When the old lady learned of this, she was furious and said, "That barbarian is thick-skinned and tough. Twenty lashes won't teach her a lesson. She should be starved for a few more meals."
The barbarian slave was a glutton; being hungry was worse than being beaten.
Moreover, the old lady said she would starve her for a few meals, which frightened her so much that she hurriedly explained to Xie Lanzhou, "Your mother made a mistake, that's why your father locked her up. Be good, your father won't lock you up, don't be afraid of him."
The barbarian slave had his own logic. He felt that as long as Xie Lanzhou was not afraid of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, he would not have committed any crime, and if he did not commit any crime, he would not have to go hungry.
Xie Lanzhou was raised by Madam Liu from a young age, and he loved his mother very much.
Hearing from the barbarian that his mother had made a mistake, he cried even harder, "My mother is the best mother, she would never make a mistake..."
The barbarian was desperate for food, trying his best to prove, "She was wrong. No, why did your father lock her up and have people guard her?"
"When barbarian slaves made mistakes in the past, they were also locked up and guarded..."
The old lady couldn't stand it anymore. She ordered her men to drag the barbarian away and, holding her grandson, tried to persuade him, "The barbarian is a fool. Don't listen to her nonsense."
Your mother is just unwell and is recuperating on the farm. The doctor said that occasional physical labor is good for her health, and your father never had anyone watch over her…”
It took the old lady a lot of effort to get her grandson, who was still somewhat skeptical, to get close to his father again.
But they were not as close as they had been a while ago.
Marquis Zhongyong was troubled by this.
The old lady seized the opportunity to say, "Mianmian is Lan'er's mother after all. All children in the world care about their mothers. You are also a son, so you should understand this principle."
But his mother was watched by the guards like a prisoner. The child was young and could not yet distinguish right from wrong, only between close and distant relatives. He must have felt terrible.
Now that Mianmian is not by his side, the only one who can accompany him as he grows up is you, his father. However, if this matter causes a rift between you and your son, it will be detrimental to his growth.
"Bang'er, your mother is more worried that Lan'er will resent you in the future. Why don't you take the child to see her and withdraw the guards?"
She seemed very concerned about the Marquis of Zhongyong.
Marquis Zhongyong also knew the importance of Lady Liu in Xie Lanzhou's heart, and he did not want his youngest son to have any lingering trauma.
He notified Liu to cooperate and took Xie Lanzhou to the manor to meet Liu.
Liu didn't say a single word of nonsense in front of the children. Instead, she said that she was doing well in the village and advised the children to listen to their father.
Marquis Zhongyong agreed to remove the guards.
Wanxing informed Ye Zhen of this news, "Miss, could there be some kind of conspiracy involved?"
Ye Zhen nodded.
There must be.
"Should I take this opportunity to kill Lady Liu?"
She never forgot the malice Liu had shown towards Ye Zhen and felt this was a good opportunity to kill Liu.
Ye Zhen stopped her, saying, "No, the old lady went to all this trouble to have Xie Lanzhou cause this scene. There must be a next step. Let's wait and see."
That day, she received news that there was a suspicious person near the estate, and guessed that the person was Liu's lover.
However, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery failed to capture the person. After all, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was a fierce general on the battlefield, and he would not be so incompetent.
Ye Zhen sensed something was amiss, so he sent Wanxing to investigate the events of that night.
Only then did they realize that it was the old lady's appearance that had stopped the arrest.
Marquis Zhongyong was unaware of Liu's betrayal and thus readily believed his mother, but Ye Zhen knew that things were not so simple.
She was even more shocked that the old lady would help her daughter-in-law cover up their affair.
Even if Liu had saved her life, she shouldn't have been so lenient with Liu.
This is also why the Marquis of Zhongyong did not suspect the old lady; what mother would allow her son to be cuckolded?
Ye Zhen even suspected that the Marquis of Zhongyong was not the old lady's biological son.
However, the old Marquis only married the old lady once in his life, and the two were a couple who went through thick and thin together.
I heard that when the old lady gave birth to the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage during the war, she had no milk when the city was sealed off and there was no food. She fed the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage with her own blood, which damaged her health and she never conceived again.
After the old marquis was granted a title, His Majesty bestowed upon him a beautiful woman to ensure the continuation of his lineage, but the old marquis refused. Instead, he used his military merits to exchange his wife's title for a new one.
After the old Marquis passed away, the old lady lost her appetite and eventually moved to Qingzhou, the place where the two had gotten married, to ease her longing for him. She stayed there for many years.
Marquis Zhongyong was taught by his father to be extremely filial to his mother. Ye Zhen could not find any evidence that the two were not mother and son, so he had to suppress his suspicions for the time being.
Ye Zhen even suspected that the man was the old lady's man, and that the old lady's oversight allowed him to get involved with Liu Shi.
The old lady was worried that her son would take his anger out on her, so she had no choice but to help cover it up.
Ye Zhen recognized the man's face, but there was no such person by the old lady's side. She had also secretly investigated and found that the old lady had not secretly dealt with anyone recently.
Things seemed to be more complicated than Ye Zhen had imagined.
Just then, the old lady used Xie Lanzhou to free Liu from supervision.
The old lady couldn't possibly be doing this so that Madam Liu and that man could continue their secret rendezvous.
If that's the case, Ye Zhen would wonder if the old lady had gotten her brain squeezed by a door, or if she was possessed by a ghost?
Clearly, the old lady wasn't that confused, so what was her purpose in doing this?
A few days later, Ye Zhen found out.
When Liu and the other women from the village went into the mountains to gather firewood, she was dragged into the woods by an old bachelor from the neighborhood, and almost lost her virginity.
Upon receiving the news, the old lady was so shocked that she fainted.
After waking up, she took the hand of the Marquis of Zhongyong and said, "Bang'er, let her go back to the manor, even if it's just to make her a slave or maid, or to give her a piece of land to farm."
It's better than leaving it outside to be defiled. You are the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor, and you've been cuckolded by some random cat or dog.
What will become of my family's reputation? You and the children will be laughed at by the world. I won't even have the face to see your father when I die."
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