Xu Wanying's surprised voice came through the conversation, and to avoid any misunderstanding, Cen took the initiative to explain.
“Wanying, yesterday Yige’er and Yu’er came to Qingxi Pavilion and bothered you. They even brought a snake with them, which was really impolite. So we brought them here to apologize to you.” Cen’s tone was very sincere, and she slowed down her speech, making her sound extremely gentle.
However, Xu Wanying wasn't buying it. She inwardly screamed: "Nobody believes that! Bringing two people here to apologize would be enough with just Cen Shi alone, but a whole bunch of people have come. This isn't an apology; they're clearly here to cause trouble!"
[I first clashed with the chubby kid, and then I had a falling out with Jiang Chengyi. This eldest grandson is the apple of their eye, and if I hurt them, they'll want to get rid of me!]
[They've already put me under intense scrutiny! Could it be that they don't like me and, while Jiang Laosan's away, are trying to smear me, accusing me of adultery, and then drown me? When Jiang Laosan returns, he'll not only gain a lot of sympathy, but he can also openly marry another beautiful woman. That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas—the fastest way to ruin a woman is to tarnish her reputation, quick and ruthless!]
[System, system, check quickly! Are they preparing false evidence to frame me? Have any strange men appeared in the manor, especially those unknown, poor scholars? They're the easiest to frame!]
Xu Wanying's inner thoughts were quite fascinating, and the entire Jiang family listened with wide eyes.
Oh, is that even possible?
Marquis Zhongyi didn't make the decision on his own; he immediately retorted, "Third daughter-in-law, our family doesn't have such despicable people!"
He was so excited that he even blurted out his hometown dialect.
Everyone else immediately looked over, their eyes filled with condemnation. Was this loose tongue finally going to spill? What if the secret was revealed?
Xu Wanying also turned her head and looked over in surprise.
Marquis Zhongyi immediately coughed lightly, changing the subject: "The Jiang family is a family of military generals, and they act with integrity and uprightness. Unlike those scholars who are well-educated and sound like they are from a family of scholars, spouting classical phrases and seemingly very respectful of rules and principles, but in reality they are full of evil intentions. They are all outwardly beautiful but inwardly rotten to the core!"
As he spoke, his voice was clearly tinged with strong personal emotion, and he kept glancing at Cen Shi as he spoke, his gaze clearly directed at her.
Both Cen Shi and her former lover Yu Jingxuan were scholars, and his words insulted both families.
"Families like theirs love to engage in dirty deeds, getting promoted and rich while their wives die. Before those poor scholars become successful, many are already engaged, or even married with children. Once they pass the imperial examinations and rise to prominence, some powerful people may take a liking to them and want to marry their daughters to them. Most of these poor scholars will agree. They will write a letter home and have the clan elders secretly kill their wives, either by poisoning them slowly or by falsely accusing them of having affairs with other men and drowning them in a pond. That way, they will have no worries about the future."
Marquis Zhongyi spoke with great excitement. Ever since he learned that Cen Shi and Yu Jingxuan had almost had an affair, he had been very interested in these old stories about literati and even sent out assassins to inquire about them.
Surprisingly, it was discovered that most of the civil officials who were originally poor but later rose to prominence had suffered losses in matters of marriage.
Either he abandoned his wife as he just said, or he relied on his wife's family's power but didn't treat his wife well and instead secretly kept a mistress outside. In short, he was very filthy.
[Wow, it seems there have been such cases throughout history. In ancient times, there was Xue Pinggui who rejected his wife to marry a princess, and in modern times, there are many men from humble backgrounds who betray their promises. Sigh.]
Wait, weren't they here to apologize? How did Father-in-law change the subject? Is this just a setup, and he's about to say that our military family is even more ruthless than these scholars? If we don't like a daughter-in-law, we don't need to smear her with accusations of adultery; we'll just kill her!
[System, System! Do you have any defense mechanisms? If the Marquis of Loyalty were to casually slash at me, I wouldn't even need to blink before I'm dead!]
Xu Wanying initially listened with great interest, thinking she was just joining in the fun and gossiping about other people's lives.
But the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off. She had come to apologize, so why was he veerging the topic to how to kill his wife who had shared his hardships?
The rest of the Jiang family members closed their eyes, unable to bear to look.
Even Pan Ge'er, who couldn't get a word in edgewise, looked at him with a hint of sympathy.
Oh dear, Grandpa is so stupid, even stupider than me!
Cen Shi looked even more desperate, pinched the Marquis of Zhongyi hard, and said with a light laugh, "Wanying, your father is bad at talking, just to put your mind at ease. The Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion would never do such a thing!"
“Yes, yes, our Jiang family wouldn’t do that. We had some misunderstandings about you before, but now that you’ve married into the Marquis’s mansion and are a member of the Jiang family, you’re family. Jiang Chengyi, that fool, dared to catch a snake to scare you. He’s a complete scoundrel and should apologize to you.”
“Last time, Pan Ge’er apologized to you several times, but only his mother brought him. That kid is unruly and doesn’t know what he did wrong. His father gave him a good beating before he realized his mistake. To avoid this from happening again, this time our whole family is bringing him to apologize to you. If he dares to be disobedient, I’ll beat him to death!”
Marquis Zhongyi quickly added that it was only with great difficulty that the topic was successfully turned around.
Xu Wanying stared blankly at the Jiang family members in front of her, not daring to speak for a moment.
"Tongzi, do you think they're testing me? This whole thing looks like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken! If I let it slide, everyone's happy. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble and suffer the consequences."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
