Chapter 12 Yun Zhaoxue is pregnant with her lover's child.
The servants hurriedly went to inform the old lady.
Lord Zhang silently walked outside; even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes.
The old lady came over, supported by two maids.
I learned about the situation here from the maid on the way.
She first sent Lord Zhang back, telling him to return today and continue investigating the thieves, and to send someone to report any new developments.
He also asked him and his men to keep quiet and not to spread the word, as the Marquis's mansion owed him a favor.
Lord Zhang immediately ordered, "No one is allowed to divulge anything they heard or saw at the Marquis's residence today that is unrelated to the case."
"Yes, sir!"
The old lady stepped into the main hall, her face somber.
The cane struck the ground with a loud, deafening thud.
"Mother, you've come at the right time! That vile woman Wang, together with that adulterous steward, has emptied the Marquis's mansion. I'm going to beat these two adulterers to death and throw their bodies into the mass grave to feed the wolves and dogs..."
"Shut up!"
The old lady's hoarse voice interrupted him; her aged eyelids drooped, and her angry expression was filled with both rage and helplessness.
“Ze’er will take the imperial examination and enter officialdom in the future, inheriting the title of Marquis. Yue’er is the future Third Prince’s wife, and Yang’er is also a must. They absolutely cannot have a mother who is beaten to death for having an affair.”
In the end, the old lady concluded that the thieves had thrown Steward Wu onto Madam Wang's bed to cause infighting among them.
Nothing happened between them; Wang was framed.
The old lady ordered, "Guards, drag Steward Wu down into the pond and drown him."
Butler Wu's hands and feet were bound, and a rag was stuffed in his mouth. Unable to speak, he desperately made whimpering cries for help, "Waaah..."
"Madam, Madam, save me! Save me! I don't want to die! I still want to see our Yang'er grow up..."
He looked pleadingly at Wang, who had been intimately cuddling with him on the bed just an hour ago.
Wang was hit with several lashes, and her body was covered in blood. She couldn't stand up and collapsed to the ground, her face pale, her lips trembling, and her pupils dilated, as if she had lost her soul.
She was barely able to save herself, so how could she possibly care about saving Steward Wu?
...
Yun Zhaoxue retrieved the original owner's dowry. Overjoyed, she took Zhufeng and Zhuiying out for a stroll, indulging in delicious food and drinks, and also stockpiling some supplies for the exile.
I had just reached the door.
The palace maid brought over a visiting card.
Invite Yun Zhaoxue to attend the Crown Princess's birthday banquet three days later.
The Crown Princess is Qin Yurong's elder sister.
She tricked Qin Yurong at Huichuntang, so she's definitely setting a trap for her at this banquet.
"Princess, the Crown Princess has prepared a grand gift for you. You must attend."
"A big gift? What big gift? The Crown Princess is too good to me. She knows I'm short of money right now, so she's sending me money, is that it?"
Yun Zhaoxue's words were perfectly reasonable, and the female officials dared not reply. "You'll find out when the time comes. This servant still has to deliver invitations to other residences. Farewell!"
Yun Zhaoxue waved her hand dismissively, "Let's go, let's go."
Once the other party had gone far away, Hongzao whispered a reminder: "Princess, the visitor is not friendly. Perhaps we shouldn't go?"
With the fall of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, everyone was eager to kick it while it was down, especially since the princess had offended many noble ladies in the past.
They would not let go of the opportunity to get revenge on the princess.
Yun Zhaoxue offended Qin Yurong, whose sister is the Crown Princess. This is clearly a trap.
"Didn't you hear them say that the Crown Princess prepared a gift for me? I must go."
"Princess..."
I wanted to persuade them again, even though it was just red dates.
Suddenly, a mocking voice broke in, "Yun Zhaoxue, do you think they'll still fawn over you like they used to? Now that the Prince's mansion is in trouble, they'd love to kick you while you're down. They'll just laugh at you."
"I'm going! I'm a princess, who dares to look down on me? I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going out to make myself a nice dress for the banquet." Yun Zhaoxue fanned herself with the invitation card and happily went out.
In his previous life, the Crown Prince did not invite the original owner to this banquet.
The Crown Prince secretly sent someone to place a forged letter in the study of the Prince of Zhenbei's residence, implying a conspiracy between the Prince of Zhenbei's residence and an enemy state to rebel.
Instead of waiting for the other party to bring the letter to your door, it's better to take the initiative to pick it up.
"Stop right there, you're not allowed to go..." Xiao Xiuning wanted to chase after her, but was stopped by a voice, "Ning'er."
"Sister Hongying, it's you."
The visitor was Ye Hongying, the eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion.
Ye Hongying's father was one of the deputy generals of the Prince of Zhenbei. When she was a child, she often accompanied her father to the Prince's mansion.
She is 17 years old this year, two years older than Xiao Xiuning. Xiao Xiuning only has an older brother and a younger brother, who treat her like a sister and talk to her about everything.
Ye Hongying said, "Xiuning, you can't stop her if she wants to go, so just let her go."
Xiao Xiuning glared at the departing carriage and pouted, "If she weren't carrying my third brother's child, I wouldn't care whether she lives or dies."
"Xiuning, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."
"Sister Hongying, just say what you want to say. We grew up together, so you don't need to stand on ceremony with me."
Ye Hongying looked around to make sure no one was there before waving her hand to dismiss the maid and lowering her voice to say, "Then I'll be frank. The princess had an ambiguous relationship with another man and even eloped. Are you sure the child she's carrying is the heir apparent's? It could be someone else's. She's the heir apparent's wife, so if it's a boy, he could very well be the future heir apparent or prince."
"You mean she's pregnant with her lover's child? No, that's impossible. The doctor's pulse diagnosis was around the same time she went to the prison to drug my third brother."
"Should? Xiuning, this is a very important matter. We must find out the truth. The prince doesn't love him at all, which is why he went to war on his wedding night."
He was drugged and forced to have sex with her after falling from grace; it would be too much to ask her to pin another man's child on the prince.
Xiao Xiuning clenched her fists, her face filled with resentment, and said, "Hmph! That unfaithful slut, if she dares to taint the bloodline of our royal family, I will never let her go!"
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