Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, Madam Zhang instantly composed herself and forced a smile, "How could that be? I'm happier than anyone else that the young master has returned safe and sound."
That's what she said, but the smile on her face looked worse than a grimace.
"What happened? We clearly found five corpses at the bottom of the cliff, and their bodies and clothes were just like the young master's. How did the young master escape from those bandits?" Zhang had no choice but to change the subject, which was exactly what everyone wanted to know.
Ye Chaoxi exclaimed in surprise, "What bandits? We went out to play! We clearly told you beforehand. We originally only planned to play for two or three days, but the scenery outside was beautiful, and by chance we met a traveling doctor with superb medical skills who could cure the prince's legs, so we stayed outside for three months."
"Who said we encountered bandits?"
Madam Zhang stammered, "News came from the manor that your carriages all fell off a cliff."
"How could anyone in the manor be certain that the carriage was the one that the young master and I rode in? Could it be that someone was following us?" Ye Chaoxi asked rhetorically.
Zhang was speechless for a moment. She could feel the pressure from the Marquis's silent and sharp gaze. After thinking for a long time, she came up with a reason, "Perhaps someone saw it wrong and thought it was the Marquis's carriage that fell off the cliff. In addition, several bodies were indeed found at the bottom of the cliff, so they mistakenly thought it was you."
“Everyone thought something had happened to you and was heartbroken for a long time. Fortunately, you returned safely, and I immediately sent people to remove the ancestral tablets from the ancestral hall to avoid adding bad luck.”
Zhang tried to leave under some pretext, but Xie Qinglan stopped her.
"Wait a minute."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was cold, forcing Zhang to stop.
"This is strange. Have those bandits been captured?"
Marquis Yongyi frowned. “We caught them. I took the liberty of detaining them in the manor instead of handing them over to the Dali Temple. After severe torture, they confessed that they were a group of bandits from the mountains. They had stopped the carriage on a whim to rob it that day, but they had startled the horses, causing them to lose control and fall off the cliff.”
Where are those bandits now?
“I have executed them, and their bodies have been thrown into a mass grave.”
"Really? What a coincidence. On our way back, we encountered two brothers covered in wounds and nearly starving. Upon further questioning, they said they had escaped from our manor. They had done a favor for someone, but that person wanted to kill them."
"I had my doubts, so I brought them back."
Xie Qinglan tilted her head slightly towards Zhuo Qing, and Zhuo Qing immediately understood and went out to bring the person in.
As soon as Xie Qinglan spoke, Zhang's eyelids twitched, as if something bad was about to happen. When she saw the two faces that came in from outside, her face turned pale with fright.
The two men immediately knelt down in front of Marquis Yongyi as soon as they entered.
Marquis Yongyi still remembered those two faces; they were indeed two of the people who had been captured.
"Tell me what happened to you two," Xie Qinglan began.
The two men then explained the whole story in detail: "We were originally sent by the Madam to keep an eye on the Prince. She told us to find a good opportunity to take his life, so we pretended to be bandits and forced the Prince's carriage off the cliff."
"Before the deed was done, the lady promised us that she would transfer us to another place after the Marquis ordered our execution, thus saving our lives. Who knew she would go back on her word and let us brothers die a miserable death. Out of the twenty brothers, only the two of us risked our lives to escape from the Marquis's mansion."
"The more I think about it, the more indignant I feel for our dead brothers! If it weren't for Lady Hou's guarantee, we brothers wouldn't have dared to take on this killing job. Lady Hou, you didn't expect that we two are still alive!"
One of the men stared at Zhang with resentment.
With their abilities alone, it would have been impossible for the two of them to escape from the Marquis's mansion. It was Xie Qinglan who sent people to rescue them, and now these two are naturally willing to come forward to testify against Zhang.
Marquis Yongyi roared, "Zhang Shi!"
Zhang's face turned pale, and she shouted, "Slander! You're blatantly slandering me!"
"My lord! I have never done such a thing. I am now the Lady of the Marquis. Why would I harm the heir? Although the heir is not my biological son, I have watched him grow up. How could I possibly have someone kill him?"
Zhang knew she absolutely could not admit it; once she did, it would be all over.
Xie Changyu also knelt down with a thud, "Father! Mother has managed the Marquis's mansion for so many years. She is gentle and kind. You have been married to her for many years. Don't you know Mother's character?"
Marquis Yongyi hesitated again. Although Lady Zhang was not his first wife, they had been married for many years. How could he not have feelings for her? Compared to his first wife, Princess Fushun, Lady Zhang was more to his liking.
Even if he favored Zhang, with witnesses right in front of him, Marquis Yongyi couldn't possibly ignore them, which completely broke his eldest son's heart.
He coldly rebuked, "Enough! I know perfectly well who is right and who is wrong in this matter!"
“As the matriarch, Madam Zhang is narrow-minded and cannot tolerate the first wife and her son. I hereby punish you to kneel in the ancestral hall for five days, five hours each day. The rest of the time, you shall stay in your own courtyard and reflect on your mistakes. You are not allowed to come out without my permission!”
Zhang was dissatisfied, but she knew it was the best outcome.
Marquis Yongyi then turned to Xie Qinglan and said, "Your mother made a mistake because she was confused for a moment. This time, punishing her will make her realize her mistake and not dare to do it again. You must be tired from your journey back. Rest first, and come find me if you need anything."
"You can handle these two people."
After saying this, he had someone take Zhang to the ancestral hall, and then he turned and left.
The other onlookers, including the second branch of the family, never expected to witness such a grand spectacle. They only reluctantly dispersed after Marquis Yongyi and Madam Zhang had left.
Ye Chaoxi's eyes turned red with anger.
"The Marquis is far too biased towards Madam Zhang! It was clearly Madam Zhang who hired someone to murder the eldest son of the household, yet he calls it being narrow-minded! For Madam Zhang's actions, a letter of divorce and sending her to a nunnery for solitary contemplation would not be an exaggeration."
Xie Qinglan cupped her face in his hands, his thumb brushing against the corner of her eye, touching a drop of moisture. He rubbed his index finger and thumb together, melting the tear into the skin of his fingertip, and his heart softened because of her tenderness.
"Don't rush. Keeping Zhang in the mansion will only allow her to continue to suffer. Today's incident is just an appetizer. Let her get used to the painful and uncomfortable days first."
Ye Chaoxi once again sensed that beneath Xie Qinglan's calm and aloof exterior lay a madman filled with hatred.
He endured ten years of darkness, cultivating a group of his own people under Zhang's very nose, and recently almost lost both legs. It's impossible for him to repay evil with kindness.
He insisted on watching Zhang lose everything little by little.
Sigh, what can I do if my husband is a hidden madman? I can only spoil him.
Ye Chaoxi hugged his waist tenderly, her teary eyes filled with determination, "No matter what you do, I will support you."
Xie Qinglan patted her head with his warm, dry hand. "Good girl."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com