Chapter 75 I'll make you kneel down! Kneel and confess your sins to Madam Lu!
Lu Zhaoruo almost laughed out of anger.
She's the one who's been wronged, she's the one who's been deceived, and now she's the one being aggressive?
She served Shen Qingshu and Zhang for three whole years, not counting the years of meticulous care she gave Zhang before her marriage. Could all of this affection be less than that of a mistress who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
There was a bittersweet feeling in my heart.
She looked at Madam Zhang: "It was Rong-ge'er, whom you cherished like the apple of your eye, who deceived me, cheated me, and betrayed me first."
"Now you've even brought this pregnant, unmarried, and 'illegally married' woman into your home, forcing me to accept this humiliation. How come in your mouth, it's all my fault, and I'm the one who's being aggressive?"
Zhang suppressed her guilt, then became even more furious and said, "Isn't it all your own fault?"
Yes, it's all her own fault!
She instantly felt emboldened, and said with a mixture of hatred and pleasure, "It's your own fault for being unclean! You seduced a lecherous man outside, allowing him to defile your purity and make you pregnant with a bastard!"
"Then you miscarried, ruining your very foundation, and could no longer have children! My son is kind-hearted; the fact that he held his nose and carried you into the house is already an immense act of kindness towards you!"
She glared at Lu Zhaoruo: "So what if he takes another wife and has more children? You're the one who owes him! Even if he has a thousand faults, you, as his legal wife, should be more magnanimous and let this fisherwoman into the house as a concubine. What's wrong with that? Do you have to insist on accusing him of 'abandoning his wife and remarrying'?"
She sneered, "Even if my son has a thousand faults, the root cause is still your own failure to uphold traditional wifely virtues!"
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became of her point, and her voice became increasingly shrill: "Do you only feel satisfied when you expose all the dirty secrets of this family in front of our distinguished guests? Since you don't care about the reputation of the Shen family and don't leave my son any dignity, don't blame me for tearing off your pretentious mask and exposing all your shameful and filthy deeds!"
"Snap!"
With a crisp sound, the teacup fell to the ground, splashing tea everywhere.
Xiao Yeming's fingers were still frozen in mid-air, maintaining the posture of holding the teacup.
His pale face was drained of color, filled with shock and grief.
Zhang's words still echoed sharply in my ears—"She conceived a bastard child, then miscarried, ruining her very foundation, and can no longer bear children..."
Every word was like a red-hot nail, hammering into his heart.
He looked at Lu Zhaoruo, his dark eyes now filled with tears and red, churning with overwhelming guilt and pity.
Gu Xian, who was standing to the side, looked anxiously at Xiao Yeming, who had lost his composure, and then turned to Zhang Shi and said sternly, "Madam Shen, you have such a vicious tongue! Madam Lu has suffered such a great calamity and is clearly the victim. As her mother-in-law, instead of showing her compassion and comfort, you are pushing this huge mistake onto her? How can there be such a logic in this world!"
He then looked at Shen Rongzhi: "Moreover, Madam Lu has never violated the law or moral principles, but your son has abandoned his wife and remarried, favored his concubine and neglected his wife. Every single thing he has done is morally reprehensible! Instead of disciplining your own son, you are here blaming the aggrieved party. You have quite the shamelessness!"
When Zhang was rebuked, her face flushed red and then turned pale, but she felt no remorse whatsoever; instead, her resentment deepened.
If she weren't wary of Gu Xian being the richest man in Jizhou and a native of the capital, she would have already ordered her men to beat this meddlesome outsider out with sticks!
Dongrou looked at her wife with concern...
Lu Zhaoruo swayed suddenly, staggering and almost unable to stand.
It was a festering sore in her heart that had never healed.
Normally, it is tightly wrapped in the thickest cloth.
But at this moment, Zhang used the dirtiest hands and the most malicious smile to tear it apart!
In an instant, pus and blood gushed out, causing excruciating pain to the very marrow of the body.
The humiliation and despair of that night resurfaced in my mind.
She felt as if her blood had frozen, and a piercing pain, a kind of utter defilement that could never be washed away, emanated from every part of her body, a thousand times worse than when she had miscarried or injured herself.
Dongrou quickly helped her up, her eyes instantly reddening: "My wife..."
That damned old hag is so vicious!
Lu Bohong clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, and in a hoarse voice, he roared in fury, "Your Shen family has really gone too far!"
After he was defiled, he witnessed how his younger sister suffered terribly, and how she slowly suppressed her humiliation and recovered.
Shen Qingshu's face turned ashen, and he glared fiercely at Zhang Shi.
How could she dare bring this up now? Wouldn't that just add fuel to the fire?
Shen Rongzhi abruptly shifted his gaze away from Lu Zhaoruo.
His thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his gentle face was tinged with panic and guilt.
Lin Yingyu, standing next to him, stroked her swollen pregnant belly, her lips unable to suppress a smile.
That smile was bright, defiant, and triumphant.
Lu Zhaoruo closed her eyes, forcibly suppressing the surging pain. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with only a cold clarity. She stared directly at Zhang Shi: "Zhang Shi of the Shenmen, do you still remember what you said back then?"
Zhang was taken aback by the question: "What...what did you mean?"
Lu Zhaoruo turned her gaze to Shen Qingshu: "Master Shen, you must still remember, right?"
Shen Qing's expression froze. He guessed what she meant, and his throat tightened instantly. He dared not respond.
Lu Zhaoruo continued unhurriedly, "Back then, Cao Chunyan, Madam Shen's trusted maid, secretly told me that the young master of the Shen family had taken another wife, had children, and settled down outside. How did you reprimand him at that time, Master Shen?"
"You said that maid was 'spreading rumors, maliciously instigating, and making up lies'!"
She took a small step forward, her gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping across Shen Qingshu's pale face: "You still say that the Shen family has high moral standards and cannot tolerate the slightest filth? If your son really dares to marry and have children outside, you will definitely break his legs, and his mistress and illegitimate children will never be allowed to enter your Shen family."
"He also said that if that were true, Zhang would have to kowtow to me and admit her mistake."
Every word was like a resounding slap, leaving Shen Qingshu and Zhang Shi pale and wishing they could disappear into the ground.
Lu Zhaoruo paused for a moment, a cold smile appearing on her lips: "Two elders, do you remember now?"
She asked softly, "What you said back then—breaking his legs, forbidding the child born out of wedlock from entering the house, and this kneeling… do they still stand?"
Zhang swallowed hard, almost jumping up in anger, and shouted, "What do you mean! We were kept in the dark back then! We were all confused by those heartless, rotten-hearted maids, how could we believe them!"
"So it doesn't count?"
Lu Zhaoruo nodded slightly, her smile growing colder: "That's good then, let's go to the county government... oh wait..."
Her eyes flickered: "We're going to the prefectural government office."
Shen Qingshu stared intently at Lu Zhaoruo. The person in front of him was no longer the submissive daughter-in-law of the past; instead, she was cold, hard, and ruthless.
He could see clearly that this was not a bluff or intimidation.
She is truly capable of doing it.
If this matter really escalates to the state government, the reputation the Shen family has built up, their son's future... everything will be ruined!
He turned sharply and roared at Zhang, "Kneel down! Kneel down and admit your mistake to Madam Lu!"
Zhang could hardly believe her ears and exclaimed in astonishment, "My lord... what did you say?"
Shen Qingshu's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost roared, "I'll make you kneel down! Kneel down and confess your sins to Madam Lu!"
As long as she kowtows and her anger is appeased, then... then let Rongzhi lower himself and coax her properly. Women are soft-hearted, so perhaps this matter can still be resolved, and it can still be kept at home, so as not to completely destroy the Shen family!
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