Aunt Shen's words made the atmosphere in the room fall into silence in an instant.
Li Nian looked at Aunt Shen in shock and anger, not understanding how she could say such ridiculous words.
"Auntie, Bai Ying has been persecuted like this by that man, and you still want her to become his concubine?"
Li Sisi quickly swallowed her food and came over, saying angrily, "Auntie, what nonsense are you talking about! You let Baiying marry that man as a concubine. Aren't you going to make Baiying suffer humiliation from him for the rest of her life?"
Aunt Shen frowned. "What do you know? This is already the best possible outcome! We are an ordinary family and can't afford to offend the Imperial Tutor's Mansion. Bai Ying is already pregnant and has so many ugly scars on her body. If she doesn't marry that man, who else can she marry in the future? Now everyone in the government office knows about Bai Ying's affairs. If she doesn't marry him, what reputation will she have? How will she live the rest of her life?"
Li Sisi pointed at the red marks on Shen Baiying’s neck and said, “Look at what Baiying has been tortured by him, and you are still only thinking about your reputation?”
Li Sisi really couldn't understand Aunt Shen's train of thought. Was she thinking about Bai Ying or her own face?
Shen Baiying's confused pupils were gradually filled with hatred. She looked at her mother and her voice trembled: "Mom, I don't want to marry that beast. I hate him. I wish I could cut him into pieces!"
Aunt Shen sat down beside the bed, took Shen Baiying's hand and gently advised: "Silly child, don't be confused. The prefect has personally acted as a matchmaker for you. After you marry, you will be a member of the official family in the capital. It is better than being pointed at by others here for the rest of your life. If you don't marry, what will happen to the child in your belly? No one will be willing to marry you in the future. Are you going to be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life?"
Shen Baiying looked at Aunt Shen with resentment: "It's all your fault! You were the one who insisted on agreeing to Wang Yi's marriage. I said I wouldn't marry him, but you were attracted by the benefits he promised you! If you hadn't insisted on bringing Wang Yi and me together, how could I have ended up like this?!"
When Aunt Shen heard what Shen Baiying said, her face was full of the look of being heartbroken by her daughter, and her eyes were red: "How can you say this to me, child? I am doing this for your own good! You wasted your youth for a man who looked down on you, Pei Yanli, and rejected so many good men. Now you are seventeen years old, and Wang Yi's conditions are no worse than Pei Yanli's, and even his appearance is quite good."
Aunt Shen said with sincerity: "When I agreed to this marriage, I didn't want you to miss out on such a good match. Who could have imagined that he would be a beast who kidnapped girls!"
Shen Baiying shook off her mother's hand, sneering with tears in her eyes: "For my own good? You keep saying it's for my own good, but have you ever asked me what I want? Now that something like this has happened, you still want to push me into the fire pit. You don't care about my feelings at all!"
"I don't care about your feelings?"
Aunt Shen was so angry at what Shen Baiying said that she was shaking. She stood up suddenly and pointed her finger at Shen Baiying and cursed: "You, a girl, have been chasing Pei Yanli for so many years. Have you ever considered the reputation of our Shen family? Do you know that every time I chat with those sisters, I dare not even raise my head! I am laughed at by others every day. Have you considered the feelings of a mother like me?"
"Is it all my fault that you've ended up like this? If you had just gotten married earlier, would there have been so much trouble?"
Shen Baiying looked at her mother's angry expression and felt a chill in her heart.
Was she wrong? Was this outcome really her own fault?
For so many years, she had liked Pei Yanli and worked hard to make herself better. Whether it was riding skills or knowledge, she was the best among her companions. She just wanted to be worthy of him. Is it wrong to like someone? How did it become a shameful thing?
When Pei Yanli saw her like this, she didn't want to live anymore. She even hoped that she was among the girls who were tortured to death.
But she still survived, the man she loved was promoted and became more outstanding, while she became a dirty existence.
Shen Baiying's eyes gradually became empty and confused. She smiled miserably and said, "Mom, since you think I've embarrassed you, then why did you save me? Why don't you let me die? If I die, you won't feel ashamed anymore, and I won't have to live in pain anymore."
Perhaps she didn't expect Shen Baiying to still be thinking about suicide, so Aunt Shen broke down and burst into tears: "How come you don't understand your mother's painstaking efforts?"
Seeing the mother and daughter becoming increasingly agitated, Li Nian gently advised, "Auntie, Bai Ying, now is not the time to accuse anyone of wrongdoing. As long as people are alive, there is hope. Let's work together to find a way to resolve this predicament."
Li Sisi also followed up and agreed: "Yes, Auntie, our top priority is to seek justice for Bai Ying."
"Get justice?" Aunt Shen wiped her tears and said excitedly, "How can we get justice? The prefect said that the Grand Tutor is the emperor's teacher. How powerful is that? Not only us, but even the prefect doesn't dare to do anything to him. They can just make up a name and arrest us!"
Li Sisi was furious: "But will Bai Ying have a good life if she marries him? If Bai Ying marries a man like that, she will suffer for the rest of her life!"
Shen Baiying’s face was full of despair: “Mom, let me marry him, I would rather die!”
Aunt Shen looked at Shen Baiying's resolute expression, slumped on the edge of the bed, and murmured softly with sobs in her mouth: "Are you going to force mother to death..."
She looked at the two sisters of the Li family, and thought of what Li Sisi had said before, that Master Xiao promised to help them. If such a noble person was willing to take care of her daughter Bai Ying in the capital, then Bai Ying's life would not be so difficult after she married into the capital.
She was about to speak when she heard Li Nian say, "Auntie, what we need to do now is respect Bai Ying's wishes. A woman can live well without getting married. As for the child in Bai Ying's belly, it's up to her to keep it or not. She doesn't have to give birth to it."
Li Nian looked at Shen Baiying tenderly and asked her, "Do you want to keep the child? If not, then we can't have it. That man is just the nephew of the Grand Tutor, and it's not certain whether he's a direct relative. As long as Xiao Yunyu finds evidence of that man's crime and submits it to the Dali Temple in the capital, and makes his deeds public, even the people in the Grand Tutor's Mansion will not be able to protect him."
Now it is only because he is in the northwest and the matter has not yet been exposed to the royal family, so that person dares to say such lawless words without any shame.
At this time, Xiao Yunyu had just finished dealing with the matter over there. When he heard Xiaobai say that Li Nian came to visit Shen Baiying, he hurried to the official residence again.
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