Seeing that Zhang Yuan was still a little agitated, the little twins frowned and asked with a worried look on their faces:
"So what do you want to do? Make her kneel at the door? Wait until everyone in the neighborhood knows she's from the Chu Kingdom and report her to the authorities? Then have someone from Shuntian Prefecture arrest her and execute her at Caishikou on a later date as a Chu spy. You and your mother will then be imprisoned in the Tianlao for harboring a spy. Then the prince and princess will both be punished by the emperor. You'll be making things worse for them."
Although the twins' words were a bit harsh, Zhang Yuan lowered his head with a complicated look.
Even if he was killed, he was unwilling to implicate the prince and princess, so he could only clench his fists in hatred and swallow his anger. He hated himself for being too easy to trust others.
Xiao Ningzi patted him on the shoulder and comforted him softly:
"Let's let Xiaoyun in first. No matter what it is, it's better to talk about it behind closed doors than to let everyone know. Besides, even if Xiaoyun is from Chu, she has been your wife for five or six years. In all these years, she has never done anything to hurt you. Why do you treat her like this?"
Zhang Yuan didn't say anything. He didn't say that he agreed to let Xiaoyun come in, but he didn't refuse either. Xiao Shuangzi winked at Xiao Ningzi, indicating that he should call Xiaoyun in.
Xiao Ningzi nodded in understanding and walked quickly towards the door.
At this time, Xiaoyun was still kneeling at the door, staring at the ground with lifeless eyes, feeling extremely guilty.
When she first approached Zhang Yuan, she really wanted to take the opportunity to sneak into the capital and make it easier for the Chu people to sneak into the capital. Later, she found that she had fallen in love with Zhang Yuan, who was wholeheartedly good to her, but her identity was not something she could change. Although she had done many wrong things for the Chu people after they entered the capital, she was forced and she did not want it to be like this.
If her father had not suddenly come to find her this time and asked her to go back to Chu with them, she might have been able to continue living a stable life like this.
Now everything has changed. Zhang Yuan will no longer believe her, and she doesn't want to go back to Chu. She kneels here, thinking about her future, not knowing where to go.
At this moment, Xiao Ningzi came to the door and whispered to her:
"Come in. It's not good to kneel here all the time and be seen by others."
Xiaoyun raised her tearful eyes and looked at Xiao Ningzi, her voice trembling and choking with sobs:
"Does he... consent to let me in?"
Xiao Ningzi sighed, frowned and shook his head.
"He didn't agree, but you can't kneel here for long. It will cause gossip from the neighbors."
When saying this, Xiao Ningzi looked up and saw that not far away, there were indeed several middle-aged women pointing and talking, as if they were discussing what big mistake Xiaoyun had made that she was punished by her own man to kneel outside the door.
Seeing this, he continued:
"Although he disagrees, he doesn't object. You should still come in! If the news gets out, it won't be good for anyone."
After saying this, he bent down, picked up the two bundles on the ground, and walked into the yard with them.
Although Xiaoyun knew that Zhang Yuan had not forgiven her, she was also afraid that her identity would be known to others, which would harm Zhang Yuan and his mother.
So she got up from the ground and staggered into the yard, and the gate was then closed by Xiao Ningzi.
After Xiaoyun entered the yard, she knelt heavily in the yard again, looking at the house where she and Zhang Yuan had lived with lifeless eyes, her eyes flickering vaguely.
She didn't know why she was kneeling. Was she trying to beg for Zhang Yuan's forgiveness? That seemed unlikely.
Was she regretting having deceived Zhang Yuan? There was no point in regretting; he wouldn't even look at her.
She didn't know what to do. Apart from kneeling down, she couldn't think of any other way.
Zhang Yuan's mother saw her kneeling there, and came forward with a distressed look, choking with sobs and trying to persuade her:
"Xiao Yun, stop kneeling. It's useless. Yuan'er is a straightforward person. He's a man who sticks to his ways. You've hurt him so badly this time that he doesn't even care about me, his mother. Sigh! What should I do?"
At this point, Zhang Yuan's mother sighed deeply. Xiaoyun looked at her with red eyes and cried bitterly, choking with sobs:
"Mom, I was wrong. I shouldn't have used Brother Yuan, and I shouldn't have lied to him. For so many years, Brother Yuan has been good to me, and you treated me like your own daughter, but I actually did such a wrong thing. I really deserve to die. Please let me kneel! Brother Yuan won't forgive me, and I won't get up even if I kneel until I die."
Her words made Zhang Yuan's mother burst into tears. She wanted to persuade her, but she knew that Zhang Yuan was as stubborn as she was and could not be persuaded by just a few words.
Helplessly, she sat back on the small stone bench in the yard, trembling. She weaved the bamboo basket with trembling hands, sighing and crying.
Inside the room, the twins peeked out through the window, shook their heads helplessly, turned around, and said to Zhang Yuan:
"Brother Yuan, even if she is from Chu, so what? As long as you don't say it and she doesn't say it, how can anyone know?"
Zhang Yuan suddenly shook his head and smiled bitterly. He clenched his fists and pounded them hard on the edge of the bed, muttering in hatred:
"I don't care what country she's from. What I care about is that she didn't tell me. She lied to me for so many years. When the Chu people poured into the capital, she provided them with many conveniences in my name. Now that the Chu people have retreated, her father came to ask her to leave with them. She's used me enough and is leaving, but I'm still like a fool, being played around by her."
Hearing Zhang Yuan say this, the twins had no time to comfort him. Suddenly, they frowned as if they had thought of something and said in a cold voice:
"She came to the capital with Fang Qiu, didn't she?"
At this point, the twins shuddered, and Ningzi nodded heavily in sudden realization.
"Yes, yes, yes. Fang Qiu has been married to Brother Yuan for many years and is unwilling to have children. Now it seems that she is very likely a Chu person. Isn't this still hidden from Brother Ling?"
The little twins clenched their fists and nodded bitterly, "Let's go tell Brother Ling right now. We can't let him be like Brother Yuan, who got deceived and didn't even realize it."
After saying this, Xiao Ningzi turned back to Zhang Yuan and said comfortingly:
"Let's calm down first. You should also calm down. Even if Xiaoyun has a thousand faults, she has been with you for five or six years. During this time, she has managed this household perfectly, been filial to your mother, and taken good care of you. We have seen it all. You can't treat her like this just because of her background, which she couldn't choose. At least... at least give her a chance to explain."
In fact, Xiao Ningzi didn't know how to persuade him. No one would feel good about this.
Now they are more worried about Xiao Lingzi. If Fang Qiu is also a Chu person, given his stubborn temper, he might be very angry.
But some things cannot be hidden. Even if they don't tell him, he will find out sooner or later. Maybe by then, things will not be as easy to deal with as they are now.
Thinking of this, the two of them said hello to Zhang Yuan's mother, hurried out of Zhang Yuan's house, and went straight to Xiao Lingzi's house.
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