The lady's intention was clear: she wanted to personally take action against Aunt Liu's brother and let him taste the consequences of betrayal.
As everyone knows, the Liu family was able to gain a foothold and develop in Beijing thanks to the support of Aunt Liu.
Now that the Madam has decided to fight back, judging by her usual rigorous and fair principles, completely defeating such a family is as easy as reading the lines on the palm of your hand.
Even if the Duke knew about this, he could only nod in agreement silently and had no way to refute or stop her actions.
At this moment, in Xuanhe Courtyard, the Duke's wife sat at the head seat and coldly ordered her men to drag Liu into the house and tie her to a long wooden bench.
Then they had his pants stripped off and beat him hard on the buttocks forty times with a thick stick. The scene was extremely cruel.
This brutal beating left no part of Liu's body unharmed. New wounds appeared before the old ones healed, and her clothes were stained with blood.
She was in unbearable pain and soon fell into a coma and lost consciousness.
After learning about this, the second lady Fu Shuyan rushed over to plead for Liu, but was ruthlessly blocked outside the door and could not enter.
The guard outside the door spoke coldly to her, "This matter has nothing to do with you, Second Miss. As a distinguished master, you should not be involved in such dirty matters. Please go back."
Fu Shuyan heard the screams and the sound of sticks hitting flesh coming from inside, and her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife and she was in excruciating pain.
She bit her lower lip so hard that it almost made her lip bleed.
It was not until this moment that Fu Shuyan deeply realized the cruelty and ruthlessness behind the rules and etiquette, and gradually understood the huge difference in status between the wife and the concubine in a family.
It turned out that behind the so-called authority that Aunt Liu had displayed in the northern region, there had long been a corresponding price to pay, but now these evil consequences began to appear one by one.
After everything was arranged, the dying Liu was carried back to the Danxia Courtyard. The Duke's wife then turned to Zhao Manxiang beside her and asked, "Why do you think Liu would do such a cruel thing to hurt that child this time?"
After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Manxiang responded in a very calm tone, "Perhaps Wen Zhu accidentally offended Aunt Liu, which led to this incident."
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she saw her mother-in-law's face was unhappy, so she quickly changed her words and added: "It's more because she doesn't want the prince to live a good life at all, and always wants to stir up trouble."
After hearing Zhao Manxiang's answer, the Duke's wife sighed deeply and slowly explained, "If Huai Jin didn't have a son, even the smallest accident or mistake in the future could easily allow Huai Chen to become the new Crown Prince. Then, you would have to take a back seat and become his aunt. Your status would also decline, and you would be considered nothing more than an aunt at best."
After hearing what her mother-in-law said, Zhao Manxiang's face suddenly turned pale.
If what her mother-in-law said was true, wouldn't she be completely marginalized?
"Even if Huai Jin can grow up safely, if he has no son in his lifetime, according to the laws and regulations of our country, his brother can legally succeed him. In this way, the ultimate beneficiary will still be Huai Chen."
The Duke's wife continued.
Faced with this situation, Zhao Manxiang raised a question with doubt in her heart: "If that's the case, why not pass on the title through adoption?"
The Duke's wife explained in detail, "According to the rules of our dynasty, this situation is not permitted. If a person holding a title dies without any heirs, or if there are no relatives to inherit the title, the title will be revoked and will no longer be retained."
Zhao Manxiang had never noticed this before. She seemed very surprised, with a hint of confusion and surprise in her eyes.
"Since our founding, our country has conferred countless titles, many of which are hereditary. If these titles continue to increase with few reductions, how can the court finances sustain them? Therefore, everyone in the court is actually happy to see some titles reduced. If even adopted sons can inherit titles, then wouldn't this hereditary system be endless?"
The Duke's wife analyzed this seemingly complicated political issue, with a sense of matter-of-factness in her tone.
"That does make sense."
Zhao Manxiang responded somewhat embarrassedly, and at the same time she felt a little ashamed because she had never thought deeply about this issue before.
"However, if we are unfortunate enough to lose Huai Jin's bloodline, it would be easier to keep Huai Chen. Even if we no longer consider his legitimate status, with such a huge family fortune from our family alone, are we just going to watch helplessly as collateral descendants easily seize it, or as other branch families devour it bit by bit?"
When the Duke's wife said this, her tone became heavier, as if she was thinking about the severe situation she might face in the future.
"In any case, Huaichen has called me mother for many years. According to the rules of etiquette, I have the right to guide him and use filial piety to restrain him. On the contrary, if we do not do so, it will give outsiders the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. At that time, we will only be able to passively accept the beating."
The Duke's wife spoke with great sincerity, her eyes fixed on Zhao Manxiang who was sitting in front of her. It was obvious that she sincerely hoped that her daughter-in-law could understand the importance of this.
After hearing this, Zhao Manxiang couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
When Wen Zhu had just become pregnant, the Duke's wife had already discussed this matter with her and told her clearly how important the unborn child was to their entire family.
However, Wen Zhu at that time did not really take these words to heart.
Now that Concubine Liu had made such a big fuss, she finally realized that if Fu Yu failed to leave offspring, she would probably not even be qualified to become the wife of Duke Anguo.
This made Wen Zhu, who was always optimistic, feel extremely frightened and uneasy.
As for Zhao Manxiang, who was standing aside and listening quietly, she naturally knew the purpose of her mother-in-law's words: it was nothing more than to let her accept all these arrangements with peace of mind and not touch the fetus in Wen Zhu's belly at all.
"When Wen Zhu gives birth to that child, you should raise him as if he were your own flesh and blood. After all, a child you have raised since childhood will be no different from one you gave birth to yourself in the future."
At this moment, the Duke's wife smiled and suggested to Zhao Manxiang, trying to stabilize her daughter-in-law's emotions in this gentle but suggestive way.
"I see."
Zhao Manxiang lowered her head and answered softly.
Of course, she knew the reasoning behind this very well.
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