Year-ago turmoil 1
A few days later, after Mrs. Lu and Old Madam Shen had dealt with the gossipers around them one after another, the elders in the Shen Mansion finally understood: in the future, they would have to treat this young Second Madam as the mistress of the family, just like Mrs. Lu had done in the past.
Faced with the sudden courtesy and respect from his subordinates, Ling Wan behaved as usual.
Lu's frankness, the old lady's sensibleness, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law all had a tacit understanding in establishing her authority. Such a heartwarming move made her think for the first time that marrying Chen Cong was not a bad idea, so she also had more patience with Chen Cong's inner courtyard from the bottom of her heart.
Time flies, and it is already the twelfth lunar month.
Xu Lingwan had a rare moment of leisure that day, so she slept until the end of the Si hour. Just as she had mentally prepared herself to get out of bed and eat, she saw Mother Yu stepping in with a slightly panicked expression, raising the curtain. "Madam, the old lady asked you to go to Rong'an Hall."
Ling Wanjing paused: "What's wrong?"
Mother Yu gritted her teeth and said, "It is said that Aunt Ding is having an affair with another man."
What? !
Ling Wan's expression changed. She asked Hong Yue to quickly tie her hair into a bun, casually put on a lotus green fox pattern cloak, and walked towards Rong'an Hall.
Along the way, Mother Yu gave a general idea.
It was said that the New Year was approaching and people were visiting each other frequently, so Aunt Ding's family naturally sent people to visit the Shen Mansion.
Because the person sent to the Shen Mansion by the Ding family in previous years was always an old servant, according to the rules, the Ding family's visitors should have come to pay their respects to her, the mistress of the second house. However, because Ling Wan was sleeping in that morning, the Ding family's people went to pay their respects to Ding first.
Chen Cong's three concubines all lived in Fangfei Pavilion. When the two servants, one old and one young, went to visit Ding, her face suddenly changed drastically, and Qiu, who lived with them, happened to see it.
Qiu was already surprised to see that there was an unfamiliar servant among the people sent by the Ding family this year. Seeing Ding so flustered, she became even more suspicious. She and her maidservant kept an eye on what was happening in Ding's room.
After a while, the two came out. The young servant knelt at Ding's door and kowtowed three times.
Qiu walked a little closer and could vaguely hear Ding's soft sobs coming from the room. She also noticed some women's hairpins and rings sticking out of the servant's bag, which made her feel even more strange. So before he left the second courtyard, Qiu had someone stop him.
This interception revealed evidence that Ding had an affair with a man outside her family.
Ling Wan's face was stern.
When they arrived at Rong'an Hall, Concubine Ding and two of the Ding family's servants were already kneeling in the main hall. Old Madam Shen sat at the head of the table, her eyes slightly closed. Concubine Qiu, beside them, didn't dare to look at her mistress's expression and stood huddled to the side.
"Mother, sister-in-law." Ling Wan pretended not to see them and stepped forward to pay her respects as usual.
Madam Shen raised her eyelids and said, "Second son's wife, you know everything, right?"
Ling Wan glanced at Aunt Ding and lowered her eyes, saying, "My daughter-in-law only knows the general idea, not the specific details."
Mrs. Shen then ordered someone to present the letters showing Ding's affair with a man outside her family.
The letter was not long. The general meaning was that the man said that he was bedridden and worried that he would not have much time left. His only wish before his death was to see Ding again. He made an appointment with Ding to meet at Wanfu Temple on the 16th of this month.
After reading it, Ling Wan stood up and said calmly, "Mother, there are only a few lines in the letter written by an outsider of unknown origin."
The Ding family has always been noble and aloof, and they were born into an official family. They would never do such a foolish thing.
Unexpectedly, Qiu, who was standing by, understood Ling Wan's words and implied that she had used vile tactics. She immediately knelt down and cried, "Madam, are you saying that I have framed Aunt Ding? Aunt Ding's actions are proven by witnesses and evidence. Old Madam, please be fair and clear my name!"
Chen Yuanyuan had a headache. She couldn't understand why Qiu Shi always acted weak and pitiful whenever she spoke to her, as if she, the mistress, was always mean to her.
Ling Wan half lowered her eyes and twitched the corners of her lips sarcastically.
Old Madam Shen at the top narrowed her eyes slightly, not knowing what she was thinking.
Just as everyone was waiting for Old Lady Shen to speak, Mrs. Ding, who had been keeping her head down and saying nothing, suddenly turned around, raised her hand and slapped Mrs. Qiu twice, and spat, "You heartless thing!"
"You're just taking advantage of the fact that you've been with the Second Master for so long and that you gave birth to the Fifth Young Lady, so you've repeatedly committed injustices against Madam! It's only because Madam is kind that she doesn't hold it against you!"
After saying this, he turned around, looked at Ling Wan with gratitude, and kowtowed to her three times solemnly: "Thank you for your trust, madam. But this time, Xiulian will disappoint you."
As he spoke, he straightened his spine and turned to Madam Shen and said, "The foreign man that the old lady mentioned is my cousin who grew up with me."
"My cousin and I were betrothed to each other since childhood. We were childhood sweethearts and had a deep bond. However, my father was unkind and disliked my cousin's family, as they had fallen on hard times and had no assets. In order to marry into the Wang family, he broke the contract and promised me to the Second Master as a concubine."
"My mother only had me as her daughter. When she heard that my father was marrying me off to the Shen family as a concubine, she cried every day, grief-stricken and grieving to the point of being unable to get out of bed."
"I have been in the Shen family for eight years, and my cousin has served my closest relatives for eight years on my behalf."
"Before I married into the Shen family, I did have feelings for my cousin, but it was based on affection and was done in accordance with propriety. There was nothing between us. After I married into the Shen family, my mother was bedridden for several years, and it was my cousin who took care of me by my bedside. He has done me a great favor."
"My cousin is seriously ill now. Although I haven't replied to your letter yet, I have made up my mind to go see him on the 19th of this month as promised."
"Madam, Xiulian did have the intention of meeting a man outside the family, and it was hard for her to say goodbye. Please give me white silk to correct the family tradition. But my cousin is innocent. After I die, please let the Shen family spare him!" After saying that, Ding placed her hands on her forehead and kowtowed heavily to Madam Shen.
Everyone in the hall was shocked for a moment as they didn't expect Ding to admit it so readily and wanted to use her own death to save her cousin's life.
Ling Wan felt a complicated and bitter feeling in her heart for a moment. She was about to kneel down and beg the old lady to spare Ding's life, but her eldest sister-in-law calmly held her hand.
Mrs. Lu looked at her sternly and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"You're saying it as if my Shen family forced your daughter, the Ding family, into marriage?" Old Madam Shen slammed the table, her eyes brimming with rage. "Someone, drag Ding and these two audacious servants away and keep them under guard! Make sure they're all under strict surveillance before anyone from the Ding family arrives!"
After saying that, he looked at Xu Lingwan again and said coldly, "Go to the ancestral hall and kneel down! Think about where you went wrong. Don't come out without my order!"
"Huai Lin is getting married soon, and Tang Jie'er is getting married soon. You don't even know what's going on in the second house. How can you be a mistress?"
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