Granny Qi immediately stepped forward and, before Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao could react, slapped Shi Lingqiao several times.

She used all her strength, and after she finished hitting, Shi Lingqiao's face was red and swollen.

Shi Lingqiao covered her face in disbelief; this old hag had actually ordered her servants to slap her.

Yesterday's show of force wasn't enough; today they've gone even further—it's simply outrageous.

She collapsed into Huo Jiwen's arms, looking at him with tearful and aggrieved eyes, saying, "Awen, your mother doesn't accept me at all. Please let me go. I don't want to drag you down anymore."

Huo Jiwen hugged her tenderly, then looked at his mother with a face full of anger, "Mother, Lingqiao is already my wife, can you please stop treating her like this?"

"Besides, it was my choice to marry her. If you're unhappy, take it out on me. Why make things difficult for a weak woman like her?"

Qingyou sneered, "A weak woman like me wouldn't ride a horse alone to the outskirts of the city."

"If a weak woman were kissed and hugged in public by a bandit leader, she would have hanged herself long ago. How dare she marry into the Duke's mansion? Doesn't she have a rather thick skin?"

Little White Flower has a very strong mental fortitude.

And did the innocent girl think that by using tricks to make the char siu bao feel sorry for her, she could protect her?

Qingyou is not like the original owner, because Shi Lingqiao entered the family as a daughter-in-law. Although she didn't like or was dissatisfied with her, she didn't really do anything to Xiaobaihua.

When Shi Lingqiao married into the Duke's mansion, the original owner of the body didn't give her a very warm welcome, but she still treated the Crown Princess the same way in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities.

When there were banquets or social gatherings outside, the original owner would also take Shi Ling along.

She was not like a real wicked mother-in-law who tormented Shi Lingqiao. She would only occasionally call her over to serve her meals when she was in a bad mood, and her words were not so kind.

In ancient times, it was very normal for a mother-in-law to have her daughter-in-law serve her meals. Many old ladies and wives in large families in the capital would require their daughters-in-law to pay their respects and serve them meals every day.

Out of consideration for her son, the original owner of this body only allowed Shi Lingqiao to come over a few times a month.

When going out to meet people, he would never show Shi Lingqiao a bad attitude in public.

Some people felt that Shi Lingqiao's lowly status made her unworthy of Huo Jiwen. Even if the original owner agreed in his heart, he would not show it on his face. Instead, he was very protective of this daughter-in-law to outsiders.

Despite all that she had done, Shi Lingqiao was still dissatisfied, feeling that the original owner of the body was a wicked mother-in-law who had given her a cold shoulder after the marriage and had even held onto the power of managing the household, refusing to give it to her daughter-in-law.

Her husband is the heir apparent, and this Duke's mansion will belong to him in the future. Why should this wicked mother-in-law be in charge of managing the household?

Therefore, she framed the original owner in various ways in the Duke's mansion, deliberately ruined the original owner's reputation, and whispered in Huo Jiwen's ear to sow discord.

When the original owner fell ill, Huo Jiawen coaxed her into temporarily handing over some of the housekeeping duties to Shi Lingqiao.

Qingyou sensed from her memories that the original owner's illnesses were not so simple. Each time, she would be so weak that she would be bedridden for a period of time, and then Shi Lingqiao would take away part of her housekeeping authority.

After the emperor died and the fourth prince ascended the throne, the original owner of the body recovered immediately. Then, she "framed" Shi Lingqiao again. Once her reputation was completely ruined, she truly fell seriously ill and was sent to the manor to recuperate.

Qingyou didn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on here.

The little white flower complained so much to the original owner, feeling that she had suffered so much injustice, ruined her mother-in-law's reputation, and used her mother-in-law to gain a foothold in the upper-class social circles of the capital. In Qingyou's view, the main reason was still to maintain the power of managing the Duke's mansion.

Since Shi Lingqiao always believed that the original owner of this body was an evil mother-in-law, then she would let the other party experience what a real evil mother-in-law is like.

Shi Lingqiao was furious that her wicked mother-in-law had brought up that old incident again.

But she knew she was at a disadvantage; whether the other party was a princess or a mother-in-law, she was not someone she could directly confront.

"Awen, take me home." She then cried uncontrollably in Huo Jiwen's arms, as if she had suffered a great humiliation and looked like she might faint at any moment.

She knew that only Huo Jiwen could help her now. She didn't want to beg her wicked mother-in-law, and seeing her mean and ugly face, it would be useless to beg her.

Huo Jiwen was heartbroken and frowned at Qingyou, saying, "Mother, can you be reasonable? She's already your daughter-in-law. If you force her away today, what will people outside say about you?"

Qingyou scoffed, "What do you mean I forced her away? Didn't she ask you to take her back herself?"

"What can outsiders say about me? Of course they'll only say I did a good job."

“What kind of daughter-in-law would question and talk back to her mother-in-law as soon as she enters the family? Especially since she’s not even my acknowledged daughter-in-law.”

"Given her status as a young lady of the Shi family, she should be even less likely to act presumptuously in front of me."

“We are not some small, insignificant family like the Shi family, who don’t know any rules or etiquette.”

"What's wrong with me having Granny Qi teach her manners?"

She looked at the two of them and said, "Since Miss Shi wants to go back so much, why force her? Anyone who doesn't know better would think you're a robber, forcing a woman like this."

Huo Jiwen: "..." He had never realized that his mother was so eloquent, and her words were incredibly sharp and extremely unpleasant.

"Mother!" He suddenly didn't know how to respond. (www.cascoo.net)

Qingyou said to Granny Qi, "Since Miss Shi wants to return to the Shi family, you should instruct the steward to prepare a sedan chair, a large sedan chair carried by eight men, to send her back."

"It just so happens that they haven't consummated their marriage yet. They can go back the way they came yesterday, so it can be considered a perfect ending."

Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao were so angry upon hearing this that they felt like vomiting blood. Shi Lingqiao felt utterly humiliated by her wicked mother-in-law.

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