Chapter 216 Heartbroken
The second lady lit an oil lamp and walked down the secret passage with it.
After she married into the Duke's Mansion, she lived in Mingde Hall.
This warehouse is her private warehouse.
She accidentally discovered a secret passage. The space below was very large. Not only could it be used to store private items, but there was also a secret passage leading to the abandoned West Garden.
In the previous dynasty, Xiyuan was a separate residence and was not part of the Duke's Mansion.
After destroying the previous dynasty, Emperor Taizu gave the mansion where the Duke of the previous dynasty lived to the Zhao family. He then discovered that Xiyuan was the private property of the Duke of the previous dynasty, so he incorporated Xiyuan into the Duke's Mansion to show the royal family's kindness to the Zhao family.
However, the West Garden was far away from the main house, and no one wanted to live there, so it became abandoned.
She pondered in her heart, thinking that it was dug out by the Duke of the previous dynasty in order to escape at the critical moment.
The back door of Xiyuan is a quiet narrow alley. This area is an official residence, and usually no one comes to this alley.
Before Zhao Jue's wedding, she secretly sent counterfeits into the warehouse through the secret passage, one today, two tomorrow, and replaced Shen Qingtan's dowry without anyone noticing.
The second lady covered her nose with a handkerchief and placed the oil lamp on a wooden stand, illuminating the dark basement.
There were dozens of boxes stacked in the basement, all of which contained private savings accumulated over the past decade.
Half of it was bribes received by taking advantage of the Duke's Mansion's reputation to do good things for others.
Half of it was earned from selling counterfeit goods and gambling.
This large amount of private money came from an illegal source, so she didn't dare tell the Second Master and Zhao Jue at all, and hid it secretly here.
She opened a few boxes nearby. The first box contained silver ingots, and the following boxes contained gold, silver, jade, glass, agate and other precious treasures.
The second wife took the account book from the wooden shelf, counted it one by one, straightened it, and breathed a sigh of relief.
After their second wife was kicked out, these items had to be moved out in batches through the secret passage.
The second lady calmed herself down, took the account book and left the secret passage and returned to the main courtyard.
She didn't see the second master in the room, so she asked, "Where's the master?"
The maid replied, "Second Madam, the Master and the Old Madam have returned home. Someone has been sent to invite the Second Master over."
The second wife's face turned pale and she clenched the account book in her hand.
The maidservant said again, "Master, please come over as well."
The second wife hid the account book and went to Shi'an Hall in fear.
Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu arrived at Shi'an Hall almost at the same time as her.
Several people entered the house with different thoughts.
The Duke took a sip of tea and said, "Your whole family is here, please take a seat."
The Second Lady was sweating all over and sat beside the Second Master feeling uneasy.
Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu didn't understand what was going on and sat down separately.
"I have four sons, and except for the second, all of them are self-aware and wouldn't covet things that don't belong to them." The Duke bluntly exposed the second son's intentions: "In order to compete for the title, you have betrayed your loyalty, exchanged marriages, and even harmed your brothers. Each of these actions violates the clan rules."
The second master's heart skipped a beat: "Father, although I have no moral principles, I have never harmed my brothers and sisters. Please don't accuse me of this."
"Zhao Luo lit realgar in the temple, plotting to murder Yi'er and framing Yi'er's wife." The Duke said sternly, "I didn't punish you severely for your actions, but instead allowed you to become emboldened and even dare to kill."
The Second Master and Zhao Jue's faces darkened. The Second Madam had attempted to kill Zhao Yi and even brought the matter to the Duke's presence.
"From now on, your entire family will be removed from the family tree," the Duke said coldly. "Pack your clothes and move to the house on Xingning Street."
The Second Master couldn't accept this fact: "Dad, I'm your biological son. I didn't kill Yi'er, it was all Luo Lingzhi's fault. Why are you expelling me from the clan too?"
"You two should share honor and disgrace together," the Duke said in a deep voice. "I've warned you all not to touch Yi'er, let alone compete with him for anything. You've all seen how the Emperor treats Yi'er."
The second master felt very disappointed and looked at the Duke intently. Seeing that the Duke looked like he was doing good for them, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Father, you've always been partial to the eldest wife. You want to vent your anger on Yi'er and kick our whole family out. You can just say it directly, why bring up the emperor?"
The second master seemed to have recognized the reality and nodded repeatedly: "Exterminate the clan, okay, isn't it just exterminate the clan?"
After saying this, the second master walked out the door with hatred towards the Duke and the old lady in his heart.
He didn't understand why there was such a big difference between them even though they were born from the same mother.
Their hearts and eyes are filled with only the first wife, and there is no room for the second wife.
No matter what the second wife does, it's all wrong.
The Second Madam hurriedly chased the Second Master back to Mingde Hall and said anxiously, "Master..."
The second master turned around and slapped her in the face.
With a "slap", the second wife's face was hit to the side, and it was burning with pain.
"Bitch, how many times have I told you that the King of Zhenbei has returned to the capital and recognized his daughter. What our family has done to Shen Qingtan is enough for us to drink a pot of wine. For the time being, we have to keep our tails between our legs."
The Second Master pointed at the Second Madam and angrily said, "How could you kill Zhao Yi and frame Shen Qingtan?"
The Second Madam covered her face and explained, "Master, I came up with this plan because I was afraid of the prince's reckoning. Who knew..."
"Shut up!" the second master said disgustedly, "Go back to your parents' home."
The second wife's face changed drastically. The second master was going to divorce her.
"Master, if you divorce me, what will happen to Jue'er?" The Second Lady anxiously grabbed the Second Master's arm. "The Master only allowed us to take a change of clothes and didn't give us a single copper. You and Jue'er were dismissed from your jobs and now you have no income. As long as I'm here, my brother will give us money."
When the second master heard this, his face darkened. He really had to rely on the Luo family for support to survive.
The house on Xingning Street was shabby and small. When their family moved in, they didn't know how they would be laughed at.
Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu stood at the door and heard the argument between the second master and the second mistress. They both felt confused about the future.
After they were expelled from the Duke's Mansion and lost the protection of the Duke's Mansion, what should they do in the future?
-
Hualing Temple.
The eldest lady explained the situation to the abbot, checked with the monk in charge of reception, and then went to the dormitory.
Upon hearing the news, the master hurried to the temple and met the eldest lady on the way.
He called out, "Wife, is Yi'er okay?"
The eldest lady turned around when she heard the voice and saw the master who had come rushing in, and nodded.
The eldest master looked at the calm and composed eldest lady, took two steps towards her, and held her hand: "Yier is not a person without good fortune. Don't be afraid, he will survive."
These words shattered the Madam's hard armor. She lowered her head and covered her eyes with a handkerchief. "I only hope that the Bodhisattva will bless me this time and bless Yi'er to be okay. Don't take him away from me."
"Yier has survived time and time again, and he will be able to do it this time too." The eldest master was also upset. When he heard the news for the first time, he felt the heart-wrenching pain again.
The eldest lady didn't say anything. She took a deep breath and came to the door of the dormitory. She saw Tingxue Liuyue and Jiang Chaojiangmu standing at the door.
"How is your Second Master doing?"
Tingxue pointed at the crack in the door and motioned for the eldest lady to take a look herself.
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