Commander Chai continued, "Old Shen dared to do this evil thing and planned it for so long, my second uncle should have known about it. Perhaps he and my cousins and nephews were also involved, but they hid behind the scenes and no one else knew..."
Prince Consort Chai didn't believe Chai Zhengguan would be involved in this matter. He waved his hand and said, "My second brother wouldn't be so foolish. He is a decent man and never cares about money. I often heard him scold Shen for being greedy and worried that she would lead the children astray."
Qin Ru stood up and knelt down, crying, "Princess, Prince Consort, those are just the appearances of Chai Zhengguan. In reality, Chai Zhengguan uses all means to make money, and has done many things in private to gain wealth and kill people. Not only did he harm outsiders, he also harmed his relatives. My cousin's mother is so wronged..."
Chai Jun hurried over to help Qin Ru up.
Prince Consort Chai frowned and said, "Master Qin, you can't lie. Zhengguan was bewitched by Shen when he arranged Wang Yi's marriage. Later, he went to the Beiyang Princess's residence to cancel the engagement, but it didn't go through. When Yan girl jumped into the river, Zhengguan blamed himself and still often says he was sorry for her."
Qin Ru bowed deeply to the Princess and Prince Consort Chai, then said in grief and indignation, "That was just Chai Zhengguan pretending. He acted like a good guy to outsiders and pushed all the bad things onto Old Shen... After my great-aunt Qin Hui Niang passed away, our Qin family still had two old servants in the capital. They would occasionally spend money to bribe people and sneak into the Chai Mansion to meet my cousin. They said that my cousin was loved by the Princess and Prince Consort, and they found a good marriage for her, but Chai Zhengguan rejected the good marriage on the grounds that a high monk had told my cousin that she couldn't get married early. In fact, no high monk had ever told my cousin's fortune, and the idea of fate was completely fictitious. Chai Zhengguan's plan was that my cousin would die in her natal family without getting married, and all her dowry would be left in the Chai family.
"Later, Chai Zhengguan and Old Shen promised my cousin to Wang Yi. But they secretly ordered their servants to frighten my cousin, saying that Wang Yi was cruel and violent, often beating and killing people, and that he had so many mistresses and low-ranking officials that no one in the capital would dare marry their daughter to him... My cousin was so frightened that she cried every day and wished she were dead. Before the wedding, the servants also said that Wang Yi had killed someone in a fight for a red card and had contracted syphilis. My cousin felt that marrying him would mean death, and in despair, she hanged herself. But before she was trapped, she realized that they wanted her to die in the Chai family. Only if she died before the wedding would the dowry belong to them in its entirety. This reminded her of her biological mother's death, which was no simple matter. My cousin no longer wanted to die, figuring that if she couldn't keep her wealth, she might as well keep her life. She suggested going to the nunnery to burn incense for her biological mother..."
The idea that an old servant stayed in the capital to contact Chai Qingyan was a prior arrangement between Xu Lanyin, Qin Che, and the others. Only by revealing Chai Qingyan's previous situation through this "old servant" would Princess Nanyang and the others understand her despair within the Chai family and the evil deeds Chai Zhengguan had committed. The old servant then knew only that she had gone to burn incense, and why she later committed suicide by drowning was unknown, so he had to hurry back to Jiangnan to inform the Qin family.
Before Qin Ru could continue, Chai Jun felt that he had discovered the truth and said, "Could it be that my second cousin was pushed into the river, but they said she committed suicide by jumping into the river?"
The eldest princess and Commander Chai looked certain that this was the case, while Prince Consort Chai was skeptical.
The princess sighed deeply and said sadly, "Back then, Jun'er had smallpox and his face was covered with blisters. Qin Huiniang asked Yan to bring me some of the Ruyu Shengji Cream, hoping that I would ensure Yan's safe growth, preserve her dowry, and find her a good husband. I agreed. It wasn't just because of the Ruyu Shengji Cream, but also because I felt sorry for the child. It was thanks to that little bit of magic medicine that Jun'er didn't get pockmarks."
"A few years ago, I lived up to Qin Huiniang's trust. Yan grew up safely, and I saved her dowry. I also found her a man of good character and talent, a scholar from a humble family. But Chai Zhengguan used the excuse that Yan's fate was not good to cancel the marriage. This trick worked well. Not only did it cancel the marriage, but it also made those families who had their eyes on Yan no longer want to ask for her hand in marriage... Now that I think about it, the desire to prevent Yan from marrying wasn't just that bitch's, it was indeed Chai Zhengguan's as well.
"Later, I don't know why Wang Yi fell in love with Yan Yatou, and the two of them agreed to the marriage very happily. Alas, because it involved Beiyang, and I felt that although Wang Yi had a bad temper and was not kind to others, and he had many women, as long as Yan Yatou was kind and gentle, Wang Yi would still give her the respect he should give her, so I didn't interfere. But I didn't expect that they would arrange this marriage for Yan Yatou in public, but let people scare her like that behind her back. Now I can still remember Yan Yatou, who was beautiful, gentle, petite, and timid to death. She actually wanted to hang herself, I guess she was forced into no choice. It's a pity that she didn't hang herself, but was still killed. Alas, I am sorry for the child and her biological mother, and I have failed to live up to their trust. Chai Zhengguan and that bitch are hateful, really hateful."
Commander Chai added, "I remember that Sister Qingyan hardly ever went out. How did she happen to be spotted by Wang Yi? It's probably a setup. Those two old bastards have always been so mean and like to use tricks. It's a pity that we only just discovered it."
Xu Qingyan interrupted again, "I stumbled upon a piece of information. The mother of one of Wang Yi's trusted servants was actually a sister of one of Old Shen's trusted servants before they were sold. They kept this relationship a secret, surely out of guilt. Furthermore, during the time Wang Yi was competing for the red card, the servant was serving Wang Yi personally. It's very likely that Wang Yi was instigated by the servant to do this evil deed."
He couldn't bring himself to tell others about Wang Yi's encounter with Chai Qingyan, as it would be unknown to outsiders. Meanwhile, Wang Yi's killing of someone while fighting for a red card was a public issue.
Chai Jun continued, "They are not only bad, but also cunning. When the incident of Wang Yi fighting for the red card got out, Second Grandfather pretended to cancel the engagement, but failed and asked the Beiyang Princess's Mansion to add an extra 10,000 taels of silver to the betrothal gift. He killed my second cousin and then put the blame on Wang Yi. The Beiyang Princess's Mansion didn't even dare to take back the 30,000 taels of betrothal gift. Humph, they had a good plan. First they got my cousin's aunt's dowry, and then they swallowed the betrothal gift from the Beiyang Princess's Mansion."
Recalling those past events, Prince Consort Chai felt deeply distressed. He said, "Back then, Miss Yan came to me specifically to beg me to persuade Zhengguan to turn down the marriage proposal. I thought that while Wang Yi had many flaws, he wasn't as bad as the rumors said. And since he was the grandson of Princess Beiyang, Nanyang and I couldn't interfere too much, so I rejected her. Alas, after she died, I deeply regretted it. If I had known she would reject the marriage, I should have helped her..."
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