Family scandals should never be aired in public.
Even if it were true, Xie Mubai didn't want to tear away the last shred of dignity from the Guo Gong Fu, nor let Xie Jia become the laughingstock of idle gossip.
Even revenge should be carried out quietly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yiniang's eyes lit up like a dog spotting prey.
"You little slut, even your own man doesn't believe your nonsense!" She straightened her back, spraying saliva like a boiling teapot, "I don't know where you get the nerve – behaving improperly yourself, yet having the face to falsely accuse me!"
"Falsely accuse?" Shen Wan smiled contemptuously, not bothering to hide the mockery in her eyes, "Did I fabricate the engagement Tai Furen arranged between you and Lin Xiucai?"
"Did I make up the story of you climbing into your cousin's bed, forcing Tai Furen to swallow her pride and apologize at Lin Xiucai's home?"
At these words, some older prisoners seemed to recall something.
That happened thirty years ago.
Tai Furen, who usually kept to herself, suddenly brought generous gifts to the home of a destitute scholar, only to be driven out with all her presents thrown after her.
At the time, they found it strange that Zhen Guo Gong Fu would have such a poor yet arrogant relative.
Thinking back now, what this ugly woman said was probably true.
With Zhou's father having committed crimes, Zhou Yiniang being the daughter of a convicted official – what good family would want her?
That scholar was at least an educated man; it was already quite generous of him to take her.
Soon, the prisoners began whispering among themselves.
Seeing everyone pointing and gossiping about her, Zhou Yiniang panicked.
The events of those years were like a thorn buried deep in her heart.
Now this ugly woman was publicly pulling out that thorn for everyone to see, making her increasingly furious.
"Nonsense! None of that ever happened!" Fire blazing in her eyes, she roared viciously, "You slut dare slander your elder! I'll kill you!"
Before the words faded, Zhou Yiniang extended her sharp nails and charged at Shen Wan like a mad she-wolf.
Xie Mubai's eyes flickered slightly as he casually tossed a melon rind that had been placed by Shen Wan's cart.
Before Zhou Yiniang could get close, her feet slipped and she fell face-first into the mud.
The exiled prisoners burst into laughter.
The wives of Xie Jia looked extremely displeased – to think their husband's birth mother was not only a concubine, but actually a wicked woman who climbed into her cousin's bed!
Had they known earlier, they would never have married into this family.
Falling for no reason made Zhou Yiniang even more frantic with rage.
She was about to curse when she saw Xie Mubai's face darken, his cool voice carrying sharp icicles: "If you want to make a spectacle of yourself, keep making a scene."
"But don't forget one thing – concubines can be bought and sold!"
These lightly spoken words struck Zhou Yiniang like a thunderbolt.
Concubines can be bought and sold?
What did this cripple mean? Did he believe that ugly woman's words? Would he actually sell his own father's concubine?
"At her age, who would buy her anyway?" Wang Qi massaged his ankle while raising his voice in a cold laugh, "I'm afraid someone's stuck with defective goods."
Being inherently malicious, and now that Zhou Yiniang had falsely accused him, he showed no mercy in his words.
This simple remark crushed Zhou Yiniang's dignity into dust.
Xie Mubai said nothing, merely glancing at Wang Qi.
Seeing matters had settled enough, Hu Dahai came over to inspect the results.
This woman really has nerves of steel, daring to lay a hand on his sister!
So with a wave of his hand, he ordered Zhou Yiniang and others to fetch water for all the exiled convicts to wash their feet.
Anyone who disobeyed would face the whip!
Xie Murong felt utterly wronged!
From start to finish, she hadn't said a single word, so why was she being dragged into this?
Sun Shi had injuries on her back, and Zhou Yiniang considered herself an elder, so the task fell to the other three daughters-in-law and Xie Murong.
Fortunately, there was a clear, shallow stream nearby, so they didn't have to travel far.
"Still mad at me?" Seeing Xie Mubai staring coldly at the women, Shen Wan approached with a smile. "But who can we blame? She provoked me first!"
If Zhou Yiniang hadn't falsely accused her of having an affair with Wang Qi, she wouldn't have revealed this secret so soon.
"I'm not blaming you," Xie Mubai said coldly without looking at her. "I want to know if what you said earlier is true."
He didn't care about the theft of money or the attempt to climb into his bed. But if that woman dared to target the Duchess, that was absolutely unacceptable to him.
Shen Wan nodded.
"How did you know?" Xie Mubai's expression suddenly darkened, a sharp, cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Such a private matter—even he wasn't aware of it. How did this woman find out?
Shen Wan scratched her head, unsure how to fabricate an explanation: "My legal mother… she was quite close to Zhou Yiniang in private… Actually, how should I put it? There were rumors outside that you wouldn't live long, and that the hereditary title would eventually fall to your half-brother…"
"At that time, besides you, only your third brother in Guo Gong Fu was unmarried, so Zhou Yiniang wanted him to marry Shen Yan in your place."
"My legal mother was initially willing, but my scumbag father mentioned the matter of the Duchess… So, the marriage fell through."
The more evasive she was, the more Xie Mubai believed her words.
He had been weak since childhood, and rumors had never ceased. He just never expected that even Xiangyang Hou Manor could collude with Zhou Yiniang.
What about Shen Yan?
Did she know about these things?
No, she must not have known.
She was so kind—if she had known, she would have told him, her fiancé.
Lost in his thoughts, the women of Xie Jia had already fetched the water.
After several days on the road, the exiled convicts had developed bloody blisters on their feet.
Though they didn't dare soak their feet, washing with clean water was refreshing.
"Boss, I'm afraid we can't travel today," Scarface said worriedly to Hu Dahai, watching the convicts sweating profusely from the heat. "If we continue, lives might be at risk."
In this wretched weather, even he, a robust man accustomed to the outdoors, was struggling, let alone those exiled convicts who had been pampered since childhood.
But it was the height of summer, and finding cooler weather was harder than reaching the heavens.
Continuing risked lives, but delaying the journey would bring trouble upon himself. Hu Dahai was in a dilemma.
"Rest here. We'll set off tonight!" After some thought, he made a decision.
This decision delighted the exiled convicts.
Though the night was still hot, it was far better than trudging under the scorching sun.
Since mung bean soup had already been distributed, the Yamen runners did not provide lunch.
Of course, no one minded.
Not to mention Wo Wo Tou, even white flour pancakes couldn't whet their appetite in such sweltering heat.
Taking advantage of the fine weather, Shen Wan pushed Xie Mubai to a secluded spot.
She changed him into a clean set of coarse cloth clothes, then carried the dirty laundry to the riverside herself.
Having no spare clothes to change into, over the past few days, the bloodstains on the villain's clothes had turned dark and discolored, becoming too filthy to look at.
Since there were no ready-made clothes for sale in the market, she went to a household and bought a new set.
After washing the clothes, she hung them on tree branches by the roadside.
The weather was extremely hot, and by evening the clothes had completely dried.
"Everyone eat up, we'll set off after dark!" Hu Dahai glanced at the setting sun and urged.
Upon hearing this, the group hastily took a few bites of their Wo Wo Tou.
The night in the barren mountains already carried a slight chill, with occasional breezes blowing through.
In the darkness, the distant mountains resembled crouching wild beasts, their ferocious mouths wide open, waiting for prey to come to them.
Hu Dahai led the way with a torch, while the group followed behind in a long procession.
Sun Shi's back was in severe pain, and Xie Murong had little strength, so the two soon fell to the rear of the group.
From the barren mountains on both sides of the road came the occasional long howls of wolves, frightening Sun Shi so much her legs went weak.
By this time, someone in the group had already begun sobbing.
"What's there to cry about?" Scarface grumbled irritably while pushing the cart, "If you keep crying like that, you'll surely attract a wolf pack."
Hearing this, the group of exiles grew even more terrified.
Although Shen Wan had been on battlefields before, she still felt somewhat uneasy, after all, she had no experience fighting wolves.
"Are you afraid?" Xie Mubai looked up and asked her.