Chapter 36 Can I touch the child?
Xiao Xiuning retorted confidently, "So what if it's me? What were you doing not coming back in the middle of the night?"
"What I do is none of your business. Who do you think you are to interfere with me?"
Zhuiying quickly stepped forward and said, "Fourth Miss, last night I asked the Princess Consort to go to the prison to rescue the Prince from Qin Hu's clutches. I also applied medicine and bandaged his wounds and stayed with him in the prison all night. That's why I'm only returning now."
Now that the Xiao family is in trouble, the inner quarters must not be thrown into chaos.
Xiao Xiuning looked at the tall maid in front of her and felt that she looked familiar, but she had never seen her before.
"Who are you? I've never seen you before?"
"I am Zhuiying, disguised as a maid, and I went with the princess to the prison to rescue people."
Madam Yang pressed on, "Zhuiying, how badly is Ce'er injured? Is he alright?"
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, the Crown Prince is perfectly well."
"It's good that you're alright."
Yun Zhaoxue said to Madam Yang, "Mother, Xiao Xiuning spread rumors about my reputation. With her loud voice, everyone in the mansion thought I was a promiscuous woman. This is a great insult to me. Today, Mother must punish her and clear my name."
Madam Yang said to her daughter, "Ning'er, go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect on your actions."
"Mother, I didn't know she was going to save Third Brother, I..."
"Does ignorance justify spreading rumors?"
Xiao Xiuning retorted, "No wonder I misunderstood. It's all because you're always so restless. Last time you eloped with some random guy, um..."
Yun Zhaoxue took a few steps forward, grabbed her chin, and lifted it up forcefully. "You're framing me and bringing up old grievances to try and cover up your mistakes. The Xiao family is upright, loyal, and patriotic. We should stand tall and be respectable. The Xiao family has produced a coward like you. You've disgraced our ancestors for eighteen generations!"
Having said that, his fingernails dug deep into her skin, leaving two purplish-red marks. He ran his fingertips across her face, then slapped her hard across the face. "Smack!"
The fingernails scratched her cheek, leaving two bloody marks.
Yun Zhaoxue's red lips curved slightly as she chuckled, admiring her masterpiece. Her satisfied eyes narrowed, like a satiated cat.
She wouldn't tolerate her bad habit of slandering her and convicting her at the drop of a hat, and then refusing to admit her mistakes.
Xiao Xiuning's face burned with pain. "Ah! My face..."
"You slandered me, the princess, and refuse to apologize. What shame do you have? If it were anyone else, it wouldn't be just two bloody marks!"
Although Yang felt sorry for her daughter, she ultimately said nothing, shaking her head in disappointment and looking away.
The recent incident at the Prince's Mansion, coupled with her own illness, led to her neglecting her daughter's upbringing, which resulted in her becoming like this.
“Ning’er, your third sister-in-law is right. Go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect on your mistakes. If you dare to target Xue’er again, don’t blame me for disowning you as my daughter!” Madam Yang said in a heavy tone.
Xiao Xiuning burst into tears, her eyes red as she stared at Madam Yang, her hatred for Yun Zhaoxue growing stronger. "Mother, how could you disown me for an outsider?"
Her fifth brother was on her side, her mother was on her side, and everyone around her was on her side.
Why should I?
That bitch is so wicked. She drugged her third brother, embezzled his money, and ran away with another man. She violated the seven grounds for divorce, ruined her reputation, and did all sorts of bad things. She should have been divorced long ago.
How could I be wrong?
Sister Hongying is right, it must be that bitch Yun Zhaoxue who is too cunning.
One day, she will reveal her true colors.
Xiao Xiuning's eldest and second sisters-in-law advised her, "Fourth sister, this matter was originally your fault. You wronged the princess. Today, the heir is being tried. At this critical moment, don't cause trouble. Listen to your mother and go kneel in the ancestral hall to reflect on your actions. We will plead for you and let you out as soon as possible. Go."
Xie Wanyun instructed her personal maid to take the person to the ancestral hall.
...
The entire capital was in an uproar on the day of the Third Prince's wedding.
The streets were packed with onlookers, and guards maintained order.
The wedding procession was grand and imposing, with gongs and drums resounding and firecrackers popping incessantly.
The wedding procession, accompanied by music and fanfare, headed towards the Marquis of Yunyang's residence, followed by an eight-bearer sedan chair, its body painted in gold and lacquered, worth a fortune.
The people cheered and jumped for joy, creating a lively and extraordinary scene.
"Miss Yun is a famous talented woman in the capital, and she and the Third Prince are a perfect match."
"I wonder if His Majesty will attend the banquet at the Third Prince's residence today."
"The Third Prince's mother was the Emperor's most beloved concubine and doted on him. There is a 90% chance she will attend."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry to the Third Prince's residence."
"Hurry up, hurry up! While everyone is still watching the wedding procession over here, let's rush over there to grab a spot."
Even though they lived right at the foot of the capital, they had no chance to see the emperor or witness his divine countenance. Everyone was vying to see him.
When the wedding procession arrived at the gate of the Marquis's mansion, the guards responsible for carrying the dowry rushed in, most of them empty-handed.
Only about twenty people carried out a dozen or so loads of dowry. Half of these loads were made up of worthless items, and even those were made up of money borrowed from others or on credit.
Currently, the Hou family is living off the mortgaged Hou family mansion. Yun Xiuwen and the others are hoping that she will marry into the Third Prince's mansion and bring back money to subsidize them and redeem the mansion.
Let them return to their extravagant lifestyle.
However, while Yun Jiaoyue verbally agreed to keep them calm, her true intentions were quite different.
It's bad enough that the Marquis's mansion can't be an asset to the Third Prince, but to make her take money from her husband's family to spend on her own family is unacceptable. What will the Third Prince and his concubines think of her as the principal wife?
She would rather die than be looked down upon!
The bride gets into the sedan chair.
Everyone in the Marquis's residence was overjoyed.
Wang's eyes reddened. Everyone says that entering a noble family is like entering a deep sea, but the imperial palace is a place where people are devoured without spitting out their bones. She hoped that the Third Prince could protect her Yue'er.
From now on, she must frequently visit temples to pray to the gods and Buddhas for their protection, so that her Yue'er may be free from disasters and difficulties, live a peaceful and prosperous life, and become the most honorable woman in the world.
With a shout, "Lift the sedan chair!"
The wedding procession started playing music again, and the onlookers, seeing the dozen or so loads of dowry behind the sedan chair, had countless questions in their minds.
"The Marquis's family is supposed to be a prominent and wealthy household. How come the dowry for their eldest daughter who is marrying into the royal family is so meager? There are only a dozen or so loads. The sedan chair bearers carry them without any effort. They are so light that they seem to float away if they go any faster. I'm afraid there isn't much inside."
"I remember the Third Prince sent out sixty-six loads of betrothal gifts on the day of the ceremony. Where did all of those things go?"
Even in poor families, the betrothal gifts sent by the groom's family would be carried back to the husband's home as part of the dowry on the wedding day, as a sign of respectability.
"A noble family like this is even skimping on betrothal gifts and barely having any dowry. Isn't that outrageous?"
Since everyone was talking about it, and the law doesn't punish everyone, the onlookers didn't restrain themselves; in fact, they grew louder and louder. Everyone was so curious—was there anyone in the know who could answer their questions?
Sitting in the sedan chair, Yun Jiaoyue heard everything clearly. She twisted her handkerchief so hard it almost tore, her fingernails digging into her palms. Her face, adorned with exquisite makeup under her veil, twisted slightly with anger. Her body trembled slightly, but she still straightened her back, pretending not to hear, maintaining the dignity of a noble lady.
"I know. I heard it was used to pay off debts. The Marquis's mansion lost Princess Zhaoxue's dowry, and she and the people from the Prince's mansion came to demand it. They also bought a large amount of silver on credit from various shops. Just recently, the Marquis's mansion was robbed and emptied overnight. Since they couldn't pay it back, they used the betrothal gifts to pay off the debts."
"Could it be that someone is crying wolf, deliberately stealing the dowry to pressure the Marquis's family and try to sabotage the Second Miss's marriage to the Third Prince?"
"That makes some sense. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that all those shops came to collect debts? It must have been at someone's behest."
Some people are practically calling out Yun Zhaoxue by name.
"That Princess Zhaoxue must be jealous that the Second Miss married the Third Prince whom she loves. Not only did she steal the dowry, but she also stole the betrothal gifts. She's so wicked. She can't stand seeing the Second Miss happier than her. Why doesn't Heaven send down a bolt of lightning to kill her?"
Sitting in the twelve-bearer sedan chair, Yun Jiaoyue heard the people siding with her and even wishing Yun Zhaoxue were dead.
Her gloomy face finally broke into a smile. It was worth spending all her money to arrange for people to spread rumors and pin the blame on Yun Zhaoxue.
Her long-awaited grand wedding was half ruined. If she was not having an easy time, then that bitch Yun Zhaoxue shouldn't expect to have one either.
Yun Zhaoxue, "..."
Red Date's round little face was puffed up with anger, her hands clenched tightly under her sleeves, she really wanted to slap someone and smash the mouths of those who were gossiping about their princess.
"Princess, those people have gone too far,"
"Rumors stop with the wise, but that only works for a while, not forever. Unless you cut their tongues out!"
Red Date said angrily, "Then this servant will cut out all their tongues."
Yun Zhaoxue raised an eyebrow, "Can you beat them?"
"This servant may not be able to defeat him, but isn't there still Lord Zhuiying?"
Following Xiao Xuance's orders, Zhuiying continued to disguise herself as the maid Ying'er and closely followed Yun Zhaoxue to protect her safety.
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