Chapter 132 The Original Owner's Father's Concubines and Illegitimate Sons
Zhao Maoquan was a spineless coward. Upon hearing the reprimand, his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.
At this moment, Wu, who was standing to the side, also trembled and tried to kneel down to pay her respects.
But just as she made a move, Yunxi stepped forward, helped her up, and then, without saying a word, supported Wu Shi as they walked towards the Prince's carriage at the city gate.
Gu Nanxiao had come with Yunxi, and now that his wife had left without a word, he naturally wanted to follow as well.
This left the group of Zhao family members kneeling on the ground completely bewildered. They never expected that Prince Xian would not even allow them to get up, completely ignoring them and leaving them standing there.
The more wonderful your expectations were when you came, the greater the disappointment you feel now.
The officials were all shrewd people. Seeing that Prince Xian treated the Zhao family this way, they all turned around and followed him into the city.
At this moment, among the Zhao family members kneeling on the ground, a young woman suddenly shouted, "Eldest sister, even if you don't like your aunt and us illegitimate children, you can't take it out on Father!"
My father already suffers from a leg ailment; if he kneels here for too long, he'll inevitably suffer again when he gets home in the evening. Since you left the manor, you've been unaware of the situation at home.
If Father's leg ailment flares up, we, as his children, will take care of him. But that's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. The best way is to avoid aggravating Father's old condition. Eldest sister, don't you agree?"
Yunxi recognized the voice all too well; it belonged to Aunt Xu's eldest daughter, Zhao Yunlu. The original owner and her daughter had suffered greatly because of the schemes she and Aunt Xu had employed.
The mother and daughter are both scheming and manipulative, and each one is more cunning and feigns weakness than the other.
Upon hearing this, Madam Wu tightened her grip on Yunxi's hand and immediately looked at her daughter with a tense expression, appearing extremely uneasy.
It's obvious that she's been bullied for years, and her first reaction to any situation is to compromise and submit.
Yunxi patted Wu's hand reassuringly, pretending not to hear, and helped her into the carriage. Then she gave Gu Nanxiao a look and got into the carriage herself.
After Gu Nanxiao helped Yunxi into the carriage, his expression suddenly turned cold and stern when he turned around.
Don't think he didn't hear it. What the illegitimate daughter of the Zhao family said seemed ordinary, but in fact, it was a subtle way of revealing to everyone present that Yunxi was indifferent to her biological father's health.
She also mentioned how she fulfilled her filial duties to her parents, which both belittled Yunxi and boosted her own reputation for filial piety.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated. Coming from a humble background, she had no idea what a privileged class was.
Don't think that Yunxi only disrespected his biological father. As long as someone is protected by him, no matter how heinous the things they do, the officials present will only fawn over them.
Mo Yu immediately received a signal from his master and rebuked, "Insolence! Prefect Zhao has come to this place to take up his post and has knelt and bowed to Prince Xian. How dare you utter so many complaints? Are you trying to extort the prince?"
As he spoke, Gu Nanxiao, along with Mo Yu and the others, turned back to the kneeling Zhao family members. He accurately located the woman who had spoken earlier within the crowd.
A young woman with an ordinary appearance and a mean expression was looking up at Gu Nanxiao with teary eyes, as if she had suffered a great injustice and was waiting for him to stand up for her.
Zhao Yunlu was consumed by jealousy the moment she saw Gu Nanxiao's handsome face. Why was that little bitch so lucky to be noticed by such a god-like figure?
When Yunxi was taken to the Prince's mansion to be a concubine, she secretly sneered at Yunxi, thinking she deserved it. She felt that being a lowly servant was a privilege reserved for her elder sister.
Later, it was said that after visiting the Prince's residence for a day, she committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake, like a virtuous and chaste woman. Who would have thought that the wicked woman not only survived but also gained the exclusive favor of the Prince Xian.
It seems she didn't actually want to die; she was just using some manipulative tactics.
Zhao Yunlu admitted that she was not as good-looking as Zhao Yunxi, but she also knew that a man's affection for a woman was not solely based on her appearance.
For example, his birth mother was not as good as the first wife in terms of background or appearance, but she was able to keep his father's heart firmly in her grasp.
Over the years, Zhao Yunlu had been influenced by his surroundings and believed that he was second to none in this regard. Therefore, it was not difficult for Zhao Yunlu to gain the favor of Prince Xian.
Gu Nanxiao had seen plenty of women who wanted to take advantage of him. He could tell what Zhao Yunlu, a low-level scheming woman, was plotting at a glance.
Moreover, he had already told Yunxi about her family situation. When Yunxi entrusted him with the matter just now, he already had a plan in mind.
Gu Nanxiao pointed at Zhao Yunlu, who was kneeling on the ground, and ordered Mo Yu, "Drag out that woman who dared to offend me and slap her!"
With a wave of his hand, Mo Yu sent two tall and burly guards toward Zhao Yunlu.
When Zhao Maoquan saw this scene, he was shocked, but his years of experience in the officialdom told him that he absolutely could not plead for his illegitimate daughter at this moment, and he could not even beg for mercy.
All he needs to do is kneel there obediently, pretend to be invisible, and let the matter slide, letting it fade away unnoticed, and that will be enough to get through this ordeal.
The guards lifted Zhao Yunlu from the crowd like a chick. One held her down while the other began slapping her across the face.
Since their master didn't specify how much to hit, they kept hitting until their master told them to stop.
Everyone thought that Gu Nanxiao would only give her a slight punishment, which would be enough. After all, that woman was the younger sister of his future princess.
To everyone's surprise, Gu Nanxiao ordered someone to bring over a chair, and sat there watching the guards slap him as if he were watching a play.
Gu Nanxiao's attitude instantly made the officials present understand what was going on. They also knew how to treat the newly appointed Prefect Zhao.
Zhao Maoquan, kneeling on the ground, was now trembling with fear, unable to even keep his knees steady. At first, he thought it was just that his concubine's daughter had spoken inappropriately, which had displeased Prince Xian.
But judging from the current situation, it's clear that it was that brat Yunxi who said something. Prince Xian is going to avenge them, mother and daughter.
In fact, over the years, Consort Xu and her illegitimate children had often mistreated Madam Wu and her daughter. Even when they occasionally caused trouble for him, Zhao Maoquan simply let it go.
The reason he married Wu was simply because he had never had any feelings for her. He married her only because her family was wealthy. Even if she couldn't help him in his official career, she could at least ensure that he wouldn't be short of money in his social interactions with officials.
But Aunt Xu was completely different; she was gentle and understanding, and took excellent care of him. What man wouldn't like such a pleasing woman?
Therefore, over time, his heart completely strayed. Especially three years ago, when he heard that the eldest daughter, who had been taken into the Yong Prince's mansion, had gone missing with Prince Xian, showing no regard for right or wrong.
His already low opinion of the mother and daughter reached its peak at that time. He then allowed his concubines to abuse Wu at will.
Who would have thought that Yunxi had such skills, making Prince Xian unable to forget her for three years, and even defying the imperial decree to refuse marriage for her, as if he would marry no one but her.
Only then, out of consideration for the fact that the mother and daughter were still somewhat useful, did Zhao Maoquan begin to take care of Wu.
Unexpectedly, the once timid and submissive eldest daughter, after living in the Prince's mansion for several years, dared to show her disrespect to her father. She was simply an ungrateful wretch who disregarded the kindness of being raised.
However, don't think he has no way to deal with this daughter. As long as he uses some tricks on Wu Shi, he can force Zhao Yunxi to obey him.
The guards' strength was far greater than that of maids or servants slapping someone. After only twenty or so slaps, Zhao Yunlu's lip was already splitting open.
A few breaths later, she spat out her teeth along with blood.
At this moment, Xu Niang, who was kneeling to the side, exclaimed in distress, then crawled on her knees toward Gu Nanxiao, pleading with tears streaming down her face:
"I beg Your Highness to show mercy. Yunlu is just young and ignorant, and she said the wrong thing. I will definitely discipline her properly in the future. Please forgive her this time."
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