Chapter 91 A furious roar from Master Chen...
Master Chen's roar abruptly drew everyone's attention away from a murder case and back to the moral judgment of a married woman's adultery. The crowd snapped out of their daze, and the buzzing of discussion resumed, with scrutinizing gazes once again turning to Madam Zhe.
Seeing this, a smug look of triumph flashed across Master Chen's face. He raised his chin slightly and let out an extremely loud, cold laugh: "Hmph! This vile woman is morally corrupt and has disgraced my Chen family! If it weren't for our past relationship, I would have already opened the ancestral hall, invoked family law, and drowned her in the pond! The fact that I've only expelled her from the family is already an immense favor!"
Adultery was a crime of the previous dynasty, and the laws of this dynasty have not made any provisions for such matters of private morality, so it is inconvenient for the government to interfere. The prefect finally found an excuse to leave, and hurriedly stepped forward, looking at Luo Chier with a gloomy face, and said with a forced smile, "Lord Luo, you see, this is, after all, a family matter. Shouldn't our prefectural office and the patrol office refrain from interfering?"
"Lord Luo..." Master Chen wanted to ask Luo Chier to stay and help him out, since the young master and princess opposite him didn't seem to be unwilling to get involved. But Luo Chier just gave him a sinister look, and he froze in place.
He felt bitter inside. He had thought that driving away Madam Zhe, a woman without children, would be an easy task. Who would have thought that things would turn out like this? Lord Luo had just taken office and had already made such a bad impression on the people. He had lost in the confrontation with the heir and the princess. It would be good if they didn't hold a grudge against the Chen family. Why would they stay and help them again?
Luo Chier let out a clear, cold snort. Knowing that there was no point in staying any longer, he immediately flicked his sleeves, refusing to utter a single polite word, and strode away with his guards without looking back, his thin back exuding a chilling aura.
Having managed to scare away this most troublesome person, the prefect felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly wiped his sweat with his sleeve, turned around and bowed, "Your Highness, Your Highness, I must take my leave now!"
After speaking, he chased after Rochier's retreating figure almost without touching the ground, wanting only to escape this place of trouble as soon as possible.
The crowd did not disperse after the people from the government office left, nor did Feng Mian leave.
She stood quietly in place, still protecting Madam Zhe. Baili Xunzhou also remained standing beside her, holding an umbrella; since Feng Mian didn't move, neither did he.
Master Chen was quite displeased: "Does Your Highness intend to interfere in the affairs of my Chen family?"
Feng Mian's eyes were clear and open, and he answered without hesitation, "Yes."
Master Chen: "..."
He choked, his facial muscles twitching slightly. Was this... a little too self-righteous? Not even a tactful excuse?
Feng Mian's lips curled into a very faint smile, and her voice clearly reached everyone's ears: "I am neither an official nor hold any official position in the patrol department. Today, I am only here as a friend of Madam Zhe. How can I sit idly by while my friend is wronged and humiliated?"
Madam Zhe's eyelashes trembled, and her gaze lowered slightly, landing on the woman who was half a head shorter than her. She was slender and looked frail, yet she stood firmly in front of Madam Zhe, like an indestructible barrier.
But...why? Why help her like this?
Before Master Chen could retort, Feng Mian suddenly turned to the crowd outside the door. Her voice was not loud, but it had a strange penetrating power: "As you all heard, Master Chen has been accusing Madam Zhe of moral failings. But I would like to ask, when Chairman Chen acted so outrageously, treating his wife coldly and even tacitly allowing his new lover to come to the door, leaving his wife to silently endure all the humiliation and suffering, and be depressed and unhappy, where was the Chen family's 'virtue'?"
She paused, noticing the look of reluctance on some faces, and then continued, "Moreover, in all these years since Madam Zhe married into the Chen family, she has managed the household affairs, cared for the widows and orphans, and done every single thing she could. She has never resented or mistreated any member of the Chen family because of Chairman Chen's words and actions."
"I remember that the orphanages in Yunzhong County were all established with the financial support of Madam Zhe, and the Chen family's businesses have been leeching off Madam Zhe's dowry and private property. Now, the two Masters Chen have the nerve to talk about Madam Zhe's private morality?"
The singer, who had retreated to the corridor, suddenly raised her head timidly and, mustering her courage, stammered to the onlookers, "Madam Zhe is a good person. Not only did she not make things difficult for me at all, but she was also willing to find doctors and medicine for my mother, even if... even if..."
She couldn't bring herself to say the words "Madam Zhe committed adultery," so she glossed over it and continued, "That shouldn't be blamed on Madam..."
A commotion began to rise in the crowd, and the direction of the discussion subtly shifted.
“That’s right. Madam Zhe has done so many good deeds and managed the Chen family and the Chamber of Commerce so well. It’s too much for the Chen family to bully her like this!” A middle-aged man stepped forward very loudly.
"The Chen Family Chamber of Commerce has reached its current scale thanks to Madam Zhe's methods, hasn't it?"
"Chairman Chen is incompetent himself, yet he blames Madam Zhe. Is he just trying to seize the business that Madam Zhe worked so hard to build?"
Master Chen's face turned ashen with anger. Just as he was about to say something, Feng Mian stepped forward first and said loudly, "Since we are here today, why don't we ask all the villagers to judge whether Madam Zhe should leave the Chen family with her dowry and the businesses she has built up herself?"
Someone in the crowd raised their arm and shouted, "We should!"
Scattered voices of agreement followed: "Madam is right!" "Support Madam Zhe!"
Public opinion was in an uproar, with almost unanimous support for Madam Zhe.
Master Chen looked at his second brother in a panic, only to be glared at fiercely. He felt quite aggrieved, because it was he who said that as long as they kept pressing the issue of Madam Zhe's affair, they could swallow up all of her private property...
Finally, in full view of everyone, Madam Zhe settled accounts with the Chen family regarding their assets.
She was organized and had clear accounts, explaining in detail what was her dowry and what was her business income. "I will not take a single penny of the Chen family's ancestral property, but you will not be able to take a single thing that belongs to me."
Master Chen's face turned ashen; he could only grit his teeth and watch as she cleanly and efficiently cut the meat. He harbored resentment, but was powerless to do anything about it. To forcibly stop her now would be far too unseemly.
"From this day forward, I have no further connection with the Chen family."
Perhaps because she had been thinking about leaving for many years, at the moment the separation was completed, Madam Zhe's dowry maid and servants also packed up all the trunks and boxes in the Chen residence and carried them out.
Madam Zhe took one last look at the vermilion gates of the mansion where she had lived for many years. Her expression was complex, but she showed no lingering attachment. She then walked out with Feng Mian and Baili Xunzhou.
The gates of the Chen residence closed, shutting out the prying eyes from outside. Finally, the Third Master Chen could no longer hold back and said with a mournful face, "What should we do, Second Brother? The businesses under Eldest Brother's name look impressive, but in reality, they are incurring huge losses and debts. This is a hot potato! Is it completely stuck in our hands now?"
Master Chen gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, "More than that! That fellow surnamed Zhe said he would have nothing to do with the Chen family anymore, and he wouldn't even interfere with my elder brother's funeral arrangements. You and I still have to give my elder brother a grand funeral, otherwise, it will confirm our infamy of forcing our widowed sister-in-law to scheme for our inheritance, and we will have no place in Yunzhong County in the future!"
Master Chen's plump body trembled, and he almost fainted. He was only able to stand up after being supported by three servants.
"We haven't reached a dead end yet, what's the panic? Even though our elder brother is gone, his connections are still there! As long as we stick to Inspector Luo's trail..."
A dark glint flashed in Master Chen's eyes. Today, the Chen family has been forced into such a predicament. When the world changes, he will make that Zhe family pay back everything!
The clouds obscured the sun, and the carriage rumbled as it traveled along the cobblestone road before stopping at an intersection.
Feng Mian lifted the curtain by the window and saw Baili Xunzhou on horseback parked outside. He leaned down and spoke softly to her, "I can only take you this far. Someone just came to deliver a message, and I have to go back..."
"Did that guy surnamed Luo go back to cause you trouble?" Feng Mian saw that he was vague and did not say that military intelligence had been sent. His thoughts turned to Luo Chier, who had come with ill intentions today.
Baili Xunzhou chuckled and reached out to ruffle Feng Mian's hair. "What trouble could he possibly cause me? He just came up with a few excuses to make things difficult for me. How could I let him make things hard for me?"
"Qingyi will stay and escort you all the way back to the Prince's Palace."
After giving his instructions, Baili Xunzhou closed the window for Feng Mian before riding away.
Inside the carriage, Madam Zhe, who had been silent since boarding, looked at Feng Mian sitting opposite her and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled Your Highnesses with my affairs."
“You heard it just now, how could His Highness be troubled by a mere patrolman? Even if his surname is Luo, my mother’s surname is Chu. Are we afraid of him?” Feng Mian poured her a cup of hot tea and pushed it towards her. “Just stay in the Prince’s residence for two days and deal with the rest of the matter first.”
Feng Mian heard that Madam Zhe's family was far away in Jiangnan, and that her parents had passed away many years ago. Her remaining brothers were not very close to her, so he figured that even if she left the Chen family, she probably wouldn't want to go back to her family home. Worried that the Chen family might cause trouble again in private, he decided to take her to the Prince's Mansion to settle her in first.
Although the property documents have been divided today, there are still many personnel and cooperation matters to be settled, and Mrs. Zhe will be quite busy.
"Why is the princess helping me so much today?"
Silence fell over the carriage, with only Madam Zhe and Feng Mian inside. Madam Zhe finally couldn't help but ask the question, "I do have an affair with that witch."
If it weren't for Feng Mian guiding the onlookers to remember her good deeds and hardships, she would have been condemned by everyone long ago.
"Has Chairman Chen had few affairs outside?" Feng Mian sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "I just feel it's unfair that people can easily forgive men who philander and act outrageously, and even praise them for their charm, but they insist on driving women like you to the brink of despair."
“You and Chairman Chen have long since lost all affection and are now like strangers, practically divorced. It would be too sad for you to lose everything you have because of this marriage.”
Madam Zhe lowered her eyes, her once radiant face now visibly haggard. "When I discovered his disloyalty, I brought up the topic of divorce with him, but he refused, saying that the Chen family could not do without me as the head of the household, and that from now on, there would only be me in the inner courtyard of the Chen family, begging me to stay."
“He once did my family a great favor, and out of gratitude, I agreed to stay. It’s funny to think about, but at that time I still had a sliver of hope for him. Maybe he cared about me and that’s why he didn’t want me to leave. But one day he got drunk, and I was so anxious that I scolded him a few times. He then told me not to worry about him and that he wouldn’t interfere with me outside… It was only then that I truly gave up.”
A faint, bitter smile touched her lips, as if she had finally been freed from years of torment: "If only I had known then what I know now..."
She remained silent and grieved for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Feng Mian, as if she had made up her mind. "I am very grateful to the Princess and His Highness for saving my life today. I have no way to repay your kindness. There is something... I have thought about it and feel that I must tell the Princess."
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