Everyone was startled and stood up. The Crown Prince's wife scolded the servant, "How dare you! Report what's going on right now! What kind of behavior is this, making such a fuss!"
The old woman immediately knelt down and replied in a panic, "Miss Lian rushed out as soon as she woke up from her unconsciousness, and no one could stop her. She's already outside the mansion gates!"
"What? Lian'er, Lian'er!" The second madam's legs went weak, and she cried out, "She must have gone to commit suicide! Quickly find my Lian'er and bring her back!"
The others also looked displeased, and couldn't help but blame the girl for being so insensible.
At that moment, there was no way she would have gone out to commit suicide.
If you really want to die, you can do it at home.
It's convenient whether you throw yourself into a well or hang yourself.
Therefore, the most likely reasons for her going out are to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to break off the engagement, or to find the Marquis of Xinting to express her feelings, or to go to the palace to ask her cousin, the Empress, for help to plead with the Emperor to rescind the decree.
But neither of these is something a young woman like her can do!
The old marquis, his face dark, ordered, "Go and bring her back. At a time like this, isn't the family already disgraced enough?!"
Everyone quickly responded and got to work.
The Crown Prince's wife still insisted on going to the palace, so the Crown Prince and the Second Master took their servants to find someone.
The second wife was unable to go out or enter the palace, so she could only cry incessantly, which made the old Marquis and his wife even more displeased.
The elderly couple only had two sons, both of whom were legitimate sons.
Logically, brothers should be friendly and respectful, relying on and supporting each other.
However, the second son and his wife always felt that their parents were biased, allowing the eldest son to inherit the title, and that the eldest son's daughter also became the empress.
Therefore, the second son and his wife both hoped to marry their daughter to the Marquis of Xinting.
Even if she can't have the same glory as the Empress, she'll at least be a Lady of the Marquis, and in the future, she'll be able to sit on equal footing with my family.
Now that the second son and his wife's wishes have been dashed, it seems their peaceful days at home are coming to an end...
If the Duke of Zhenguo were here right now, he would be bursting with a sense of superiority.
He only has one son, which has its advantages; at least it prevents sibling rivalry...
The head steward kept looking around in front of the Marquis of Xinting's mansion.
A gatekeeper stepped forward with a grin and said, "Master Steward, please come in and have some tea. The Marquis has gone to the wounded soldiers' camp and I'm afraid he won't be back anytime soon."
"What kind of tea are you drinking!" The head steward glared and said angrily, "Don't you all think about it? Those wounded soldiers are all soldiers who have followed the Marquis through thick and thin. Now they are missing arms or legs. The Marquis is heartbroken."
"Let me tell you, when the Marquis returns, you all better serve him well. Anyone who dares to cause him trouble at this time, don't blame me for using the rod!"
"No, no!" the servant quickly assured him. "Don't worry, Steward. The Marquis only comes back for a few days a year. We're too busy serving him to cause him any trouble!"
"That's more like it!" The head butler was satisfied and peered outside again.
Just then, a carriage came rushing by, and his eyes lit up, thinking it was the Marquis returning. But just as he was about to go to greet it, he realized it wasn't his own carriage at all.
He guessed who had come to visit and was thinking of quickly sending them away, but when the carriage stopped, a girl in purple jumped down.
The girl looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pretty face, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying for some reason, her hair was disheveled, and she looked a little disheveled.
The head steward felt the man looked familiar and was about to ask him a few questions when the coachman spoke up first, "Miss, you haven't paid your fare yet, ten coins!"
The girl in purple was looking up at the plaque of the Marquis's residence when she heard this and got angry. She tore off a hairpin from her hair and threw it at the man, yelling, "Get out of here!"
The coachman took the hairpin, glanced at it only once, then cracked his whip and sped off, disappearing from sight.
The head butler's lips twitched uncontrollably twice.
That's a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies! Not counting the materials, the labor cost just to make it was ten taels of silver.
This girl just threw it to someone else, that's really... wasteful!
Whoever marries this girl in the future will be truly unlucky.
After staring at him for a while, the girl turned to him and said, "Where is your lord? Tell him to come out. I want to ask him why he won't marry me."
The head butler's legs buckled, and he almost fell down the steps!
This spendthrift woman actually wants to enter the Marquis's mansion?!
He steadied himself and looked the girl over carefully again, finally remembering that she was the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Marquis of Jiangning's household and the Empress's cousin!
Today, the Marquis of Jiangning's residence just received the imperial decree of marriage, and this girl comes to make a scene—what's going on?!
If someone who doesn't understand sees this, they might think that the Marquis has an affair with this girl and has abandoned her after starting a relationship!
He mentally cursed and his face darkened. He said loudly, "Miss Wu, don't joke! Our Marquis has been away on campaigns and probably doesn't even know you. How can you talk about marriage? Besides, you were just betrothed today. You should hurry home and prepare for your wedding!"
A disheveled young woman stood in front of the Marquis's mansion, confronting the mansion's head steward. This scene was quite unusual, and it had already attracted the attention of a few passersby who were secretly watching.
The head butler deliberately made his words clear, hoping that Miss Wu would back down.
Unfortunately, Miss Wu didn't appreciate it at all.
She lifted the hem of her skirt and was about to rush into the Marquis's mansion, shouting, "I want to see the Marquis! Why won't he marry me? What is wrong with me?"
The head butler was furious; this girl couldn't understand human speech!
He quickly stopped her, but didn't dare to pull the girl away, leaving him in a very passive position.
Just then, the Marquis finally returned.
As soon as the carriage door opened, the Marquis jumped down first, followed by Li Lao Er.
The Marquis frowned deeply, and Li Lao Er also looked unwell.
People only ever see victory, but they don't know how much price is paid behind those two words.
Even with meticulous planning and the fact that the Marquis always led from the front in every battle, there were still casualties in the army.
Throughout the day, they visited all the wounded soldiers, recorded their names, and selected those who could be sent to Suijintan.
Although the Marquis had already sent word of this to the wounded soldiers' camp a few days earlier, hoping that the wounded soldiers could rekindle a little hope of survival.
However, some people are still trying to commit suicide these days.
Some were rescued, while others... succeeded.
Among these wounded soldiers, some have parents and family members. If they receive more compensation, they can return to their hometowns, get married, and have children. At least they will have someone to rely on and a way out.
But many more people don't have family, or they have family but are unwilling to support another burden.
Perhaps knowing this, they chose to end their own lives.
In their minds, dying with dignity was better than begging on the streets and rotting away in a stinking ditch...
Li Lao Er was also in a heavy mood. He really wanted to bring all the wounded soldiers back to Suijintan, but it was impossible.
With so many people's livelihoods at stake, we need to discuss this with our families.
Otherwise, even if the village were willing to take them in, these wounded soldiers wouldn't want to be useless people who can only eat and sleep all day!
He had a vague feeling that his niece might be able to solve this problem, so he decided to ask her first when he got home tomorrow...
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