Even if Hao Ren considers the continuation of his offspring, he will leave the position of legal wife to her!
Xia Zhiyu glared at Liao Qianqian with gloomy eyes, and the maid next to him raised her hand without hesitation and slapped Liao Qianqian in the face with a loud slap.
How dare you! Madam is blessed with great wealth, how could you be so rude? Qianqian was so angry that she was shaking all over, but she couldn't bring herself to slap her. She could only roar in anger: "How can she be called Madam! You lowly servant, when I put you in front of the Protector of the Country, I will make you suffer the consequences!"
The maidservant, however, was unbridled and showed no fear: "Our Madam was granted the title by the Emperor himself! Aunt Liao, are you questioning the Emperor's will?"
After hearing this, Liao Qianqian stood there in a daze, staring at Xia Zhiyu in astonishment.
Xia Zhiyu felt a surge of pride. She gently stroked her belly, approaching with a smile, "Sister, you're right. You and the Duke of Huguo have two children. He's determined to make you his principal wife, and there's no way he'd make me his legal wife. So, why did you offend those you couldn't afford to offend? Now, I've got the advantage. The Emperor has personally issued an edict, appointing me as the principal wife of the Duke's Mansion. From now on, the baby I'm carrying will be a legitimate son, the legal heir to the Duke's Mansion. And your two children will be illegitimate, bearing the stigma of adultery."
"You actually know everything! So that day at the inn, when Jiang Shu caught me and Hao Ren having a secret meeting, was it all planned by you?"
If she wasn't bedridden and unable to move, Liao Qianqian would have rushed to Xia Zhiyu regardless of the consequences.
Xia Zhiyu just smiled and said nothing: "Yes, so what?"
Liao Qianqian was almost frantic. "Xia Zhiyu, my children are not illegitimate. They have all been accepted as legitimate heirs by the Duke of Huguo's Mansion! Hao Ren has high hopes for them. By acting this way, aren't you afraid that Hao Ren will kill you? Do you know how important my children and I are to Hao Ren?"
Xia Zhiyu naturally knew all this.
It was because she knew this that she was jealous as crazy and determined to strike first.
She was by no means as stupid as Jiang Shu, who would allow Liao Qianqian to lurk in the shadows like a ferocious beast waiting for an opportunity, coveting the lofty status of Lady Protector of the Nation and the Crown Prince.
The position of the wife of the Duke of Protectorate is unique. If her cousin insists on letting Liao Qianqian take her place, she will become the target of public criticism.
As an orphan, she lacked the powerful Yongding Marquisate behind Jiang Shu as a backer. Her only support was her aunt, the old lady of the Huguo Duke's Mansion. However, her aunt was now bedridden and unable to protect her.
If Hao Ren wanted her to die, it would be as easy as pie!
Although her love for her cousin was deep, she valued her own life and a life of luxury more.
Therefore, she was willing to risk breaking up with Hao Ren and go against his wishes to take Liao Qianqian into the mansion as a lowly concubine.
According to the imperial laws, concubines were considered as belonging to a class of their own and had a low status, so they could never be promoted to the position of legal wife like a noble concubine.
As long as Liao Qianqian loses the possibility of being promoted to the principal wife, Hao Ren will not easily take action against her, the principal wife bestowed by the emperor himself.
Even if it wasn't for herself, she had to think about the baby in her belly.
Her child has not yet been born, and she must not let Liao Qianqian's illegitimate child get ahead and usurp the status of the crown prince!
"I am the wife of the Duke of Protectorate, personally bestowed by the Emperor. My cousin would never dare to lay a hand on me. As for your child, even you yourself have not yet been recognized by the Duke's Mansion, so how can your child be considered an offspring of the Duke's Mansion? However, you do not need to worry too much. Today, I will be magnanimous and allow you to enter the family, giving your child the status they deserve."
Xia Zhiyu forced a smile, but revealed a cold indifference. She held Liao Qianqian's hand tightly, pressed it hard on the cinnabar ink handed to her by the maid, and pressed it hard, intending to force her to sign.
Liao Qianqian struggled with all her might, her eyes blurred with tears. "Xia Zhiyu, you are forcibly seizing a commoner girl and forcing a decent woman to be your concubine! Even if I am the mother of a scholar, I will never submit to you! How can you be so cruel to me?"
Xia Zhiyu had a sneer of contempt on her lips. She now claimed to be the noble wife of a duke, so how could she take Liao Lingxi, an insignificant scholar, seriously? "I am the legitimate mother of your scholar son!"
Just as her fingers were about to press the seal of the document for taking a concubine, Liao Qianqian's hands were held tightly again. She was unable to struggle, so she had to take this opportunity to bite the document into pieces with her teeth.
Xia Zhiyu's wrist was bitten hard by Liao Qianqian, and she involuntarily let go of her hand because of the pain.
"Madam, are you okay?" the maid asked in panic when she saw the blood on her wrist.
Xia Zhiyu gritted his teeth, raised his palm, and slapped Liao Qianqian hard. Then he grabbed her throat and said, "Well, you are so noble. You would rather die than be a concubine! A widow like you who has committed adultery has a bad reputation. If it were in ancient times, you would be drowned in the pond, right?"
Liao Qianqian was terrified by the cruelty revealed in Xia Zhiyu's eyes. "What do you want to do to me? If you dare to touch me, Hao Ren and my two children will never let you go!"
Xia Zhiyu disagreed. Since she had already stepped into Xinghua Village today, she would not be afraid of any threats.
Even if it means her skin is torn to pieces, she is determined to kill Liao Qianqian!
"Come here, drag this broken woman into the pond!"
At Xia Zhiyu's command, the servants in the mansion rushed into Liao Qianqian's house like wolves and tigers. Regardless of the bloody wounds on her body, they grabbed her and dragged her out.
Xia Zhiyu's actions caused an uproar, and the Liao family was located in the most prosperous area of Xinghua Village, which immediately attracted many villagers to watch.
The villagers were talking and pointing.
"What big thing happened? What shameful thing did the widow of the Liao family do again?"
"I heard that the wife of the Duke of Guo came personally to take her as a concubine."
"A widow can actually marry into the Duke's Mansion? It's really shocking."
In the corners of the village, the residents, unaware of Liao's true identity, were stunned by the news. Even the women of Xinghua Village, who had previously thrown feces at Liao's door, were now filled with worry, fearing that Liao would retaliate if she were promoted to a concubine in the Duke's mansion.
At this moment, Xia Zhiyu's personal maid came in gracefully and asked everyone, "Does anyone have a pig cage at home? If you're willing to sell it, I'll give you one tael of silver. We need one urgently!"
One tael of silver!
This number made the onlookers' eyes widen and their hearts burn with excitement.
Immediately, an agile old lady ran back home like a flash, dragged the pig cage out of the pigsty hastily, and without even having time to clean the filth and stench on the cage, hurriedly handed it to the maid.
The maid frowned, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and took a step back.
"Miss, what do you want this pig cage for? I'm willing to help you clean it later. Whether it's for piglets or chickens and ducks, I can do it for you." The old lady said with a flattering smile.
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