The Duke of Anguo's family was the foremost family of military generals and nobles, while the Su family was the foremost family of civil officials.
Both she and Gu Ziyu come from powerful families.
Even if Empress Zhang were to lose her mind, she would still have to consider the consequences of offending both powerful families at the same time.
However, Empress Zhang, grieving the loss of her beloved daughter, had completely lost her mind and ordered that she be beaten as well.
She was about to faint after being hit several times, but she vaguely saw Lu Xingjian rushing over.
Thinking of this, Su Wanwan couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
As far as I can remember, that was the last time Lu Xingjian publicly defended her.
From then on, Lu Xingjian no longer lived in the renovated Qingning Palace, but lived alone in the East Palace.
She had less and less contact with Qingning Palace, but became increasingly close to the Emperor and Empress.
She and Lu Xingjian went from being inseparable friends who read and wrote together, and joked and played around, to becoming complete strangers.
She was bedridden for half a year to recover from her injuries, and Lu Xingjian never came to see her. However, Prince Rong, Lu Youting, kept visiting Qingning Palace to show his filial piety and also inquired about her well-being.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't heartbroken.
I heard that the empress miscarried not long after, and it was a fully formed male fetus.
Lu Xingjian thus gained the favor of the Emperor and Empress, and often served by their side, which made her happy for him.
The Empress Dowager's health is deteriorating, and she won't live for many more years.
Only by gaining the favor of the emperor and empress can his life as crown prince be smooth.
Later, the Empress brought her niece Xia Xueyi to the palace to raise, and he and Xia Xueyi grew closer and closer.
As for Su Wanwan, she rarely even had the chance to meet him.
Xu Pengju shouted triumphantly, "Now you can't deny it anymore, can you? You two are having an affair!"
He dared not say "there was an affair" anymore.
Gu Ziyu looked at him as if he were an idiot:
"That year, Wanwan was only eleven years old and I was ten. We were beaten half to death in front of everyone. What secret relationship could there be between us?"
Xu Pengju was stunned: "How is that possible?!"
He entered the capital after Xu Peng'an's death, so how could he know many of the old stories of the capital and the palace?
Su Wanwan, interrupted from her reverie, finally spoke up, "Bring the handkerchief over so I can see it."
This is an old, yellowed cotton handkerchief.
Su Wanwan had someone hand the handkerchief to Su Nan:
“Father, this is a handkerchief that my stepmother made for me when I returned home for a short stay in the fourteenth year of Honghua. She specially used her treasured Songjiang three-shuttle cotton cloth. Do you recognize the embroidery, Father?”
Su Nan examined the handkerchief for a moment, then nodded:
"In her dowry, there was only this piece of Songjiang Sanshu cloth. Besides making handkerchiefs for you, she also made a set of close-fitting undergarments for your newborn brother."
After the fire at Qingning Palace, Su Wanwan returned to the Su family home and stayed for half a month.
That was the first time she had ever lived in the Su family home since she could remember.
Han Xiufen and Xu Chengbi exchanged an awkward glance.
Songjiang Sanshuo cotton fabric is smooth and soft, with excellent water absorption and breathability, and is much more expensive than silk.
Ordinary families would never dare to use it to make handkerchiefs. It would be perfectly reasonable to use it as an undergarment for a newborn son.
Most importantly, Su Wanwan only has one younger brother, who is exactly ten years old this year.
In other words, the handkerchief is an old item from ten years ago.
At that time, Su Wanwan was eleven years old. It's hard to believe that she and ten-year-old Gu Ziyu would exchange secret feelings through handkerchiefs.
Su Nan casually tossed the handkerchief aside and calmly asked:
"Young Master Xu, is there any other witness testimony or physical evidence that can prove the affair between Wanwan and Second Young Master Gu?"
Xu Pengju flinched.
Unexpectedly, all the evidence and witnesses were rejected.
After a long pause, his mind raced, and he said again:
"Although it cannot be proven that the two of them had an affair, my brother suspects that Su was pregnant with an illegitimate child back then, and that cannot be denied!"
Su Wanwan clenched her hands, her face turning pale for a moment.
Su Nan had reached her breaking point and slammed her hand on the table:
"You scoundrel! Without any evidence, you're making baseless accusations! Xu Chengbi, is this the kind of upbringing your Duke of Wei's family has?!"
“Your Xu family did not take good care of Wanwan, causing her to miscarry back then, and our Su family did not pursue the matter.”
"Now, you're using her pregnancy from back then to slander her, accusing her of carrying a bastard child. Is there any truth to that?!"
"Besides, the news of Wanwan's pregnancy had been circulating for months. If you suspected it was an illegitimate child, why didn't you go to the Su family to argue with them back then?"
"Now that Xu Peng'an is dead, what is his intention in using this unclear letter to talk about things?"
With red eyes, Yan Rong said, "The young master Xu and the Duchess of Wei are only after the young lady's generous dowry and want to seize it!"
"If it weren't for Master Su's visit today, who knows how badly the young lady would have been bullied?!"
Su Nan's face was ashen, and he looked sharply at Xu Chengbi, Han Xiufen, and Xu Pengju.
Seeing the shame on their faces, I knew in my heart that this was the truth.
He sneered several times: "Xu Chengbi, Xu Chengbi, I used to respect you as a man, but it turns out you've been eyeing your widow's dowry all along. You're really something."
"Wanwan's marriage was arranged by the Empress Dowager, but I never expected that she would make such a mistake."
"Wanwan has observed three years of mourning for Xu Peng'an, served her parents-in-law, and raised his illegitimate son, yet she has ended up like this. What is the point of her continuing to suffer in the Xu family?"
"Wanwan, come back to the Su family with your father!"
Xu Pengju became anxious: "She can leave, but she has to leave her dowry! Our Xu family gave a lot of betrothal gifts when we married her!"
If it weren't for the need to raise funds to marry Empress Xia's sister, he wouldn't have taken such a risky step to force Su Wanwan to give him her dowry.
Su Nan laughed in anger:
"Alright, Young Master Xu, I await your evidence that Wanwan has wronged the Xu family. I will definitely return the betrothal gifts in full!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
