Chapter 675 She Lied
Before the Fourth Princess Consort could recover, Jiang Fenghua suddenly stared at her and smiled slightly, "Why isn't Fourth Sister-in-law saying anything? Do you know Consort Han?"
The Fourth Princess's palms were sweating. She said, "I have never met Consort Han before and do not know her."
Jiang Fenghua then asked the Second Princess Consort, "Has the Second Princess Consort met Consort Han?"
Zhao Yunhui said, "Your Majesty, I have never seen her." Indeed, Zhao Yunhui had never seen Consort Han, let alone knew of such a person. She had already made a mess of her life after marrying Xie Yu, so why would she care about the concubines in the harem? She no longer had the chance to marry the Emperor.
Before Jiang Fenghua could speak, the Third Princess said, "I don't know him either."
The Third Princess might know, but she's never met her and isn't an important person, so it has nothing to do with her interests. She won't inquire about it, and she absolutely won't get involved in things that don't concern her.
The Fourth Princess Consort had never actually seen the real person, so she thought no one would suspect her or that the suspicion would fall on her. However, at this moment, Jiang Fenghua's gaze was too sharp, with an expression that seemed to have expected this all along, and she felt guilty.
The Fourth Princess Consort only learned by chance from the Bai family that a girl from the Bai family had entered the palace to become a concubine and was named Consort Han. She then inquired and found out that Consort Han had died suddenly. At that time, Jiang Fenghua had also disappeared, so she connected the two.
At this moment, Zhao Jin and A Chong were also hiding in the crowd. They were also carefully distinguishing the voices. Although the surrounding noise was very loud, A Chong still recognized a familiar voice. The person who had met Madam Su before was the Fourth Princess.
He was certain he hadn't misheard.
Here, Master Bai and Madam Bai were dumbfounded to see that no one acknowledged that Bai Yuhan had ever been an imperial concubine. This was something that their third brother had personally told them when he returned to the Bai family. How could it now be considered false?
Could it be that Yuhan really never entered the palace? They were just happy for nothing.
Bai Yuhan said, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I'm fine. Let's go home first. You misunderstood Lord Jiang and Godmother. I was saved thanks to Godmother."
"But……"
"There are no buts. I will go home and tell my parents the whole story."
At this moment, the prefect of Jiangzhou arrived with Bai Yuhan's parents.
Bai Yuhan was stunned. "Father, Mother, why are you here? Weren't you in Jiangzhou?"
Madam Bai held her daughter, saying, "You've been away from home for over a year and haven't returned. We were so worried about you. Your third uncle fell ill after he came home." To save their third son's health, they demolished the temple they had built for their daughter, and the prefect announced to the public that it was all a misunderstanding—that the Bai family's daughter hadn't entered the palace to become a concubine, but had simply gone out to do business.
The eldest son of the Bai family was certainly not convinced, but the prefect personally came to the Bai family's door to order them to demolish the temple. Although the Bai family were wealthy merchants, they were just ordinary people. How could commoners dare to compete with officials? Moreover, they had also received news that their daughter was not in the palace at all. The Bai family's dream of becoming an imperial concubine was shattered instantly. They had thought that their daughter had always been a concubine in the palace.
Xiao Yu appeared with the Bai family. He gave Jiang Jinyan a wink, indicating that he would explain everything in Jiangzhou and bring Bai Yuhan's parents to Shengjing to clear up the misunderstanding.
Xiao Yu had been standing in the crowd the whole time. He wasn't wearing official robes, but rather plain clothes, quietly listening to the people's discussions. It was clear that someone had taught them to say these things. The common people were just following the rumors without knowing the truth; they only knew how to echo what they heard.
Like the Bai family, they only knew from Bai Sanye that their daughter had entered the palace, and they didn't know the specific news about Shengjing. They didn't even know that Bai Yuhan had already left the palace. Bai Yuhan's matter was not originally such a big deal. It was only because Bai Erye and Bai Erma, who were doing business in Shengjing, were used by others that they went to the capital to beat the drum and cry for justice.
Now that Bai Yuhan and the two elders of the Bai family have arrived, Jiang Jinyan said to the Second Master Bai, "May I ask why you two are so certain that Miss Bai is my mistress? And why do you think that Miss Bai was murdered by me?"
“We heard it from others. Yuhan hasn’t come back. We are just merchants. If Yuhan has really been harmed, we can’t think of any way to save her. We heard that the emperor will celebrate the Lantern Festival with the people. If we come to file a complaint with the emperor, he will definitely help us. We can get attention by having a lot of people.”
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Who told you that? Don't you know whether your niece is someone's mistress or not? Why did you have to make such a fuss?"
Master Bai and his wife trembled with fear. "We've forgotten who told us that."
"Do you know that coming to the capital to beat the drum of appeal and plead your case, and to falsely accuse court officials, is a capital offense?"
The two men were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, unaware that they were facing a capital offense!
Bai Yuhan said, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, tell me, who sent you to the capital to spread rumors?"
Madam Bai suddenly looked in Shu Xue's direction, "It's all my fault. I heard rumors from Madam Li that Yu Han went with Lord Jiang. They also said that my niece went to be Lord Jiang's mistress. You haven't come back either, and we're worried that something has happened to you."
“Please explain clearly, Madam Bai, which Madam Li?” Jiang Fenghua asked again.
“It’s Mrs. Li, and the ladies who are on good terms with her.” She pointed in Shu Xue’s direction.
Shu Xue's expression was evasive as she said, "It's your niece who's being indecent. She rode in the same carriage as Lord Jiang. We all saw it. Zhang Yumo saw it with her own eyes. Madam Zhang, Madam Wang, and Miss Wang all saw it. What kind of respectable woman goes in and out with a married man, acting so intimately? The Jiang family said they wouldn't take concubines, but they didn't say they wouldn't keep mistresses! Given Lord Jiang's status, it's only natural that Miss Bai wanted to climb the social ladder. Now that the matter has been exposed, no one would dare question that she's an adopted daughter. It's just that Yumo has suffered by witnessing her husband being intimate with another woman."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinyan looked at Zhang Yumo. He thought Zhang Yumo wouldn't think that way, but he was indeed angry about what she had said a few days ago. He explained, "Mo'er, it's not what she said. Miss Bai and I are completely innocent. Mother was also in the carriage that day. We were going to Jishantang."
Zhang Yumo blushed, somewhat embarrassed. "I understand, and I wasn't thinking anything."
Jiang Jinyan knew she was lying.
"Even Madam Jiang knows about Lord Jiang and Miss Bai's affair. Since you're going to Jishan Hall, why not take Yu Mo with you?" Shu Xue said sarcastically.
Feng Jingyuan walked up to Shu Xue and said, "Young Madam Li, you're fabricating stories to sow discord between other couples. What are your true intentions?"
"I'm just stating the facts. What ulterior motive could I possibly have?" Shu Xue retorted, as she often heard her mother-in-law badmouthing the Jiang family and Madam Jiang behind their backs. Her husband, Li Cheng, had also been engaged to Zhang Yumo, which made her feel uneasy.
Jiang Fenghua glanced at Shu Xue and said, "Madam Bai, Mr. Bai, have you heard this clearly? In Madam Li's eyes, your Bai family's daughter is so shameless. Is it Madam Li's deliberate slander and framing, or does Miss Bai really want to climb the social ladder as Madam Li says? This matter must be clarified in front of everyone and the people today, otherwise Miss Bai may suffer infamy."
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