter who lived not far from the Ling family. Once, when she went to work at the Ling family, she met Ling Ce and clung to him tightly. However, Ling Ce's grandfather valued fame and fortune and looked down on her. Under the pretext of repaying a debt of gratitude, he arranged for Ling Ce to marry a girl from one of the Zhu families.

He forcefully took her place as the legal wife, forcing her and her son to live in seclusion outside the home.

But, "My lord, you and I are truly in love. How can that peasant girl compare?"

Ling Ce said "Oh," and continued, "So you mean that as long as Qiang'er truly loves you, he can marry you as his legal wife?"

"What are you saying, sir? How could Qiang'er truly love a peasant girl?" She had finally become an official's wife, and her son had been recognized as a member of the Ling family and entered the family genealogy. How could she marry a lowly village girl!

That's ridiculous.

He's a joke!

The woman he insisted on marrying, disregarding worldly customs, social status, and etiquette, turned out to be a lowly peasant who was unworthy of being her son's principal wife.

Rou Rou clearly said that social status was just a worldly limitation and that it was unfair to her. It was not her fault that she was born into a humble family. She was more pitiful than the Zhu family and begged him to have more pity for her. He did indeed do so. But now she looks down on other women's social status!

Ling Ce then looked at his second son, "And you?"

He needs to know what his son thinks, whether it's the same as his or the same as his mother's.

Ling Qiang secretly glanced at his father, seeing that his expression was calm and unreadable. He then quietly looked at his mother, who was frantically gesturing to him. He immediately spoke up firmly, "Father, I am the young master of the Ling family. I will be taking over the Ling family in the future, so naturally I cannot bring shame to the Ling family."

"Marriage will elevate the Ling family to a higher level, Father. Rest assured, I will never truly love a lowly, humble woman."

My mother always said that good days must be created by ourselves and held onto firmly.

Their father is their greatest support; as long as they hold onto their father, they can live a life of luxury.

Ling Ce closed his eyes.

The Zhu family, whom he looked down upon the most, were actually people like him who did not reject him because of the Ling family's social status.

His son, Ling Ran, whom he criticized and beat, was truly like him, disregarding money and worldly etiquette, and willing to abandon the family business to leave the Ling family.

It was all wrong. Everything was wrong.

Shui Qing watched as Sang Rou rushed over, crying and complaining, and then saw the servants kneeling on the ground in a flurry. She couldn't see Ling Ce's expression and didn't know what was going on over there.

Aunt Li, Aunt Zhang, and their group began to feel uneasy. Would the governor be so easily swayed by one side of the truth?

"Oh no, should we go and explain? We can't let Linghou's mother frame us!" Zhang Xiaogou shouted.

Wang Guifen sighed, "It's no use. She's the governor's wife. If he believes her, what's the point of you explaining?"