Zhou Shuli knew that his mother had been supporting the Liu family, but he didn't know that his mother had actually given the Liu family a gift from the imperial court, and that the Liu family had actually dared to pawn it.
But he couldn't blame his mother, so he could only glare at Song Xia and say, "Don't go too far."
"Excessive?" Song Xia scoffed. "Where did I go too far? It is my duty as the mistress of the house to clean up the traitors in my own family. Otherwise, if the government finds out one day, not only the Liu family, but our Zhou family will also be punished. Zhou Yongli, do you think you can still be the Vice Minister of Rites then?"
“This has nothing to do with Yongli; it must have been done by a former servant,” Old Mrs. Liu said, trembling. “What evidence do you have to prove that we did it? Maybe you’re the one who stole it from us.”
"Oh? I embezzled? To the Liu family, who have nothing to do with this county magistrate? Since Auntie is questioning this, then let the Prefect come and investigate. A few strokes of the cane will surely make someone tell the truth."
Song Xia looked at the mother and son with a mocking expression. Even at this critical moment, they still refused to admit it. They were incredibly foolish.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!"
"Stop!" Zhou Yongli took a deep breath. "Song Xia, what exactly do you want?"
Song Xia sat down leisurely: "What do I want? Didn't you make the first move, my lord?"
“Yuqing is my son, it is only right for me to discipline him.”
“As the mistress of this household, it is only right that I report the theft of valuables to the authorities and have them recovered.”
The two stared at each other coldly. Song Xia sneered. Fight with her? They brought this situation upon themselves.
Zhou Yongli still refused to budge: "If something happens to me, do you think you'll be okay? Even Yuqing will be implicated."
“It doesn’t matter.” Song Xia shrugged. “I still have the Prince’s Mansion to return to, and I never intended for Yuqing to take the imperial examination route again.”
She stared intently at Zhou Yongli: "All I've ever wanted is for my Yuqing to be healthy."
Zhou Yongli slumped into his chair. He understood that this time he had truly violated Song Xia's deepest taboo. She knew, she knew everything all along...
“Zhou Yongli, I, the county magistrate, have been lenient with you before, yet you insist on provoking me time and time again. Do you really think I have no temper? I don’t care about your lovey-dovey relationship with your cousin, but you’re still focusing on Yuqing’s status as the legitimate son and my status as the mistress of the house, right? Do you think my son and I are blocking the path of your beloved and your son? You’re trying every means to torment Yuqing to death, and preferably kill me too, so that you’ll have no one in your way?”
Zhou Yongli's eyes flickered: "Nonsense."
Song Xia sneered: "Everyone knows whether it's nonsense or not. Since you're so shameless, then no one will get away with this. If this gets out, those who should be beheaded will be beheaded, those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned, and those who should be dismissed will be dismissed. Let's see who dares to be arrogant in front of me, the county magistrate."
Grandma Liu was so frightened by her words that she almost fainted again, and hurriedly went to pull Zhou Yongli away.
Zhou Yongli looked ashen-faced, as if all his energy had been drained away.
"Song Xia, must you be so heartless?"
"Ask yourself honestly, who was the one who started this ruthless scheme?"
Zhou Yongli seemed to have his strength crushed: "I apologize to you and promise you that Fangniang and the others will never bother you again. From now on, whatever you say in this mansion will be law. Can we just pretend this never happened?"
“A mere concubine has no right to offend you, even without this incident.”
Zhou Yongli gritted his teeth again: "I will have the Liu family make up for all the deficits in the accounts. If this really comes to His Majesty's attention, then Yuqing will lose everything in this mansion. Although the Prince's mansion is wealthy, Yuqing is still surnamed Zhou. Song Xia, I'm begging you."
Song Xia remained silent. Zhou Yongli was filled with regret. He shouldn't have provoked people at this time, and his mother was the same. If she wanted to help the Liu family, she should have helped them, but why did she take the imperial gift without any sense of propriety? The Liu family was also audacious enough to pawn it! And Song Xia had caught them in this mistake!
If Song Xiazhen reports it to the authorities, he can temporarily save his life, but what about his mother? His mother is a concubine, and she can't escape.
"I assure you, from now on you will be in charge of all matters concerning Yuqing, and I will not interfere in the matter. You will also be in charge of all matters concerning the manor. Song Xia will suffer losses, which will not benefit either you or Yuqing."
"Why didn't you think of this before, my lord? For Zhou Shuqing's sake, you've gone to great lengths to belittle my Yuqing. You're truly vicious!"
“I just didn’t want him to tarnish the Zhou family’s reputation; I didn’t really intend to kill him.”
“Does the Zhou family still have any reputation? It’s only recently that things have improved since I started managing things. Zhou Yongli, I’m giving you three days to complete the previous account books.”
Seeing that she finally agreed, Zhou Yongli breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Song Xia stood up and instructed the servants, "Liu Fangniang is bedridden. Send someone to pack her things and take her to the estate."
The servant dared not delay and quickly agreed.
This time, Zhou Yongli stopped trying to stop them. He dismissed everyone and wearily locked himself in his study.
Now, Liu Fangniang is surrounded by Song Xia's people. If Song Xia doesn't allow it, it's difficult for the news to reach her ears. So Song Xia specially sent someone to tell her what just happened.
After saying that, the old woman said coldly, "Madam Liu, pack your things and get ready to go to the estate."
Liu Fangniang had been feeling a bit better today, but she fainted again.
When she woke up, she was already in the carriage. She cried out in anguish, calling out for Zhou Yongli, but no one answered her.
Even after she had cried all her tears, she still couldn't understand how things had turned out this way!
“Yonglang, why didn’t you be more patient and even wait two more days to reprimand Zhou Yuqing?” She believed that Zhou Yongli was too impulsive, which made Song Xia think that Zhou Yongli was persuaded by her, which led to this incident.
She trembled with fear. What would happen to her son Shuge and her daughter Yingjie if she were no longer in the manor?
Why is Song Xia suddenly so ruthless? She wasn't like this before!
She didn't consider that anyone could tolerate a concubine murdering their child. You did something you shouldn't have, so why shouldn't she fight back?
By the time the news reached Zhou Shuqing and Zhou Ying, it was too late for them to kneel down and beg Song Xia for mercy.
Three months ago, Zhou Ying was a proud and temperamental young lady, but now she only knows how to kowtow and shed tears. All her pride and sharp edges have been worn down.
Zhou Shuqing was particularly bewildered. Three months ago, he thought he had the victory in his grasp, but he never expected that his aunt would be moved to the estate only half a month after he returned, and even his father was powerless to do anything about it.
Only then did he realize that in this family, the father was not in charge, but the mother held the power of life and death over all of them.
Looking back, they were arrogant and unrestrained, rarely hiding their thoughts. No wonder their mother wanted to settle scores with them. If he were in his mother's or his elder brother's position, he probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate it either.
Zhou Shuqing felt a chill run down her spine, feeling that there was no way out in this life.
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