Marquis Zhongyong's brows furrowed immediately. "Nonsense, that's your second sister-in-law."

Xie Lanzhou was young and had not spent much time with the Marquis of Zhongyong. When he was scolded by the Marquis, he was very scared and cried even harder.

But as the young master of the Marquis's mansion, he was used to being pampered and felt that he was always right, so he insisted on his own ideas.

"My mother doesn't like her; she gets angry whenever she's around..."

This was what he had seen on a daily basis, so he believed that Ye Zhen had angered Lady Hou to the point of illness.

"Brother Lan."

Xie Jinyao quickly interrupted, "Listen to me, Mother will be back in a couple of days."

If you misbehave, Mother will be unhappy when she finds out, and if Mother is unhappy, she will stay at the village for a few more days.

When Ye Zhen returned instead of Lady Hou, she knew something must have happened.

But not knowing the specifics, and worried that her younger brother might say something inappropriate, she quickly stopped him.

Xie Lanzhou was very attached to the Lady Hou, and upon hearing this, her attention was indeed diverted. She leaned on the shoulder of the Marquis of Zhongyong and sobbed pitifully, not daring to say anything more.

Marquis Zhongyong was grieving the loss of his son. Seeing his young son in such a state, his heart melted, and he did not pursue the matter further regarding the inappropriate words the man had just spoken.

However, he remembered Xie Tingzhou's words and felt that his youngest son might really be spoiled by his wife, so he decided to personally teach him from now on.

Since arriving in Beijing, Xie Tingzhou had been trailing behind the group, seemingly admiring the changes in the capital. Only now did he spur his horse and trot up to the group.

"Big brother?"

Xie Jinyao was quite surprised to see that familiar mask. Like Madam Hou, she had not received any news of Xie Tingzhou's return to the capital.

However, she reacted quickly and greeted him politely.

Xie Tingzhou did not dismount. He looked down at her, gave a faint "hmm," and then rode his horse up the steps.

As he stepped through the gate, he turned and looked at the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor with a mocking expression, saying, "It's not too late to come and show filial piety to His Majesty after you've met him."

Xie Jinyao then felt a sense of reality; her annoying older brother had really returned.

He's still just as petty as he was when he was young. Whenever he sees his father doting on him and his siblings, he tries to cause trouble.

First came the cries of the infant, then Xie Tingzhou's mockery, and the Marquis of Zhongyong lost all feeling of reunion.

The emperor, mindful of his arduous journey, allowed him to return to his residence to rest before entering the palace to meet the emperor. This was a great favor from the emperor.

He could not truly rest, so he handed his young son over to the servants and went into the mansion to wash and change his clothes in preparation for going to the palace to meet the emperor later.

Xie Tingzhou returned to his courtyard, but just as he was about to loosen his belt, he heard Xing Ze say, "Master, the young mistress has sent someone to deliver a note."

The handwriting on the note was bold and forceful, unlike a woman's handwriting, and it didn't match her appearance at all.

After reading the contents, Xie Tingzhou handed the note to Xing Ze, saying, "Fu Guang, come with me to the palace. You stay here."

After the father and son left, Xie Jinyao learned everything about the manor from the servants.

After reading Lady Hou's letter, he slammed his hand on the table in anger, "What a country bumpkin! How dare she cause my mother to be confined to the estate!"

She always looked down on Ye Zhen, feeling that having such a lowly young mistress in the Marquis's mansion was a disgrace to the family.

But her mother had her own plans; she didn't interfere, but she never took Ye Zhen seriously either.

After arranging for someone to investigate Yin Yue's whereabouts, she rushed to Ye Zhen's courtyard with a whip in her hand.

After Ye Zhen returned, she changed her dressing and then applied a layer of powder in front of the mirror, making her already pale face even more bloodless.

She changed her clothes again.

The clothes were loose and old-fashioned, making the person look thin and dejected.

Wanxing, not knowing what her mistress meant, was about to ask when the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Xie Jinyao was furious. "So Brother Lan was right. Mother's staying at the manor is indeed related to you."

As they were talking, the long whip lashed out at Ye Zhen.

The mother suspected that Ye Zhen was hiding his true abilities, and she also felt that the events at the manor were strange.

If Ye Zhen truly possessed skill, she wouldn't have waited to be beaten; therefore, she showed no mercy whatsoever.

Ye Zhen seemed to dodge with difficulty, saying, "Miss, please don't go too far. Your mother-in-law was punished because she did something wrong."

"It was the Marquis who punished her. If you are dissatisfied, go find the Marquis. Why are you making things difficult for me?"

"I'm going to hit you."

Xie Jinyao lashed out with her whip again, and this time Wanxing pulled Ye Zhen away.

She then pulled Ye Zhen and fled towards the door.

Watching the two figures flee in a disheveled state, Xie Jinyao felt uncertain again.

However, she had believed in Lady Hou since childhood and thought that Lady Hou's suspicions were justified, so she followed closely behind Ye Zhen.

She had been learning to use the whip since childhood, and even her father praised her for her skill. If Ye Zhen were to be whipped, he would surely be torn to shreds.

She didn't believe Ye Zhen could still hide by then.

If her mother and she were overthinking things, she could take the opportunity to teach Ye Zhen a lesson.

Her mother didn't hide Ye Zhen's scheme from her, but it failed, and Ye Zhen returned unharmed, which infuriated her.

If Ye Zhen had obediently fallen into their trap, perhaps my second brother wouldn't have died, and there wouldn't have been those rumors.

She hasn't left the house in the past two days, but she can imagine the ridicule outsiders are making of the Marquis's mansion.

As the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong, she was always the object of everyone's flattery and sycophancy, and had never become the laughing stock of others.

She's at the age where she should be getting married, and these rumors will ruin her life.

It's all Ye Zhen's fault.

She was just a country girl who enjoyed the glory of the Marquis's mansion for three years. It was only right that she sacrificed herself for the Marquis's mansion.

But she just wouldn't behave, so she'd beat her until she behaved.

A whip lashed through the air with full force, but this time it was caught in someone's hand.

Xie Jinyao sneered; Ye Zhen couldn't hide it any longer after all.

But when I looked up, I saw a strange man at the other end of the whip, dressed as a guard.

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