"As her elders, you ignored her hardships in a foreign land upon our first meeting and instead accused her of disrespecting her elders. Aren't you worried that she'll be branded as unfilial and that this will affect her life?"
Jiang Songyi was deeply shocked after hearing this, as if she had seen a miracle.
What the hell has befallen Grandmother today? She used to be the one who used to use filial piety to pressure me, constantly accusing me of being unfilial and unfaithful, never caring about the hardships I endured away from home. Now, she's actually sympathizing with my plight and defending my reputation? This evil energy has struck at just the right moment!
Old Madam Xu thought to herself that this sudden and unrestrained behavior was just right.
When she and Songyi stood in front of the Grand Tutor's wife, they were merely regarded as juniors. If they disobeyed her, they would be charged with unfilial piety. However, the mother-in-law, as an elder, was treated differently.
After hearing Jiang Songyi's thoughts, Madam Jiang was speechless for a moment, and the power she had accumulated almost collapsed in an instant.
She turned away, not looking directly at Jiang Songyi and Xu, and instead spoke to the Grand Tutor and his wife in a cold tone, "I don't care how you pamper our little girl. Since Xu is the daughter-in-law of our Jiang family and the mistress of the Yongding Marquis's residence, if Xu Shixin dares to secretly harm the mistress of the Marquis's residence, she must be prepared to bear the indignation and wrath of our residence!"
Mrs. Xu was stunned when she saw the old lady standing in front of her.
Her mother-in-law, with whom she had a tense relationship, instead of being sarcastic and mocking, stood up to defend her when she got into trouble in her family. This was beyond her expectations.
Hearing what Old Madam Jiang said, the Grand Tutor and his wife felt anxious.
The Grand Tutor tried to mediate, "Mother-in-law, we are all family. Why are we so hostile?"
The Taifu's wife said anxiously, "Yes, mother-in-law, Shixin must have made an unintentional mistake. She was just a child at the time. How can a child understand right from wrong?"
Madam Jiang's tone was cold but firm. "When I was young, I followed the old marquis into battle and witnessed the brutal slaughter of children. Some people are born with evil intentions. The poisonous insects in her body are well known to everyone. How can you easily deny it? You two relatives should consider how to clear yourselves from any connection with Miao Jiang witchcraft in front of the Emperor. I must remind you that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager deeply detests the Miao Jiang and witchcraft."
As an old minister who had served three dynasties, Master Xu's expression changed slightly when he heard what Madam Jiang said.
The Empress Dowager, as the current Emperor's legal and adoptive mother, though not his biological mother, held an extremely high position. However, the Empress Dowager didn't have only the current Emperor as her son; she also had another son, the Prince of Guangling, who had heroically died on the battlefield over a decade earlier.
Despite being the late emperor's only legitimate descendant, the Prince of Guangling never gained his father's favor. At the time, the late emperor's partiality for Concubine Xi was unparalleled, even toying with the idea of making her son the crown prince. However, fate twisted the story, and both Concubine Xi and her unborn child passed away during childbirth, thwarting this plan.
The late emperor, devastated by the loss of his beloved consort and son, summoned his entire court, bequeathed the throne to the current emperor, and ordered the Prince of Guangling to guard the frontier. As empress, the empress dowager naturally moved to the Cining Palace, separating her from her son thousands of miles away.
A future emperor, filled with filial piety, finally decreed the return of his exiled brother. However, during his final battle, Prince Guangling suddenly fell ill and passed away. Popular legends attributed his death to an evil sorcery, which brought devastating disaster to Prince Guangling's clan. The grief-stricken Princess Guangling followed her husband, leaving behind an orphan daughter, Princess Ziyan, Xin Yiyan.
The Queen Mother doted on her legitimate granddaughter, even more than any other princess in the palace. Consequently, she deeply detested witchcraft.
Grand Tutor Xu slumped to the ground, feeling dizzy. Coming from a prominent family, he had spent his entire life as a civil servant in the capital, never having set foot outside the capital. He was baffled by how his young daughter had mastered the art of raising Gu.
Madam Taifu was also confused and puzzled: "We have offended the Queen Mother, what should Shixin do?"
Grand Tutor Xu closed his eyes tightly and spoke in a heavy voice, "The problem now isn't Shixin herself, but how our Xu family will respond! You and Shixin have always been close. Don't you really know where she learned this evil technique?"
Madam Taifu's eyes wandered as she defended herself, "How could I know? Shixin has always had a lot of ideas since she was young. Maybe she really is gifted and has learned from it."
Taifu Xu suddenly recalled an event from the past: "A few years ago, those wives, concubines and illegitimate children in my backyard who died for unknown reasons..." His eyes became more and more serious, as if he had noticed something.
Like many other aristocratic officials from aristocratic families, he favored several beautiful concubines and indulged himself in the beauty of his rouge. However, in recent years, his favorite concubines had met with misfortunes one after another. Their appearances were inexplicably damaged, as if cursed by bad luck. Even when they became pregnant, they suffered frequent miscarriages, and even when they were lucky enough to give birth, the babies often died.
He visited many imperial physicians, trying to find the cause of his illness, but to no avail. The physicians were at their wit's end, and could only speculate that perhaps his advanced age and lack of energy had led to his inability to have children.
Xu Taifu was deeply ashamed of this and kept the matter a secret. However, he still had Xu Shixin, a daughter who had grown up fortunately, as a comfort to his heart. Because he was already in his eighties and only had Xu Shixin as his daughter in his old age, he doted on her.
However, it now seems that his beloved daughter may be the culprit who secretly manipulated and attempted to cut off his offspring!
Grand Tutor Xu's eyes were sinister. He gripped Zhang's sleeve tightly and demanded in a cold voice, "Zhang, how much do you know? If you don't confess the truth, I will immediately depose you and force you to leave the Xu family with that evil creature Xu Shixin, so as not to tarnish our Xu family's century-old reputation!"
Zhang was terrified by Tutor Xu's threat to divorce her. She was already a grandmother, and if she was divorced again, she would be living a life worse than death.
She hurriedly grasped Master Xu's sleeve and tearfully explained, "Sir, please listen to me. I truly had no idea Shi Xin was capable of using witchcraft to harm others. I originally believed that the deaths of your concubines and illegitimate children were the result of evil spirits. Shi Xin had said that misfortune would befall them, but I simply assumed she was young and naive, perhaps only witnessing something ominous."
"Why didn't you reveal the truth earlier? If I had discovered earlier that this evil creature was raising poisonous insects to harm people, I would have killed my own relatives for the sake of justice and eliminated the root of the evil as soon as possible. How could it have led to the disaster today!" Taifu Xu waved his sleeves angrily, and a trace of determination and ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
…
The Lantern Festival banquet came to a hurried end, and when the strange poisonous insects from Miaojiang quietly flowed into the Western Wei court, it was like an invisible haze, quietly spreading in everyone's heart.
No one wants to follow in Xu's footsteps, being poisoned for unknown reasons and suffering from headaches for ten years.
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