Before Su Yulan could give any instructions, Chunmei, who had long disliked her, went up and slapped her.
"Who do you think you are to speak to the county magistrate like that? I'll teach you a lesson about the rules of the county magistrate right now!"
Zhang was so badly hit that she spun around on the spot, covering her face in disbelief.
"You...you lowly slave, how dare you hit me? I am the mother-in-law of your county magistrate!"
Su Yulan pretended to stop Chunmei.
"Don't blame me, Chunmei has been learning royal etiquette since she was a child. You are a commoner, and I am a county princess. You must bow and kneel before speaking. Anyone who is disrespectful will be slapped!"
Zhang came from a humble background, and she felt a little flustered upon hearing this.
Just then, the sound of a gong rang out outside; Qin Minglang had returned.
She suddenly found support, covered her face, and ran out crying.
The sudden sound of firecrackers nearly overturned the carriage.
Qin Minglang got out of the car with a gloomy face and saw Zhang Shi rushing towards him like a ghost.
"My son, you're finally back."
The sound of gongs and drums filled the air, and lions danced wildly.
The crowd gathered three or four deep to watch the spectacle; they were all neighbors who had been invited by Zhang's servants to witness the moment when the Qin family would bring glory to their ancestors.
Upon seeing this, everyone burst into laughter.
"Is Old Madam Qin overjoyed? Her old face is even smeared with rouge, and there looks like a handprint. Did her daughter-in-law slap her?"
"No way, I remember her daughter-in-law was very docile."
"That docile daughter-in-law was driven away by this family, who said they had married a county princess as their new wife."
"How heartless! That Jiang Niangzi served you faithfully for five years."
"That's not true. Even God can't stand people who have no morals or character. The county princess is a member of the royal family, yet they still let her act arrogantly. She'll get what's coming to her later."
"Stop talking! Aren't they going to appoint you as a Grand General? Be careful they don't arrest you and behead you."
...
As the whispers reached his ears, Qin Minglang recalled the looks he had received in court, and felt even more humiliated.
He endured the throbbing veins on his forehead and roughly dragged Zhang into the mansion.
"Mother, what are you doing now?"
Zhang asked anxiously.
"My son, have you been appointed a general? You must get me a title of nobility, a first-rank one. That way, no one can bully your mother."
Seeing that Qin Minglang didn't speak, she immediately started crying and wailing again.
"Son, if I had known your new wife would be so disobedient, I would have preferred to let Jiang Qingwan stay. At least that slut can earn money and serve your father and me!"
Qin Minglang was furious.
He was only a second-rank official, and he hadn't even gotten the official position he wanted.
They actually want him to go and ask for a first-rank imperial title?
He was so frustrated that he lost all patience.
"Mother, I'm already very busy. Can you please behave yourself and stop causing trouble? And what's that outside? Everyone in the neighborhood knows that Jiang Qingwan was kicked out yesterday. Don't you think things have gotten bigger enough?"
With a stern face, he instructed the maid to lead Zhang away and immediately went to find Su Yulan.
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