Such a huge scandal happened in the Zhu family. Although Zhu Xinjie tried every means to suppress the matter in the mansion, somehow, within two days, the matter spread to everyone in Pengzhou.
Zhu Xinjie is now too embarrassed to even go out of the mansion. He feels as if there will be a group of people following him and stabbing him in the spine whenever he walks on the street. He regrets not killing the servants who knew about the incident. But after all, he is just a sixth-rank official. His family does not have that much power or money to support a large number of indentured slaves. As for living indentures, if someone dies in the mansion, the government will hold him accountable.
He was so depressed that he fell ill within a few days. He stayed in bed for a few more days. As soon as he regained enough energy to get out of bed, the first thing he did was to rush to the woodshed where Guan Liu was staying with a whip and beat her up severely.
Liu was beaten so hard in the face that her life was almost half gone, but she still kept shouting that she was the prince's aunt and that the Zhu family would be punished for treating her like this.
Zhu Xinjie was tired of smoking, and was persuaded by the eldest lady to go back and continue lying down. Seeing him sighing, the eldest lady said to him: "Master, according to me, it would be good if this matter spreads." Seeing Zhu Xinjie glaring at her, she quickly said: "Master, don't get excited, listen to my analysis. If we keep suppressing the matter, the capital will get the news one day. At that time, the third girl will exaggerate and say that to her prince cousin and imperial concubine aunt, and they will definitely support Liu. No matter how aggrieved you are, you have to pretend that nothing has happened and release Liu from the woodshed. But based on the letter sent back from the capital, the third girl doesn't care about our family at all. If you want to get promoted through them, it's impossible. You won't get promoted and you won't make money, and you still have to support Liu at home. That's really aggrieved. But now it's different. Everyone knows about this. Even if they are members of the royal family, they can't cover up for her against their conscience. "
Zhu Xinjie sighed, "What if I don't cover her up? Based on my understanding of the Liu family, they won't choose to kill their relatives for the sake of justice. Liu still has to let her live well."
"But we can negotiate with them! Either divorce her, or let the Liu family or the capital show sincerity. You know, once the Zhu family divorces her, the reputation of the third girl will be ruined. Will the eighth prince want a wife whose mother was divorced?"
The eldest lady's words reminded Zhu Xinjie. He nodded repeatedly after hearing it: "Yes, we can't suffer this loss in vain, and the capital can't use our daughter for nothing. We must give the Zhu family some benefits. Madam, what compensation do you think we should ask for?"
The eldest lady thought for a while and said, "Of course it is the master's official position. Only when the official position is promoted, the master will be prosperous, and our Zhu family will also prosper." She thought to herself that once the Zhu family became powerful, her mother's family's business would be easier to do, and then becoming a royal merchant and making royal wealth would be a very profitable business.
Zhu Kongshan also thought so. The most unsatisfactory thing in his life was this official position. When he first proposed to marry Liu, the Liu family was not happy about it, saying that even if she was a concubine, she would not marry a sixth-rank official, let alone a concubine. But later, they suddenly agreed, and he still felt very puzzled every time he thought about it.
Liu's affairs could not be suppressed. After spreading throughout Pengzhou, they soon reached the capital. However, the news did not spread widely in the capital. Others were only talked about in a small circle, and became a topic of conversation after dinner. But even so, it had a certain impact on Zhu Kongshan's reputation. Even when she was still distributing porridge in the north of the city, people would point fingers at her and look down on her when they saw her.
Zhu Kongshan didn't understand what was going on at first, and wondered why she was looked down upon even though she was doing good things. It was not until Ah Huan and Ah Ruo came back with information and told her the rumors that she opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth in disbelief, but she didn't say a word to defend Liu.
Zhu Kongshan knew clearly that the affair with the housekeeper was true, because she had seen it, and even reminded and warned Liu. Liu had promised her not to do it again, but she didn't expect that at this critical moment, she not only did it, but was caught by her father. Zhu Kongshan was very angry at the moment, thinking that she was carefully working for the Eighth Prince in the capital, and was thinking about a way out, wanting to protect Liu and her own status in the Zhu family. But she didn't expect that the one who held her back at the critical moment was her own mother. Such a shameful thing was done, and even the news reached the capital, so she couldn't get rid of the crime even if she wanted to!
Ah Huan and Ah Ruo felt very happy when they saw Zhu Kongshan like this. The grievances that had been suppressed for these days finally found an outlet. Ah Huan said, "I didn't expect that Aunt Liu would be such a person. She openly cheated on me in the mansion and was caught in bed by the master. If I were Aunt Liu, I would just hang myself and have no face to live in this world."
"That's right." Aruo also said, "What women value most is chastity. Those who are forcibly defiled must die to clear their name, not to mention being caught in an adulterous relationship. But I heard that Concubine Liu is still alive, and the master didn't touch her. I guess the master is a kind person and couldn't bear to do it!"
Ah Huan said again: "Yes! This is only because the master and the first lady are merciful, otherwise, with just a concubine, her life and death would be decided by the mansion."
Zhu Kongshan's heart suddenly twitched at these words. Isn't it true! A concubine is even worse than a maidservant. Life and death are just a matter of words in the mansion. After such a thing happened, her father Zhu Xinjie could kill Liu in the blink of an eye, and the government would not even ask for punishment, but he hasn't killed her yet... She immediately understood what the Zhu family meant. She couldn't help but grit her teeth and hate them secretly, thinking that they were all very rude and actually used such a thing to threaten her. But thinking about it again, she couldn't blame the Zhu family. Who let Liu do this?
Zhu Kongshan no longer had the heart to give out porridge here, especially when she saw the way people looked at her, she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. A few days ago, people looked at her like a bodhisattva, but in the blink of an eye, she looked like a monster, standing here for people to watch.
She couldn't stay any longer, so she threw the spoon in her hand and turned to run. Ah Huan, Ah Ruo and the maid from Prince Sheng's Mansion hurriedly followed behind, and followed Zhu Kongshan into the carriage back to Prince Sheng's Mansion, where they saw Zhu Kongshan rushing directly to the Eighth Prince's courtyard.
The three maids followed behind, but stopped at the gate and did not follow in. The maid from Prince Sheng's mansion glanced at Ah Huan and asked cautiously, "Is what you said true?"
Ah Huan rolled her eyes and said, "Don't ask me if it's true or not! Go ask around on the street. We also found out about it. As for the Zhu family! Look, after hearing about this, did the young lady say anything about this being a false accusation or an injustice? She didn't even say that, which means she knows what happened to Concubine Liu."
The girl also thought it made sense, and stopped asking questions, but she was thinking about it in her heart. If it was really like the rumors outside, it would be very disadvantageous to Zhu Kongshan. Of course, she didn't care whether it was beneficial to Zhu Kongshan or not, she cared about the impact on the Eighth Prince. The reputation that was finally restored could not be ruined again because of this incident. Moreover, if Zhu Kongshan had a mother like that, his life would be ruined. How could a daughter born by such a person marry into the Sheng Palace? Even if she was a cousin, it would not be possible.
What she could think of, Xuan Tianmo could think of as well. He came back early from court today, and he had just heard the rumors, but he also thought about it in his heart. What he thought about the most was how to stabilize Zhu Kongshan, and then squeeze out more of his usable value, and then kick him out when there was no more usable space.
Of course, he also understood that what was spread in the capital was known to every household in Pengzhou. Therefore, the Sheng Palace or the two concubines in the palace must not support Liu at this critical moment, as that would only lead to gossip and make people think that they were helping the tyrant.
While he was thinking, Zhu Kongshan had already rushed in. The servant outside the study room did not stop him and was now kneeling at the door to apologize.
He waved his hand and asked the servant to leave first. When he saw the door was closed, he said to Zhu Kongshan, "You have always been a calm person, and I admire your calm temperament the most. Why are you so impetuous today? Do you know that my study is a place where no one can enter without permission?"
Zhu Kongshan knelt down in front of Xuan Tianmo without saying anything and said, "Please, cousin, save my mother."
Xuan Tianmo looked at her with a face full of ruthlessness. He asked Zhu Kongshan: "How do you think we should save her? And why should we save her? Did the Zhu family say they wanted her dead?"
Zhu Kongshan shook his head. “I still don’t know what’s going on over there, but I don’t think my father will execute my mother. After all… she is the aunt of the two princes. But even if she is not executed, after committing such a crime, my mother’s life in the Zhu Mansion will be ruined!”
"You also know that you have committed such a crime, but you still want her to live a glorious life?" Xuan Tianmo almost laughed, "Kongshan, Kongshan, you are smart all your life but confused at this moment. If we take action at this time, the Zhu family will feel even more embarrassed. They will think that we are using our power to suppress them and let them suffer this loss. Think about it, the secrets of the Zhu family can be easily spread. If we intervene, who knows what will be said. By then, all your efforts in the capital will be ruined because of a Liu family!"
“But…” Zhu Kongshan said tremblingly: “But, she is my mother! I can’t just leave her alone!”
"When she did that, did she ever consider you? Did she ever think that once it happened, your future would be over?" Xuan Tianmo advised Zhu Kongshan earnestly, "Put away your impulse and regain your rationality. No matter what, the Zhu family dare not do anything to your mother. She deserves to suffer temporarily. And the most important thing for you now is to calm down and do what you should do. I will deal with the wind direction in the capital. Only if you make yourself strong, you will be able to truly turn things around in the future and save your mother from the water. Do you understand?"
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