"Father, if we ask the Dali Temple to investigate, how can our government maintain its dignity?"
Duke Xiao looked at his son, "Face?" He then looked at Lin, who was kneeling beside him with a pale face, "Face is earned by oneself, not given by others." He shook his head, his tone full of regret, "You are my eldest son, I have always valued you, but you are really disappointing! Who risked his life to save you during the riot in the capital that year?"
Father Xiao was stunned for a moment, but Duke Xiao shouted, "Answer me!"
"Yes, it's mother."
Duke Xiao asked again, "Your career is not going well. Who helped you to smooth things over so that your career is not hindered?"
"It's the mother."
"Back then, the Duke's family was dying out and it was difficult for you to find a wife. Who was it that sacrificed his reputation and paid for his dowry to find you a good wife of equal status?"
Father Xiao lowered his head lower and lower, "It's mother."
"So this is how you repay her?!" Duke Xiao said, "Even crows repay their parents. Who the hell are you?" He even addressed his own son in such a way, which showed that he was very angry.
Father Xiao looked at Liu and Shen Qingqiu standing by, and then at Lin Xuanfeng and the imperial physician standing by. He wanted to tell his father that family disgrace should not be made public, but he was afraid of angering Duke Xiao, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "But isn't mother fine now? Father, you have to know that if this matter is investigated, and it is really sent to the Dali Temple, and the head wife of our Xiao family is sent to the Dali Temple, what will outsiders say about our Duke Xiao's mansion?"
Duke Xiao looked at Father Xiao, and put his hands on his shoulders, pressing them down hard. "She is your mother, and she was murdered by someone. Do you only care about the reputation of Duke Xiao's Mansion?"
Father Xiao really didn't understand, he said: "Father, you have to think about my sons and daughters, your grandchildren! Mother, no matter what, mother's surname is not Xiao!" He thought that these words would wake Duke Xiao up, but he didn't expect to be met with an increasingly cold gaze.
Duke Xiao was indeed examining his son. Although he was old, his heart was not blind.
Although Youshi was his stepwife, she treated his children wholeheartedly over the years and never dared to neglect them. Anyone with a conscience would not dare to say such a thing!
"Reputation, you value the reputation of Duke Xiao's Mansion so much, is it because of the plaque of the Duke's Mansion?" Duke Xiao said: "I will report to the emperor tomorrow and ask him to take back the plaque of the Duke's Mansion. This is also good, there is no one to take over, so I don't have to think about who to pass it on to."
"Father, no, you can't do this!"
Duke Xiao no longer looked at her. He just held You's hand and said, "Don't be afraid. You have suffered all your life with me. I can't let you suffer such injustice when you are old. No matter who hurt you, I will make her pay the price."
Lin was so frightened that her legs went limp. Without anyone asking her questions, she half-knelt before her mother-in-law and begged for forgiveness, saying that she was just confused for a moment.
After all, Youshi was poisoned by a Gu, and her son was very weak at the moment. He fell into Duke Xiao's arms and didn't want to speak.
Duke Xiao said, "Lord Lin, arrest those who should be arrested, don't worry about me."
Then he looked at Liu and Shen Qingqiu, "You two, there are a lot of things going on in the Duke's Mansion today, please bear with me."
The Duke was upright and righteous, and he dealt with his son and daughter-in-law as soon as he came back, which made Shen Qingqiu feel much better. In addition, this matter was a family scandal after all, and the daughter-in-law wanted to kill her mother-in-law. It was not a big deal for them to continue watching, so they all left one after another.
——
After this incident, Shen Qingqiu asked Tu Jiu to find out more. It turned out that Lin was first expelled from the family by Duke Xiao, and then sent to the manor, saying that she would never be able to come back.
Shen Qingqiu thought that this punishment was too light, but in ancient times, for a noblewoman to be expelled from her clan was already a huge punishment. People believed in ghosts and gods, and after a woman got married, she was no longer a member of her natal family. Now that she was expelled from her clan by her husband's family, it meant that after she died, she would be a ghost without an owner and would be bullied by others.
Although Shen Qingqiu was somewhat dissatisfied, he also understood the old Duke. After all, there were so many people in Duke Xiao's mansion, and the whole family could not be ruined because of Lin's story alone.
"It's a pity that the old Duke was such a good man, but he had no successor and gave birth to such a bunch of cowards."
Old Lady Xu also heard what Shen Qingqiu said about that place. She had long been fed up with Lin, and when she heard that Lin was trying to frame their mansion for the murder of Old Lady You, she was even more disgusted. After frowning, she asked, "What about her? Can she get well after being poisoned by the Gu?"
Shen Qingqiu replied: "Although the poisonous insect crawled out for unknown reasons, it still harmed her body. Lin was cruel and the poison she used was extremely tricky, and it required the blood of one's own children to neutralize it." And everyone knew that Youshi had only one daughter, who was kidnapped by a kidnapper a few years ago.
Old Lady Xu was stunned for a while, "Then...what about her now?"
Shen Qingqiu didn't say anything, but Old Lady Xu also understood what he meant and sighed softly.
"Grandma, the old lady from the Xiao family is here and wants to see you." The nanny of Grandma Xu came over and said with a smile.
As soon as Old Lady Xu sat up, she saw Youshi at the door, leaning on a cane and smiling as she walked forward step by step. Old Lady Xu hurriedly said, "Hurry, help me, and show me a seat!"
Then he asked, "How dare you run around when you are in this condition?"
You Shi naturally knew that Old Lady Xu was concerned about her, so after she sat down, she said to her, "Now that I can stand up these days, I want to come out and take a look. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't have another chance in the future."
Hearing this, Old Lady Xu frowned and said, "What depressing words are you talking about? All the best doctors in the world are in the capital. You are only in your fifties. I am old and I am not even going to die yet. You want to run ahead of me?"
Yushi smiled and sighed, and did not argue with her.
Liu poured tea for the two of them and brought some soft and sticky desserts. "I asked the kitchen to make these. Old Lady You should also have some to replenish your blood."
Youshi looked at her with a smile, and said to Old Lady Xu, "You are so lucky. You have married your grandson's wife, and she is still so well-behaved and sensible."
Old Madam Xu said, "You too, if you hadn't been so stubborn and had given birth to another child or two with Duke Xiao, how could you have been..." Old Madam Xu stopped talking here, but her meaning was clear. In such a big Duke's Mansion, if Youshi really had a biological son, how could Linshi dare to treat her like that.
Even if Lin treated her like that, at least someone would fight for her justice if she had a son, unlike the adopted son she raised. Youshi said, "The old Duke treats me well, and I am content." There was actually nothing wrong with her life. Although she didn't have any biological children to raise by her side, the Duke treated her very well, and there was not even a concubine in the mansion.
Now that she was about to die, he could spare some time to stay by her side. In that situation, he could help her instead of his son, and Youshi was already satisfied.
Old Madam Xu shook her head and said, "I just can't understand why your daughter-in-law would do something to you now, if she didn't do it earlier or later?" After all, Youshi had already given away the housekeeper power, and she had no son. There would be no benefit at all from harming Youshi, except the disadvantage of having her secret affair exposed.
Who would do something that harms others and does not benefit themselves?
Yu Shi couldn't figure it out either, so she shook her head and said, "I won't be able to see her in the next few days anyway, so I don't want to think about her anymore."
Then he looked at Shen Qingqiu who was playing beside him and said, "This child is so cute."
At first, Old Lady Xu had no good feelings towards this child who had no blood relationship with the Marquisate, but the longer she looked at something beautiful, the more she liked it. She and Youshi looked at Shen Qingqiu playing in the bushes and couldn't help laughing: "I don't know who she followed. Such a little girl, she doesn't like makeup but loves weapons. She follows the Marquis to practice five spears and sticks in the martial arts field every day. I, Yong'er, said that all the men in the entire Marquisate are not as good as her."
"This Yong'er was a mess when he was little. I think this little devil is no worse than him."
Youshi said: "Isn't that a natural bond between father and daughter?" She also looked at Shen Qingqiu, "Don't blame me, this Miss Qiu does look a bit like Lord Gu."
In fact, people often say this, and some even suspect that Shen Qingqiu is the child of Gu Yong and Liu. But in fact, if you look closely, you will find that in addition to their eyebrows and eyes, the two are more similar in that arrogant look. When Old Lady Xu heard her friend say this, she also looked at her great-granddaughter's face carefully.
After watching for a long time, she could sense something: "Don't tell me, I think this girl looks a lot like you when you were a child—" Old Lady Xu was much older than Youshi, and they couldn't play together when they were young. After all, she was about to get married and Youshi was still a little girl. But when they got older, the difference of ten years was not a big deal.
Looking at Shen Qingqiu now, he really looks a bit like her.
Youshi touched her face and said with a smile: "Is that so..." Then she looked to the side and was looking at Liushi who was about to slap Shen Qingqiu's hand. She thought that if her daughter hadn't been lost, she would actually be about the same age as the wife of Marquis Gu.
——
Duke Xiao's Mansion Xiao Ruqin and Xiao Ruyun went out together. The relationship between the two sisters had already deteriorated a lot due to the previous incident. Now that the second wife was gone and she saw that marrying Gu Shaoqing was also in vain, the gap between the sisters became wider and wider.
When they go out together, they ride in sedan chairs in front and behind, and no one pays attention to each other.
Until they arrived in front of Zhuangzi and Lin’s Buddhist temple.
"I only have two daughters like you. Are you asking me to lock you up here and not feel at ease?" Lin looked at the two of them with cold expressions and couldn't help scolding, "If I had known that you sisters would be so intolerant of each other in the next two days, why would I have done so much for you?!"
Xiao Ruqin sighed, thinking that the second house was already like this, and her mother was sent to the manor. If she continued to quarrel with Xiao Ruyun, there would be no one to discuss things with in the future. Xiao Ruqin had the same idea. Seeing that Lin had given them a way out, the two of them also went along with it and shook hands to make peace.
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