Chapter 15: The husband in front of Yanmian will also believe the latter.
The sound of the pipa ended and the piano came on stage, immersing the entire garden of the Chang Mansion in peaceful music.
"If you ask me, it's good to divide the family like this. I can make all the decisions myself. I don't have to look after my mother-in-law, I don't have to deal with the relationship with my sisters-in-law, I just have to take care of my own family. How free."
"Yeah, unlike me, who has to pay her respects to my mother-in-law every day, and who finds fault with me if I'm a little late. It's harder than climbing to heaven to sleep in a little longer in the morning!"
Song Baoyuan listened quietly to the three ladies chatting around her, occasionally agreeing with them, and they got along quite well.
"ah!"
"Bang!"
Suddenly a woman's scream was heard, followed by the sound of a porcelain cup breaking on the ground.
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound, including Song Baoyuan.
It was a small pavilion, and people from all sides gathered around to find out what was going on, blocking her view.
"What's going on?"
"Go and have a look!"
Mrs. Zhang also wanted to join in the fun, so she pulled Song Baoyuan over with her.
Although Song Baoyuan was not interested, she did not refuse in order to fit in.
"Whose child are you? You have no manners!"
"It wasn't me!"
The child's rebuttal was so powerful that Song Baoyuan was stunned and felt it was extremely familiar.
"The evidence is in your hands, and you still dare to quibble!"
"I told you it wasn't me!"
Song Baoyuan was startled and quickened her pace, bypassing the person blocking her way and finally able to see the person in the pavilion clearly.
"Okay, Chengcheng, it's okay to make mistakes. We can just apologize." Sheng Qiyin was caught between the woman and the child, feeling torn. "Madam Weiyuan Hou, it's my fault for not keeping an eye on him. I apologize to you on his behalf, okay?"
"Chengcheng!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Chengyou turned his head sharply and immediately ran over, "Mom!"
Everyone made way for him because he was holding a leaf in his hand with a fat caterpillar lying on it.
"You're his mother? How did you raise your child?" The woman in the pavilion turned pale, clearly terrified. "You actually told him to throw that disgusting bug into my teacup!"
Song Baoyuan didn't understand what was going on. She only saw Sheng Qinyin following Jiang Chengyou, trotting to her side with a guilty look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Sister Song. I didn't take good care of Chengcheng and let him offend the wife of Weiyuan Marquis."
Song Baoyuan frowned slightly, glanced at her, then looked at Jiang Chengyou, holding his wrist tightly, "Did you throw the caterpillar into someone else's teacup?"
"I didn't!" Jiang Chengyou looked aggrieved and shook his head repeatedly, "I didn't do it!"
"You still dare to quibble?" Lady Weiyuan became increasingly furious. "That disgusting thing is still in your hands. Who else could it be but you?"
Song Baoyuan quickly bowed and saluted. "Madam, please calm down. If my son really did something like this, I would definitely teach him a lesson and make him apologize to you. But from what you said, I can't be sure that he did it. So please give me some time to ask for clarification."
The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan had an ugly expression on her face. "Could it be that I have wronged him?"
Song Baoyuan squatted down and touched Jiang Chengyou's head soothingly, "Chengcheng, aren't you with your sister? Why are you here?"
"My sister wanted to feed the birds, so I came out to catch caterpillars for her, and then I ran into Aunt Sheng." Jiang Chengyou began to cry. "Aunt Sheng said there were a lot of caterpillars in the garden, so I followed her here."
Sheng Qiyin bent down and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sister Song, I didn't expect this to happen. It's my fault for not keeping an eye on Chengcheng. It's me..."
"It wasn't me!" Jiang Chengyou interrupted him loudly.
"Chengcheng." Song Baoyuan placed her palm against Jiang Chengyou's face and gently brushed it with her fingertips, guiding him to look at her. "Chengcheng, mother told you that it's good to admit your mistakes. You know mother won't blame you, so just tell mother obediently, did you throw the caterpillar around?"
Jiang Chengyou's eyes suddenly turned red, "No!"
Big tears fell from his eyes, feeling extremely wronged, "Even you, mother, don't believe me!"
"No, of course mother believes you!" Song Baoyuan panicked for a moment, unable to hide her heartache. She quickly pulled him into her arms and gently patted his back. "Chengcheng, don't cry. Mother believes you. Chengcheng says no, then no."
"What do you mean?" Upon hearing this, the wife of Marquis Weiyuan slammed the table heavily.
Song Baoyuan gently wiped away Jiang Chengyou's tears, turned around and called out, "Qiaoyue, take the young master away first."
Qiao Yue came forward, picked up Jiang Chengyou and walked out, looking back every few steps, her eyes full of worry when she looked at Song Baoyuan.
Song Baoyuan turned around and bowed again to the wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan. "Madam, I have no intention of shirking my responsibility, but I can't ignore his arguments just because he's a child."
The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan sneered, "The witness is standing right next to you."
"Sister Song..." Sheng Qiyin called out timidly, but then, as if she had made up her mind, she bowed deeply to the wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan and said in a loud voice, "Madam, I frightened you. It is indeed my fault for not keeping a close watch on you. I apologize. I will accept any beating or punishment you want."
"You apologize? Is his mother dead?"
This was so rude that the onlookers began to whisper.
Feeling embarrassed, Song Baoyuan's body stiffened slightly. Feeling the gazes from all sides, she felt a little at a loss, but unwilling to retreat.
The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan looked at her with an unfriendly look, "Which humble family are you from? Why have I never seen you before?"
Before Song Baoyuan could answer, the maid guarding the side of the pavilion replied, "My dear Madam, that is the wife of the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple."
The wife of Marquis Weiyuan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly there was a hint of hatred in her angry eyes, and her tone was even more malicious when she spoke again.
"You are the merchant girl in the legend who used a favor to repay the favor and stole someone else's husband."
Song Baoyuan was stunned. It was this sentence again.
"No wonder the child I raised has no manners at all. It turns out I'm a shameless, shameless bitch!"
It was like throwing a stone into a calm lake, and the lake exploded with people talking and pointing.
Song Baoyuan looked dazed, her head buzzing like it was exploding, causing her to lose her ability to think for a short time.
She stood stiffly, unconsciously clenching her fists, but unable to release them.
"I……"
"Sister Song." Sheng Qiyin turned around blankly, looked around helplessly, and argued for her palely, "It's not what you think!"
The indignation in the wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan remained undimmed. "It's one thing to have raised a child so naughty and yet he refuses to change. But the facts are before your eyes, with witnesses right beside you, and yet you're still stubborn and refuse to admit your fault. If this isn't low character, what is it? If this isn't shamelessness, what is it?"
"no!"
Song Baoyuan raised her head stubbornly, "It wasn't him. You have no evidence, and your witnesses are not trustworthy!"
"Who else could it be?" The wife of Marquis Weiyuan slammed the table and stood up.
At the same time, Sheng Qiyin suddenly turned around and took two steps back in disbelief, "Sister Song, you...you can't think that I am slandering Chengcheng!"
She looked shocked. "What do I want?"
"I, I... I know you're eager to protect Chengcheng, and it's true that I didn't think highly of him. I was wrong first, but you can't slander me in public!"
Sheng Qiyin's eyes were red. "Sister Song, I know you're prejudiced against me because of what happened back then. You think anything I touch is dirty, and my presence is an eyesore. But I've tried so hard to please you! I help you look after the children, take you out for a walk, buy you gifts... I don't blame you if you don't accept it, but you can't, can't..."
Tears blurred her eyes, she choked and couldn't speak.
It was as if all the blood in her body was flowing backwards, and Song Baoyuan's emotions reached her head, making her face blush and her heart beat so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out.
I felt depressed, but I didn't know how to argue and felt helpless and embarrassed.
The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan sneered, "She is indeed a merchant girl who is not worthy of being on the stage. She will bite anyone for her own sake."
In Song Baoyuan's ears, the sounds from all sides gradually became clearer.
"It seems the rumors are not groundless. No wonder Jiang Shaoqing never took her out before."
"Why is she like this? Miss Sheng has been speaking up for her, but she still bites back. How vicious!"
"What's so strange about that? She has a father who uses his kindness to repay his debts, and a son who is lawless. If the upper beam is not upright, the lower beam will be crooked. How can she be a good person?"
“…”
These sounds were like a surging tide or an impenetrable net, drowning and burying her.
It made her panic and suffocate.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back violently. She was forced to turn around and fall into a strong embrace.
What she saw before her was the man's chest, not the endless criticisms from strangers. Song Baoyuan felt like she had grabbed a life-saving straw while drowning, and finally got a moment of respite.
My nose felt sore and tears welled up in my eyes.
"It's okay." Jiang Keyu whispered.
He gently stroked her back with his palm and looked up expressionlessly.
Chang Yunbai and his wife failed to catch up with him and appeared beside him a moment later.
"My son is naughty and has disturbed the Marquis. I hope the Marquis will forgive him for his young age."
The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan had a hint of vigilance in her eyes. "Jiang Shaoqing, you arrived just in time. Didn't you hear your wife deny it just now? Wasn't it your son who did it?"
"My wife loves her son dearly, and I hope Madam Hou will understand."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Keyu saw his wife looking up in confusion, but he ignored her.
The corners of his lips curled up slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Tomorrow I'm inviting Marquis Weiyuan to the Dali Temple for a discussion. I will definitely prepare generous gifts and entertain him well."
The wife of Marquis Weiyuan was stunned.
The Dali Temple only uses criminal justice to entertain guests. A while ago, Weiyuan Hou was summoned to the Dali Temple for a case of raping a woman. After waiting for the storm to pass, she, as a wife, dared to go out. What crime has he committed now?
"Oh."
Even though she knew the other party was threatening her, she could only grit her teeth and swallow her blood. "Whatever, it's just a child's play."
She snorted coldly and left the pavilion.
"Second brother." Sheng Qinyin walked slowly towards him, her eyes red and looking a little distraught.
Jiang Keyu glanced at her without saying a word.
"Alright, alright, let's go." Lu Shuran came forward and dispersed the crowd who seemed to have just watched a big show and were still not satisfied.
Song Baoyuan clutched her sleeves tightly, her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, her body felt heavy and she couldn't move.
"It's okay." Jiang Keyu lowered his head. Seeing the redness in her eyes, he couldn't understand what she was feeling. "I'm sorry, I'm late."
"I want to go home." Song Baoyuan felt a thick dark cloud hanging over her head, and there was a voice that couldn't be dispelled in her ears. She lowered her head and murmured, "I want to go home."
Jiang Keyu finally understood what she was saying the second time and replied softly, "Okay, let's go home."
He frowned and looked up, "Brother, we will go back today."
"Okay." Chang Yunbai sighed imperceptibly, "Sui Sui is still playing with Yang Yang. You take your sister-in-law back first. I will personally send Sui Sui and Cheng Cheng back to your house later."
"Thank you very much."
Jiang Keyu hesitated for a moment, put his arm around Song Baoyuan's waist, carried her horizontally, and wanted to take her away.
Sheng Qinyin stared blankly and followed him to both sides unconsciously.
"Are you okay?" Chang Yunbai suddenly realized that there was a girl there, and walked forward to ask with concern.
Sheng Qinyin shook her head woodenly, feeling even more aggrieved.
*
In front of the gate of Chang Mansion, Gao Luoshu came in with only two salted fish in his hand. But when he saw the carriage parked at the door looked familiar, he took a few more glances.
Seeing that it was Liu'an who was driving, he immediately felt relieved and shouted loudly: "Jiang Keyu!"
After a while, a corner of the car window curtain was lifted, revealing half of Jiang Keyu's cold face.
"Have you just arrived or are you leaving?" Gao Luoshu approached cheerfully.
Jiang Keyu said succinctly, "Let's go."
"Why are you leaving so soon? Isn't it time for dinner yet?"
"What do you care about me?" Jiang Keyu dropped the curtain, too lazy to argue with him anymore. "Liu'an, go back home."
Upon hearing this, Liu'an immediately drove his horse.
"Huh?" Gao Luoshu ran after the carriage in surprise. "Why are you running so fast?"
He glanced down at the salted fish in his hand and muttered, "I'm not borrowing money from you."
Jiang Keyu could no longer hear his slander. He looked at his wife who was resting against the car wall and seemed to be in a gloomy mood. His heart felt as if it was pricked by a needle for a moment.
"It's okay," he comforted her, "We'll be home soon."
Song Baoyuan half-opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, not daring to look up at him, "I'm sorry."
She said in a low voice, "I seem to have... embarrassed you too."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Keyu hesitated for a long time, but finally placed his palm on the back of her hand, intending to soothe her emotions. "It's my fault. I should have been by your side earlier."
Song Baoyuan had no intention of defending herself, but... she was stubborn, "Chengcheng wouldn't lie to me. It definitely wasn't him."
Jiang Keyu was stunned for a moment, feeling somewhat helpless. "Don't think about this anymore. The situation at that time was based on facts and evidence, and no one can explain it clearly. You are his biological mother, so it's natural for you to believe him, but it's difficult for others to do so. They might even misunderstand you."
Is this evidence of Sheng Qiyin's words? Song Baoyuan didn't believe a single word of it.
But between Chengcheng and Sheng Qiyin, anyone would tend to believe the latter.
Song Baoyuan felt powerless again because she knew that her husband would also believe the latter.
If even my own father doesn't believe it, how can others believe it?
Song Baoyuan closed her eyes tiredly, not knowing for a moment whether she should feel sorry for Chengcheng first or feel sad for herself first.
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