Master Cheng was out socializing when he was suddenly summoned back by his servants in a great hurry.
As soon as he stepped into the house, before he could even ask any questions, he saw Madam Cheng kneeling straight in front of him.
Master Cheng had never seen such a scene before, and he quickly reached out to help them up.
But to everyone's surprise, Madam Cheng refused to get up, muttering, "My lord, I have done something wrong, please let me kneel here!"
Master Cheng was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses.
"What... what exactly happened?"
Madam Cheng lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly: "Master, when you came to inquire about Sixth Concubine's condition this morning, I did not tell you the truth."
Upon hearing this, Master Cheng's face instantly darkened. "What happened? What's wrong with Qing'er?"
As he spoke, he suddenly stood up from his chair, startling Madam Cheng so much that she trembled all over.
"The reason I kept it from you was twofold: firstly, I was worried that you would be hurt and saddened if you heard it; secondly... I didn't really have any solid evidence, so I didn't dare to tell you the truth..."
Master Cheng could no longer contain himself and roared at Madam Cheng, "Stop your nonsense and explain yourself right now!"
"Master, Sixth Concubine...it seems she has been raped..."
"You're talking nonsense! How could Qing'er possibly encounter such a thing!" Upon hearing this, Master Cheng stared intently at Madam Cheng.
"At first, I also found it hard to believe, but yesterday you did not return to the courtyard, and when I returned, I saw that Sixth Concubine was already..."
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, deliberately leaving Master Cheng some room for his own imagination.
Madam Cheng bit her lip, her face showing difficulty: "When I found out, the perpetrator had already disappeared. I called the nanny to check, and she found obvious marks of pleasure on Sixth Concubine's body, and she was in a state of mental confusion. If this is not rape, what else could it be?"
Upon hearing this, Master Cheng suddenly swept all the porcelain on the table to the ground.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
Madam Cheng seemed oblivious to the fury. "I was not thoughtful enough. I originally intended to put it aside for the time being and deal with it when the time was right. But today, my second sister-in-law came to my door and claimed that she found a bellyband in my second brother's arms last night."
"You mean the second brother did this? How is that possible!"
"I am not sure either, that's why I told you, sir. If you have any doubts, I will call my second sister-in-law to come and tell you."
After speaking, Madam Cheng gave a wink to Granny Lu beside her, who immediately understood and presented the undergarment.
Upon closer inspection, Master Cheng instantly recognized it as something his beloved concubine frequently used.
"You bastard! You worthless scoundrel!"
Looking at her husband, who was furious, Madam Cheng felt a strange sense of pleasure welling up inside her.
Master Cheng, his face contorted with rage, rose to confront the second wife's family.
Fearing that things would be exposed, the First Madam quickly reached out to stop her.
"Master, although the matter is clear, we haven't caught him in the act. If you go, I'm afraid my second brother won't dare to admit it!"
"So, in your opinion, how should this be handled? Are we just going to let it go like this?"
The First Madam pretended to ponder and said, "Master, we are family. If this matter causes a great fuss and gets out, letting outsiders hear those rumors and damaging our family's reputation, wouldn't that be a loss?"
Master Cheng valued his reputation and face as much as his life, and sure enough, when the First Madam said those words, his tense expression instantly eased a little.
The First Madam pressed on, "Moreover, sir, my second brother probably made this mistake because he was drunk and confused. He may not have meant it. You know how fiery my second sister-in-law is. If she really makes a scene, who knows what nonsense she might say, and then it will be even more difficult to deal with."
Master Cheng was so angry that he trembled all over, and he plopped down heavily into a chair, panting heavily.
"What do you think we should do?"
"In my humble opinion, sir, if you trust me, I will go and talk to my second brother's wife to make peace. We can turn this big problem into a small one, and a small one into nothing. What do you think?"
At this moment, Master Cheng was still completely unaware that his wife had already discovered his and his second son's conspiracy to scheme against the maid in her room.
He secretly thought to himself, what if he really pushed his second brother to the limit and he exposed all the secrets between the two of them? Then he would lose all face!
Master Cheng gritted his teeth and reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Madam Cheng stared intently at the man before her, her gaze sharp and unwavering, continuing to press, "Master, as for the Sixth Concubine, I truly do not know what to do with her. Would you like to go and take a look yourself?"
Master Cheng frowned in disgust. "What are you still looking at! You filthy, smelly thing, you're just an eyesore! Throw you out of the manor right now, the farther the better!"
Before he finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Madam Cheng standing there dumbfounded, staring at his receding figure, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
After a long while, Granny Lu called softly, "Madam? Madam, what's wrong?"
Upon hearing the sound, Doctor Cheng snapped out of her daze, her eyes vacant and bewildered.
After a long while, she murmured to herself, "Granny, look at this man! How heartless he is! Back then, how glamorous Song Qing'er was! Even I, as her principal wife, had to give her a wide berth. But now? He wouldn't even look at her with disgust..."
As she spoke, Madam Cheng was overcome with grief, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
After an unknown amount of time, Madam Cheng mustered her strength and ordered her servants to force-feed Song Qing'er a drug to make her mute, and then sent someone to take her to a remote estate.
During this time, Madam Cheng took the opportunity to mention the matter to Cheng Shujie in order to warn him.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Shujie turned a deaf ear to the matter.
Looking at her own son, who was just as ruthless as her husband, Madam Cheng felt a chill rise from the bottom of her heart and spread throughout her body in an instant. Her once warm heart gradually turned cold...
"Granny, tell the head of the estate not to mistreat her."
---
The matter had been resolved, but Madam Cheng, sitting in her room, still found it difficult to calm down.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, so she called over Granny Lu and told her about her concerns.
"Madam, do you believe someone did this on purpose?"
In fact, if Madam Cheng hadn't learned from her eldest son beforehand that both her husband and second son coveted Wang Xiuxiu, she probably wouldn't have had any doubts.
However, given this premise, she couldn't help but have doubts about the matter.
The series of events happened so coincidentally, it was as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
First, he accidentally returned to the courtyard and happened to witness the illicit affair between Song Qing'er and Da Lang;
Immediately afterwards, the second son's family arrived as promised, even bringing Song Qing'er's undergarment as evidence.
However, if one were to delve deeper into the flaws within it, all the plot points would be interconnected and self-consistent, and no impropriety could be found.
"Granny, quickly investigate where Wang Xiuxiu went yesterday. Make sure you find out the whole story and don't overlook any clues!"
Granny Lu accepted the order and left. After a thorough inquiry and investigation, she still found nothing.
---
Wang Xiuxiu spent most of yesterday with the other maids in the courtyard.
Yesterday was a festive day, and the maids were all overjoyed, immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the holiday, and had no time to pay attention to the whereabouts of others.
Even though Wang Xiuxiu had briefly left everyone's sight, no one paid any special attention to it.
Moreover, Wang Xiuxiu also has the jade belt as a witness.
Granny Lu worked hard for a long time, but to no avail.
Helpless, he could only report to Madam Cheng: "Madam, I asked Yu Dai and the others, and Wang Xiuxiu was indeed outside with them yesterday and has not returned."
"Jade belt? She's close to Wang Xiuxiu, could she give false testimony?"
Granny Lu shook her head: "It's unlikely. Yu Dai is a servant born into the household, and her whole family depends on the mansion for their livelihood. How could she dare to give false testimony for an outsider?"
Seeing that the First Madam remained silent, Granny Lu continued her analysis: "If such a large-scale conspiracy were to be planned, it wouldn't be possible in a short time. Besides, Wang Xiuxiu is just a little maid. How could she possibly have the ability to steal Sixth Madam's undergarment and stuff it into Second Master's clothes?"
Madam Cheng spoke slowly, her brows still furrowed, "Granny, you're right. Wang Xiuxiu, a mere maid, certainly doesn't have such great abilities. But in this mansion, besides her, who else would have schemed all this so meticulously?"
“Madam, this old servant thinks that perhaps we are overthinking things. That sixth concubine is always flamboyant. If she can seduce the eldest young master, what is the second master compared to her?”
Madam Cheng shook her head, a cold glint in her eyes: "No, things aren't that simple. Although Sixth Concubine is flamboyant, she is still the master's favorite concubine. Who in the household would dare to easily touch her? Moreover, last night's events also involved the second branch of the family. How could it be such a coincidence?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Lu's expression also turned serious: "Does Madam mean... that someone in the manor is deliberately sowing discord and trying to disrupt the Cheng family through this matter?"
"That's right. What happened last night, seemingly targeting the Sixth Concubine, was actually an attempt to sow discord between our eldest and second branches. If we don't handle it properly, it could cause unrest in our household and even make us a laughingstock to outsiders."
Granny Lu's heart skipped a beat. "Which households does Madam suspect? How should we respond?"
A resolute glint flashed in Madam Cheng's eyes: "Since someone wants to disrupt the Cheng family, then we can't just sit idly by and wait to die. Granny, send someone to keep a close eye on the second branch of the family, especially the second master and the second madam. Also, we can't let our guard down with Wang Xiuxiu. Although she seems innocent, it's hard to guarantee that she won't be used by someone."
Granny Lu nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, Madam, this old servant will make all the arrangements."
Madam Cheng took a deep breath, slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the scenery in the courtyard with cold eyes: "I want to see who is stirring up trouble behind the scenes. If I find out, I will make her pay the price!"
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