He truly didn’t understand. Before, Lan Yue would always obey him whenever he spoke when she made a mistake, but now she had learned to act like a shrew, arguing with her mother over trivial matters.
Jiang Lan Yue’s smile froze, and she suddenly felt it was pointless. She said in a low voice, “I won’t say anything.”
“Son! Jiang Shi has gone mad. You can’t reason with her. Why not break her hands and let her suffer a bit so she’ll listen to you in the future?”
Wei Wan’er covered her face with one hand, adding fuel to the fire with her aggrieved expression: “Mother is right. Brother, you didn’t see it. The way Jiang Shi hit me just now was like she was possessed by a ghost. She was so cruel!”
Wei Chi hesitated for a few seconds, seemingly having some reservations about the suggestion. Lan Yue’s behavior had indeed been poor lately.
“Listen to me, Lan Yue. Apologize to your mother, and we’ll let bygones be bygones. I’ll treat you as before. If you remain obstinate, don’t blame me for disregarding our past relationship…”
“Oh? What do you want, Wei Tanhua?”
Suddenly, a middle-aged man’s voice came from behind. Wei Chi felt it was somewhat familiar. He turned around and his expression suddenly changed, becoming quite ugly.
“Imperial Censor Meng?”
Last time, he petitioned for his mother to be granted a title, but was impeached by Imperial Censor Meng in court, losing face in front of his colleagues. Wei Chi really had no liking for this stubborn mule.
Therefore, his tone was cold and distant.
“I wonder what brings Imperial Censor Meng to my residence? I have matters to attend to at home, so it’s inconvenient for me to entertain Imperial Censor Meng.”
The subtext was: My home doesn’t welcome you; go back to where you came from!
Upon hearing this, Imperial Censor Meng snorted coldly, “I have heard that in the suburbs, some officials allow their families to bully others, trespassing on private homes with the intent to kill and rob.”
“I am paid by the Emperor, and I will not stand idly by while His Majesty’s people are oppressed by officials. It seems I underestimated your shamelessness and malice, Wei Tanhua. I will truthfully inform His Majesty of today’s events. You should think carefully about how to explain yourself!” Imperial
Censor Meng carefully scanned the messy details of the courtyard, so that he would have evidence to present to His Majesty tomorrow.
He deliberately lingered on Wei’s mother and Wei Wan’er, who was adorned with gold and silver jewelry, his eyes burning with malice.
These officials’ families, having gained power once, had forgotten their origins; he had long disliked them, and thus could only restrain his own family.
Wei Chi’s face was extremely ugly. If it were anyone else, he might have room to maneuver, but Imperial Censor Meng, whether in his past life or this one, was stubborn and foul-mouthed, truly detestable.
“This humble official does not understand what Imperial Censor Meng is saying. This is my Wei family’s estate. There is no trespassing. The reason for punishing the servants is simply because they deceived their master.” ”
Every family has its scandals. Imperial Censor Meng’s reach is a bit too far.”
“Whether it’s too far or not is not for Scholar Wei to say.”
The moment Jiang Lanyue saw Imperial Censor Meng, she felt instantly safe. She bowed gracefully to him gratefully, then looked at Wei Chi.
“Has Wei Tanhua forgotten that we’ve been divorced for days? This estate is my dowry. I had no idea it had become the Wei family’s estate!”
“Back then, you became the third-ranked scholar and forced me to divorce you. I agreed without any hesitation and moved out of the Wei family that very day. But your Wei family went too far. First, you sent your servants to force me to hand over my dowry, and then the whole family ganged up on me, beating my loyal servants, robbing me of my belongings, smashing my yard, and taking advantage of my lack of support. You even forced me to kneel down and apologize to your mother and sister.”
Jiang Lanyue took a step closer to Wei Chi as she spoke, tears already streaming down her cheeks. Who could she tell her grievances to?
Shanhu and the other woman embraced and wept bitterly. Wei Chi opened his mouth to explain, but found himself speechless.
“Wei Chi, I beg you, please let me go! I don’t want to dwell on the years of unrequited love, and I don’t blame you for abandoning me after you became successful. Consider these past years as me paying for my blindness. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways! Okay?”
“Enough, stop!” Wei Chi couldn’t bear to listen anymore. He refused to admit his heartlessness, abandoning his wife for power and wealth.
From an unnoticed angle, Jiang Lanyue’s lips curled slightly. So seeing Wei Chi in pain brought her such pleasure?
But… this pain was far from enough.
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, the military police escorted Wei’s servants, along with the instigators, Wei’s mother and Wei Wan’er, into the capital.
The laws of the Great Yan Kingdom stipulated that anyone who trespassed on someone’s property without cause would be punished with eighty strokes of the cane.
The Wei mother and daughter had broken into a private residence and stolen property; there was both witness testimony and physical evidence. Even if they didn’t die, they would be severely punished.
Jiang Lanyue and the others went to the military police station to give their statements and returned to their estate before the city gates were sealed.
Jiang Lanyue entered the house of Uncle Zhong and his wife with the wound medicine. Seeing their bodies covered in wounds, she felt a pang of guilt.
With a heart full of apology, she bowed gracefully to them. “Uncle Zhong, Aunt Li, this matter was caused by me. Lanyue apologizes to you.”
The couple hurriedly stepped aside, shaking their heads in fear. “Protecting the estate is our duty. Madam, there’s no need to apologize.”
Jiang Lanyue silently kept their gratitude to herself. Thinking of today’s scene, if Uncle Zhong hadn’t fought so desperately, the Wei family mother and daughter might have already succeeded.
With this in mind, Jiang Lanyue had a suspicion. Looking at Uncle Zhong, she asked, “Uncle Zhong, have you ever practiced martial arts?”
Uncle Zhong hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering slightly, and nodded gently. “I learned a few moves from the general in the army camp.”
Jiang Lanyue understood. She guessed that Uncle Zhong must have been a remarkable figure on the battlefield in his youth.
She could tell that Uncle Zhong didn’t want to say more, so she didn’t press him, only instructing them to rest and recover from their injuries for the next few days.
Back in her room, Jiang Lanyue sat by the window, lost in thought. She seemed to have forgotten something important.
Today’s events had reminded her that although she had divorced Wei Chi early in this life, she couldn’t guarantee that Shen Jiaxue, that vile woman, wouldn’t kidnap her again.
After some consideration, Jiang Lanyue decided that training her own guards was the most reliable option.
Night deepened, and she didn’t fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.
Therefore, Jiang Lanyue was still asleep at dawn, unaware that Wei Chi had been publicly reprimanded again at court, his hard-earned position at the Hanlin Academy lasting only two days before he was once again unemployed.
Most embarrassingly, her mother and sister were still stuck in the military headquarters, unable to be released.
After breakfast, Jiang Lanyue, along with Shanhu and Ruyi, entered the city.
Firstly, they needed to prepare the main spice blend, which was missing a key ingredient; secondly, they needed to clear out the remaining stock in the bookstore.
Once in the city, the three of them bought the medicinal herbs and strolled around, listening to the gossip of passersby.
Listening to their vivid descriptions, as if witnessing it firsthand, they portrayed the Wei family as a den of wolves.
While not as exaggerated as they described, it was still far more intense than she had imagined in her past life.
Wenxinzhai. Manager Qian had already hung up a clearance sale notice in front of the shop, and the number of people coming and going was several times higher than usual. It seemed the shop would be completely sold out in less than two days.
Jiang Lanyue briefly mentioned her vision for the spice shop’s interior to Manager Qian; the specifics still needed further refinement.
Three days later, Hanshan Temple was bustling with activity.
Within a ten-mile radius, men, women, and children all went to the temple to admire the chrysanthemums.
Early in the morning, Coral pulled Jiang Lanyue out of bed and dressed her up exquisitely, also making Ruyi look charming and adorable.
The first half of the journey was smooth, but when they reached the halfway point, in front of Jiang Lanyue and the others’ carriage, someone’s horse suddenly spooked and began to run wildly.