Chapter 24: Family Scandal
Don't air your dirty laundry in public.
Even if it was true, Xie Mubai was unwilling to tear off the last fig leaf of the Duke's Mansion and let the Xie family become a laughing stock after dinner.
Even if it's revenge, it has to be done quietly.
After hearing this, Aunt Zhou's eyes suddenly lit up.
"You little bitch, even your man doesn't believe your lies!" She straightened her back, her mouth full of saliva flying like a teapot. "I don't know where you get the nerve to do that. You've behaved improperly yourself, and yet you still have the nerve to wrongly accuse me!"
"Unjust?" Shen Wan sneered, not hiding the mockery in her eyes at all, "Did I make up the story that the Madam arranged a marriage between you and Mr. Lin?"
"You climbed into your cousin's bed, and the Madam shamelessly went to Mr. Lin's house to admit her mistake. Did I make this up too?"
Upon hearing this, some older prisoners seemed to remember something.
That was thirty years ago.
The lady who had always lived in seclusion suddenly prepared generous gifts and went to the home of a poor scholar. In the end, she was kicked out of the house and even her belongings were thrown out.
At that time, they were still wondering how the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion could have such a poor and arrogant relative.
Now that I think about it, what this ugly woman said must be true.
Zhou's father committed a crime, and Aunt Zhou is the daughter of a criminal. What kind of good family can she find?
The scholar was a scholar after all, and it was already very good that he wanted her.
For a moment, the prisoners began to whisper.
Seeing everyone pointing at her, Aunt Zhou panicked.
What happened back then was a thorn buried deep in her heart.
Now this ugly woman openly pulled out the thorn for everyone to see, which made her even more angry.
"Nonsense, that's not true!" She roared viciously with fire in her eyes, "How dare you, a bitch, slander our elders? I'll kill you!
Before she finished speaking, Aunt Zhou stretched out her sharp nails and pounced on Shen Wan like a mad she-wolf.
Xie Mubai’s eyes moved slightly, and he casually threw a piece of melon peel that Shen Wan had placed beside the car.
Before she could get close, Aunt Zhou slipped and fell flat on her face.
The convicts watched and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The faces of the Xie family's daughters-in-law were very ugly. It turned out that their husband's biological mother was not only a concubine, but also a bad woman who slept with her cousin!
If they had known this would happen, they would never have married him.
The sudden fall made Aunt Zhou even more furious.
She was about to start cursing, but she saw Xie Mubai's face darken, and his cold voice was mixed with a strong icy feeling: "If you want to embarrass yourself, then keep making trouble."
"But don't forget one thing, I'm a trader!"
These few light words sounded like a bolt from the blue, exploding on Aunt Zhou's head.
A concubine engaged in business?
What does this cripple mean? Did he believe what that ugly woman said and sell his father's concubine?
"At his age, who would I sell it to?" Wang Qi rubbed his ankle and sneered, "I'm afraid someone will lose this thing."
He is a vicious person to begin with. Now that Aunt Zhou dares to falsely accuse him of innocence, it would be strange if he could show mercy.
With just a few simple words, Aunt Zhou was demoted to the dust.
Xie Mubai didn't say anything, just glanced at Wang Qi.
Seeing that things were almost done, Hu Dahai came over to inspect the results.
This woman is so bold that she actually wants to hit his sister!
So he waved his hand and ordered Aunt Zhou and others to fetch water for all the prisoners to wash their feet.
If you disobey, you will be whipped!
Xie Murong felt that he had been wronged to death!
She didn't say a word from beginning to end, so why did I think of her about this?
Sun had a back injury, and Aunt Zhou considered herself the elder, so the job fell on the other three daughters-in-law and Xie Murong.
Fortunately, there was a clear stream not far away, so they didn't have to travel for too long.
"Are you still angry with me?" Seeing Xie Mubai staring at the women with an indifferent expression, Shen Wan stepped forward and said with a smile, "But who can I blame? She was the one who provoked me first!"
If Aunt Zhou hadn't slandered her for having an affair with Wang Qi, she really wouldn't have planned to reveal the secret so early.
"I don't blame you." Xie Mubai didn't even look at her and said coldly, "I want to know, is what you said just now true?"
He doesn't care whether it's stealing money or climbing into bed.
But if that woman dared to touch the Duke's wife, he would absolutely not tolerate it.
Shen Wan nodded.
"How do you know?" Xie Mubai's face suddenly changed, and a sinister cold light suddenly rose in his eyes.
Even he didn't know about such a private matter, so how did this woman know about it?
Shen Wan scratched her head, not knowing how to make up a story for a moment: "My legitimate mother... She is very close to Concubine Zhou in private... Actually, how should I put it? There are rumors outside that you won't live long, and the hereditary title will sooner or later fall to your half-brother..."
"At that time, besides you, your third brother was the only one in the Duke's Mansion who hadn't married yet, so Concubine Zhou wanted him to marry Chen Yan on your behalf."
"My stepmother was originally willing, but my scumbag father mentioned the Duke's wife...so, the marriage didn't happen."
The more she tried to evade the truth, the more Xie Mubai believed it was true.
He has been weak since childhood, and rumors about him have never stopped.
But I didn’t expect that even the Xiangyang Marquis’ Mansion could collude with Concubine Zhou.
What about Chen Yan?
Does she know these things?
No, she must not know.
She is so kind, if she knew, she would definitely tell her fiancé.
While I was daydreaming, several female members of the Xie family had already fetched water.
After a few days, the prisoners had blisters on their feet.
Although they didn't dare to soak their feet, it was still cool to wash their bodies with clean water.
"Boss, I'm afraid we can't continue today." Looking at the prisoners who were sweating profusely from the heat, Scarface looked at Hu Dahai with some concern, "If we continue, I'm afraid someone will die."
This horrible weather is too much for even a strong man like him who has been away from home for many years, not to mention those exiles who have been spoiled since childhood.
But now it is the hottest time of the year, and finding cool weather is almost impossible.
If he continued walking, he was afraid that someone would die, but if he didn't walk, he would miss the journey and get into trouble. This made Hu Dahai a little troubled.
"Rest here and set off tonight!" He thought about it and finally made a decision.
This decision made the prisoners very happy.
Although it is hot at night, it is much better than running around under the scorching sun.
Since mung bean soup had just been distributed, the officials stopped distributing lunch.
Of course, no one cared.
Not to mention steamed corn bread, it was so hot that even white flour pancakes couldn't arouse their appetite.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Shen Wan pushed Xie Mubai to a deserted place.
She changed him into a set of clean coarse clothes and went to the river with the dirty clothes she had changed.
Because he had no clean clothes, after a few days, the blood stains on the villain's clothes had turned black and discolored, and were so dirty that they were unbearable to look at.
There were no ready-made clothes for sale at the market, so she went to a house and bought a new set.
After washing the clothes, she hung them on the branches by the roadside to dry.
The weather was so hot that the clothes were dry by evening.
"Let's eat, we'll be on the road when it gets dark!" Hu Dahai urged, looking at the setting sun in the sky.
After hearing this, everyone just ate a few bites of the steamed bread.
The night in the barren mountains was already a little chilly, with a few breezes blowing from time to time.
In the darkness, the mountains in the distance are like dormant wild beasts, with their ferocious mouths open, waiting for their prey to come.
Hu Dahai walked in front holding a torch to explore the way, and a group of people followed behind him.
Sun's back hurt badly, and Xie Murong was weak, so the two of them soon fell to the back of the team.
From the barren hills on both sides of the road, long howls of wild wolves could be heard from time to time, which frightened Sun so much that her legs went limp.
At this time, some people in the team had already started sobbing.
"What's there to cry about?" Scarface cursed angrily as he pushed the cart. "If you keep crying, you'll attract the wolves."
After hearing this, the convicts became even more frightened.
Although Shen Wan had been on the battlefield, she was still a little nervous, after all, she had no experience fighting wolves.
"Are you afraid?" Xie Mubai raised his eyes and looked at her.
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