Chapter 36 Do you regret it? Of course I regret it.
Looking at Su Yuezhen and her parents kneeling on the ground, and then at his own wife, Qingshan Bo felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He had enjoyed years of smooth sailing, and it could be said that he had never felt so powerless since Consort Su was made a Consort.
He never imagined that trying to find a way to cover up Su Yuezhen's shame by making the top scholar from a poor family the grandson-in-law would bring such a disaster upon him.
Su Yuezhen is right. Tomorrow she will be flogged thirty times at the execution ground. The Qingshan Marquis's mansion and the Imperial Concubine will both lose face. But what's more important is that Su Yuezhen doesn't know, and neither do these fools in her family.
The Emperor clearly took some of what Jiang Yu said in the Imperial Study to heart. He mentioned that officials should prioritize moral conduct, and that children's character is influenced by their parents.
Putting aside what the Qingshan Marquis's family has done over the years, Su Yuezhen and Qi Yuanhong's actions of forcing Jiang Yu to divorce and setting fire to kill Jiang Yu are enough to label them as morally corrupt.
According to Jiang Yu's theory, Su Yuezhen's character is flawed, her parents' character is also flawed, then it's him, and it can even involve the Imperial Concubine, and even more so the Eighth Prince.
If the emperor thinks they are all of poor character, how will the Qingshan Marquis's family face the court in the future?
It was supposed to be a good game, but it ended up like this. How did it turn out like this?
Just as he was pondering, his servant's voice came from outside, "Lord."
Uncle Qingshan frowned, pulling himself back to reality, and let his attendant in. Then a servant followed behind, bowed, and said:
"The people from the Duke of Chu's mansion dumped the fourth son-in-law at the gate and left without saying a word. The fourth son-in-law was beaten unconscious."
Uncle Qingshan felt another surge of anger rising to his head; if this continued, he would surely be driven to his death by rage. Suppressing the anger rising to his head, he said, "Wake him up and bring him here."
The servant acknowledged and turned to leave. He told him that the top scholar was a jinx; ever since he got engaged to the fourth young lady, one thing after another had happened at the Qingshan Earl's mansion, and nothing good had come of it.
It made all the servants have to keep their tails between their legs, afraid of offending some master in a bad mood and losing their lives. Yang Tianfu is a prime example.
The servant's mind was in turmoil, but he kept walking quickly and soon arrived at the gate of the mansion. After exchanging a few words with the other gatekeepers, he dragged Qi Yuanhong through the side gate like a dead dog and entered the Qingshan Earl's mansion.
The group looked at the top scholar, who was like a lump of mud, and discussed it for a few words. In the end, they didn't dare to go too far. The leader of the servants squatted down and slapped Qi Yuanhong's face twice. Qi Yuanhong slowly opened his eyes.
He saw several servants surrounding him, their faces full of mockery. He was dazed for a moment, then struggled to his feet. He crawled with extreme difficulty, a humiliating and arduous struggle.
He had never suffered such humiliation since he started working for the Jiang family when he was eight years old.
"Scholar, the magistrate says you need to go to the study," the head servant said with a grin.
His expression, his tone of voice, and the sarcastic use of the words "top scholar" made Qi Yuanhong feel once again that he was being trampled on and humiliated.
His hands began to tremble, so much so that he couldn't even clench his fists to hit someone. He glanced at the servants around him, then staggered toward Uncle Qingshan's study.
He must be the most humiliated and humiliated top scholar in the history of Dagan, no, in the history of this land.
Qi Yuanhong walked towards Uncle Qingshan's study. With each step, his body was in excruciating pain, but this pain made his mind exceptionally clear.
He began to recall his past: the difficult days at home when he was hungry and bullied, the peace and happiness at the Jiang family's house, and the pride and bright future at school.
The joy and pride of passing the imperial examination with top honors, the smugness of being chosen by the Earl of Qingshan to be his grandson-in-law, the slight guilt when discussing divorce with Jiang Yu, the caution and humility when facing the Earl of Qingshan's family, and now the humiliation and despair...
Looking back, the happiest time of his short twenty-odd years was when he was with Jiang Yu and the others. Back then, he didn't have to worry about food, clothing, or money; he could just focus on his studies.
Looking back at him now, he was youthful, sunny, and full of boundless hope for the future...
Do you regret it?
Of course I regret it.
But now he felt more hatred than anything else. He hated that the Qingshan Marquis's Mansion had used him. If he had known earlier that Su Yuezhen had been having an affair, he would never have agreed to the marriage with him, let alone divorce Jiang Yu.
If that were the case, he would now be the direct grandson-in-law of the Duke of Chu. Jiang Yu is so intelligent, she would be his virtuous helpmate. With the resources of the Duke of Chu's mansion, he would be able to rise to the highest position in the court in no time.
He also hated Jiang Yu, hated Jiang Yu for being so ruthless, leaving him no way out. Banning his descendants from taking the imperial examinations for three generations was a way of forcing him and his descendants to struggle in the mire!
Ahead lay Uncle Qingshan's courtyard. He stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to go in, or rather, he dared not. He didn't know what kind of humiliation he would face if he went in. But he had no choice; he was already powerless to resist.
It should be said that after he first stepped into the Qingshan Marquis's mansion, he was already no longer in control of his own destiny.
He took a deep breath and, despite the pain, stepped inside, trying his best not to stumble. But no matter how hard he tried, it was in vain. Because of his leg injury, it was very difficult for him to step over the threshold when he entered the study.
The moment they stepped inside, they heard Uncle Qingshan's angry, mocking voice, "How did you get all these injuries? Were you beaten by the Duke of Chu or by Jiang Yu? What were you doing at the Duke of Chu's mansion? Going to repent? Going to beg for their forgiveness, to get back together with Jiang Yu and become the Duke of Chu's son-in-law?"
One question after another came crashing down on him. Qi Yuanhong stood there with his head down, speechless. He had no choice but to remain silent, even though he was so angry and aggrieved that he wanted to kill someone.
"Fool! You pig-like fool!" Uncle Qingshan's furious voice rang out again. "You think you can get Jiang Yu's forgiveness by begging? You didn't understand Jiang Yu before. You saw Jiang Yu's ruthlessness in the Imperial Study clearly. You actually thought of begging for peace."
"I didn't go to make peace," Qi Yuanhong defended himself. "I went to beg her to forgive me. I know Jiang Yu's personality; as long as she's not appeased, she'll take revenge later."
Uncle Qingshan narrowed his eyes upon hearing his words, and after a long silence, he asked, "What do you think Jiang Yu will do next?"
Qi Yuanhong shook his head. "I don't know. Her status is different now, so her way of doing things is naturally different too."
The Earl of Qingshan clenched his fists again, recalling Jiang Yu's aggressive behavior in the Imperial Study. Of course, he wanted Jiang Yu dead, but she couldn't die now. If she died, the Duke of Chu and the Emperor would pin the blame on him.
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