Old Lady Zheng had always been lenient with her and was the most soft-hearted. As long as she properly admitted her mistake and begged earnestly, this matter should be able to blow over.
To her shock, Old Lady Zheng kicked her away: "After committing such a shameless, disgraceful act, you still have the audacity to beg me? Xiaoling! Have I been too lenient with you, that you would dare to act so lawlessly?"
"It's not that, it's not that..."
"Eldest, go get the letter of divorce!" Old Lady Zheng stood up, glanced at Zheng Xiaoling, seeming very disappointed, and sighed: "As for what happens after, you all deal with it as you see fit."
Madam Yang was incredulous: "Aunt, you... you're abandoning Xiaoling?"
Old Lady Zheng said coldly: "Someone like you, our Yang family cannot keep."
"Aunt, Xiaoling knows she was wrong, Aunt..."
A servant rushed in from outside.
"Master, Master, it's bad!"
A group of soldiers broke through the door: "Where is the person named Yang Yuanzhuang!!"
Yang Yuanzhuang was the steward's formal name.
Back then, appreciating his diligence, the Yang family had given him this name.
Seeing the group of soldiers arriving with such force, the Yang brothers were stunned.
"Elder Brother, did you report this to the authorities?" Second Uncle Yang asked quietly.
Yang Mutao shot him a look: "Do you think I'm stupid?" The last thing he wanted was to publicize his humiliation. Reporting this to the authorities? If he did, by tomorrow every soul in Fu'an Town would be gossiping about how his wife had cuckolded him. Did he want to become a complete laughingstock?
The steward was brought up, tied up. The soldiers, not knowing the details, thought the family was being cooperative, and their expressions improved slightly.
Yang Mutao slipped him a few taels of silver, inquired a little, and immediately a surge of anger gathered in his chest.
After the soldiers took the steward away, he viciously kicked Madam Yang: "You bitch! Someone, take her away and lock her up. Don't let her escape. The authorities will come for her tomorrow."
"Elder Brother, what's going on?" Second Uncle Yang asked, frowning.
Yang Mutao's face was full of rage: "Ask this bitch."
Zheng Xiaoling was trembling all over, then, with strength from who-knows-where, she made a run for the door.
Yang Mutao: "Stop her!"
Two servants and several maids at the door rushed forward, firmly pinning her down.
"Let me go, let me go..."
Zheng Xiaoling screamed, struggling incessantly, her hair disheveled, like a madwoman.
"Elder Brother, what's the matter with the steward?" Second Uncle Yang asked again.
Yang Mutao replied: "He sent people to ambush and kill my father-in-law."
"Ah?" Third Uncle Yang was confused: "Which father-in-law?"
Yang Mutao had one official wife and over a dozen concubines. Out of respect for his concubines, he called all their fathers 'father-in-law'.
"The one from Yuanzhou!" Yang Mutao said.
Everyone gasped: "Is he out of his mind? Where did he get the guts to lay hands on Old Master Wu? Is he tired of living?"
Yang Mutao glanced at Madam Yang and snorted: "It wasn't Old Master Wu he wanted to target. His real target was probably my Yi Ger."
Madam Yang hung her head, like an ostrich, almost burying it in her chest.
Why would a mere steward like him want to target Yang Mingyi? If something happened to Yang Mingyi, what benefit could he possibly gain?
The only person in the entire Yang residence who would see Yang Mingyi as a thorn in their side was Madam Yang.
Before, when she had no children of either gender, she could still tolerate Yang Mingyi. But now that she was pregnant, she could no longer tolerate him.
If this scandal hadn't happened, no one would have immediately suspected her. But given her relationship with the steward, it was impossible not to think more.
Targeting a Juren—a scholar with an official title—was no small matter. No one would dare take such a risk without the promise of substantial reward.
They instinctively looked towards Madam Yang's stomach.
If the child in her belly was the steward's, and if it was a son, then the entire vast Yang family estate would belong to him in the future. If it was a ger or a girl, they would still probably get half.
Thinking this way, the steward risking his life to ambush Yang Mingyi and Old Master Wu made sense.
Everyone present was well aware of the affairs of the inner courtyard.
The Yang daughters-in-law had originally thought about speaking up to plead for leniency, since Madam Yang was pregnant, and it was, after all, a child of the Yang family. They should at least let her give birth first. But now, not a single person stepped forward.
Madam Yang was locked in the woodshed.
As expected, early the next morning, the Yuanzhou soldiers came again.
They took Madam Yang away in a commotion.
A crowd of people stood outside the gate, all whispering.
The servants had already received instructions and told a half-true version of the story about Old Master Wu.
They didn't mention a word about the adultery.
The crowd listened with great interest, genuinely feeling that Madam Yang was too impatient and narrow-minded.
She was only a few months pregnant! At her advanced age, whether she could even safely give birth was still unknown, and yet she was already so impatient.
Besides, Yang Mingyi was just a ger. Once he married out of the family, what threat could he possibly pose?
If anything, having another brother could have been a source of support for her own child in the future. Her shortsightedness was truly astounding.
The affairs of the Yang residence became a topic of lively discussion.
Madam Yang's personal maid, seeing the situation turn bad, ran back to the Zheng family. The Yang family had no intention of intervening to save Madam Yang, but the Zheng family would undoubtedly move heaven and earth to save her.
Getting Madam Yang out of this situation was actually quite easy, it just required spending some silver and pulling some strings.
They just needed the steward to take all the blame himself.
Zheng Xiaoling was the only daughter of the Zheng family, deeply doted on. The moment they learned of her arrest, they rushed to the Yang residence, not daring to confront the authorities in Yuanzhou directly.
Yang Mutao didn't want to say much. He produced the letter of divorce, stating only that Zheng Xiaoling was no longer a member of the Yang family, and her life or death was none of the Yang family's concern.
The Zheng family saw him as utterly heartless. After decades of marriage, even if Zheng Xiaoling hadn't produced an heir for the Yang family, she had at least put in the hard work. Now that she was in trouble, he was coldly cutting all ties without a second thought.
Truly ruthless.
No comments:
Post a Comment