Chapter 190 The Human Heart is the Most Dangerous Thing
Not only did the servants lose the bride, but afterwards they all remained remarkably silent.
Such heinous behavior means that even if the master chooses not to report it to the authorities, these servants will inevitably be punished by the mistress of the house according to the rules, and may even be beaten to death.
Knowing full well what the outcome would be, their continued refusal to confess demonstrates the immense benefits they received from those behind the scenes.
Xie Wanniang sighed as she thought about it. If this had happened in the prefectural city, she could have sent her guards out to help find the girl. But now, according to what those people said, the girl wasn't lost in the prefectural city at all, but on their way there. Where was Xie Wanniang supposed to find her?
The noisy crowd outside quickly noticed that they had become a monkey show in other people's eyes, so they quieted down and pulled and shoved their way into the small courtyard where they were renting a place.
With the excitement over, the onlookers gradually dispersed. Xie Wanniang, however, beckoned to a guard with excellent agility and asked him to eavesdrop for her.
She was very curious: what kind of rare and blessed marriage could make those two girls willing to harm their sisters to fight for it, and make that stepmother go to such lengths to plan it?
The guards left quickly, but returned later than Xie Wanniang had expected.
He told Xie Wanniang that after the door was closed, the family immediately started arguing with each other again.
The cousin who was the first to stand up and testify against her cousin was protected behind her by her mother, whose words were as sharp as knives. She listened in disbelief as her mother single-handedly confronted her brother's wife, who had already separated from the family, and her half-sister-in-law, who was already disliked by her.
From her words, the guard learned that although their family was large and wealthy, they had already divided the family property three years ago. This time, it was the younger brother and his wife's family who had already separated from the family that specially invited the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family to help with the wedding.
This eldest daughter-in-law was the same woman who had angrily confronted her brother's wife and sister-in-law.
She didn't want to come, after all, she had long seen through what kind of people her brother-in-law's family were, but her husband was very enthusiastic about the marriage because his younger brother's illegitimate daughter had gotten into a family with an official.
He persuaded his wife to make this trip to see if she could help the family build some connections.
For the sake of the family business, the woman reluctantly agreed.
She took every precaution along the way, but unexpectedly, something happened just as she was about to reach her destination.
Her sister-in-law and her illegitimate sister-in-law not only schemed against this marriage themselves, but they also tried to drag her and her precious daughter into it. It's utterly ridiculous!
They've probably had too much of a good life and forgotten the methods she used on them back then!
Under the wife's fierce onslaught, the bride's younger sister and cousin were the first to give in. Even though the two girls hid behind their mother, their aunt's familiar aura and aggressive demeanor still made them completely obedient.
They couldn't bear it any longer and spoke a few truths, but the lady's sister-in-law and half-sister still couldn't help but continue their desperate struggle.
In the end, it was this woman who frightened the two stupid and vicious women by saying she would "report to the authorities."
Fearing that the matter would be exposed and the man would cancel the engagement, they changed their previous attitude of denying it to the death and started crying and making a scene with the woman.
They invoked their family reputation and listed all the benefits the marriage could bring, saying things like, "Things are already like this, and that girl is never coming back anyway, so let's just go with the flow." In the end, they even threatened suicide.
This woman, who couldn't be bothered with their messy affairs and only wanted to appease her husband and clear her daughter's name, ultimately chose not to report them to the authorities.
But she also had a backup plan. She made the two men and the servants confess everything they had done, and they pressed their fingerprints on the confessions that she had her trusted old woman write down.
At first, the two women naturally disagreed; they didn't want to leave such a big handle in the hands of this lady.
However, they disagreed, and the lady said she would immediately send someone to report to the authorities. The two sides were deadlocked for a long time. The two women tried everything, but the lady remained resolute and was not swayed by their words.
Left with no other choice, the two had to compromise, but they also made a condition: the lady must never tell her brother-in-law, the bride's father, about this.
Her brother-in-law, who considered himself a romantic, couldn't get along with his wife, but was deeply in love with the concubine he had taken in.
His wife found his favorite concubine an eyesore and tried every means to kill her.
Although he quickly took in two new "true loves" after a brief period of sadness, he did not completely forget about the daughter born to his former "true loves".
Every now and then, he would check on his illegitimate daughter. Just last year, he even found her a marriage that he described as one in a million.
At first, his wife didn't take it too seriously, because she didn't think her husband, whose brain was completely muddled, could find a good marriage partner.
However, her half-sister-in-law was well-informed. Not long after the marriage was arranged, she found out that her husband had arranged for his half-sister to marry a man from an official family.
That's why her half-sister-in-law, who was born out of wedlock, still shamelessly came to visit her frequently.
At first, she thought the other party was trying to make a bet in advance to please the future wife of an official. However, as the wedding date approached, she gradually realized that the other party was actually trying to substitute one person for another.
But her daughter also cried and made a fuss every day, insisting that she could never let the illegitimate child outshine her in the future.
She felt sorry for her daughter and spent a lot of money asking people to help her find a match, all so that her daughter could marry into an official's family and that she and her daughter wouldn't be inferior to that illegitimate girl for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, few officials and wealthy families respected merchants. She spent a lot of money, but the best she could get was the title of concubine. Becoming a wife was out of the question.
What is a concubine? This mistress, who despised concubines and had dealt with such people many times, would certainly not send her own daughter to be a concubine.
In desperation, she decided to be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Her half-sister-in-law and her daughter who cries at the drop of a hat, aren't they trying to steal her half-sister's marriage? She'll just create a little opportunity for them.
Of course, she had no intention of giving the marriage to her sister-in-law's daughter. She wanted to make sure her daughter would take the place after the other woman caused trouble.
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