"No! You're not allowed to say it! You can't say it! Ye Caiping, you bitch—ah!!"

Li Jiaojiao screamed, and before she could finish speaking, a nanny suddenly rushed out from the crowd and slapped Li Jiaojiao hard across the face.

The person who came was none other than Granny Feng.

"Who...who are you? How dare you hit me!" Li Jiaojiao covered her face and stared at the old woman.

"Ha! The last time someone asked me that was your grandmother!" Granny Feng sneered. "According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, insulting a seventh-rank lady is punishable by thirty slaps!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Li Jiaojiao with his left hand and started slapping her with his right: "Slap slap slap—"

"Ahhh—"

Li Jiaojiao screamed wildly as she was slapped, but she couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried.

The guests all gasped and took a step back.

"Jiaojiao—" The Duchess was heartbroken, and Madam Qiao went to pull her away:

“Mother! This is a servant of the Shen family! She was acting on behalf of her master, and she said she was beating him according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty! She did not overstep her bounds!”

The Duchess swayed, her expression changed drastically, and she looked at Shen Zhiyan.

Shen Zhiyan stood there coldly, watching Li Jiaojiao being beaten without any expression.

She was furious, but dared not utter a sound.

Li Jiaojiao was thrown to the ground with her mouth full of blood after being hit thirty times.

"Ugh..." Li Jiaojiao fell to the ground, feeling dizzy and seeing stars.

My entire face was numb, and I felt like my mouth was gone. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even speak.

Ye Caiping curled her lips in a mocking smile as she looked at the Duchess: "Li Jiaojiao was originally a maid in your household, and was later taken in as an adopted daughter by you, Madam, right?"

"But does Madam know about her past?"

The Duchess stared at Ye Caiping with a gloomy face: "..."

“Let me tell you the whole story, Madam. Li Jiaojiao and I are from the same village, separated only by a river. Li Jiaojiao’s original surname was Sun. Later, her mother remarried, and her stepfather was named Li Zhiyuan, who was a scholar.”

"This year, Li Jiaojiao somehow obtained the exam questions for both the provincial and prefectural examinations and cheated with her brother Li Ziming. Through cheating, Li Ziming achieved the top score in the provincial examination. Having tasted success, the Li siblings tried again and cheated once more in the prefectural examination."

"Unfortunately, the provincial examination was exposed. This matter caused a great uproar in Nanzhou. Later, Li Ziming was sentenced to three years in prison, while Li Jiaojiao was sentenced to one month."

"After being released from prison, Li Jiaojiao disappeared without a trace. I hadn't paid any attention to her since, but unexpectedly, I ran into her in the capital! And she had even transformed into the third young lady of the Duke's mansion."

"Hehe," Ye Caiping looked at Li Jiaojiao on the ground and praised, "Truly a master of cheating on the imperial examinations! She even became the daughter of the Duke's mansion. How capable!"

After Ye Caiping finished speaking, the entire plum garden nearly erupted in chaos:

"My God, she's been to jail! And she was involved in a scientific exam cheating scandal?"

"He looks so handsome, yet he did such a dirty thing! The old saying 'You can know a person's face but not their heart' is really true."

"mean!"

"Shameless!"

"This despicable and shameless person actually became the third young lady of the Duke's mansion! Tsk tsk... Speaking of the Duke's mansion... well, tsk tsk, they seem quite well-matched."

Everyone in the Duke of Pingguo's mansion turned pale and then red, especially after hearing those last few lines...

When Li Jiaojiao heard her secrets being exposed, her vision blurred and she almost fainted.

People around her pointed and whispered, each word as sharp as a knife, stabbing her all over.

It's all over! Her life is ruined!

Why......

Why treat her like this?

She just wanted a good life, what's wrong with that?

She's had a miserable life from childhood to adulthood, and she only has a few good days. Why shatter her dreams?

Why can't we just let her go?

No, no, no...

Li Jiaojiao lay on the ground, her mouth full of blood, overwhelmed with despair and helplessness. She struggled to lift her head and looked at the Duchess: "Mother..."

His hand touched the top of her shoe.

The Duchess's face turned ashen, but she took a step back.

Li Jiaojiao felt a chill in her heart; even her mother didn't want her anymore...

She is no longer the young lady of the Duke's mansion!

She has nothing left...

Under the dual torment of physical and mental suffering, Li Jiaojiao could no longer bear the blow and fainted.

The Duchess stared blankly at Li Jiaojiao, who had fainted on the ground, her mind reeling.

Jiaojiao... she's actually been to jail? For cheating?

Oh my god...

Why is this happening?

Ye Caiping watched the whole thing with indifference, showing no pity for her whatsoever.

If Li Jiaojiao simply lives her own life after arriving in Beijing, without causing trouble or provoking Ye Caiping, Ye Caiping won't have much free time to deal with her.

If she didn't want her past exposed, Li Jiaojiao could have asked her for help.

But Li Jiaojiao chose to step on her head instead.

Ye Caiping is not someone to be trifled with!

Ye Caiping said coldly, "Now, everyone can see clearly whose hairpin this is!"

Those around nodded in agreement: "How can you trust someone who's been to jail for cheating?"

"I understand now. It's because Ye Yiren knew her background that she framed her, hoping to use it as an excuse to drive her out of the Marquis's mansion. Little did she expect to kick a hornet's nest!"

“Look… isn’t the hairpin in Master Shen’s hair a pair with the one in Ye Yiren’s hair?”

Everyone looked over and saw the hairpin in Shen Zhiyan's hair, which was just as bright and lustrous, and it was indeed a pair with Ye Caiping's.

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