Madam Wen asked Wen Jiao to get on her carriage. As soon as she got on, she slapped Wen Jiao.
He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Idiot, as stupid as your mother. You insisted on going to show yourself, but you got into such a big trouble. Now, you have not only completely offended the Pu family, but also Minister Zhang."
Wen Jiao held her face with one hand, her eyes filled with rage, not a single tear shed. She said, "It was Miss Pu Qi who pushed me. They were planning to push Madam Zhang into the stream and have me take the blame. I've figured out a little bit..."
Mrs. Wen's eyes narrowed and she asked, "What's the secret?"
Wen Jiao said, "Four people who had hairpins with swallows have all had accidents. The first and second people were my eldest aunt and fourth brother. I remember one night a few years ago, I accidentally saw my fourth brother holding a beautiful hairpin with swallows, crying and calling for his mother. The hairpin was so beautiful, sparkling in the moonlight, it was the most beautiful hairpin I had ever seen. My fourth brother said it was left by his mother and asked me not to tell anyone, so I kept this secret. My eldest aunt and fourth brother, who had this hairpin, are both dead. The third person was my second brother. Last year, I don't know where he got a hairpin with swallows, the same as the one my fourth brother has. I even had an argument with him, asking him if he stole it from my fourth brother, but he denied it. Later, my second brother also died in an accident, but for some reason, the hairpin was not left to my sister-in-law and Pingjie. Today, that hairpin is on Madam Zhang's head, and she has had an accident again..."
Old Madam Wen didn't notice the Yan Shangchai, but still shouted, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Wen Jiao said, "Before, I didn't know how strange that hairpin was."
Old Madam Wen's hands began to tremble as she said, "Go back home and follow me to see your grandfather."
After returning home, the grandfather and grandson went directly to the "outer study" where Duke Wen used to make elixirs.
After hearing Wen Jiao's words, Duke Wen was also frightened. No matter how much he tried to persuade Old Madam Wen and Wen Yan, he had to consider the whole family. He said, "It seems that the Zhao family is more than just the descendants of Zhao Shicheng. We can't hide this from Wen Yan anymore. That idiot hasn't cleaned up his own mess yet. Let him clean up the mess himself. Go to the place where he had Zhuo An pushed down the mountain, and search for Yan Shangchai at the bottom of the mountain. I wonder if Zhuo Feng's branch is the same one that appeared later."
Wen Yan was having fun in his concubine's room when he heard his father, whom he hadn't seen for several months, invite him, so he had to go.
After hearing the whole story, he was furious. He slapped Wen Jiao and cursed, "You stupid girl, why didn't you tell me such an important thing earlier?"
Duke Wen went over and slapped him in the face, shouting, "Why would I raise such a stupid, greedy, and evil bastard like you? It was you who fell into someone else's trap and had evil intentions that harmed your brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. Why did you hit Jiao girl? Humph, if Jiao girl had told you earlier, wouldn't you and your wife have snatched that hairpin long ago? Would you still be alive today?"
Wen Yan thought about it and realized that if he had known that the brat had that good thing, he might have gotten it earlier, and his life might have been lost. He asked, "Dad, Mom, what should we do?"
Duke Wen said, "Privately take people to the place where Zhuo An fell off the cliff and search carefully to see if you can find the hairpin. Don't hang out with the Pu family anymore. Don't do bad things with them, and don't show that we are on guard against them." He added, "Don't do it in private either. We can't let them get hold of us and implicate our entire family."
Wen Yan had previously sent people to secretly search the valley, looking for bones, but the search wasn't thorough. They found nothing at the time, and thought the bones might have fallen onto a large rock or tree on the cliff, where they might be eaten by an eagle...
Wen Yan nodded in agreement. He thought to himself that he wanted to play with Pu Lao Si and Pu Lao Ba, but they refused to play with him. He was so angry that he scolded Pu Lao Po, Pu Yuanjie, and Pu Yuanqing.
Duke Wen said to Wen Jiao, who was still crying, "Don't feel wronged, Jiao. I know you are a good child. Alas, it is your parents who are stupid and wicked who have harmed you. I will ask the third daughter-in-law to find a marriage for you. It doesn't have to be rich, but you should get married early and leave this troubled place..."
Old Madam Wen stopped her, saying, "I don't agree. How can I let my daughter-in-law, my eldest granddaughter, find a husband? What good family can she find..."
Duke Wen shouted, "Shut up. You and the second son's wife think you can find a good marriage for Jiao girl? This time, the Pu family put the blame on Jiao girl for the disaster of dragging Madam Zhang into the water, and she was also accused of being unfaithful and virtuous. It will be even harder for her to find a good family."
"No matter how bad she is, she's still better than the third son's wife..."
Wen Jiao also didn't want Third Lady Wen to find her a husband. Ever since she married into the Wen family, Third Lady Wen had been tormented by her mother-in-law, Old Madam Wen, and ostracized by her own mother. Her life had been truly difficult for over a decade. How could she possibly find a good marriage for herself... Forget it, she'd secretly buy a packet of poison. If the house were to collapse, she'd be poisoned to death. It would be better to suffer for the rest of her life. If things weren't bad at home, she'd go to a Taoist temple and become a nun in two years, just like her aunt had done...
She said to Duke Wen, "Thank you, Grandfather. I don't want to get married, so there's no need for anyone to arrange a match for me."
The others were all thinking about that important matter and didn't think much about what Wen Jiao meant.
Mrs. Zhang's incident did not affect the talent show at the Pu family's Peach Blossom Banquet. The performances did not end in the morning, but continued in the afternoon. The first, second, and third place winners were chosen, along with the new "Four Beauties" of the capital, including Pu Xiurong, the sixth daughter of the Pu family.
At 3 p.m., the guests left Pu's house one after another.
Pu Laoguojiu, Pu Yuanqing, the fourth lady, and Pu Deyi gathered in Madam Pu Lao's yard for a secret talk.
Madam Pu Si had already seen it, and Madam Zhang's hairpin wasn't Zhao Ying's, just a striking resemblance. The others were half relieved, yet puzzled as to why a similar hairpin had appeared twice in recent times. Was it a coincidence, or something else entirely?
Madam Pu sighed, "It's all my fault. I didn't get the hairpin earlier."
Pu Laoguojiu snorted coldly, "It's more than just taking that hairpin earlier. If you hadn't been so reckless in your early years and almost strangled Ying'er to death, mother wouldn't have sent her to the Taoist temple to become a nun, and there wouldn't be so many hidden dangers in our family."
Mrs. Pu didn't say anything, but she secretly complained in her heart, "If anyone should be blamed, it's your mother. If it weren't for her womanly kindness, she would have sent that girl to see the King of Hell earlier, and none of this would have happened."
Pu Yuanqing quickly came to the rescue, saying, "Dad, Mom, I think we're being too paranoid. A hairpin that fell into the lake was so small, like a drop in the ocean. It's impossible for anyone to fish it out. Now, everyone who deserved it is dead, and no one will bring up that matter again. There are many pieces of jewelry of the same style, so it's not impossible that there are hairpins similar to that one. From now on, we shouldn't act too aggressively, or else it will arouse suspicion."
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