As soon as Yuan Zhao said this, the surrounding discussions grew even louder.

If anyone had previously thought there might be some misunderstanding, no one believed Zhou's father now. After all, if he had truly been tricked, he should have killed the woman on the spot.

However, instead of beating the person to death, Zhou's father even made her his concubine, which shows that Zhou's father had planned this all along.

The people on the sidelines were discussing among themselves:

"I heard that his mistress gave birth to a son for Young Master Zhou."

"Yes, that's the little prodigy. I heard he could recite the Three Character Classic when he was only two years old."

"Tell me, if this concubine bears any more children for the Marquis in the future, how should they be addressed? Should they be called brothers or uncle and nephew?"

"..."

The murmurs of discussion were deafening. Zhou's father turned pale, and Zhou Shiyuan and Zhou Yujie were equally shaken.

Zhou Shiyuan, in particular, stared at Yuan Zhao in shock. For the first time, he was afraid of Yuan Zhao, not because of anything else, but because of the other party's scheme.

At the time, he was still wondering why Yuan Zhao kept Bai Mianmian, and he really thought that she was soft-hearted and couldn't bear to see killing.

But I never expected to be waiting here.

She had planned this all along. Whether it was keeping her mother with her or having her father elevate Bai Mianmian to the status of a concubine, it was all done with her own intentions.

It's laughable that none of them saw through her, and they were all led by the nose.

The news quickly reached the ears of Old Madam Zhou in the inner quarters. Old Madam Zhou's expression changed, and after a long pause, she finally spoke:

"What a brilliant move! I never even thought of it."

A look of confusion flashed across Madam Zhou's face; she couldn't understand why Yuan Zhao had changed so much.

How can a person go from being a docile little lamb to such a scheming person? What went wrong in the process?

Outside the Marquis's residence, Yuan Zhao and the others discussed for a while before turning to look at the clan elders:

"Should I send people to invite each of you ladies to come and testify to my innocence?"

"...No need!"

The elders' faces were extremely grim; they had never imagined that such sordid things could happen.

They had only heard the rumors and didn't know anything about Zhou's father, Zhou Shiyuan, and Bai Mianmian's affairs, which resulted in such a big joke.

With the father taking away his son's wife, they could imagine that no one would dare to marry into the Zhou family again.

Thinking of this, they glared at the Zhou father and son and said:

"You and your son have done such disgusting things; it's an insult to civilization."

After exchanging glances, the group made a decision:

“We have decided to expel your branch from the family. From now on, your lineage is no longer a member of the Zhou clan.”

Upon hearing this, the Zhou father and son's expressions changed drastically.

Being expelled from one's family in this era is a very serious matter. Putting aside everything else, if they are expelled, Zhou Shiyuan and Zhou Yujie can forget about ever participating in the imperial examinations again.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shiyuan quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Elders, please think it over carefully. There is indeed a reason for this. Father was also framed."

He was interrupted by Yuan Zhao before he could finish speaking:

"What? Is my husband going to pin this on me again?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiyuan gave Yuan Zhao a deep look. He no longer dared to implicate Yuan Zhao; he might get caught up in the mess again if he wasn't careful.

His mind raced, and he had only one thought in mind: he absolutely could not be expelled from the clan.

Thinking of this, a thought flashed through his mind, and without hesitation, he said:

"Actually, this was done by my mother!"