Chapter 38 My sister-in-law is keeping a lover
The dining hall of the Prince of Anshun's Mansion.
Princess Anshun sat in the highest position, with the two seats on her left and right empty. Below her sat two concubines and Wen Kehao.
The dishes were all served on the table, and the maid was waiting to the side.
Consort Chen looked at the empty seats and asked in confusion, "These past few days, the Prince and Princess have never been late for breakfast. Yesterday, the Princess went back to her parents' home. How come she forgot all the rules?"
Princess Anshun said, "Mo'er and Lingge rushed back last night. They were tired from traveling back and forth all day yesterday, so it's understandable that they got up late today."
Consort Jiang covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "Your Highness is absolutely right. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are newlyweds, inseparable, quite different from us. In my opinion, we shouldn't rush them. Your Highness, have someone send the food to their room..."
"Consort Jiang," Princess Anshun frowned in displeasure, interrupting, "You have the mind to care about the Crown Prince and his wife, but why don't you care about your own daughter? Why hasn't Weizhu arrived yet?"
Consort Jiang felt a little guilty. "It takes a young lady some time to get ready, so it should be soon. She'll be here shortly."
Wen Weizhu left the manor mysteriously early in the morning, and she had no idea where her daughter had gone. This child had a sweet tongue and had won over the princess, who treated her like her own daughter. However, this was only on the surface. Now that the princess had a daughter-in-law, she was no longer as attentive to Weizhu as before.
Sure enough, when Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge hadn't arrived for breakfast, the princess was full of protective words, but when she mentioned why Wen Weizhu hadn't arrived, her tone was unfriendly.
Consort Jiang anxiously peeked out the door and saw Wen Weizhu walking hurriedly towards her.
Consort Jiang hurriedly went to greet her.
"Please sit down. The Princess Consort was just talking about you. It's quite a coincidence that you and the Crown Prince and Princess Consort arrived late today, as if you had arranged to."
Now that her daughter has arrived, but Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge have not yet made a move, the princess cannot very well blame her daughter again.
Wen Weizhu sat down, but her face seemed to have something she couldn't say. She glanced at the princess, then looked around at the people around her, and pursed her lips without saying a word.
Princess Anshun laughed and said, "What's wrong? You're usually the most talkative one, why are you so quiet today?"
Consort Chen teased, "Could it be that you've taken a fancy to some young gentleman and are getting shy? Tell me, and let the princess give you her opinion."
Consort Jiang was an impatient woman, and she said loudly, "Zhu'er, what's wrong? Tell me, don't make your mother worry."
Urged on by everyone, Wen Weizhu's eyes reddened, and she said with a mix of grievance and anger, "I'm too embarrassed to say it!"
Consort Jiang's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Wen Weizhu had encountered a lecherous man on the way out. This matter could not be made public. She grabbed Wen Weizhu's hand and winked at her, "It's just that Mother said a few words to you this morning. How old are you? Why are you still so easily angered?"
She thought that by finding an excuse, Wen Weizhu would shut up. But Wen Weizhu, usually quick-witted, seemed oblivious to her words today, her tone still angry, "It's not about that."
Consort Lu was happy to watch the spectacle and asked curiously, "What happened? What made our Second Miss of the Prince of Anshun so angry? It's impolite to leave things unsaid when the Princess is here."
Wen Weizhu's face turned bright red, and she was so anxious that she almost cried.
Wen Kehao looked at her indifferently, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Second sister hasn't said anything, is she waiting for eldest brother and sister-in-law?"
"Don't mention your sister-in-law!"
These words seemed to touch a nerve with Wen Weizhu. She stood up excitedly and shouted, "Sister-in-law is keeping a lover!"
This statement caused a great stir.
Everyone present was shocked and speechless. The maids all lowered their heads and eyes, but their ears were all perked up.
The two concubines exchanged meaningful glances, but dared not show the slightest smile on their faces, their expressions stiff as they looked at Princess Anshun.
Wen Kehao remained calm, but his hands, hidden under his sleeves, tightened.
Slap him in the face.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Princess Anshun's face turned ashen, and her gaze toward Wen Weizhu was devoid of any warmth.
“Wen Weizhu, I have no daughters of my own, and I have treated you as my own since you were a child. Your food and lodging have been in accordance with the standards of a legitimate daughter of the Prince’s Mansion. I originally thought I would raise you to be a well-mannered, dignified, and graceful noble lady. I never expected you to be so unrestrained and reckless. I don’t know where you heard some unfounded rumors, but you came to me to fabricate and make things up out of nothing. If these words get out, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince will lose face, and my Anshun Prince’s Mansion will be ridiculed. As a young lady of the Anshun Prince’s Mansion, what good family can you marry into?”
After saying that, he turned his head and gave instructions to his servants in a deep voice.
"What are you standing there for? Slap her! Since the second young lady can't speak properly, let's teach her some manners!"
Two strong old women walked over, one grabbed Wen Weizhu, and the other slapped her twice across the face.
The crisp sound made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
Princess Anshun was a ruthless character in her youth. She had dealt with all the dishonest and scheming women in the backyard of the palace, and even the two concubines had experienced her methods.
However, with the prince away from the capital for many years, the people no longer had a target for jealousy and rivalry, and the inner courtyard became much quieter. As a result, the princess became much more tolerant of them, making them almost forget the ruthlessness of the princess in the past.
Wen Weizhu never expected that the princess, who was usually gentle and tolerant towards her, would have such a cold side. Ignoring her burning face, she knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face.
"Your Highness, I'm not making this up. I wouldn't dare to lie about something this big if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes. The man my sister-in-law is keeping is incredibly handsome, even more so than my elder brother. He's hiding in the courtyard behind East Street. The two of them were laughing and joking as soon as they met, hugging and embracing, and soon they were leading each other into the room..."
In fact, she only peeked out from outside the courtyard of Yun Shen Ge and saw Meng Lingge and Su Leyan sitting opposite each other. Fearing that she would be discovered, she hid in the carriage.
If she doesn't go a little too far now, how can the princess believe her?
Besides, my sister-in-law went to see another man early in the morning without telling my brother. What else could she be doing but having an affair?
The elder brother is mentally challenged, and the sister-in-law is beautiful. The sister-in-law must have been resentful, which is why she went to find other men to relieve her loneliness.
I heard that my sister-in-law's half-sister, Meng Huanyan, seduced a man and slept with him before she was even married. They are sisters from the same household, so how much better can my sister-in-law be?
She didn't believe that Meng Lingge and that handsome man hadn't done anything that morning.
Seeing her so confident words and feeling sorry for her daughter being beaten, Consort Jiang knelt down beside her and said, "Your Highness, Weizhu is just a child. She wouldn't do something like falsely accusing someone or fabricating something out of nothing. If what she said is true, the one who did wrong is the Crown Princess, not Weizhu! The person who truly cares about the reputation of the Prince's Mansion is being beaten here, while the one who doesn't uphold the virtues of a woman isn't even questioned. How absurd is this?"
Princess Anshun looked at Consort Jiang with a sullen face, secretly wishing that she would also experience the feeling of being slapped in public.
But this wouldn't quell the gossip. Instead, people would assume that the Crown Princess was indeed keeping a lover outside the marriage, and that Princess Anshun would resort to violence to stop anyone from discovering the affair in order to prevent this scandal from spreading.
She had initially trusted Meng Lingge, but now, seeing Wen Weizhu's confident demeanor, she began to have some doubts.
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