The Jiao family hadn't been wealthy for many years, so the matriarch, who was also her own mother, came from a humble background and hadn't received much education.
She usually only uses money and power to oppress people. In her eyes, anyone who is inferior to the Jiao family is a lowly commoner.
But she had no idea that the "lowly people" she spoke of had recently filed a complaint with the emperor, resulting in the dismissal of a county magistrate. This caused the powerful families of Jiangnan to suffer a severe reprimand from the emperor and the powerful figures from the north, and they lost a great deal of their lives.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent Hu Laosan to gather information, since they were originally from the same village and would be easier to get along with.
Madam Jiao was about to nag when she saw Marquis Dingbei storm in from outside. Startled, she quickly stood up and asked, "Why has Your Excellency come? Has Hongjun caused trouble again?"
Mentioning his brother-in-law, who was utterly useless, made the Marquis of Dingbei's face even worse.
He truly regretted arranging the marriage with the Jiao family; they were not an asset to him at all, but a bunch of useless bastards who dragged him down!
He ignored his mother-in-law completely, glared at Jiao Shi, and asked sharply, "Have you done something stupid again lately? Have you gone and provoked that Cui fellow?"
Madam Jiao turned pale with fright, not understanding how the Marquis knew about this.
"Um... what is Your Excellency saying? I don't understand."
At this moment, Mr. Wen and Liu Zhiheng also came in, followed by guards carrying Hu Laosan and Wu Gouzi's wife.
Liu Zhiheng laughed and said, "Madam Hou wouldn't say she doesn't recognize these two people, would she? Especially this Hu Laosan, you personally ordered him to be sent to gather information!"
"Why are you here?" Jiao subconsciously took a few steps back, unwilling to see Hu Laosan's miserable state.
Liu Zhiheng sneered, "We didn't want to come either, but it's obvious that Madam Hou's reach is too far. We have no choice but to come to her door with our swords and help her cut off the extra piece."
Startled, Jiao quickly hid behind the Marquis of Dingbei. "My lord, I really didn't do anything. These two servants were newly bought from the estate; I don't know them at all."
"You don't recognize them? How do you know they're newly bought?" Liu Zhiheng was too tired to complain anymore and turned to the Marquis of Dingbei, whose face was dark with anger.
"My lord, I'm not trying to be mean, but your taste is terrible. Even if you've divorced my sworn sister, you shouldn't have chosen such a fool. Wouldn't it be better to sew a new set of clothes with that? Why put a green hat on your head? Does Your Highness look a lot like that long-lived tortoise?"
Marquis Dingbei was so angry that his face turned pale. He wanted to speak, but Lady Jiao spoke first.
"How dare you insult our Marquis!"
Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, the Marquis of Dingbei turned around and slapped her.
"Shut up, you idiot! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state today!" Marquis Dingbei stepped forward, pulled up the fallen Jiao Shi, and wished he could devour her alive.
"When Cui was in the capital, I always had people watching over her. She had no chance to leave the estate. How could she have secretly gotten pregnant and given birth to a daughter? She got pregnant on the way to escape famine, and she hadn't given birth yet! How much water is in your brain to think that she cheated on me!"
"My lord, sob sob, I just saw her holding that child, and the child looked a lot like her! I just wanted to secretly inquire about him, I didn't do anything wrong!"
Seeing that she could no longer hide the truth, Jiao dared not offer any further explanation. She was actually unsure herself, which was why she wanted to inquire and try her luck.
If it were true, wouldn't that be a huge handle, a handle that would allow her to immediately take revenge and reclaim all of the Cui family's land?
Unexpectedly, when this matter was exposed, the one who was most furious was the Marquis!
Does the Marquis still have feelings for Lady Cui?
Thinking this, she felt even more wronged and cried even harder.
"I was only thinking of you, Lord Marquis. I felt sorry for you being wronged, sob sob. How could you treat me like this, Lord Marquis?"
Seeing her crying with tears streaming down her face, and repeatedly saying that she was doing it for his sake, Marquis Dingbei couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her. He could only leave her behind and turn to Mr. Wen, who had remained silent.
"Tell me, what do you want me to do to stop? Stop nagging me!"
"What you're saying, Lord Marquis," Mr. Wen laughed disdainfully, "is my job as an imperial censor, to report on what I hear. It's a fact that you, Lord Marquis, have embezzled military rations and salaries, and practiced nepotism. There's solid evidence to back it up. How did it come out as retaliation in your mouth?"
Marquis Dingbei gritted his teeth in hatred, "Speak, what exactly do you want?"
“It’s very simple,” Mr. Wen tapped the ground beneath his feet. “How can one allow another to sleep peacefully beside one’s bed? Especially one whose heart is as venomous as a snake! Tell your new wife to get out immediately, and this estate will be transferred to my junior sister’s name as her apology.”
"No!" Madam Jiao and Madam Jiao shouted almost simultaneously.
"This is our dowry for our daughter. What right do you have to take it away?" Madam Jiao almost wanted to step forward and tear it apart, but she was afraid of the burly guards behind Liu Zhiheng.
Mr. Wen, impatient with further entanglement, stood up and spoke harshly.
"Get out of here right now! If you delay even a moment, I'll make sure your Jiao family, along with your good son-in-law, are all wiped out! Don't think I don't know about your Jiao family's filthy business of driving people to their deaths and forcibly buying farms!"
Madam Jiao's face immediately turned pale; the origins of this estate were indeed tainted.
But the house was well-preserved, and the original owner's family was completely wiped out. How did this person find out about it?
Upon seeing his mother-in-law's expression, Marquis Dingbei knew that there was no turning back.
This guy surnamed Wen has probably been investigating for quite some time.
Jiao's scheme against Cui was merely giving him an excuse.
"Pack your belongings and let's get going!"
Marquis Dingbei shoved Cui, and seeing that Jiao was still hesitating, he became angry, "Fool, if you want to keep the estate, then get a divorce!"
Upon hearing this, Jiao finally realized she was scared. She quickly went back to her inner room, packed up two boxes, had the maids and servants carry them away, and finally took out a contract.
After examining the document, the Marquis of Dingbei handed it directly to Liu Zhiheng, then grabbed Lady Jiao and left.
As he passed by Mr. Wen, he finally said, "Remember to keep your promise."
Mr. Wen snorted coldly, which was taken as an agreement.
When Madam Jiao saw that her daughter and son-in-law had left, she felt somewhat disheartened, but she still wanted to make a scene and demand that the estate be returned to her.
Mr. Wen glanced at her only once. "Madam Jiao has lent out 30,000 taels of silver at exorbitant interest rates, hasn't she?"
Madam Jiao gasped and scrambled out, occasionally glancing back at Mr. Wen as if she were seeing a demon.
Liu Zhiheng found it amusing, shook the land deed in his hand, and sighed helplessly.
"Is the Marquis of Dingbei blind? He should have chosen a scholarly family for his new wife. How could he have picked such a foolish family?"
Mr. Wen's eyes held a hint of relief. He had been inquiring about the Marquis of Dingbei almost as soon as he arrived in Jiangnan, and naturally, he couldn't let go of his new wife's family.
Unexpectedly, this family was like a sea cucumber, covered in incriminating evidence; it was so easy to find a bunch of things without even trying...
Perfect! They're courting death and insist on bullying my junior sister again, which gives him a chance to vent his anger!
"Brother, I'm leaving this place to you. I'll go back and talk to my junior sister. Remember to send anything useful from Broken Gold Beach there as compensation. After all, this estate will soon be sold off, and my junior sister doesn't want to stay."
Liu Zhiheng nodded, "There's no shortage of people buying estates in this area. I heard a few days ago that the headmaster of Taihua Academy, Guo, wanted to buy an estate. I'll send someone to inquire. A neighbor like this can't be bad."
"Whose house are you talking about?" Mr. Wen looked up in surprise, his voice changing.
This is the third update! New readers, please give me a five-star review! I'm working hard to write every day, thank you so much!
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