The eldest daughters were overjoyed, their still-childish faces beaming with relaxed smiles.
The principal wives received education on female virtues and were willing to give up their husbands for their daughters...
In their upbringing, this was considered a violation of the precepts for women. Turning around, she saw the expectant eyes of her daughters, and then she saw her husband's concubines and illegitimate sons, as if she were witnessing the scene of her daughters being bullied in the mansion.
Their gazes turned to their daughters, whose pleading eyes solidified their resolve to break ties with the men.
They all have a skill that allows them to support themselves and their daughters.
"Master, we beg you, please allow us to live alone with our daughters. From now on, we will have nothing to do with them again." The women exchanged glances and then spoke to Manager Fu's wife.
"No regrets?!" Qingyan asked again.
"We have no regrets." A mother's strength is truly admirable.
"Alright, since you've made your choice, go to the back and sign the divorce agreement." Qingyan had prepared the agreement in advance so that they could choose their future lives.
"Yes!" The women left immediately.
The men wanted to speak, but were frightened by Yin's cold gaze. If they could protect a legitimate daughter, that would be acceptable; at least they would have some bloodline left in the world.
"Si Si, now that the innocent people have been dealt with, let's begin the rest," Qing Yan said directly.
The concubines, used to looking down on the principal wife, discovered that the principal wife didn't have to accept various punishments and could get away with her daughters, while they had to endure the punishment.
At this moment, they would rather distance themselves from these people.
“Fourth Princess Consort, we servants also hope to get a divorce,” said a beautiful concubine.
She wore a pink Suzhou-embroidered Hanfu, and her headdress was made of rubies and gold hairpins, which were not things a concubine should have.
It is evident that this woman was very favored in the mansion.
“Yes!” Qingyan replied.
These men valued a woman's charm but not her substance.
"I was born into a good family, but my family fell on hard times, so I had no choice but to marry into this household. I wanted to live a good life and also to bring good fortune to my family. Since entering the household, Madam has taken good care of me. Most of the time, I have been accompanying the eldest daughter." This was a concubine speaking, but she always referred to the wife and daughter as the eldest daughter.
Instantly, the other concubines' expressions changed; they had never imagined that the man they had married would cause such a problem.
"Really?" Qingyan expressed doubt, the hairpin on the concubine's head making her less willing to help.
"We servants too..." Several concubines, seeing that Qingyan's attitude had softened, quickly stepped in to help.
At this moment, the shopkeepers regretted not heeding their wives' advice and serving their masters properly.
The shopkeepers in the capital all own their own businesses, which were all bestowed upon them by their masters.
At first, they had no intention of being greedy. If it weren't for the constant nagging from these concubines, they wouldn't have become estranged from their wives and daughters, and they wouldn't have made such a grave mistake.
"We are guilty!" The shopkeepers realized their mistake and confessed.
She looked at them in surprise. Just a moment ago, she had an expression that said, "I am absolutely innocent," but now she had made a 180-degree turn, leaving them somewhat bewildered.
"Master, we servants have been misled by slander, which is why we have ended up like this, with our wives and children separated. We have no complaints, we only hope that you can give all the things we have earned over the years, minus what we have greedily obtained, to our wives and daughters so that they can live on in the future." Manager Fu and the others were worried that they could not escape their fate.
In fact, Qingyan still wanted to use these people, but temporarily changing generals in the Northwest would be detrimental to business.
When Manager Fu's concubines heard this, they felt that Manager Fu was going to abandon them, and that the jewelry and ornaments were rightfully theirs.
"If you want to have nothing to do with them, you must sign a document severing ties. Moreover, apart from your dowries, you cannot take anything from the mansion, including the jewelry and clothes you are currently wearing," Qingyan said directly to the women, ignoring Manager Fu's request.
Instantly, they felt a sense of panic. In private, unlike the legitimate wife who had a special skill, they only knew how to serve men. They had devoted several years of effort but had received nothing in return.
The wives all came from good families, and their families had hired Suzhou embroidery masters to personally teach them, so all of them were quite skilled.
"We servants have devoted several years of our lives to them, and we should have received something in return. Besides, my father is bedridden; otherwise, I would not have become a concubine." Manager Fu's concubine felt uncomfortable seeing that she received nothing, so she began to act pitiful in front of Qingyan.
Yin and the others realized there was a problem, but hoped that Qingyan could solve it himself.
They couldn't always be by her side, and these servants would resort to all sorts of means when faced with danger.
"Yeah?"
“Our families are in some trouble, which is why we had no choice but to do this,” the concubines began to plead with her in turn.
Now, the wives and daughters, separated by a screen, are watching what is happening in the main hall.
Deep down, they didn't want their family to fall apart. The family had always been harmonious and happy, but after coming to the Northwest, their husbands and fathers changed and became infatuated with these "skinny horses" (ladies of the night).
“You lot were all carefully trained by the Mongol leaders, hidden among the shopkeepers, with pitiful backgrounds…” Qingyan couldn’t help but find it laughable. “You’re all good at making things up, but surely one of you is the daughter of a concubine of a Khorchin prince?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the shopkeepers were surprised. It turned out that as soon as they entered Mongolia, the leaders had already put their sights on them and started planting spies around them.
Those pitiful backgrounds are just a means to deceive these people. Those who can get close to them are basically people of bad status, or like the daughters of mistresses.
"Fourth Princess Consort, you actually know my identity?" A concubine looked up and said coldly to Qingyan.
She used to present herself as innocent and naive, like someone without any guile, but now, all of that has changed.
Their behavior left them disheartened, feeling that they had been used, that their once happy home had been ruined, and that their bright future had been overshadowed.
Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. She thought these women could hold out to the end, but she didn't expect that just one sentence would completely expose everyone's true colors.
"Your servants know they were wrong!" The managers all understood that Qingyan had given them many opportunities, but they had been taken advantage of and failed to seize them, which led to their conviction.
"Alright, Su Peisheng, take them all away and let Erlu and Tulichen interrogate them properly," Qingyan said directly.
A single sentence determined their fate. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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