"Good heavens! No wonder her ice was so cheap. It turns out there was something wrong with the ice. Poor Earl's family, we've been honest and upright for decades, and now we're suddenly accused of murder. Even our mansion has been surrounded by the people, and all sorts of rotten fish and shrimp are thrown all over the yard."
"Heavens above, it's all that brat Lingyu's fault! I told him I couldn't marry that bitch Jiang Yao, but he wouldn't listen. My reputation is ruined!"
Lady Bo sat on the ground and wailed, wiping away her tears as she cried, "Young Master's wife, you can't blame me for divorcing your second sister! It's just that she's been up to no good, and I had no choice. You should cut ties with your second sister as well, otherwise, if word gets out that you have a murderer sister, you won't have the face to show your face in high society anymore."
"Fine, you dare to sow discord within the Jiang family? I'll fight you to the death..."
Madam Song rushed forward and started fighting with Madam Bo.
She's counting on Jiang Shuwan to save Jiang Yao right now. If Madam Bo tries to sow discord between Jiang Shuwan and Jiang Yao, isn't she just asking for trouble?
"You vile woman, when my daughter was making money, you were the first to rush up to her and curry favor. When she got into trouble, you were the first to run away. She's your daughter-in-law, a member of your Pei family. When she got into trouble, you didn't try to save her, and you even wanted to divorce her. I'll fight you to the death!"
"I kill you!"
With her eyes red with anger, Madam Song hugged her aunt and bit her, as if she wanted to tear her aunt to pieces.
When Jiang Yao got into trouble, she thought that her aunt would help her, but she didn't expect her to kick her while she was down.
"You call yourself from a noble family? You're not even human!"
"Fine, you're a lady of high birth, what are you? How dare you hit me, a mere fifth-rank official's family? I'll kill you!"
Madam Bo was also filled with hatred, and with one swipe of her claws, she scratched five bloody marks on Song's face.
"It's all your fault for giving birth to such a troublesome vixen! If it weren't for you, how could our Earl's Mansion have fallen to this state? We've lost all our money, the old Earl has become a monk, and now we're embroiled in a murder case! You might as well die!"
"Ouch, it hurts so much..."
"I'm going to kill you..."
"I'll strangle you..."
The two were locked in a fierce struggle on the ground, leaving all the maids in the room dumbfounded.
I've seen ordinary women fight, but I never imagined that wealthy ladies would fight just as badly as those shrewish women.
"What are you all standing there for! Tear them apart!"
While directing her servants to separate the two, Jiang Shuwan pondered the information contained in Song's words.
Did Jiang Yao Ice Cream kill someone?
It's still a family of three...
If this isn't handled properly, the entire Jiang family, including her, will suffer the consequences.
For a moment, Jiang Shuwan was completely at a loss.
Pei Lingyu also heard the news and returned from the Imperial Academy. When his wife saw him, she didn't even bother to hit Song Shi anymore and threw herself at Pei Lingyu.
"My son, quickly write a letter of divorce! That vile woman, Jiang Yao, cannot be kept in our manor!"
"Mother, I will not divorce Jiang Yao. She is my wife, and I will stand with her through thick and thin!"
Jiang Shuwan immediately thought highly of him, not expecting him to be so loyal and righteous at such a crucial moment.
Song was also moved to tears.
"Good, good, good, Lingyu, you are truly a good son-in-law. I was wrong before. I shouldn't have spoken ill of you to Yao'er every day."
Pei Lingyu: "..."
Mrs. Bo: "..."
Lady Bo was furious. "Fine! You're the ones who've climbed the social ladder, yet you dare to look down on our Bo family!"
He then lunged forward to attack Song Shi again.
"alright!"
"Stop fooling around!"
"Human life is at stake, let's rescue Jiang Yao first!"
Jiang Shuwan said decisively, especially towards the Madam, she was even more blunt, "Now that Jiang Yao has married into the Marquis's family, she is a daughter-in-law of the Pei family. Even if you divorce her now, will the Marquis's family be clean? Will the Pei family be clean?"
"Let's think of something. How could a perfectly good ice shop possibly kill someone!"
Jiang Shuwan's words hit the nail on the head, and everyone quieted down.
Lady Bo sobbed, “How would I know? The person died yesterday. The body is at the government office in the capital. Many people are also complaining that they felt unwell after eating ice from Jiang’s Ice Shop, experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. They are all suing us at the government office.”
"But I ate it and I was fine!"
Madam Song wiped away her tears, "These days, the ice I use in my room is all laid out by Yao'er. I'm perfectly fine. Wanwan, you also ate your sister's ice. Are you alright too?"
Jiang Shuwan is of course fine.
Saltpeter is the safest material for making ice, how could it possibly kill someone? And so many people are complaining of stomach aches, so someone must be messing with Jiang Yao.
"Let's go to the old lady's place first."
"This is such a big matter, we need to ask the old lady for her opinion."
Jiang Shuwan led everyone to Madam Pei's courtyard.
On the way, Madam Song tugged at Jiang Shu's sleeve and asked cautiously and humbly, "Will the old lady save Yao'er?"
"Mother, rest assured. This concerns the honor of the Pei family. As long as Second Sister's ice is safe, the old lady will definitely save her."
"But ice can really kill people."
"..."
No, so you don't trust Jiang Yao either?
Jiang Shuwan was speechless. When she met Madam Pei, Madam Song quickly explained the whole story.
"I don't know what happened to that family of three. They were fine when they bought ice yesterday, but they suddenly died today."
"The yamen (government office) is also unable to distinguish right from wrong. They closed all the ice shops and locked up Yao'er, and they won't allow us to visit her."
Madam Pei slammed her hand on the table. "Taking people away and sealing off the property is fine, after all, someone has died and there has to be an investigation. What does it mean to forbid visits? Even death row inmates can be visited, but she, a suspect who hasn't been convicted, can't even be seen."
Madam Song glanced at the Earl's wife and whispered, "Perhaps the Earl's family doesn't have enough power, which is why the Prefect of the Capital won't let us see him."
"What do you mean!" Madam Bo jumped up instantly, and Pei Lingyu's expression also turned ugly.
"That's right. The old lord has become a monk, and the lord's mansion doesn't even have a man in charge. How can it have the power and influence of a marquis's mansion?"
Hearing what Madam Song muttered, even though it was the truth, both Madam Bo and Pei Lingyu turned green with anger.
Seeing that Madam Bo and Madam Song were about to start arguing again, Old Madam Pei slammed her hand on the table.
"Alright! Stop fooling around! Take the Marquis's token over there. Jiang Yao is a daughter-in-law of our Pei clan. If she is guilty, we will not tolerate it. If someone is deliberately framing her, our Pei clan will not let it go!"
The old lady's words were resolute and powerful, putting Song's mind at ease.
"Thank you, Grandma. I knew you wouldn't abandon Yao'er."
When the steward of the front yard returned empty-handed, Madam Song was so frightened that her whole body went limp.
"How is that possible?"
"This is the Marquis's nameplate. The Prefect of the Capital won't even give face to the Marquis's family?"
"It's over! It's over! Everything's over!"
As Song spoke, she burst into tears again, which greatly alarmed Old Madam Pei.
The Prefect of Kyoto was not a minor official, but he was far inferior to the Marquis of Kyoto.
The Prefect of Kyoto dared not disrespect the Marquis's residence unless he had someone backing him.
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