The carriage had just left Chang'an District when it suddenly stopped.
Qinghui cautiously handed the blueprints to Jiang Qingwan, telling her to keep them safe, and then lifted the side curtain to look outside.
The long street outside Chang'an District was mostly lined with the residences of court officials and relatives of powerful figures; they were all wealthy and noble.
There are no shops on this street or in Chang'an District.
But right now, the area in front of it is as bustling as a vegetable market, with several concentric circles of people surrounding it.
The maids and servants from various households who went out to buy supplies all craned their necks to look inside, their faces filled with excitement at the prospect of a good show.
Several horse-drawn carriages were already stuck in traffic.
Qing Sui lowered the curtain and said, "It's Su Yulan's county princess residence. I don't know what happened, but there are a lot of people gathered around. Our carriage can't go around it, so we have to wait."
Jiang Qingwan wasn't in a hurry.
"Let's go listen to some excitement."
The gates of the county magistrate's mansion were not opened.
The two gatekeepers also hid. On the stone steps leading into the mansion, a person was half-lying down, pounding his chest and crying out, his face covered in tears and snot. It was Zhang, Qin Minglang's mother.
"Everyone, please be the judge! My son just left for war, and this woman, Su Yulan, is already having an affair outside, being seen naked by so many people. It's utterly immoral. I came to her for an explanation, but I couldn't even get a look at her; I was chased out by her wicked servant."
"This unfilial woman despises us old folks, tricked my son into coming to live in the county magistrate's mansion, and abandoned me without a care, not even giving me my monthly allowance. Now my husband has been framed and is in jail, but she doesn't care at all. I begged her for some money to smooth things over, but she refused, saying it would be easier for my husband to die in jail. She is utterly heartless!"
Rumors of Su Yulan's secret rendezvous with someone had been circulating for some time, and now she is also mistreating her parents-in-law.
Curses and insults continued to pour in from all around.
Inside the county princess's mansion, Qin Run, anxious to return to the Imperial Academy, was jumping up and down in a panic.
Upon learning that Qin Minglang was going to war, he came to curry favor with him and took the opportunity to stay overnight at the county princess's mansion, hoping to stay there and not return to the Qin mansion.
Who would have thought I'd be stuck at home?
He glared at the doorman.
"What are you two standing there for? Go out and take him away!"
The doorman was also helpless.
One of them said, "We tried to pull her, but as soon as we touched her, she started groaning and rolling her eyes. After all, she's the son-in-law's biological mother, so we didn't dare to pull her forcefully. If we hurt her, how would we explain it to the son-in-law when he came back?"
Another person suggested, "The person outside is your own grandmother. Why don't you go out and try to persuade her? We're all family. If this continues, it will only bring shame to the county magistrate's mansion."
Qin Runqi ground his teeth.
I find these despicable people utterly repulsive.
Last night, when he was having dinner with Su Yulan, Zhang came and made a scene, demanding money.
They weren't even allowed into the front hall before being ordered to be thrown out.
Su Yulan's face turned very ugly at that moment. She ordered that no one was allowed to let Zhang Shi into the mansion again and cursed her as an old hag.
He turned to Qin Run and asked, "Do you want your mother or your grandmother?"
Qin Run felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of Su Yulan's eyes.
Of course he wanted to be the county magistrate's son.
Thinking of this, Qin Run signaled to the doorman to open the door.
Zhang, whose voice was hoarse from crying outside, immediately got up when she heard the door open.
Upon seeing Qin Run emerge, she paused for a moment, then collapsed to the ground again, reaching out her hand to him with a sorrowful expression.
“My precious grandson, you were raised by your grandmother with great care, you can’t side with that woman, you have to stand up for your grandmother.”
Qin Run did not help her up, but stood on the stone steps looking down at her.
"You've come here to cause trouble just to get money, haven't you? My grandfather gambled away the Qin family's house. If it weren't for my mother, the county princess, giving me money to pay off my father's debts, you wouldn't even have a place to live now. How dare you come here to cause trouble and slander us?"
"Don't you know why Grandfather was imprisoned? It was that vixen Jiang who did it. She has the Ninth Prince's backing. How can Father and Mother save her?"
Qing Sui narrowed her eyes.
"You bastard, I'm going to shut him up."
Jiang Qingwan grabbed her arm.
"No rush, let him speak."
Qin Run spoke passionately, his expression sincere, and he was filled with indignation at the other party's lack of ambition.
“Grandmother, Father and Mother have already sent money to the prison to ask the jailers to take care of them. What more do you want? You should be making trouble at the Ninth Prince's mansion, not taking advantage of Father's absence to coerce and extort Mother. You have really disappointed me.”
Zhang was completely bewildered by the scolding.
Those who had just been criticizing the county magistrate for being unrighteous now turned their anger towards Jiang Qingwan.
"I heard that Jiang is a monster who sucks people's blood. General Qin didn't want her, so she must be holding a grudge and taking revenge on the Qin family. That's why she sent her former father-in-law to the yamen to be imprisoned. She's really ruthless."
"I think the Lady Su has done a good job. I never expected that General Qin's parents were such people. One is a gambling addict and the other is a shrew. It's really bad luck to have such a family."
Jiang Qingwan clicked her tongue twice in the crowd.
"The Jiang family is stupid. Wouldn't it have been better to have drained the Qin family into dried corpses long ago? Why let them live until now?"
Aoho looked at her in astonishment.
But then she winked at him.
There were people all around, and no one bothered to see who was saying it.
As soon as he said this, people immediately nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. If I were Jiang, with such extraordinary abilities, I wouldn’t have been bullied into becoming a divorced woman.”
Qinghui understood immediately and joined in.
"No matter what, she's his grandmother, someone who raised him. How could he not even lift a finger to help her up?"
Everyone's attention immediately shifted.
“That’s right. Filial piety comes first. As soon as the young master of the Qin family left the mansion, he started scolding and criticizing the old lady. Look at his fine clothes, but the old lady doesn’t even have a decent hairpin.”
Jiang Qingwan looked at Qinghui, suppressing her laughter as she played happily.
"Didn't you hear him calling her 'County Princess's Mother' over and over again? I heard that the Jiang family raised him for five years, but then he was called a witch. Isn't it just because the Jiang family is a merchant and doesn't have the power of the County Princess?"
Qing Sui continued, "It's true that whoever has the ability to grovel before others has completely lost the proper etiquette and morality of respecting elders. Look at this old lady, her lips have turned white from crying and shouting, but she can't even get a sip of water. She's really pitiful."
There are many more people filled with righteous indignation right now.
Jiang Qingwan casually added another sentence.
"This young master Qin is studying at the Imperial Academy, what exactly is he studying?"
Suddenly someone slapped their forehead and realized what was going on.
"Oh dear, I remember now. The person who was having an affair with Princess Su was a scholar from the Imperial Academy. The place where the two of them were caught in the act was very close to the Imperial Academy. Could it be that Young Master Qin has turned to prostitution to please the princess's mother?"
That shout was extremely loud.
Qin Run's face instantly turned bright red. She could no longer maintain her gentle and indignant demeanor and pointed at the crowd in a domineering manner.
"You're talking nonsense here, have you offended the Su family? Don't you want your heads?"
Many of the onlookers were servants from the surrounding mansions.
Having seen many high-ranking officials and dignitaries, who would care about his seemingly insignificant threat? The criticism not only didn't subside, but grew louder and louder.
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