Chapter 43: The female protagonist in this angst-filled novel is truly plagued by misfortune...
Zhao Xian's heart skipped a beat. The female lead in the tragic novel was framed! Could it be related to the villain?
When the messenger was summoned and asked, it turned out to be related to the heir of King Yu.
"Now the news has spread throughout Jin'an, saying that the eldest young mistress and that Prince Yu's son..."
Upon meeting his master's gaze, the servant was immediately too frightened to speak again.
Zhao Xian frowned.
Jiang Liangxu gently patted her back, "Don't rush, let's get back first."
As he spoke, he lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and said to the outside, "Qin Da, give the order that, except for resting at the post station at night, there will be no extra rest on the road. We should return to the Jiang family as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will arrange it immediately."
As he lowered the curtain, Jiang Liangxu lowered his eyes slightly, recalling what Uncle Jiang had said: that King Yu had followed Ah Xian all the way.
The father and son, both with eccentricities, couldn't stay quietly in their fiefdom.
By speeding up their journey, the three-day trip was reduced to just over a day and a half.
The group returned to the Jiang family home at night without disturbing anyone.
“My husband has a wheelchair, so I’ll use this sedan chair.” Zhao Xian had no intention of having both of them ride in it.
"Go to Yunzhu Garden." She gave the order while trying to lift her skirt and get into the sedan chair.
Suddenly, his wrist was grabbed, and Jiang Liangxu said gently, "It's getting dark, and I imagine the eldest daughter-in-law has already retired for the night. Why don't we ask her to come and ask about this tomorrow?"
"No, my heart is pounding. I've been worried all the way here. I have to go and see for myself." Zhao Xian shook her head. The first protagonist she met after transmigrating was Li Lianniang. Although Li Lianniang was a grown woman, Zhao Xian had put in a lot of effort to help her recover from her haggard and withered state and become cheerful.
The thought of her beloved flowers possibly being smashed to pieces made her impatient and restless.
Zhao Xian glanced at Jiang Liangxu's legs and said, "My husband is injured. I will handle this. You should rest early."
Jiang Liangxu was a man, so it was inconvenient for him to go into his daughter-in-law's room. After Zhao Xian finished speaking, she withdrew her hand and got into the sedan chair.
The servant who delivered the message only knew that the eldest young mistress's reputation had been damaged because of the Crown Prince of Yu, but he knew nothing else about the details.
Zhao Xian had no choice but to ask the person involved.
In the book, Li Lianniang is portrayed as strong, resilient, and never complains. Despite being subjected to such physical and emotional abuse, she doesn't break down and ultimately achieves a happy ending.
But after getting to know her, Zhao Xian realized that she was a sensitive and insecure person.
Therefore, she was certain that Li Lianniang had not yet rested.
--
Yunzhuyuan
Li Lianniang had been suffering from insomnia for several days. She couldn't sleep; every time she closed her eyes, she was filled with sarcastic and insulting words, so she dared not sleep.
Chi Lan and Dan Ruo used to take turns keeping watch at night, but recently they have been very worried about the young mistress, so they have been keeping watch together, afraid that one person would not be able to take care of her.
Danruo couldn't hide her feelings. She had also gotten a bruise on her face from a fight with the old woman during the day and was kicked out by Chilan to have her medicine applied.
Otherwise, if the young lady sees this, she might feel sorry for herself, which would be even worse.
As the maid was applying medicine to Danruo, she vaguely sensed a flashing light. "Sister Danruo, why do I see someone at the door?"
Danruo jumped up. Lately, the servants in the mansion have become increasingly resentful of her young lady. The master, mistress, and eldest son are not in the mansion, so no one can stand up for her when she is wronged.
It's so late, could it be that some unruly servant is trying to cause trouble?
Danruo got up and went into the courtyard, where she found that the lights were not scattered but rather numerous.
She was a little worried and said to the maid, "Go and get me a stick."
The maid turned and ran to the small kitchen, where she grabbed a rolling pin.
The two carefully made their way to the courtyard gate under the moonlight.
Danruo peeked out and the more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong.
The next moment, Yingchun had already arrived at the courtyard gate. The two of them made eye contact and were both startled. Yingchun reacted quickly and said, "Sister Danruo, open the door quickly, Madam is here."
"Madam is back?"
Danruo stood on tiptoe and looked outside. It was too dark for her to see anything but a few lanterns. But she was overjoyed and ran into the house. When she entered, her voice was both restrained and happy: "Young Madam, Madam is back."
Li Lianniang hadn't been asleep, and upon hearing this, she sat up in bed.
But he quickly calmed down. It was already dark, and his mother must be exhausted from coming home. He could go see her first thing tomorrow morning.
Seeing that Li Lianniang was not moving, Danruo hurriedly went to get her cloak. "Young mistress, what are you doing standing there? Get up quickly, the madam is about to enter the courtyard."
Li Lianniang looked on in disbelief. "Mother, Mother's here?"
Upon hearing this, Chi Lan quickly took the shoes and put them on Li Lianniang.
At first, she also thought that Dan had gone out to inquire about the information.
Sure enough, a sound came from outside shortly afterward.
Li Lianniang stood up, but stopped after taking two steps, fidgeting nervously with her hands. "Do you think Mother will believe me?"
Chi Lan helped Li Lianniang up and, seeing her uneasy expression, comforted her, "This is not the young mistress's fault. The madam is such a good person, she certainly won't blame you."
The lady returned late at night, probably unaware of the rumors circulating outside; they must explain first.
Danruo also said, "Yes, those people don't know the truth and deliberately slander the young mistress. We'll ask the young mistress to take charge."
Two maids half-supported and half-pushed Li Lianniang as she walked out.
In the courtyard of Yunzhu Garden, Shaoyao helped Zhao Xian out of the sedan chair.
"mother--"
The moment Li Lianniang saw Zhao Xian, she lifted her skirt, went down the steps, and rushed over to hug her.
"Waaah..." She hadn't cried for the past few days, even though she couldn't sleep at night. But when she saw Zhao Xian, it was as if all her grievances came out, and she couldn't control herself.
Chi Lan and Dan Ruo exchanged a glance, their eyes also welling up with tears.
Since the incident, the young mistress has been quiet, and her former confidence and composure have been shattered.
They were all afraid she would do something foolish.
"Mother is here."
Zhao Xian gently patted Li Lianniang's back, listening to her wailing.
It was the first time she had ever seen her cry so hard. It was good that she cried it out; letting out her grievances was a way of venting.
If you keep it all inside, it's easy to get sick. Back when I first transmigrated here, Li Lianniang's condition was truly worrying.
Li Lianniang cried for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and Zhao Xian's clothes were soaked with tears.
"I'm so sorry, Mother's clothes are dirty."
After crying and calming herself down, Li Lianniang saw that Zhao Xian's clothes were wet and looked apologetic.
Zhao Xian took a handkerchief and gently wiped away the tears on Li Lianniang's face. "It's just a piece of clothing. Let's not talk about that. Tell your mother what grievances you've suffered. Look at how you're crying."
Cui Tingyue's letter was only one sentence long, full of key points but lacking in details.
As for the messenger, he said some things, but not all of them.
She now wants to know how the female protagonist and the villain in the abusive novel got involved.
Because of her interference, the female protagonist in the tragic novel did not show kindness to the villain as in the book, which caused the plot to deviate.
There are scenes of framing in the book, but they happen when the male protagonist of the angst-filled story is also present. The purpose is to cause the male protagonist to misunderstand, thereby causing further torment to the female protagonist and accelerating the pace of her heartbreak.
However, this plot was clearly orchestrated by Cui Tingyue after she had finished her mourning period, when she colluded with the villain to create the scheme.
And most importantly, Jiang Wei, the male protagonist of this tragic novel, is still in Changzhou.
The male lead from the angst novel isn't here, so how is the plot unfolding here?
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law entered the house hand in hand.
Li Lianniang choked back tears and said, "Mother, I was framed. I did nothing to betray my husband."
It was pitch black outside, and with Li Lianniang burying her face in her arms and crying, her face was not clearly visible.
The lanterns inside were bright, and people could be seen clearly.
Zhao Xian had her own guesses, but seeing that her beautiful face was even more haggard than before, she couldn't help but sigh.
This is truly a life filled with misfortune.
He waved for the maids to leave.
Patting Li Lianniang's hand, Zhao Xian said firmly, "Mother believes you are innocent."
Having given her unwavering trust, Zhao Xian continued, "But you must tell me what really happened. The reason I returned home at night was that I didn't want to hear those rumors outside, which would surely be exaggerated. So, I need you to tell me the truth."
Li Lianniang nodded repeatedly, but before she could speak, her eyes welled up with tears.
Zhao Xian patiently took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, saying, "It's alright, tell me slowly."
Li Lianniang sniffed and took two sips of warm water before saying, "This matter started after the Empress Dowager finished her prayer ceremony. The Third Prince's Consort held a charity flower sale at the Hundred Lotus Garden in the western suburbs to raise money, saying that it would all be sent to Changzhou and other places to help the disaster-stricken people."
Zhao Xian nodded, this was a good thing, "Then the flower charity sale must have invited a lot of people, right? Was the Jiang family among them?"
Li Lianniang nodded, "Tingyue was not feeling well at the time and it was inconvenient for her to go out. I knew the young mistress of the Minister of Rites, and we both received invitations, so we invited each other to go together."
"I washed my hands once along the way,"
"On the way back, I... I don't know how the Crown Prince of Yu suddenly appeared and tackled me to the ground. At that time, several ladies also happened to be walking by together..."
Li Lianniang seemed to hear the scream from that day again, piercing and frightening.
"How did the Crown Prince of Yu explain this?"
"He was holding a snake in his hand at the time, saying that he saw the snake flicking its tongue above the tree branch and was afraid it would hurt me."
Did those ladies believe that?
"He insisted on helping me up and wouldn't let go. He even tried to hug me. I hit him and left without looking at the ladies."
However, after the charity flower sale ended, rumors began to circulate that she had an affair with the Crown Prince of Yu.
They were caught in the act of secretly meeting and embracing each other in the Hundred Lotus Garden.
Were you wearing a veil at the time?
"I'm wearing it."
Did the veil fall off when you fell?
Li Lianniang shook her head. Seeing that her mother-in-law was asking so many questions, she was very worried and said cautiously, "The rumors outside are very unpleasant. Mother, believe me. I have absolutely no affair with him."
Li Lianniang had seen how Zhao Xian dealt with the false accusations made by the brother and sister at the Lu family's door, but when it came to her own situation, she was deeply involved and had no idea how to reverse the rumors.
The Crown Prince of Yu went even further, sending a messenger to ask her to submit to him.
How dare he?
Unfortunately, the other party was the heir of a royal family, and with her mother-in-law and husband absent, she had no idea what to do.
Zhao Xian stood up, put her arm around Li Lianniang's head, and gently stroked her hair. "Mother definitely believes in you."
After comforting Li Lianniang for a while, Zhao Xian told her to go to sleep first, "Don't think so much, go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll teach you how to handle this kind of thing tomorrow."
Look at her dark circles.
Zhao Xian's dark circles were all deliberately drawn on, but Li Lianniang's were completely natural.
--
Haitang Residence.
Jiang Liangxu had already learned what had happened from the servants and was waiting for Zhao Xian to return.
A cup of hot tea was left to cool, and the servants were changed again and again, but no one returned for a long time.
"Go and ask the lady when she will return."
He knew some of the eccentricities of the Crown Prince of Yu, and that this matter was not the eldest daughter-in-law's fault, but rather the Crown Prince of Yu's side.
That's easy to handle.
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