Capital city, Marquis Jing'an's Mansion.

Jiang Muxue's affair has caused a great disturbance in the city these days, and the entire Marquis's mansion has been in turmoil.

Marquis Jing'an and his eldest son Jiang Chenyi were officials in the court. They were impeached by hostile officials during the past few days. The emperor was furious and fined them three months' salary.

At this time, in the ancestral hall of the Marquisate, Jiang Muxue was kneeling in front of a group of tablets. The doors and windows around her were closed, and candles were lit in the room, with intermittent light and shadows.

Her body was covered with wounds, all traces of being whipped. She had been kneeling for three days and three nights. Although servants brought her meals on time every day, the wounds on her body had not been healed for a long time. Some of them had begun to fester and rot. Her face was as pale as paper, and her body had long been exhausted.

I don't know how long it was before I heard someone talking outside the door.

"Please, just let me go in and take a look. I'll come out after I deliver the food."

"Madam Feng, it's not that I don't allow you to come in, it's that the Marquis has ordered that no visitors are allowed. You are not following the rules."

Aunt Feng took off the bracelet on her hand, put it into the hand of the maid guarding the door, and said, "Please be flexible. I will go in and take a look. It won't take too long."

The maid accepted the favor and thought that since no one else had come in the past few days, it would be okay to let her in for a while, so she said, "Hurry up."

"Okay, okay."

Soon, Jiang Muxue heard the sound of a door being unlocked, and she looked over with difficulty, holding her eyelids open.

Aunt Feng came in with a food box. When she saw Jiang Muxue's miserable condition, she immediately burst into tears, "Damn it, they are so cruel!"

Jiang Muxue grabbed Aunt Feng's hand and said weakly: "Aunt, save me, I don't want to die..."

Aunt Feng wiped her tears and choked up, "I will go and ask the Marquis for help later..."

"No." Jiang Muxue interrupted her and shook her head, "He just wants me to die! In his eyes, my life is not as important as the reputation of the Marquisate!"

"Then... I'll go and ask the princess. The marquis will definitely listen to her."

"Don't you understand yet? Jiang Muyu is the reason why I am in this situation!" She was a little emotional and couldn't catch her breath for a while, so she started coughing violently.

Aunt Feng felt so distressed that she quickly stroked her back to comfort her. Tears flowed like pearls from a broken string. "My Xue'er, how are you?"

Jiang Muxue coughed until tears came out. She finally stopped and her face became paler. She waved her hands and said, "Mother, send someone to find Wei Jingkang and ask him to save me."

Aunt Feng shook her head and said, "My silly Xue'er, how can Wei Jingkang be trusted? The day after your accident, the wife of Marquis Xuanping came to visit and made it clear that she didn't want to have anything to do with the Marquis Jing'an Mansion, and that the past didn't count. Ruan even spread rumors, saying... saying..."

Jiang Muxue held her hand tightly, "What did she say?"

"He said that you seduced his son, and that his son had no feelings for you, and that he only saw you injured on the way to Putuo Temple and sent you up the mountain out of kindness."

In fact, Mrs. Ruan even said that Jiang Muxue was so chaotic that she could seduce her brother-in-law. Who knows how chaotic she is in private. Any man who marries her will probably have to raise someone else's son in a few years.

But she didn't dare tell Jiang Muxue this, for fear that she would be upset.

Jiang Muxue gritted her teeth and asked, "What about Wei Jingkang?"

Aunt Feng sighed, "Alas - he never showed up from beginning to end."

Jiang Muxue tightly grasped Aunt Feng's wrist, the hatred in her eyes bursting out without any concealment, "Jiang Muyu, it's all your fault that I became like this, it's all your fault... cough cough cough..."

Aunt Feng was startled when she saw her coughing non-stop, and said quickly: "Xue'er, don't get too emotional. You are already weak, and if you continue like this, you will be in trouble."

After a while, Jiang Muxue finally recovered her breath and said, "Auntie, please ask Caiyu to send a letter to Zhong Lei and ask him to save me."

"Caiyu..." Aunt Feng hesitated.

"What?"

Aunt Feng sighed again and said, "Caiyu has been sold by Madam."

Jiang Muxue's eyes widened immediately. "What did you say?"

"Aunt knows that Caiyu has been with you since she was a child, and she is a loyal and capable person, but Madam means that I... I have no choice..." She paused here, with a somewhat strange expression on her face, as if she was hesitant to speak.

"Just tell me what you want to say." Jiang Muxue laughed at herself, "What could be worse now?"

Aunt Feng swallowed her saliva and said, "In the past two days, rumors have spread from somewhere, saying that you and Zhong Lei have had an affair for a long time..."

Jiang Muxue just felt dizzy for a while, and Aunt Feng hurriedly supported her staggering body.

"Xue'er, I've asked your brother to find a solution. You can't get hurt. We can't just give up like this, okay?"

Jiang Muxue nodded weakly, thinking: "Yes, I can't give up so quickly, I still need to make Jiang Muyu pay the price!"

Suddenly, voices were heard again outside the door.

Aunt Feng pricked up her ears, and her alarm bells immediately rang, "Oh no! The Marquis is here!"

Just as she was about to stand up, there was a loud noise at the door and both of them froze in an instant.

The gate of the ancestral hall was kicked open by someone. The man in the lead was tall and slightly fat, with a tuft of beard on his chin. He was wearing a gorgeous suit and black brocade boots. It was the Marquis of Jing'an.

Behind him stood a tall and handsome man on each side, they were Jiang Chenyi and Jiang Chenyan respectively, and behind them were several other illegitimate sons and daughters.

Among the children in the Marquis's mansion, only Jiang Chenyi and Jiang Chenan are officials in the court. Jiang Chenyi is a civil official and Jiang Chenan is a military officer. At this time, Jiang Chenan is guarding the border.

Aunt Feng reacted and quickly knelt down to greet him, "I, the humble concubine Feng, greet the Marquis."

Jing'an Hou frowned and said coldly, "Why are you here? Didn't I order that no one is allowed to visit her?"

Aunt Feng raised her face, her eyes filled with tears, and she looked so pitiful and hesitant, "I was really worried about Xue'er's health, so I had no choice but to ask the gatekeeper to open the door and let me in. I know I was wrong, and I hope the Marquis will forgive me this time."

Among Marquis Jing'an's concubines, Aunt Feng had been with him the longest and had been favored the longest. She also gave birth to a son and a daughter for him, so he had always been more caring towards her.

"Since you miss your daughter so much, I won't bother with this matter. Please leave now."

"But..." Aunt Feng wanted to say something, but her son Jiang Chenwei hurried forward to support her.

"Aunt, let's leave as soon as possible and don't make father angry."

Aunt Feng was not stupid. She understood what Jiang Chenwei meant by looking at his expression and had to leave with him.

As the two men reached the door, they heard an order from inside: "Come here, drag this unfilial girl out and beat her with a stick in the street!"

Aunt Feng's legs went weak as she watched two strong servants come in and drag the weak Jiang Muxue out of the ancestral hall.

"My Xue'er..." As soon as she cried out, Jiang Chenwei covered her mouth.

Jiang Chenwei whispered in her ear and warned, "She has done this herself. She deserves to die. Father wants to punish her. We can't step forward to plead for her. Otherwise, we will be implicated. Then, even if we are right, we won't be able to explain ourselves. Do you know that?"

Aunt Feng closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, and she nodded woodenly.

Jiang Chenwei then took away the hand that was covering her mouth.

Everyone left the ancestral hall and walked towards the gate of the mansion.

There were only two of them left here. Jiang Chenwei looked gloomy and said to Aunt Feng, "Xue'er's affair has been spreading all over the city these days. Many officials have already submitted impeachment memorials. Today, the emperor was furious and fined father and elder brother three months' salary. The emperor also said that if this matter is not properly handled, they will not be able to keep the black veil hats on their heads. Father is really unwilling to let Xue'er go this time."

Aunt Feng grabbed his sleeve in panic and cried, "Is there no other way? Are we just going to watch them beat Xue'er to death?"

Jiang Chenwei said irritably: "Do you think I can bear to watch her die? But what can we do? You are just a concubine, and I am a bastard, with no status and no achievements. How can you ask me to protect her? What can I use to protect her?"

"Or... you can go and ask Lord Wei..."

"That's enough!" Jiang Chenwei pushed her away and yelled, "You have to ask your father-in-law for help with everything. Do you know what people say about me?"

Aunt Feng was thrown to the ground, shaking with tears.

"Cry, cry, cry. Just cry. If I had known this would happen... I should have not given birth to us." After Jiang Chenwei finished speaking, he turned around and strode away.