Chapter 705 An eye for an eye
Beneath the hibiscus tree, countless petals fell, carpeting the ground in vibrant colors.
There is a flower-viewing pavilion here, which is usually uninhabited. Right now, the maids are all in the front yard entertaining guests, and there is no one around.
But sounds could be heard coming from inside the building.
Madam Tang nestled in a man's arms, her face full of coquettish smiles: "Today is a special day for you, young master, and you still dare to come and fool around with me."
This man was none other than the head of the Tang family, Commander Tang: "If you dare to come, why shouldn't I?"
"I have good news for you," Madam Tang said. "Sui Shuren is very fond of me, making me talk to her, treating me like a younger sister, while my sister-in-law is completely ignored. I think I can totally be the head of the Tang family. After you divorce that old hag, I..."
"Why bring this up again?" Lord Tang's face flashed with impatience. "You are the second wife now, you don't need to worry about anything, and your wealth and status are no less than hers. Why do you keep comparing yourself to her? The most important thing is that my heart and my body are with you. You are the most fortunate woman in the Tang family, do you understand?"
Madam Tang was furious: "But I have no face anywhere. It's all your brother's fault for being so useless. I, as the legal wife, have no dignity at all..."
Lord Tang disliked her saying that the most and got straight to business.
As a result, Madam Tang had no time to speak.
But she was still thinking about climbing the social ladder. Her husband was the second master of the Tang family, but he had no official position and no real power. He was always following his brother-in-law around doing errands.
She had no status in the Tang family, so she used a little trick to seduce her brother-in-law into bed.
The real power in the Tang family is the eldest brother-in-law. Only by winning over this man can she have a glorious future and be able to trample her sister-in-law down...
While the two were engrossed in their activities inside the house, the number of people at the entrance of the flower-viewing pavilion gradually increased.
Besides the group of men led by Master Tang, there was also a group of women led by Madam Tang, all of whom came to admire the flowers.
The woman originally had other plans, but Lu Yingxue suggested coming to admire the flowers, so everyone came together.
Stepping into the courtyard, Lu Yingxue immediately smiled: "The hibiscus in the Tang residence is truly beautiful, but it loses its charm when viewed from below. It would be better if we could go upstairs."
Madam Tang smiled and said, "This building was originally built for flower viewing. Let's go."
She gestured to the old woman behind her to go open the door.
The old woman walked up the steps, pushed open the door, and then suddenly stopped.
The two people inside were completely absorbed... and didn't even notice that someone had come in.
The old woman's expression changed drastically, and she instinctively tried to close the door.
"Hey, there's someone else in this house!" Lu Yingxue kicked the door shut. "Oh my god, what am I seeing? Everyone come and see!!"
Her scream startled the two people inside the house, and at the same time, it attracted the attention of the others in the yard.
The crowd quickly moved over and peered inside through the door.
Madam Tang was completely stunned. She couldn't understand why so many people had suddenly come to the usually deserted backyard.
She quickly turned around, startled, and hastily put her clothes on.
Lord Tang was furious: "Take him out of here right now!"
"Hey, what's with your arrogance!" Lu Yingxue stood at the door with her hands on her hips. "This is the Tang family home! You two, a man and a woman, are having an affair in the Tang family's backyard. What do you think of the Tang family?! Madam Tang, what are you standing there for? Quickly have someone tie up this pair of adulterous lovers and hand them over to the authorities!"
Madam Tang, however, was pale and swaying precariously.
The onlookers had already recognized the man and woman who were having an affair.
"Isn't this Lord Tang?"
"During Young Master Tang's celebratory banquet, Lord Tang was actually having an affair with a woman in the backyard?"
"This woman looks familiar. Isn't she the second wife of the Tang family who left the banquet early? My God, is my sister-in-law having an affair with my brother-in-law?"
"Madam Tang is so shameless, she actually seduced her husband's own brother..."
Master Tang burst in from outside and, seeing his wife completely naked, his face flushed with rage: "You shameless woman, you shameless woman! You've disgraced the Tang family! Drown her! She must be drowned!"
"How can you blame all the illicit relations between a man and a woman on one woman!" Lu Yingxue raised her voice. "Lord Tang is the head of the Tang family. If Madam Tang, a weak woman, were forced to have relations with him, could she resist? Moreover, Lord Tang is round and plain-looking, while Madam Tang is so beautiful. It must be that Lord Tang coveted his sister-in-law's beauty and secretly took advantage of her... Poor Madam Tang, not only was she forcibly taken, but she was also slandered..."
Just moments ago, Madam Tang was so ashamed and indignant that she wanted to kill herself by banging her head against a wall.
Upon receiving this sudden advice, she immediately burst into tears, saying nothing, just weeping with tears streaming down her face.
The opinions of those discussing the matter immediately shifted.
"Lord Tang is too domineering, actually forcibly taking his own brother's wife."
"He's a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, he could have any woman he wanted, how could he do such a scandalous thing? This is incest!"
"I remember that at the end of last year, Old Madam Tang was murdered. The mourning period was not over yet, and Lord Tang did such a thing. Tsk tsk tsk!"
The crowd's words made Lord Tang's temples throb with anger, and he roared, "Shut up, all of you!"
"Everyone's words are true, so why shut up!"
Cheng Wanwan walked in from the back of the crowd. She came over because she saw that Lord Tang was wearing an outer robe, just in case she saw that he was afraid of seeing that disgusting scene.
She spoke coldly: "You are engaging in illicit relations with a woman while your mother's mourning period is still ongoing. This is unfilial. You are forcing your weak younger siblings into illicit relations. This is inhumane. You treat your own brother as nothing. This is unjust. You are unworthy of your official robes. This is disloyal! Such an unfilial, inhumane, unjust, and disloyal person is not worthy of being a court official! Someone, go and invite the governor over!"
The dynasty placed great emphasis on social order and ethics. If a man surnamed Tang had an affair with another woman, people would just gossip about it and that would be the end of it, because the era was tolerant of men.
But the woman he was having an affair with happened to be his own younger brother's lawfully wedded wife, which violated the established moral order.
Less than a year after the passing of Madam Tang, such a disgraceful act during the mourning period could easily be labeled as unfilial... An official who is unfilial is unfit to be an official. Officials of the Great Yu Dynasty may be mediocre, but they must never be unfilial. If someone is found to be unfilial, the Censorate's impeachment is no joke. At best, they will be demoted; at worst, they will be reduced to commoners...
Lord Tang's face was filled with disbelief.
His cold eyes fell on Cheng Wanwan.
He had clearly arranged for four lecherous men to have sex with this shameless woman, but he never expected that he would be the one who ended up being outmaneuvered.
With so many people witnessing his disgraceful deeds, the news will likely spread throughout Yuncheng very quickly, and with embellishments, it will reach the capital. He'll probably lose his position as a military commander.
He was furious and suddenly stood up and rushed towards Cheng Wanwan.
He was a military general, and the power he wielded in a fit of rage was no joke; his hand went straight for Cheng Wanwan's neck.
Just as they were about to reach Cheng Wanwan, Madam Tang grabbed her husband's waist and said, "You've disgraced the Tang family! Please, have some respect for our son! He finally became a scholar, are you going to ruin it all for him?"
Mentioning his son, Lord Tang felt weak and relaxed.
The reason he worked for the He family was for the sake of his son... If he were to injure Sui Shuren in public, his son's future would likely be in jeopardy...
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