“Grandmother, every month on the night of the full moon, the young master is supposed to stay in my room. This is the treatment and face of the principal wife of the Duke’s mansion. But last night, I waited all night and the young master did not come.”

"Granddaughter thought the young master was busy with official business, so she didn't make a fuss. This morning, she even eagerly cooked bird's nest porridge and sent it over. She never expected to see the young master get up from that lowly concubine's bed. Grandmother, now the whole Duke's mansion is abuzz with gossip..."

"Grandmother, I've suffered so much. I've lost all face in the Duke's mansion. I'm the legal wife, and the young master... how could he treat me like this..."

"I really don't know how to live anymore, I really don't want to live anymore..."

Inside the magnificent house, Pei Jing lay on Old Madam Pei's lap like a child, weeping bitterly. She cried so hard that her voice was hoarse and her heart was breaking.

Jiang Shuwan had never seen Pei Jing cry so miserably in both her past and present lives.

Of course, according to the timeline, Pei Jing must have cried like this in his previous life as well, after all, his wife was so happy that she ate two extra bowls of rice.

But she wasn't there at the time.

I heard that the experience is completely different from watching it live.

Seeing it with her own eyes now, she realized how truly miserable Pei Jing's crying was.

To be honest, Pei Jing brought this upon himself.

Back then, when Pei Jing married the young master of the Liu family, Old Madam Pei opposed it. However, in order to marry into the family, Pei Jing conspired with her mother, Madam Wen, to secretly arrange the marriage with the Liu family without Old Madam Pei's knowledge.

Madam Pei was furious at Pei Jing for making such a unilateral decision, but the marriage was already set in stone, and Madam Pei's objections were futile. She could only try to arrange the marriage so that Pei Jing could marry into the family.

Like the Marquis's family, the Liu family was one of the families that followed the first Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty in raising an army. In terms of merit in supporting the emperor, the Liu family was even more outstanding than the Marquis's family.

However, by the second generation, the Liu family was no longer as powerful. The second-generation Duke who inherited the title held only a nominal position, unlike the old Marquis in their family, who was a favorite of the Emperor, commanding the Imperial Guard and protecting the Emperor's safety.

The family has fallen on hard times and is not what it used to be. Logically, the family members should rise up even more and reclaim their former glory.

However, his family was still immersed in the memories of their past arrogance and domineering attitude, and they did not wake up. They acted arrogantly and thought that everyone else was inferior to them.

Even when she married Pei Jing, she maintained an arrogant demeanor.

This was clearly not a good marriage, but Pei Jing and Madam Wen were blinded by greed, thinking that the Duke's mansion was something special and that it was a prestigious place. They shamelessly agreed to the marriage, and because of Madam Wen's status as a royal merchant, they were looked down upon by the Duke's mansion.

After all, she was her own granddaughter, and she had raised her in her childhood. Old Madam Pei couldn't bear to see Pei Jing humiliated, so in addition to managing the household affairs, she also selected many fine things from her private treasury to give to Pei Jing as a dowry.

After Pei Jingfeng's grand wedding, a rift still developed between the grandmother and grandson.

Jiang Shuwan had been married into the Marquis's mansion for more than half a year. Pei Jing had returned to her parents' home many times, but she had never seen Pei Jing and Old Madam Pei so close before. Although she was hugging Old Madam Pei and crying, it was true that the grandmother and grandson had not been so close for a long time.

Madam Pei was both angry and heartbroken about this.

"Look at you! I told you to find another marriage back then, but you wouldn't listen. Of all the people you could choose, you had to fall for that young master!"

"Now you know how powerful that is!"

Madam Pei was furious but also heartbroken; she knew Pei Jing's temperament all too well.

Pei Jing was proud and concerned about his reputation. He was afraid that others would notice and that he would lose face if he was wronged, so he would always endure it until he returned to Wen's room and then let it out.

Especially in front of her, he would pretend to be incredibly happy.

She didn't expose them, always thinking that their Marquis's Mansion was favored by the Emperor, and even if the Duke's Mansion went too far, it would still have its limits.

Unexpectedly, the other party even broke the tradition of celebrating the full moon.

They completely disregarded the Marquis's mansion.

"Good child, don't be afraid, Grandma will definitely get justice for you!"

When Jiang Shuwan came in, she saw Old Madam Pei, her hair standing on end in a rage, getting up from her pearwood round-backed chair, seemingly heading to settle scores with the Duke's mansion.

"Grandma, you absolutely mustn't!"

Seeing that Madam Pei was blinded by anger, Chang Mama quickly pressed the old lady back down.

“Grandma, on the fifteenth of each lunar month, the husband must rest at the residence of the principal wife. This is a rule that only exists in the palace. It is an honor that only the Empress has. Even His Majesty must abide by it.”

"The Duke's mansion is not the palace. They just learned the palace's ways and wanted others to think that their family was well-mannered, respected the main wife, and gave her face. But in the end, it is not the palace. Even if the young master does not go to the eldest young lady's room, he is not at fault."

"Moreover, as Miss just said, when she questioned Young Master, he said he was too tired during the day and that his concubine's courtyard was nearby, so he rested there. Miss is still insistent on it, but if you use that to question him, I'm afraid you'll end up looking bad on both sides."

"What do you mean by that, Madam Chang? Does she think the reputation of the Marquis's mansion is more important than my happiness?!"

Pei Jing was furious. She reached out to slap Chang Mama, but then remembered that Chang Mama's status was not something she could easily mess with. Instead, she turned her arm around and hugged Old Madam Pei, crying instead.

"Waaaaah, Grandmother, please help me! Madam is confined to the manor and can't leave. No one can help me except you."

"My granddaughter is a daughter of the Marquis's family. If she loses face, the Marquis's family will also lose face!"

"Moreover, I've inquired and found out that it wasn't because the young master was tired that he rested at that slut's place. It was that slut who seduced him. The young master was clearly going to come to my courtyard last night, but that slut tricked him into going there instead. She was deliberately going against me and trying to embarrass me."

Pei Jing's eyes reddened with anger, and she was heartbroken. Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. Her tearful accusations reignited the reason that had been calmed down in Old Madam Pei.

"Outrageous! She's just a concubine, yet she's so arrogant!"

"Nonsense, how can you blame the mistress for a man going to her house?"

In a small room next to Fushou Hall, Jiang Shuwan was engrossed in watching something when she suddenly heard a familiar voice. Startled, she turned around and found Jiang Yao standing beside her.

"Second Miss, when did you arrive?" Qingxing was also startled. How could the Second Miss walk so silently, appearing and disappearing like a ghost?

"I just arrived. Why can't I come even though the Hou and Bo families are legitimate relatives?" Jiang Yao said, glancing at Jiang Shuwan.

“I know you’ve married into the Marquis’s family and that’s no small matter, but Pei Jing is still my sister.”

"..."

Thank you, no one is going to steal Pei Jing from you.