He took a deep breath and spoke the plan he had come up with along the way, "Mother, the three of them are currently under the protection of His Highness Prince Xuan. I've heard that the Eldest Princess is quite familiar with them, so they probably don't know about Su Yarong's background. If we reveal her background to Prince Xuan and the Eldest Princess..."
Lady Yong'an immediately objected, "No! Absolutely not! If the news gets out, we'll be in grave danger! It might even implicate the Yun family's affairs!"
Jiang Mingyi closed his eyes and said painfully, "Mother! For my third brother, I abandoned my wife and children; for my eldest brother, I married that shrew Qingping; for this Earl's mansion, I even committed the heinous act of killing my wife and children! Mother! When will you ever think of me? Am I, the number one scholar in Dingzhou, destined to live a life of incompetence and humiliation?!"
Lady Yong'an also looked very distressed. "My child! I know I've wronged you! But the border troops in Dingzhou are the foundation of our family. If your third brother's deeds are exposed, not only the border troops, but the entire family may face annihilation! I'm letting you marry the princess for the sake of the Prince Rong's mansion and for the future safety of our family!"
She reached out and grasped her son's hand. "My son, as long as Su Yarong is dead, as long as her two bloodlines are no longer alive, even if that person eventually finds out the truth, with the backing of the Rong Prince's Mansion, your eldest brother has gained a firm foothold in the capital, and the border army is firmly in your third brother's hands, the Emperor won't do anything to us!"
Jiang Mingyi looked somewhat blank. His mother was full of thoughts, but hadn't she thought about his future?
Although he had long known that after marrying the princess, he was destined to be an idle man.
He swallowed hard and could only ask again, "Why didn't you seize such a good opportunity last night?"
Lady Yong'an looked at him with a mournful expression, her tone indignant, "That wild girl, I don't know where she learned such skills. She won't eat the food and tea in the manor that have been drugged, and she won't sleep at night. She even blocked the sleeping incense that was blown in! Those old women and guards can't catch her at all, and she's burned so many of my good things!"
Jiang Mingyi had a headache. He didn't know why, but this mother and her two sons had made great contributions and received titles after going to Taizhou. Not only did the daughter learn martial arts, but the son went to Guigu Mountain and would surely be a formidable opponent after he came out.
"Mother, if even a maid is so difficult to deal with, that boy would be even more difficult to catch if he came out of Ghost Valley Mountain. Perhaps... we should... just let it go for now?"
Lady Yong'an stared intently at him. "Are you softening your heart again? How can we get Madam Su to pay a huge sum to ransom her if we don't catch that spendthrift girl? What will become of the Earl's mansion's livelihood in the future? Don't forget, she took almost all of the mansion's wealth a few days ago!"
Jiang Mingyi wanted to retort, "That was her dowry. Does the Earl's mansion have nothing left after his wife's dowry?"
A surge of anger rose within him, and he blurted out, "Just now, Mingwei and she went to the west of the city to distribute porridge. Mingwei even emptied the granary to provide disaster relief."
Lady Yong'an was shocked. "You...what did you say?"
"The rice and flour from the granary were taken by Mingwei for disaster relief." Jiang Mingyi emphasized again that this was Jiang Mingwei's doing.
Lady Yong'an doted on her youngest daughter, whom she had late in life, spoiling her so much that she became quite overweight.
Lady Yong'an clutched her chest, nearly choking again. "Mingwei...you're so foolish!"
The mild reprimand made Jiang Mingyi suddenly realize that as the son sandwiched in the middle of his mother's four children, he had always been the most hardworking and outstanding, excelling in both academics and martial arts. Yet now, he had become the first choice his mother would abandon.
He sacrificed himself to benefit his elder brother and third brother, and to benefit the Earl's family. Even Jiang Mingwei was more favored than him.
Who will grant his wish?!
If it were to become public knowledge that he kidnapped his own daughter to extort a huge ransom from his ex-wife, and then murdered his wife, son, and daughter, would he still be able to live with himself?
His heart felt cold. He reached out and tucked his mother's blanket around her. "The princess and Xiaoyun'er are waiting for me to come back for lunch. Mother, you should rest well."
Lady Yong'an tried to pull him back, "That good-for-nothing, are you just going to abandon him?"
Jiang Mingyi coldly replied, "I can't control it. I can't kill them, I can't capture them, so how can I control it?"
Lady Yong'an panicked. "No, no, son, that good-for-nothing will listen to you. You still need to appease her and let her stay in the manor for a few more days. Then I will find a way to control her."
Jiang Mingyi corrected her, "It seems she listens to your younger daughter more."
Lady Yong'an was stunned. Was her son dissatisfied with her?
She instinctively retorted, "Mingwei is her aunt, so we can't let Mingwei get involved. If the reputation of deceiving and kidnapping her own niece gets out, how will Mingwei ever find a husband?"
Jiang Mingyi was so angry he almost laughed. "It wouldn't sound good if her reputation for framing her niece got out, but I'm Jiang Youran's biological father! Would it sound good if my reputation got out?!"
"You've already..." Lady Yong'an blurted out.
Jiang Mingyi's smile widened further. "Already what? Already married a princess and had a daughter. Your reputation is no longer important to me, is that it?"
Lady Yong'an was speechless; that was indeed what she thought.
Jiang Mingyi turned and left angrily, leaving behind the words, "She's my own daughter, I can't bring myself to do it!"
Lady Yong'an's anger surged again, and when she thought of the empty granary, her vision went black, and she fainted again.
Meanwhile, Xiao Youran took Jiang Mingwei to the porridge stall and met with Yueyue.
Yueyue was very curious about the chubby older sister. "Little Youran, is she your aunt?"
She looks... a bit too plump.
Jiang Ming nodded slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Greetings, Princess Yueyue."
Yueyue waved her hand, "No need for formalities. I've heard everything. Your Earl's Mansion didn't want to return Aunt Su's dowry to her, so Aunt Su had no choice but to donate it all to the Jingzhao Prefecture. If you ask me, your Earl's Mansion is really too unethical, withholding your ex-wife's dowry to give to your current wife as betrothal gifts. It's a joke. Aunt Qingping is furious!"
This story was passed down by word of mouth among the onlookers, especially those who received the copper coins that day.
Xiao Youran's eyes widened as she realized that her stepmother was actually Yueyue's aunt.
Jiang Mingwei felt even more embarrassed. "That matter was our Earl's fault. Second Sister-in-law was wronged, and so was Xiao Youran."
Since she admitted her mistake so readily, Yueyue couldn't really scold her anymore.
After a few casual words, the big pot and steamed buns were ready.
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