The Duke's Mansion is preparing to hold a banquet for Huo Xi in ten days to celebrate his passing the imperial examination with top honors, and will entertain guests as the heir of the Duke's Mansion.
Huo Xingchen invited several tables of male guests, and Qingyou also sent invitations to the ladies of various families, asking them to bring their female relatives to attend.
Because it would be quite busy, and Huo Xi was not yet married, Qingyou called his second wife to help.
When the original owner of this body got into trouble, the second wife's family not only didn't kick her when she was down, but also helped her a lot.
Therefore, after Qingyou came over, she maintained a good relationship with the second wife.
When Shi Lingqiao heard this, she felt very resentful.
The wicked mother-in-law asked the second wife for help, but she was unwilling to even take care of her daughter-in-law. That's too much.
She also spoke ill of her mother-in-law to Huo Jiwen, who was already in a bad mood.
Huo Jiwen became even more agitated after hearing this and asked, "When are you going to implement your plan?"
He truly didn't expect his own father to be so ruthless, directly petitioning the emperor to establish an heir after Huo Xi passed the imperial examination with top honors.
The two even planned to throw a banquet to celebrate Huo Xi's succession, clearly intending to use him as the heir to integrate him into high society circles.
When he got married, his mother never left the courtyard, but this time she happily took the initiative to send out invitations to celebrate Huo Xi's wedding.
Just as Huo Xi was their biological son, he became a complete scapegoat.
He hasn't left the house since his father changed the heir.
He felt that going out would make him a laughingstock, and he would be ridiculed and mocked. This contrast was something he couldn't bear.
Since his own parents have gone too far and don't care about their own son, he has no choice but to be unfilial.
Shi Lingqiao was waiting for him to take the initiative. "I've already made arrangements."
"However, it will make my mother-in-law look bad, but it will also make Huo Xi lose face in the high society of the capital, and may even lead to him being kicked out of the Duke's mansion."
Huo Jiwen frowned. "Why did my mother have to embarrass herself along with me?"
Shi Lingqiao didn't tell him her complete plan because she was afraid he would hesitate or object.
After all, she was his own mother. If she were caught having an affair with his brother-in-law, it would damage his reputation and face.
But she couldn't stand her wicked mother-in-law anymore, and she couldn't let Huo Xi become the heir to the Duke's mansion.
So she coaxed him, saying, "You don't need to worry about this. I'll have someone take care of it."
"On that day, if anyone comes to you, just pretend to take your guests to see it."
She will need her husband's help to show everyone the wicked mother-in-law and Huo Xi's despicable side.
After all, no one would doubt that the wicked mother-in-law's own son would deliberately lead people to capture them.
"Alright, then stop now, don't go too far." Although Huo Jiwen didn't know Shi Lingqiao's plan, he could roughly guess a little bit about it.
In the past, he definitely wouldn't have agreed to her doing this.
But we can't worry about that now; the most important thing is to get Huo Xi out of the Duke's mansion.
As for his mother, at worst, after her father sends her to the estate, he can find a few more maids and servants to take care of her.
Shi Lingqiao replied dismissively, "I know."
Ten days later.
All those who received invitations attended the banquet at the Duke's mansion.
Qingyou led the second wife to entertain the female guests, while Huo Xingchen led Huo Xi to greet the male guests.
Neither of them asked Huo Jiwen and his wife whether they wanted to join in entertaining the guests.
This infuriated Huo Jiwen.
Because Shi Lingqiao needed his cooperation, he reluctantly went to the banquet.
During the meal, he was naturally "cared for and greeted" by the powerful and wealthy people he knew, many of whom were watching with amusement.
Huo Jiwen was arrogant because of his noble status and his reputation as a well-known young nobleman in the capital.
This makes many people dislike him.
Knowing that his parents had replaced him with someone else for the sake of a woman, they secretly laughed at him for being foolish.
Huo Jiwen had never been treated like this before, but he couldn't find a reason to lose his temper, since everyone had come to "comfort" him.
All I could do was put on a stiff face and deal with it.
To help Shi Lingqiao execute her plan more effectively, Huo Xingchen and Qingyou specially hired an opera troupe to perform a few plays before the banquet began.
After the performance on stage, Huo Xi was called away from the front yard by one of his close attendants.
After a while, Qingyou's maid whispered a few words in her ear.
Qingyou's expression changed slightly, but she quickly composed herself.
He greeted the ladies and young women, then took his maid and went to a side courtyard.
Because Shi Lingqiao was not recognized by Qingyou and Huo Xingchen, she was unable to appear as Huo Jiwen's daughter-in-law to entertain guests. (www.cascoo.net)
Therefore, he stayed hidden in a corner of the garden and watched.
After seeing Huo Xi and the wicked mother-in-law successfully led away by the people she had bribed, she also quietly went to the side courtyard, avoiding everyone.
Just as she stepped into the room she had arranged in the side courtyard, preparing to eavesdrop, she suddenly felt a moment of disorientation.
His once clear eyes became dull, and he reached out and pushed open the door, entering the room.
If someone were watching from the front, they would be very surprised.
Because at this moment, Shi Lingqiao is very much like a marionette.
Shortly after Shi Lingqiao entered, the Fourth Prince also went in.
In a corner of the side courtyard, Qingyou was controlling two scarecrows.
The two scarecrows each had the hair of the Fourth Prince and Shi Lingqiao wrapped around their bodies, and each had a talisman with their birth dates and times written on it.
It was because of this that Qingyou was able to briefly control the two of them.
Huo Xi stood beside her, looking at her with a mixture of shock and curiosity.
He was taken to a side courtyard by his attendants, and he immediately sensed something was wrong and became wary.
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