Chapter 392 Murder
Upon receiving the news, Madam Yuan was so angry that she almost rushed out of the small Buddhist hall to argue with the Crown Prince's wife. Fortunately, there were still some rational servants with her. They called on the others to stop Madam Yuan from rushing out regardless of the consequences.
Unable to leave, Madam Yuan vented her anger on her trusted servants.
While her trusted servants apologized and tried to appease her, they secretly groaned inwardly—did they want to stop her? They knew their mistress was at a complete disadvantage, and if they rushed out like that, their mistress would only suffer.
The Crown Prince's wife pays her respects to him every morning and evening, and has never neglected his wife's needs in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities. Even if her wife replaces her with her trusted servants, it's only because they have indeed found something to hold against those worthless people.
What's most ingenious is that when she changed people, she not only obtained the consent of the Earl and the Heir in advance, but the replacement was not her own people, but the Earl and the Heir's people.
She consults with others on every important matter, never daring to act arbitrarily, yet she handles trivial matters with impeccable housekeeping skills. Her master and son are extremely fond of her.
The father and son have already been coaxed into being cunning and manipulative by their shrewd and unassuming wife. What good can come of it if their wife makes a scene now?
If it weren't for the fear of their mistress being punished, and the fact that they, as servants, would suffer the consequences, would they be willing to stop their own furious mistress?
Several maids and servants, filled with bitterness, finally managed to appease Madam Yuan, but their mistress of the heir immediately came up with new tricks.
Madam Yuan was furious that she had replaced her trusted confidante, so when the woman came to pay her respects, she imposed strict rules on her for an entire day.
The Crown Prince's wife didn't say anything at the time. No matter how much Madam Yuan tormented her, she remained calm and obedient.
But from the second day onwards, the Crown Prince's wife never came to the small Buddhist hall again to pay her respects to Lady Yuan.
Madam Yuan was already quite angry when she didn't come in the morning, and when she still didn't come in the evening, Madam Yuan's anger could no longer be suppressed.
She sent her maid to summon the young master's wife, intending to teach her proper manners once she arrived.
However, the maid she sent soon brought her back some not-so-good news.
The maidservant reported tremblingly, "Madam, the young master's wife said that she is unwell and will be unable to come and pay her respects to you for the next period of time..."
Madam Yuan was furious. Before the maid could finish speaking, she smashed the entire tea set on the table in her anger.
Setting rules for one's daughter-in-law is one of the most effective ways for a mother-in-law to control her. Now, the Crown Prince's wife has unilaterally overturned the table and deprived Madam Yuan of the right to openly make things difficult for her daughter-in-law. No wonder Madam Yuan is angry.
Only after she had smashed the entire tea set on the table did she ask the maid with a gloomy expression, "Did she say exactly where she felt unwell? Did you inquire whether her courtyard had called a doctor before this?"
The maidservant quickly replied, "I have inquired. The young master's wife summoned the doctor late last night. The doctor said that her pregnancy is not going well and she will need to rest and take care of herself for the next two months."
Madam Yuan: ? ? ?
Madam Yuan: !!!
"Is she pregnant again?"
The maid nodded. "I heard that this morning the young master specifically instructed his wife not to come and pay her respects to you."
Upon hearing this, Madam Yuan's temple veins bulged uncontrollably.
"You unfilial son!!!" She cursed her son in her heart, but did not show her dissatisfaction with him on her face.
She has always been very clear about this, and whenever her son sides with his wife, even if she is dissatisfied with her son, she will only target her daughter-in-law in her actions.
Her husband and son always received tenderness and smiles from her.
Her husband was one thing, he didn't have any romantic feelings for her, but her son had believed since childhood that his mother was "gentle, virtuous, generous, and righteous."
He believed from the bottom of his heart that his mother would not have any complaints about his wife just because she didn't pay her respects to her due to health reasons.
Just as he believed from the bottom of his heart, his mother would not have any complaints about his wife just because she was forced to take over the management of the household.
Previously, the Crown Prince's wife had suffered many losses due to his blind trust in his mother, but now the situation has reversed. Under the Crown Prince's wife's meticulous and interconnected schemes, Madam Yuan has begun to suffer time and time again because of her son's blind trust in her.
Madam Yuan felt aggrieved, but she couldn't just grab her son's ear and yell, "The things you think I don't care about, I actually care about a lot!"
Her son's blind trust in her was something she had painstakingly cultivated, and she didn't want to destroy this precious blind trust just because of a temporary setback in the power struggles within the household.
The Crown Prince's wife was exploiting precisely this mentality of Lady Yuan.
At this moment, Madam Yuan had no idea that in the long days to come, because of her current step of falling behind, she would begin to fall behind step by step, and from then on, she would completely lose control of the inner quarters of the Earl's mansion.
After giving birth to her son, Madam Yuan suddenly thought that since her daughter-in-law was pregnant, could she leave the small Buddhist hall and take over the management of the household again?
Especially her good daughter-in-law, who now uses the excuse of an unfavorable pregnancy to avoid even coming to pay her respects.
She instructed one of her head maids, "Go and tell the Earl that the Lady of the Heir is unwell and should not continue to work hard. Why don't you let me, as her mother-in-law, temporarily take care of the household chores for her?"
The maidservant went to deliver the message, but Madam Yuan's wishful thinking fell through.
Her husband rejected her suggestion without hesitation, saying, "The Crown Prince's wife doesn't need to do everything herself as a housekeeper, so you don't have to worry about it."
When her wishful thinking failed, Madam Yuan couldn't hold back and threw another huge tantrum.
Like Madam Yuan, Madam Bo was also having a terrible time, as was Madam Han, Jiang Yuan's birth mother.
Han's most prized possession, the second son she raised by her side, accidentally killed another纨绔子弟 (a spoiled, dissolute young man) who was vying for her affections with Xie Wanniang on the joyous occasion of An'an's being granted the title of county princess.
That纨绔子弟 (playboy) also came from a noble family, and was even a member of a marquis's household.
Xie Wanniang didn't hear the whole story from her own official until the morning after the incident.
It turns out that the two had a conflict many years ago.
Like Jiang Tong's second legitimate son, that纨绔子弟 (spoiled brat) from the Marquis's family was also a good-for-nothing who liked to abuse his family's power and was quite lecherous.
Normally, people with similar interests and personalities can easily become friends, but these two... clearly do not fall into the category of normal circumstances.
Because their backgrounds, social status, preferences, and personalities were similar, the brothels they frequented and the beauties they spent a lot of money to vie for had been highly overlapping for many years.
As time went on, the two people, who were originally just strangers who met by chance, gradually accumulated a lot of grudges, big and small, that could not be resolved.
Unfortunately, the two of them once again took a liking to the same newly arrived Western Region woman. Not only was she exceptionally beautiful, exuding a strong exotic charm, but she also possessed a bewitching allure, fiery passion, and uninhibitedness that the Central Plains women they had previously admired lacked.
The two men, momentarily blinded by beauty, somehow ended up fighting each other while vying for the beautiful oriental woman.
What was originally a bidding process where guests simply bid and spent money turned into chaos when they suddenly started fighting.
Many people don't want to get involved, so they want to get up and leave.
Some people, who love a good show, have been stirring things up and hoping the fight will get even more intense.
Amidst the chaos, the young master of the Marquis's mansion collapsed. Then, the doctor, whom the madam had hurriedly summoned, regretfully announced the young master's death.
Jiang Tong's second son had a fierce fight, but was then shocked by the news of the marquis's son's death, and his feverish mind finally calmed down.
In his panic, his first thought was to go home and find his mother.
Unfortunately, the Han family, who seemed omnipotent in the past, was unable to extricate their eldest son from this unexpected disaster.
In the past, her second son frequented brothels. She would either scold her daughter-in-law for being useless and unable to hold her son's heart, or she would desperately try to fill her son's room with concubines, hoping to keep him from going to brothels as often as possible.
Although her daughter-in-law came from a humble background, she wasn't the type to endure humiliation and hardship. When Han scolded her, she didn't take it seriously at all.
She never even took her husband, whom most women would naturally regard as someone to rely on for the rest of their lives, seriously.
She had no objection to the other party's willingness to take concubines or engage in promiscuous behavior.
Before she even married him, she already knew exactly what kind of person he was.
She couldn't resist her parents, who were driven by greed and single-mindedly sold their own daughter for personal gain. She had no choice but to passively accept this scumbag as her husband, but she didn't intend to be submissive in everything.
She refused to give her family anything they wanted, and she treated her husband, who was worse than dog shit, as nothing more than a tool to bring her wealth and luxury while living under the same roof.
Given her comfortable living conditions, she could grit her teeth and tolerate such a husband, but she never fantasized about changing her utterly despicable husband.
She didn't take a single word of Han's scolding, admonishment, or curses to heart, and naturally she wouldn't try to keep her worthless husband as Han wished.
If asked what else about the Jiang family, besides their wealth and status, she would answer that it's her son and daughter.
Her son and daughter are twins, and although they are still very young, they have already become Jiang Tong's key protégés.
All the sons he raised were useless. The only one he didn't raise was exceptionally talented, but he clearly wouldn't acknowledge his ancestors. So, after much thought, Jiang Tong decided to start playing the trumpet again.
Because Xie Wanniang was exceptionally outstanding, when Jiang Tong was selecting "junior" personnel, he not only chose his legitimate grandson, but also his twin granddaughter.
Because the two children were favored by the head of the household, they not only enjoyed a special status in the household, but their mother also benefited greatly from their good fortune.
Their mother had always looked down on her husband and focused solely on raising her children. Now, she had completely forgotten about her philandering husband.
If this scumbag hadn't suddenly killed someone in a fit of jealousy, she would have actually planned to just make do with it for the rest of her life.
But now, she clearly can no longer continue living the life she's become accustomed to.
Regardless of whether her father-in-law can save her scumbag husband's life, her life will inevitably undergo a tremendous upheaval.
Thinking of her bright and lovely children, she realized that disaster had struck out of the blue while she was at home. Her children, who had bright futures ahead of them, now suddenly had a murderer as their biological father. She didn't know how this troublesome scum would affect their future and marriage in the future, so she found it difficult to maintain her original calm.
At this time, instead of trying to reconcile with the Marquis's family in private, Madam Han took the opportunity to torment her relentlessly. She didn't know if Madam Han truly hoped her son could live, or if she was just saying it for show.
Fortunately, there is Jiang Tong in this family, who is quite sensible. Apart from being a bit shameless when it comes to Jiang Yuan's family, Jiang Tong is usually quite clear-headed.
The moment his second son caused this trouble, Jiang Tong first chose a scapegoat to take the blame for his son, and then went to the Marquis's mansion in person to apologize to the head of the mansion—the deceased's grandfather, the old Marquis.
The纨绔子弟 (playboy) in the Marquis's mansion was the eldest son of the second master of the mansion, born out of wedlock. The fact that his concubine could give birth to the eldest son of a concubine shows how much the second master doted on and indulged his concubine.
Because of his love for his son, he also doted on him excessively, giving him whatever he wanted.
Upon hearing the news of his beloved son's death, the Second Master was greatly shocked and also resolved to make Jiang Tong's second son pay for his precious son's life.
Jiang Tong was clearly well aware that it would be difficult for him to reconcile with the Second Master, who was grieving the loss of his beloved son. Therefore, he prepared generous gifts and went directly to apologize to the still rational Marquis.
The old Marquis already disliked his second son's troublesome concubine and illegitimate son. He was naturally unwilling to let such a good-for-nothing who only knew how to spend money and bring shame cause a blood feud with the Jiang family.
Seeing that Jiang Tong was very sincere in apologizing, he not only personally visited Jiang Tong's home to apologize, but also brought a very generous gift. He also promised to help Jiang Tong's second son's other illegitimate son, who was the deceased's half-brother, to find a very good job.
Of course, their Marquis's family could use their own network to secure similar jobs for the child, but given the large number of descendants in their family, there was simply not enough opportunity for everyone.
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