The most insidious part of that letter was that the first half was true.
Because Pang Yuan promised to trust Wuyou unconditionally, she was unwilling to lie to him. However, if she admitted to the small storeroom incident, the whereabouts of the money would inevitably become a question. While supporting a man outside the family would certainly ruin her reputation, having a greedy biological mother who instigated her to steal was not something to be proud of either.
Grandmother said that if the Pang family found out about this, it would ruin her marriage. She really wanted to marry Brother Pang, but now that he already knows, will the outcome be the same no matter how she explains?
Wuyou had lived a peaceful and comfortable life by the old lady's side all these years, without experiencing any storms. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a delicate flower in a greenhouse. But at this critical moment, she was at a loss and tears streamed down her face.
Wushuang had been secretly watching them from afar. At first, the two were so affectionate, it was quite enviable. Then Pang Yuan took out a letter. Wushuang thought it was a love letter and was secretly laughing when Wuyou suddenly started crying. Not knowing what had happened, and really worried that her second sister was being bullied, she rushed over without thinking, snatched the letter, and was dumbfounded as well.
"Who is this, spreading rumors like this!" Wushuang said angrily. "This is too much! Are they ashamed to be seen by others?"
“Second brother-in-law, don’t believe what’s in the letter. That’s not how it is at all. Second sister is very proper and rarely leaves the house. How could she possibly know any outside men? Second sister is just too soft-hearted. When she heard that Aunt Fang was having financial difficulties, she thought of giving her the jewelry that Aunt Fang left behind to sell so she could make a living.”
Wuyou's birth mother's surname was Fang. She was once Jun Nian's concubine, but was later expelled from the mansion for making a mistake. Pang Yuan knew all about these things. Upon hearing Wushuang's words, he immediately understood. Just as he had suspected, the letter writer had malicious intentions, distorting the truth, and his purpose was to ruin Wuyou's marriage.
As for the person who wrote the letter…
Pang Yuan saw Wu Shuang jumping up and down in a panic, explaining to Wu You one sentence after another, as if she herself had been the one who was jilted after saying the wrong thing. Obviously, it was impossible for her to be framing Wu You.
So who exactly is it? The answer is already obvious.
Chapter 82 | Table of Contents
Chapter 82:
"Madam, Madam, something terrible has happened!"
Qingxing rushed into the main room, making a ruckus. Before she could finish speaking, she was glared at by Qi Mama, who was standing next to the old lady: "Don't you have any manners? Who gave you permission to shout like that?"
Qingxing was quite obedient. Hearing Qi Mama's scolding, she immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "Madam, Qingxing knows she was wrong. Qingxing won't do it again next time." [Qiushu.cc has almost all the books you want to read. It's much more stable than other novel websites, updates faster, and it's all text with no ads.]
She was young, and her voice was still soft and childish. Her apology sounded more like a plea for forgiveness.
The old lady smiled and said, "Alright, alright, get up. I don't blame you."
Then she turned to her mother: "She's still young, don't be so strict. I'm old, and I like girls to be lively and energetic. If they were all like this old woman, silent all day long, wouldn't this house be lifeless and dull? How boring."
Madam Qi quickly agreed, and didn't forget to say a few words of flattery, such as the old lady not looking old at all, and that was the end of that story.
The old lady took a sip of the freshly brewed tea and asked, "Qingxing, tell me, what terrible things did you see?"
Although the old lady had said she didn't mind, Qingxing was much more well-behaved than before, standing obediently in place and reporting, "I went to find the second young lady and her future son-in-law as you instructed, and they were sitting under a big tree against the wall on the west side of Baifang Garden, talking. When I looked at them from afar, they seemed to be chatting and laughing, and were very close. But when I got closer, the second young lady suddenly started crying for some reason. The third young lady, who was standing far away on the path, even ran over to comfort her, but the second young lady cried so hard that she wouldn't stop. I got anxious and ran back to find you, old lady."
The old lady and the old lady Bai, who was sitting opposite at the tatami table, exchanged a glance. They could both guess what had happened. It was nothing more than Pang Yuan asking about the letter. Wuyou had been wronged and it was inevitable that she would feel aggrieved and cry.
Now that the two old women have made things clear, the two children should be fine soon.
Sure enough, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Pang Yuan and Wuyou returned to the main room.
The old lady, with her sharp eyes, noticed that when the curtain was lifted, Wuyou's little hand was still being held by Pang Yuan, but she was shy and quickly broke free.
The two old ladies exchanged another glance, and both could see the obvious smile in each other's eyes.
The matter seemed to have been resolved satisfactorily, but there was still a loose end.
The group unanimously agreed that they had no regrets about writing the false accusation letter.
Without even asking her directly, the old lady had all the servants from the ends of the earth gathered up and pinned them down in the courtyard of Fuyou Residence. Then, Qi Mama asked each of them who had helped the Fourth Miss deliver the letter yesterday.
At first, of course, no one admitted it, but that didn't matter. If no one admitted it, everyone would be punished together until someone did.
The maids serving the girls in their rooms, apart from the rough ones, were all pampered and couldn't endure hardship at all. After only a few blows, someone called out, "Madam, the Fourth Miss wrote a letter yesterday and asked me to give it to the gatekeeper to deliver to Manager Zhang of Chenxiang Pavilion."
Madam Qi looked down and recognized her as Yuanxiao, Wu Hui's head maid. (Download the complete txt file at )
"A letter?" she wondered, since there were clearly two letters with similar contents delivered to Prince Pang and Old Madam Bai respectively.
Yuanxiao nodded through her tears: "This servant would never dare to lie."
Manager Zhang was employed by the He family's dowry shop, not a servant of the Marquis of Runan's mansion, so he couldn't be tortured and interrogated like Yuanxiao and the others. The old lady ordered people to guard the mansion gate and not allow anyone to enter or leave. Only then did she send someone to deliver a message to Jun Nian, asking him to go to Chenxiang Pavilion immediately to question Manager Zhang.
Junnian rushed home before noon and relayed what Manager Zhang had told him, and the truth of the matter came to light.
Wu Hui was locked in the ancestral hall by the old lady and forced to kneel. All the maids and servants serving her were also replaced.
The Marquis of Runan's residence was in turmoil, and the imperial court was also going through a period of great turmoil.
Henan has experienced a severe drought since last autumn, with no rain or snow for seven or eight months. The land is cracked and dry, making it impossible to carry out spring planting normally.
When the provincial governor's memorial was delivered, Emperor Deqing planned to send one of his princes to provide disaster relief.
Whether it was divine blessing or not, since the earthquake in Hebei that year, the country has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests for several years in a row, and no natural disasters have occurred.
This disaster relief mission was supposed to be a prestigious and rewarding opportunity, but because the Crown Prince had inadvertently angered Emperor Deqing during the earthquake, he had been under semi-house arrest for many years. He could no longer interfere in state affairs, and even leaving the Eastern Palace required the Emperor's permission. However, Emperor Deqing was unwilling to let him leave easily, so the dignified Crown Prince had become a mascot who only appeared at banquets during festivals.
With the lessons of the past before them, the princes could hardly be enthusiastic about this disaster relief mission.
In Chengxian Palace, Consort Yu was leisurely reclining on the chaise longue, with two palace maids in green robes squatting on either side of her. One held a jade bowl filled with balsam flower paste, while the other used a fine wool brush to apply the paste to her nails.
"Remember this: never be hasty and get involved in something messy, lest you ruin your promising future without knowing why."
Consort Yu was speaking to the eldest prince, Chu Fang, and the fifth prince, Chu Yun, who were sitting side by side on pearwood armchairs in front of the window opposite her.
"Your Majesty's words are wise. I will keep them in mind and will be careful in every step I take to avoid making any mistakes," Fifth Prince Chu Yun replied immediately.
He was not Consort Yu's biological son; his birth mother was of low status, a palace maid without any rank. According to the rules of the harem, only those of the rank of Consort or above were qualified to raise princes. Coincidentally, Consort Yu's second daughter had just died before his birth, and at that time, Consort Yu was at the height of her favor. In order to comfort his beloved consort's grief over the loss of her daughter, Emperor Deqing ordered that the newborn Chu Yun be brought into Chengxian Palace and entrusted to Consort Yu for upbringing.
In the imperial harem, the more sons a concubine has, the greater her chances of gaining status and prestige in the future.