Zhao Zhiyan's visit to the Duke of Jingguo's residence was unexpected by everyone.
The old lady hurriedly stood up to greet her, and for some reason her eyelids twitched.
Not far away, the butler bowed and led Zhao Zhiyan in. The man was dressed in a brocade robe, his tall and upright figure like a sturdy pine tree. His handsome face was filled with a gentle smile, and every move he made exuded nobility and elegance.
Beside Zhao Zhiyan was the Duke of Jingguo, who had not returned home all night.
"Eighth Prince." The crowd bowed.
Prince Zhao Zhiyan, the youngest son of Emperor Taizu, is only in his early twenties and has an excellent relationship with the Emperor of Northern Chu.
He was also the only prince of Northern Chu who was not executed after the emperor ascended the throne, but instead rose through the ranks.
This Eighth Prince was also known for his gentle and refined manner.
Zhao Zhiyan offered a helping hand: "No need for formalities. Please forgive me for disturbing you, Madam."
The old lady smiled and shook her head, making way for Zhao Zhiyan to enter the hall: "It is an honor for our humble abode that the Eighth Prince has come. Please take a seat."
After Zhao Zhiyan sat down, he looked around as if searching for something.
The old lady's eyelids twitched.
"Help!"
Song Yue cried for help, and the next moment she fell straight onto the threshold with a slap mark on her face. Behind her, Aunt Wang, holding up her skirt, came looking for her with a fierce expression.
Yun Dong stopped Wang's mother, and the two became entangled.
Song Yue looked up at Zhao Zhiyan, then quickly looked at the Grand Madam: "Grandmother, help! Mama Wang is going to kill me."
The old lady watched as Song Yue crawled and rolled on the ground, covered in dirt, even her face was filthy. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she snapped, "Stop!"
A roar silenced the crowd.
Song Yue stubbornly knelt on the ground, one side of her face swollen high.
"Madam, the Third Young Lady is treacherous and cunning, deliberately framing this old servant. You must do justice for me!" Mama Wang knelt and kowtowed.
The old lady first glanced at Zhao Zhiyan, and seeing that there was no smile on his face, she quickly shouted angrily at Wang Mama: "What nonsense are you talking about? Get out of here now!"
Only then did Madam Wang realize that there was a distinguished guest sitting in the high hall. She was so frightened that she trembled and quickly retreated. Song Yue lowered her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhiyan couldn't help but laugh. Is it too late to cover your face now?
"Please excuse the Eighth Prince's rudeness." The Dowager forced a smile at Zhao Zhiyan and pointed at Song Yue: "This girl just returned yesterday and doesn't know the rules. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding."
Song Yue opened her mouth and burst into tears: "Grandmother, it's not that I don't know the rules, it's that Mama Wang warned me not to take my second sister's things, and told me to be honest and well-behaved, saying that I was a wild girl with no manners, and she even hit me."
The old lady was taken aback by Song Yue's actions, and her face turned ashen instantly.
Zhao Zhiyan took a long stride to stand up, took out a handkerchief and handed it to Song Yue, his gentle tone like that of someone coaxing a little pet: "You do look somewhat alike, don't cry, wipe your tears."
The people behind him had strange expressions and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Song Yue stopped crying as expected, took a handkerchief and wiped her face without any hesitation, her eyes red and her body trembling.
"I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of, so I'll take my leave now."
Zhao Zhiyan came and went in a hurry, only patting Song Yue's shoulder lightly before leaving, without saying a word more.
The Duke of Jingguo shamelessly sent the person away.
A moment later, he returned with a dark expression, looking at Song Yue with a surge of anger: "What exactly happened?"
Song Yue sniffed and choked out, "Aunt Wang hit me and wouldn't let me get my second sister's clothes dirty, saying I wasn't worthy."
Seeing that she was involved in the matter, Song Yao's eyelids twitched, and she quickly came out to explain: "Father, Aunt Wang is an old servant of Grandmother, she would never make a mistake, it must be that Third Sister has misunderstood."
The person is close to the Dowager Lady; who would dare to question them?
The old lady sat down, looking at Song Yue still wearing that dress, her heart filled with anger, especially since Zhao Zhiyan had seen this scene.
If Zhao Zhiyan were to return and report to the Emperor of Northern Chu, wouldn't the Duke of Jingguo's mansion be in trouble...?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized, so the old lady quickly had someone bring up Mama Wang.
The two have conflicting accounts.
Mrs. Wang insisted that Song Yue had hit herself.
Song Yue covered her face, her eyes wide with shock: "You, how can you lie through your teeth?"
"Third Miss, you are so young yet so ignorant, framing this old servant! You have no conscience and will be punished by heaven!" Madam Wang blurted out in a fit of anger.
Upon hearing this, Song Yue knew that Wang's mother's death was imminent.
As expected, the Duke of Jingguo stepped forward and kicked Mama Wang hard in the chest: "How dare you! Who gave you the audacity to slander your master in public?"
Grandma Wang is quite old, and she couldn't take such a big kick. She was kicked far away and lay on the ground for a long time, unable to get up.
"Father, please stop hitting me. Harmony in the family brings prosperity. I shouldn't have forced myself to wear my second sister's clothes. I look fine dressed like this." Song Yue shrank her neck, her eyes filled with fear.
When the Duke of Jing saw that Song Yue was dressed like a beggar, and had just shown his face in front of the Eighth Prince, he was immediately enraged: "Guards, drag this person out and give him thirty strokes of the cane!"
Mama Wang was quickly gagged and dragged out.
The sound of a board being struck came from outside.
"Troublemaker!"
Behind me came Song Yao's soft, angry curses.
Song Yue suddenly looked up at Song Yao: "What did you mean by 'abuse of private punishment', Second Sister?"
Song Yao's eyelids twitched, and she immediately looked at the Duke of Jingguo. She saw the Duke looking at her with displeasure, and she waved her hand in a panic: "Father, daughter... daughter didn't say anything."
She cursed Song Yue dozens of times in her heart, but it didn't appease her anger.
You little bitch, you've hurt her again.
Song Yue scoffed, "Coward!"
Duke Jingguo composed himself and said to the crowd, "From this day forward, anyone who dares to disrespect the Third Miss will be severely punished."
Faced with the Duke of Jingguo's imposing expression, all the younger generation present shrank back, and even Song Hengchuan dared not utter a word of dissent.
“Yue’er, you’ve just returned and don’t know the rules of the Jingguo Duke’s mansion. I’ve hired a nanny for you. From today onwards, you will learn the rules from her.” The Jingguo Duke called out to the door, “Nanny Yang, come in.”
When Granny Yang entered, her face appeared calm, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in her eyes. She bowed and curtsied to Song Yue, saying, "Third Miss."
Song Yue also obediently responded with a greeting to Granny Yang.
At this moment, the Grand Madam rubbed her temples, saying she was feeling unwell, and raised her hand to dismiss everyone. Everyone got up to take their leave, but Song Yue asked, "Father, has Uncle Jingzhao Yin found out about the fire at the villa?"
One sentence made everyone present stop in their tracks.
Yuan Fuling, in particular, looked at the Duke of Jingguo with a guilty conscience.
The Duke of Jingguo was frowning. Yesterday, he went to see the Prefect of Jingzhao about this matter, but no matter how he tried to get information out of him, the Prefect of Jingzhao refused to talk about it.
So he simply led his men to personally investigate the vicinity of the villa.
The villagers of Xingshan Village said that they hadn't encountered robbers in Kyoto for decades, and there were no suspicious people around that night when the fire broke out.
In other words, there were no robbers.
The villa had been fine for over a decade, but it caught fire just when the Duke of Jingguo's mansion sent people to fetch Song Yue. This is too strange.
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