Unexpectedly, the Lady of Yong'an Marquis didn't even spare her.
However, now that she is the rightful Duchess, she is naturally not afraid of her.
She straightened her back, her eyes sharp. "Madam Yong'an, I was your daughter-in-law back then, and I should have served my parents-in-law and been subservient to you. But now, I have married another. The Second Master of the Jiang family is also the son-in-law of the Prince Rong's Mansion. Madam Yong'an, why are you so attached to me, your former daughter-in-law? Could it be that you are dissatisfied with the Prince Rong's Mansion as a relative by marriage?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Gao and Madam Tian turned pale with fright. Their husbands still had the Prince Rong's mansion to rely on, so how could they dare to confirm this crime? They hurriedly tugged at their mother-in-law's sleeve.
Lady Yong'an also came to her senses and curtsied to Princess Rong, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me, I had no such intention. I only wanted to say," she pointed to Madam Su, "that this wicked woman harmed my son, and I only wanted to seek justice for him!"
Madam Su found it amusing. "I harmed the Second Master of the Jiang family? You want to seek justice? I wonder what makes you say, Madam Yong'an?"
"Is it true that my son broke his leg when he went to the teahouse to see you and your daughter that day?"
Madam Su frowned, thinking carefully, then smiled again. "Madam Yong'an, I remember that day, when your son came, my daughter and I were waiting for someone in the private room for a talk. He came uninvited. When he left, we naturally didn't see him off. We didn't even see how he fell down the stairs. How could this have anything to do with us?"
This statement is practically saying that he himself was unlucky and it had nothing to do with anyone else.
Lady Yong'an slammed her hand on the table in anger, "If he hadn't gone to see you two jinxes, how could he have fallen down for no reason?"
Madam Su said calmly, "Oh, I heard a lot of good things about the Yong'an Marquis's mansion back then! For example, the eldest son of the Jiang family got a stomachache and lost his job in front of his superiors, the second son of the Jiang family kept a mistress and failed the autumn examination. Are all these things related to me? And... those paintings, calligraphy and jewelry that were stolen and sold from the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, the mansion was short of money and borrowed money from usurers and was chased by debt collectors every day. Could it be that I, the daughter of the Su family, ordered these things to be done?"
The Su family is the richest family in Dingzhou. Would they covet such a small amount of silver from the Earl's mansion?
Lady Yong'an said hatefully, "If it weren't for you two, mother and daughter, who are jinxes, how could my Jiang family have come to this state?"
"Oh? Could it be that Madam is referring to something from earlier... when I went to the Jiang family to reclaim my dowry?" Madam Su smiled. "That's quite a strange thing. I divorced the second master of the Jiang family more than a year ago, and you've already remarried. If you don't get my dowry back, are you going to leave it at the Jiang family to support their new daughter-in-law? Besides, your new daughter-in-law is a princess of the Rong Prince's Mansion. How could a princess like her possibly be interested in the mere dowry of the second master of the Jiang family's ex-wife?"
Lady Yong'an retorted, "Of course a princess like her wouldn't care about your dowry. Take it if you want! Has my Jiang family ever said no? Is it worth you coming all the way from Dingzhou to the capital to beg for it? If I were to say you're a worthless slut and a jinx, would I be wrong?"
"Madam, you'd better watch your tongue." Madam Su sneered. "How did your son and I end up divorcing? Do you expect me to repeat that to all the ladies present today?"
She took a sip of tea and continued, "Furthermore, Madam has repeatedly said that I am a jinx. If I remember correctly, the Jiang family's misfortunes only started the year before last, right? My son and I have been divorced for three years. I had no idea that I, a divorced woman who had been away from the Jiang family for over a year, could still bring bad luck to your Jiang family! If that is truly the case, then it can only be said that I, a divorced woman, am truly incompatible with the Jiang family!"
"What a joke!" A voice accompanied a figure entering the flower hall; it was none other than the wife of the Grand Secretary Lin. "The Duchess of Pingguo was married into the Jiang family for over ten years, and her sons and daughters were all well-behaved and adorable. Yet, for the first ten years of her life, there was no incompatibility in their birth charts; it was only after their divorce that this incompatibility arose. What is this if not a joke?"
Ms. Su recognized her and gave her a slight bow in gratitude.
Princess Rong coughed lightly, "The Grand Secretary's wife has arrived, please take a seat."
She looked at Lady Yong'an and said unhappily, "My mother-in-law is probably recovering from a serious illness and is feeling unwell. Why don't you have some hot tea to wake her up?"
That's a bit harsh. Does it mean she's not thinking clearly?
Lady Yong'an had been in a foul mood all along. She usually had to be subservient to the Princess Consort of Rong, but today, as the Princess Consort's mother-in-law, she was being a bit presumptuous. She was already slow-witted and sensitive about her illness, and hearing this veiled remark, she suddenly found the courage to retort, "My mind is perfectly clear. My dear, it's my mother-in-law's birthday today, and I shouldn't be here to upset you. But I've been sitting here for so long, and the Princess Consort hasn't even brought me a cup of tea. Do you think I'm still lucid?"
Princess Rong was furious, so why did she turn her anger on her daughter?
But filial piety is paramount, and she had no choice but to turn to her daughter, who was busy greeting the younger generation, and say, "Qingping, your mother-in-law has arrived. Why aren't you coming to serve her?"
That's enough to give Lady Yong'an face.
Lady Yong'an was now completely satisfied.
But this terrified Gao.
Madam Gao quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "I dare not trouble you, Your Highness. I will take good care of my mother-in-law."
Madam Tian quickly brought over a cup of hot tea and handed it to Lady Yong'an, saying in a low voice, "Mother, please have some tea."
Lady Yong'an was determined to put on airs in front of Princess Qingping, who had cuckolded her son. "You don't need to fawn over her. As a daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, the princess will not forget the rules, right?"
She looked at Princess Qingping.
Princess Qingping suppressed her anger, stepped forward, took the hot tea handed to her by the old woman next to her, and presented it to Lady Yong'an. "Please have some tea, Mother-in-law."
Madam Su gave a cold smile; she had heard about the Jiang family's affairs.
The entire Yong'an Marquis's mansion was like a leaky sieve; any gossip would immediately be spread like wildfire by the servants.
Jiang Mingyi has been unfairly accused and is now a laughing stock in the capital.
It's a wonder that Lady Yong'an brought her two daughters-in-law to Prince Rong's mansion to offer birthday wishes today. Isn't this just asking for humiliation?
But she didn't know that Lady Yong'an had just recovered from a serious illness and still thought that the mansion was still the same as before, and that she had the servants under her tight control so that it was impossible for a single word to get out.
Moreover, Lady Yong'an subconsciously believed that this matter was a scandal for both the Princess's Mansion and the Prince Rong's Mansion, and it must have been kept tightly under wraps, so that no outsider could possibly know about it.
Little did they know, the powerful and influential people of Kyoto already knew about it in private.
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