"Who gave you the guts to attack my princess in front of me?"
He looked down at Chu Lingxiao who was slumped in the chair, cold and arrogant. His eyes shot over like icy arrows, chilling.
"..." Chu Lingxiao met his gaze and shuddered as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
His wrists burned with pain.
He dared to hit Chu Qianchen because she was his daughter, but when he faced Gu Jue, he couldn't even speak clearly. He said in a strong and weak voice: "This unfilial girl not only slandered her grandmother, but also disobeyed me. It is only right for me to teach her a lesson."
That’s right, it’s natural for a father to teach his daughter a lesson!
"Oh? How is it slander?" Gu Jue raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly, "I would like to hear what the Marquis has to say. If he can't explain it clearly, then please ask Jingzhao Yin to come and judge it."
After the words fell, the whole room fell silent.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone was stunned again, wondering if they had heard it wrong.
Ask Jingzhao Yin to come to the mansion for trial?! This is a family matter, what is the prince up to?! Chu Qianchen felt that Gu Jue's proposal was very much in her heart, and she agreed righteously: "Your Majesty is right."
Chu Qianchen acted like a husband and wife following his lead, which made Amber sigh. She always felt that she would often see the scene of "the prince kills people and the princess hands over the knife" in the future.
Everyone was even more shocked and speechless.
Although the actors on the stage felt that the atmosphere in their seats was a little subtle, they all turned a blind eye and a deaf ear and continued to sing their plays diligently.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The two elders of the Yang family, who were left on the streets, had nowhere to go and could only temporarily live in the City God Temple in the wilderness, as miserable as beggars.
The long and mournful music sounded like adding fuel to the fire to Chu Lingxiao's ears, and he felt a little panicked.
He knew the origin of this purse very well. It was Chu Qianchen who personally gave it to Aunt Jiang.
This matter must not be brought to the capital of Jingzhao, otherwise their Chu family will become a laughing stock in the entire capital!
Chu Lingxiao struggled for a while in his heart, and finally he could only take a half step back, trying to muddle through: "Just now, Sister Chen was ignorant and talked nonsense, making the prince laugh!"
"A joke?" Gu Jue would not let Chu Lingxiao get away with it so easily, "Then why don't you tell me what the joke is so that I can laugh too."
Chu Lingxiao: “…”
Chu Lingxiao was blocked by Gu Jue and couldn't say anything.
At this moment, a gentle female voice came from the direction of the stairs: "I think we should just call Aunt Jiang over to ask her who the purse belongs to, so as not to ruin Aunt Jiang's reputation."
Shen came back after changing her clothes. She had heard what had happened here. She walked up the stairs gracefully with a dignified look, and had the grace and elegance of a mistress of a marquis's mansion.
Shen remained expressionless, but was very angry on the inside.
She knew Chu Lingxiao was a mean person, but she didn't expect him to be so bad that he actually wanted to force Chu Qianchen to betray the King! Did he ever think about what kind of situation he was putting Chu Qianchen in! !
He didn't think about it.
All he thought about was himself, and he just wanted to please the emperor in order to get promoted.
For this, he would do anything, even sell his daughter for fame! Chu Lingxiao's shamelessness once again refreshed Shen's bottom line, and her disgust for this man in her heart reached an unprecedented level.
In her opinion, Chu Qianchen was right. An open conspiracy is worse than a conspiracy. Since the Chu family resorted to such a sinister method, it would be better to reveal the matter in front of Prince Chen.
Therefore, Shen decided to follow Chu Qianchen's wishes and give it a push.
As soon as Shen gave the order, a round-faced maid immediately responded and tried to go downstairs, but was stopped by the lady in a stern voice: "You are not allowed to go!"
The little maid stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked hesitantly towards the second floor.
Shen ignored the old lady's livid face and said, "Go!"
Chu Lingxiao's expression was even uglier than the lady's. He shouted unhappily, "No one is allowed to leave this building!"
Chu Yunyi looked at Chu Lingxiao with complicated eyes.
He had heard his father and grandmother say that they wanted Chu Qianchen to die suddenly. What else could they not do? The other members of the Chu clan also understood a little bit. It should be that the lady took a purse and told Chu Qianchen that it belonged to Aunt Jiang, intending to threaten Chu Qianchen with her aunt's reputation and let her pass on the news of Prince Chen's Mansion.
Unexpectedly, Chu Qianchen was not threatened at all, and turned around and told the matter in public.
The round-faced little maid looked at Chu Lingxiao, then at Shen, and then at the lady, hesitating.
Another maid in green clothes in the lobby on the first floor of the theater knelt down and replied, "Yes, Madam."
After she responded, she quickly ran out of the theater. Some people secretly regretted that they were not quick enough.
Ever since Shen married into the Marquis' Mansion, the old Marquis has been in charge and the household affairs of the Mansion have been handed over to her. For more than ten years, she has been in control of the internal affairs of the Mansion and has accumulated power for a long time.
During this period of time, the Marquis was at odds with Shen, but he could not do anything to Shen.
The servants also saw it.
There are also people who want to show off in front of the Shen family. If they miss today's opportunity, they don't know when the next one will be.
The atmosphere in the theater became increasingly tense.
Chu Qianhuang looked at Shen, bit her lower lip slightly, and hesitated to speak.
Chu Qianling had no idea how things could turn out like this. Didn't her mother swear that she had a way to control Chu Qianchen? !
Chu Qianling looked at Liu anxiously and panickedly, and Liu was also in a state of confusion.
At this moment, the most upset person was Chu Lingxiao.
He couldn't help but look at Gu Jue's expression, and saw that Gu Jue sat down again, and Chu Qianchen also sat down, sitting next to him.
Everyone was looking at them.
Seeing that the tea in Gu Jue's hand was almost untouched, Chu Qianchen knew that this tea was not to his taste, and told Hubo, "Go and pour two cups of scented tea."
Amber hurried to make scented tea. After a while, the air was filled with the elegant scent of scented tea, with a hint of lotus and rose.
The two of them sipped tea and watched the show leisurely, as if the chaos around them could not disturb them at all.
On the stage, the two elders of the Yang family were crying and apologizing to the third daughter, regretting their act of driving the third daughter and son-in-law out of the house.
Chu Lingxiao felt that this scene was really dazzling and drank his tea without any taste.
The others seemed to be watching the play, but they were actually absent-minded, and their eyes kept glancing outside the theater from time to time.
No one spoke anymore, they were all waiting for the situation to develop.
After a while, the maid in green clothes brought Aunt Jiang over.
Aunt Jiang wore a lilac-colored jacket embroidered with broken branches of plum blossoms with green calyxes. She had a slender waist and looked delicate and charming. Although she was clearly in her thirties, she looked several years younger than her actual age, as if she was still in her prime.
Nanny Chen quickly ordered the show to be stopped, and the sound of string and bamboo music suddenly stopped. The actors also hurriedly left the stage and almost fled.
Only the Chu family was left in the theater.
Aunt Jiang walked over slowly, her pretty face pale as if it were the first snow, and she bowed to Chu Lingxiao, Shen and the others.
Chu Qianchen put down the pastel teacup in his hand, looked at the lady and said, "Grandma, where is the purse?"
Madam: “…”
Nanny Wang took a look at the lady's expression, then took out the aqua green purse embroidered with lotus flowers, and had Amber hand it to Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianchen casually played with the purse for a while, and his slender white jade fingers looked particularly fair and delicate against the backdrop of the aqua green material.
Chu Qianchen pushed the purse towards Aunt Jiang, looked at her straight and said, "Aunt, your purse."
“……” Aunt Jiang trembled and opened her eyes slightly.
The corners of her eyes were slightly red, and tears were faintly visible in them. She felt hurt and sad, and her eyes seemed to contain thousands of words.
She pursed her pale lips and didn't argue.
In the eyes of others, they only felt that she was enduring humiliation and there seemed to be some hidden story behind it. However, she was stuck between Chu Qianchen and the old lady and it was really difficult for her to survive, so she could only remain silent.
Compared with Aunt Jiang's forbearance and compromise, Chu Qianchen seems aggressive.
Some members of the Chu clan began to whisper to each other and cast disapproving glances at Chu Qianchen.
Shen frowned. She knew Aunt Jiang's daily behavior very well. She always looked like "others are wrong and she is wronged", but other people might not know it.
Shen was worried that Gu Jue would have a bad impression of Chu Qianchen. After all, Aunt Jiang was Chu Qianchen's biological mother.
Seeing that Aunt Jiang didn't take the purse, Chu Qianchen took it back and sighed, "Aunt Jiang, don't you even recognize your own purse?"
She slowly turned the purse inside out. The lining of the purse was duck yellow.
Chu Qianchen pointed one side of the purse towards Aunt Jiang, pointed at a corner of the lining and said, "Is this your maiden name, Aunt Jiang?"
The others also came closer out of curiosity, and saw a single word on the lining: Shan.
Many people in the Marquis' Mansion knew that Aunt Jiang's maiden name was Minshan.
This character "珊" is obviously the "珊" in Minshan.
Everyone started whispering to each other again, and there was an uproar.
In other words, this purse really belongs to Aunt Jiang.
What on earth is going on?! The lady's heart skipped a beat and she realized something was wrong.
She wanted to ask Liu where she got the purse from, but the current occasion was obviously not appropriate.
“……” Chu Lingxiao widened his eyes in disbelief.
How is this possible! This purse was clearly taken out by Chu Qianchen himself, how could Minshan's name be on it! !
Chu Qianchen smiled and said, "If Auntie still can't recognize this purse, then I can only trouble the prince to send someone to ask Jingzhao Yin to find out the truth."
Gu Jue drank his tea leisurely, with a smile on his face, clearly supporting Chu Qianchen.
When other people saw this scene, they all shook their heads secretly and disagreed.
Most people think that Chu Qianchen is not only arrogant, but also short-sighted.
No matter what, Aunt Jiang is her biological mother, and the blood connection between them cannot be severed. If there is any damage to Aunt Jiang's reputation, it will also hurt Chu Qianchen's face.
In order to curry favor with Prince Chen, Chu Qianchen was so willing to kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of his own.
Chu Lingxiao's face was filled with confusion and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
The lady looked at her eldest son's face and clenched the string of beads in her hand.
Things have developed to this point, so she can only fool around for now. After all, the people present are all members of the Chu family. Later, she will use both kindness and force to shut these people up.
The lady coughed twice and said dryly, "Sister Chen, you misunderstood. I didn't ask you to reveal any news about the palace. I was worried that you, a newlywed, would not be able to get used to living in the palace."
The lady felt that she had given Chu Qianchen a way out, and Chu Qianchen should quit while he was ahead. After all, they were all family.
But Chu Qianchen didn't want them to get away with it so easily.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
Some things are better to be "cleared up" in case it's a purse today, a handkerchief tomorrow, and then a round fan, a headband, etc. As the saying goes, you don't have to worry about thieves stealing, but you have to worry about thieves thinking about it. How can you guard against thieves for a thousand days? "Let's not talk about whether it's a misunderstanding or not." Chu Qianchen looked at the lady with a smile and turned the topic back to the purse, "Grandma, this purse is related to my aunt's innocence, so we must clarify it."
Chu Qianchen's expression and tone seemed meaningful.
The lady's face looked even worse, and the loose skin on her cheeks trembled for a while.
Gu Jue raised his hand and made a gesture. Mo Chen, who was standing beside him like a shadow, jumped down directly from the second-floor window, his body as light as a roc spreading its wings...
Many of the women present had never seen such a scene before, and they gasped in horror.
Mo Chen was from Prince Chen's Mansion, and Chu Lingxiao couldn't stop him even if he wanted to. He could only watch him fall to the ground and walk out of the mansion with big strides.
Chu Lingxiao's first instinct was to yell at Chu Qianchen and tell her to stop making trouble, but when he met Gu Jue's cold eyes, he became like a mute and dared not say anything.
Chu Yunmu heard them all discussing a purse, each with their own opinion. He was confused until he saw Mo Chen jump down. He suddenly perked up, his phoenix eyes sparkled, and his little mouth opened slightly.
My second brother-in-law's personal bodyguard is so powerful, he is just like the knight in the storybooks who can fly over the eaves and walls!
He is the brother-in-law of my second brother-in-law. My second brother-in-law should be able to ask the "hero" to teach him!
Chu Lingxiao hesitated again and again, and could only try to smooth things over in a nice tone: "Sister Chen, we are all family, we should take care of our own affairs, there is no reason to air family disgrace in public!"
Chu Qianchen just smiled and said nothing.
Others only thought that the key to this matter was Aunt Jiang's reputation, but Shen saw through it and knew it clearly: the Madam, Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang were all involved in this matter, and Liu must have also been involved.
These people are unscrupulous for their own benefit! Chu Qianchen is just fighting back.
"Azhi," seeing that Chu Qianchen was adamant and could only put her hopes on Shen, the old lady lowered her status and said to Shen in a gentle voice, "Please persuade Sister Chen. Today is the day when she returns home after three days of marriage. It's unlucky to be involved in legal disputes."
Although Shen also felt that what the lady said was right, if this matter was lightly exposed, wouldn't it be too easy for them? What they did was really disgusting and despicable! Just imagine, if their plan succeeded, how could Chu Qianchen gain a foothold in Prince Chen's Mansion in the future!
"Mother, Aunt Jiang's reputation cannot be taken lightly." Shen stated her attitude succinctly, her eyes firm as a rock, unshakable.
Madam: “…”
A thin layer of sweat broke out on Aunt Jiang's forehead. Her eyelashes trembled twice, and her eyes were a little vague. She looked at Chu Lingxiao pitifully.
Chu Lingxiao felt as if his heart was being pulled. Aunt Jiang was his lifeblood. How could he bear to let her suffer such an injustice? He resolutely said, "This purse was asked for by Sister Chen."
He was telling the truth. He did speak to Chu Qianchen that day, but he just kept half of what he said to himself.
The Chu clan members around were once again in an uproar, dumbfounded, and felt that this play was much more exciting than "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents", with many climaxes and twists and turns.
Chu Lingxiao intended to protect Aunt Jiang, but unfortunately Chu Qianchen had no intention of cooperating at all.
"Father, if you asked me for a purse, it would be natural for me, as a daughter, to sew one myself to honor you, but..." Chu Qianchen said innocently, "This purse is clearly made by Tianxiufang. Look, there is the mark of the embroidery shop on it."
Chu Qianchen turned the purse over again and saw the three words "Tian Xiu Fang" embroidered in golden silk thread on one corner.
Chu Qianchen meant that Chu Lingxiao was lying. For the sake of Aunt Jiang's reputation, he even threatened his own daughter to help him with the fraud in front of Prince Chen.
Chu Lingxiao: “…”
Chu Lingxiao was speechless again, this time not because of awe, but because of anger.
Chu Qianchen, this damned girl, is just lying! At first, Aunt Jiang liked this purse, so she asked Chu Qianchen for it. But Chu Qianchen had no filial piety at all and kept refusing. Chu Qianchen couldn't stand it, so he spoke up, and the girl reluctantly took out the purse.
Originally, Chu Lingxiao had forgotten about this matter long ago.
It was a few days ago that Aunt Jiang saw that he was unhappy about the marriage between Chu Qianchen and Prince Chen, so she took the initiative to give him advice and took out this purse.
"I have seen that the Marquis has been tossing and turning these days and has lost a lot of weight. I really feel sorry for him."
"My Lord, I have a purse from Sister Chen here, but I don't know if I can help you..."
"My Lord, you are Sister Chen's father. It would be inappropriate for you to take out this purse. It would be better to let Second Madam take it out so as not to arouse suspicion."
“…”
The gentle and considerate words of my concubine are still ringing in my ears.
Alas, his Minshan is probably the only one in this world who loves him wholeheartedly!
Until now, she has been forbearing, enduring the suspicion and accusations of others, and has remained silent.
She was so concerned about him, so how could he let her face all these criticisms and accusations! Everything was caused by Chu Qianchen, the disaster star!
Chu Lingxiao's heart was filled with rage, wave after wave beating against his heart.
He still couldn't figure out why there was a "Shan" character in the purse given by Chu Qianchen. How on earth did she do it, to frame her aunt so viciously! This girl must be evil-minded.
If Gu Jue was not here today, Chu Lingxiao really wanted to slap Chu Qianchen in the face, or even better, knock this rebellious girl down from the second floor and put an end to it once and for all.
Chu Lingxiao's eyes were sinister and he subconsciously clenched his fists.
This movement caused the injured area on my right wrist to move, causing a burning pain.
Even if Chu Lingxiao didn't look, he knew that his wrist must have been swollen by Gu Jue.
This is not a son-in-law, he is the ancestor and the Buddha!
Chu Lingxiao finally understood what it meant to be easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away.
No matter what, this matter must not be handed over to Jingzhao Yin to handle, otherwise things will be really difficult to handle...
Chu Lingxiao felt extremely embarrassed, and the lady was even more embarrassed.
The lady was not a fool. At this moment, she had figured out the cause and effect of the whole incident.
At this moment, when she looked at the purse in Chu Qianchen's hand again, she felt a sharp pain in her eyes and a stuffy discomfort in her chest.
Such a big thing, but my eldest son didn't even tell me in advance, and even kept it from me, making me lose face like a fool today!
The lady blamed Chu Lingxiao, but she hated Chu Qianchen even more. This girl even abandoned her own mother for her. She was indeed a cold-blooded and ungrateful person.
The lady criticized Chu Lingxiao, Aunt Jiang, Liu and Chu Qianchen in her heart.
After her anger reached its peak, it gradually subsided as she quickly weighed the pros and cons.
She told herself that she couldn't really wait until Jingzhao Yin came. If she did, the Marquis's Mansion would completely lose face and become the laughing stock of the entire capital.
The lady made her decision quickly.
At this point, only by giving up Aunt Jiang can the Marquis's Mansion suffer the least loss.
After all, Aunt Jiang is just an concubine, and her name is not even on the Chu family's genealogy.
"Madam Jiang," the lady looked at her with a deep gaze, her tone cold and arrogant, "You are also the one who gave birth to a pair of children for the Marquis's Mansion, how could you... Hey, you are too careless, you can even leave behind something as private as a purse!"
"Madam..." Aunt Jiang knelt down with a thud, and her slender body trembled violently like a delicate flower in the wind.
Her eyes were redder, with tears in them, and the crystal tears seemed to be about to fall, as if she was about to cry at any moment...
She knelt there, motionless, and then stopped talking. She looked so weak, so innocent, and yet so strong.
Chu Lingxiao's heart began to ache again just by looking at her.
This was the person he held dear to his heart, but she suffered such injustice and humiliation in order to protect him.
At this moment, Chu Lingxiao took his anger out on the old lady. She knew that his Minshan was innocent, but she still threw dirty water on her.
"Mother, how can you confuse right and wrong? How could this purse belong to Minshan!" Chu Lingxiao retorted flatly, his brows furrowed.
"..." The old lady was originally angry that her eldest son had hidden something from her, and now she was scolded by him in public, and she was so angry that she almost fell over.
Nanny Wang was quick to support the lady and raised her hand to help her calm down.
The lady's chest ached so much that it felt as if her heart had shrunk. She was almost pissed off by Chu Lingxiao and almost died ten years later. Was this rebellious son cursed by Jiang Minshan? !
Those members of the Chu clan who had nothing to do with the matter were all watching with great interest.
When things developed to this point, most of them had completely understood the cause and effect of the matter and had figured it out.
I see!
This purse indeed belongs to Aunt Jiang.
She "lost" her purse, but she refused to acknowledge it. It seems that there is some unknown secret behind this "lost" purse!
Well, it's just a simple matter between a man and a woman. Aunt Jiang secretly traded the purse with someone behind Chu Lingxiao's back, and the lady-in-waiting found out. She used the purse to threaten Chu Qianchen.
This must be the truth! Thinking of this, they looked at Aunt Jiang with a bit of contempt in their eyes.
Oh my, this woman looks weak and pitiful, but in fact, you can’t judge a person by his appearance.
Some women in the Chu clan secretly exchanged glances with each other, marveling in amazement.
Some people even looked at Chu Lingxiao with admiration. Was he blinded by lust? For a mere concubine, the dignified Marquis of Yongding was simply obsessed. He didn't care even if he was cuckolded. He just kept defending the concubine and made many stupid moves.
Should we say that he truly loves his wife, or that he favors his concubine over his wife? The atmosphere in the theater became even weirder.
(End of this chapter)