She had already inquired about it and found that Madam Luo and these women had developed deep feelings for each other because they had served under the same men as Marquis Zhongyong and had shared hardships on the border.

Ye Zhen offended them, which was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Given what Shen Bishui said, even if Ye Zhen discovers her true identity in the future, people will think she's just deluding herself out of jealousy...

Oh no, Ye Zhen has no future.

Ye Wantang covered her face with a handkerchief, smiling smugly.

Xie Jinyao always loved to compete with her, but Ye Wantang despised her for her limited vision of the inner quarters and her limited methods within them.

Today, she would show Xie Jinyao that she, Ye Wantang, was the most noble lady in the capital, and that her methods were in no way inferior to those of men.

She winked at Wang.

Wang understood, and pointed at Ye Zhen with heartache, "You child...you're so foolish."

When you first showed that kind of idea, I sternly warned you not to act recklessly.

You are a woman confined to the inner quarters, fortunately the Marquis is kind-hearted enough to let you manage the household. How could you harbor any other ambitions and try to use the selection of new wives for the generals to help the Marquis consolidate his power in the capital?

"You can't even manage your own household, how could you possibly understand the political situation at court? How dare you presume to guess the Marquis's thoughts? The Marquis is most loyal to the Emperor; wouldn't you be implicating him?"

She looked at the Marquis Zhongyong and said, "My lord, it is my fault for not teaching her properly, which is why she is so arrogant and ignorant."

Fortunately, she was discovered in time and prevented from continuing her evil deeds, but I dared not keep her in the Marquis's residence again, lest she implicate the Marquis's residence.

I implore Your Excellency to grant Yunzhou a letter of divorce, allowing me to take her back to the Ye family, where she will spend the rest of her life in seclusion, devoted to Buddhism.

Wang was just carried here. Her health hadn't deteriorated in the past few days, but she had begun to regret being fooled by Ye Zhen and abandoning her daughter.

Therefore, when Ye Wantang approached her and asked her to appear today, she agreed without hesitation.

Her remarks raised the level of Ye Zhen's crimes to a new level.

Forming cliques for personal gain is a grave taboo for any official.

Marquis Zhongyong had just received a great reward, and many eyes were watching him. He learned that Ye Zhen was actually trying to stir up trouble behind his back.

How could he possibly tolerate this?

Everyone was waiting for Marquis Zhongyong to punish Ye Zhen, but his face remained calm, and his eyes were like a deep pool without waves.

Ye Zhen spoke up, “Mother, I was often bullied in the village when I was young, so I understand that it is the nature of most people to fawn on the powerful and trample on the weak.”

But you are my mother, I am your own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy and childbirth. Why can't you tolerate me?

A child's birth is a gift from their parents. I wasn't raised by your side, and you weren't close to me. I don't resent you, but you underestimate your daughter, and you underestimate truly noble ladies.

"Even now, how can you still not repent and try to make excuses?"

Wang shouted angrily.

Ye Zhen gave a bitter smile and didn't look at her again. "Even if I didn't grow up in the capital and didn't have parents to raise me, I know that young ladies from noble families have their own integrity."

No matter how good the military officers are, a proper young lady from a respectable family would never lower herself to compete with other women for a man.

She looked at everyone and asked, "Ladies here, is there anyone who would like to offer themselves as a concubine, like Miss Shen?"

Ladies and gentlemen, which one would willingly let their daughter steal another woman's husband, become a second wife and stepmother in another family, and be cursed and talked about behind their back for the rest of their lives?

No!

Some of the truly noble families, whose sympathy and anger had been stirred up by Madam Luo, began to wake up.

Then Ye Zhen pointed at Chen Bishui and said, "Only a concubine's daughter like her, who is of low social standing and makes a living under the mistress's control, would willingly stoop to climb into a man's bed knowing that she has no future."

But what help could a woman like her bring to me or the Marquis's mansion?

She looked at Wang again, "In your mother's eyes, how stupid must your daughter be to use such a despicable woman to persecute soldiers who are fighting for the country and the people?"

In my mother's eyes, how blind and depraved must the Marquis be to allow me to act so recklessly behind his back?

"Don't try to deny it. Who knows if you're saying this because you've been exposed?"

Roland Qiao couldn't stand it anymore and jumped out to refute it.

Ye Zhen looked at Madam Luo and said, "Madam just said that she and Deputy General Luo have endured hardships together. Has Madam ever truly trusted her husband?"

How can you be so sure that he would definitely despise his wife who has shared joys and sorrows with him?

"Mother, don't listen to her nonsense."

Roland noticed that the voices criticizing Ye Zhen had quieted down considerably, and worried that her mother had also been swayed by Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen turned his gaze to the person on the bed, who was wrapped tightly in the quilt. "As far as I know, neither Madam Luo nor Miss Luo has ever seen whether the person on the bed is Vice General Luo."

They only believed Miss Shen's one-sided account and started making a scene here.

Mrs. Luo's heart skipped a beat.

When she heard that the man in bed was her own man, she went to lift the covers, but her daughter pulled her away and dragged her to Chen Bishui.

Then she thought that he must be naked under the covers because he was ashamed, so he huddled under the covers.

Looking back now, although her husband was handsome, he was a rough and stubborn man. If it was really him, he would never have been a coward.

Mrs. Luo began to lose confidence and was about to step forward when she saw the person on the bed lift the blanket by themselves.

She was dressed neatly; she was Granny Cui.

Granny Cui stretched and said, "I'm old and can't stay awake for long, so I found a room to take a nap."

"Thank goodness I'm an old woman now, otherwise I'd be mortified to death being surrounded by so many people."

She then looked at Chen Bishui and said, "You girl, there are more than a dozen guest rooms, why do you insist on squeezing in with me, and attracting so many people to disturb my peaceful sleep?"

Shen Bishui collapsed to the ground; her lie had been exposed.

But when she came in, it was clearly Deputy General Luo lying on the bed.

Why did she suddenly turn into an old woman? What went wrong? She subconsciously looked to Ye Wantang for help.

Ye Wantang was also flustered. She had arranged for Deputy General Luo to be lured here under the name of Luo Lanqiao and then drugged.

How could something so sure of success go wrong?

Before she could figure it out, Shen Bishui asked her for help, and she quickly glared back.

But then Ye Zhen looked straight over...