“Ah! Murder! Jiang has gone mad!”
Madam Wei fled, covering her head, not giving Jiang Lanyue a chance to approach.
Wei Xu’an, terrified by the scream, huddled in her wet nurse’s arms, wailing.
The Wei family servants hurriedly escorted Madam Wei and the others away.
Once they were out of sight, Jiang Lanyue looked disgusted.
“With such cowardice, they dare to come looking for trouble.”
Coral angrily threw down her broom and spat at the departing carriage.
“Old Madam Wei is truly despicable.
Our Madam used to treat her so well, and now she even wants you to be her concubine.”
Ruyi also put down the medicine powder she was holding and stood beside Coral, joining her in cursing the Wei family.
Aunt Li shook her head, took a kitchen knife, and went back to the kitchen to cook.
Uncle Zhong, worried, leaned closer to Jiang Lanyue and said…
“Madam, in my opinion, once the Wei family has this idea, they’re bound to cause trouble in the future.
We need to find a way to make them give up.”
Jiang Lanyue nodded approvingly.
“Uncle Zhong, just fill both carriages with some large items, and we’ll go into the city together to seek justice.”
Jiang Lanyue’s beautiful eyes flashed slightly, revealing a calculating look.
This time, she wanted to make Wei Chi lose all face and dignity.
An hour later.
Three carriages drove into the city in an orderly fashion, heading towards the Ministry of Rites.
Da Zhuang sat at the front, banging gongs and drums, shouting, “Jiang, the ex-wife of Wei Tanhua, presents her dowry today, only asking that Wei Tanhua and his mother be spared.”
“Although Jiang has no one to rely on, she knows propriety and shame, and does not wish to be a concubine…”
This series of actions, coupled with the explosive information in Da Zhuang’s words, attracted everyone’s attention.
Even many wealthy families sent people out to inquire about the news, determined to be the first to know.
Mu Jiaojiao naturally heard the news as well.
Too many things had happened recently, and she was feeling troubled, so she quietly left the mansion to see what was going on.
Zhongbo deliberately bypassed the Meng Imperial Censor’s house, hurrying as fast as he could, and finally arrived at the Ministry of Rites.
They arrived just as the officials were leaving for the evening, and because the commotion was so loud, the officials abandoned their carriages and ran out to see what was happening.
Jiang Lanyue, pale-faced, was helped down from the carriage by two maids.
Dazhuang was still banging the gong and shouting, and everyone present could hear him clearly.
Wei Chi, who had been given the important task of receiving foreign envoys today, was in high spirits.
Suddenly hearing the commotion outside, he followed his colleagues out to see what was happening, only to find everyone casting strange looks at him.
Zhongbo and his wife, along with Dazhuang, saw Wei Chi come out and all knelt down to kowtow to him, the sound of their kowtowing loud and startling.
Aunt Li stamped her feet and beat her chest, weeping bitterly, “Please, Scholar Wei, spare my lady!
She says she doesn’t want to become a concubine and is willing to offer her dowry, only begging Scholar Wei and Old Madam Wei to stop forcing her.”
“The lady’s dowry has already been brought.
Please give us a promise, sir, and we will deliver it to your residence immediately.”
“What nonsense are you spouting, you shrew?”
Wei Chi stared coldly at the two kneeling figures.
Listening to the surrounding chatter, he guessed what had happened; his mother must have gone to the estate to fetch Lan Yue.
He just didn’t know what had occurred that led Lan Yue to bring people to surround him.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, supported by Shanhu and Ruyi, Jiang Lan Yue, frail and weak, slowly approached Wei Chi.
Her face contorted with embarrassment and sorrow, she bowed gracefully to Wei Chi: “This humble woman greets Scholar Wei.
Although I have been orphaned since childhood, I have been taught by my maternal grandmother that a concubine should be humble.”
“Today, your esteemed matriarch, along with her entourage, came to our door to force me to become your concubine, demanding that I raise your mistress’s son, manage the household, and serve my mother-in-law…”
“Even if I can never remarry, I do not wish to be humiliated like this.
Therefore, I voluntarily offer my dowry, begging Scholar Wei to show mercy and let me go.”
Passersby were shocked by these words, looking at Wei Chi in disbelief.
They had only heard of his ruthlessness, that he abandoned his wife after achieving the highest rank in the imperial examinations.
Today, witnessing it firsthand, they saw that Scholar Wei was not only ruthless, but also vicious and shameless!
Wei Chi was speechless, unsure how to explain to Jiang Lanyue, for every word she spoke was true.
But he had no other choice; why couldn’t Lanyue understand his predicament?
“When he returns to his peak and becomes the Grand Secretary, it won’t be a problem for him to choose his wife.”
Wei Chi wanted to argue, but with so many people present, he couldn’t save face.
If the Liang State Duke’s mansion found out he had mishandled his household affairs, the Duke would definitely reprimand him, and Shen Jiaxue would also cause trouble for him.
“It’s not what you think.
Mother may have misunderstood what she said.
She didn’t mean to humiliate you.”
Jiang Lanyue gently wiped away her tears, looking confused.
“Really?
But why did Old Madam Wei invite me into the mansion?”
A clever person in the crowd asked in surprise, “Could it be that Wei Tanhua wants to remarry his ex-wife?”
Seeing Jiang Lanyue’s helpless yet hopeful look, Wei Chi’s suspicion lessened a bit.
It seemed that Lanyue hadn’t been reborn, but had just been deeply hurt by him.
“Pah! I don’t think they want to remarry at all.
It’s clearly the Wei family plotting something.
Yesterday, a bunch of debt collectors came to the Wei mansion.”
“The Wei family used to rely on Jiang Shi to survive.
Now that they’re divorced, the Wei family can’t make ends meet, so they want to lure people into their mansion to continue sucking blood from them!”
Aunt Zhang, who had been gossiping for a while, seized the opportunity to spill the beans.
For those who didn’t understand, Aunt Zhang revealed everything about how Wei’s mother had bullied her former daughter-in-law.
Wei Chi’s face turned ashen, and he glared fiercely at Aunt Zhang.
He felt the contemptuous looks from his colleagues; he couldn’t let his hard-won reputation be ruined today.
Wei Chi stepped forward to take Jiang Lanyue’s hand, but Jiang Lanyue saw the scheming in his eyes and took a step back.
A flicker of disappointment and sorrow crossed her eyes.
She curtsied gently and said softly, “I must have misunderstood.
If it is a misunderstanding, I will not take it to heart.”
“Wei Tanhua is a very busy man, so I will not disturb you any longer.”
Jiang Lanyue forced herself to stand up and coughed a few more times.
Her departing figure looked pitiful and helpless, a scene that broke everyone’s heart.
Watching his wife’s dejected figure, Wei Chi wanted to stop her, but he had no status and could only go home amidst the strange looks from everyone.
Among them, two people reacted the most strongly.
Madam Meng covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.
She felt s orry for Jiang Lanyue’s loneliness and helplessness, and even more so for the humiliation she had suffered at the hands of evil people.
“Let’s go, let’s go home and tell the master!”
Mu Jiaojiao’s eyes were red.
It turned out that the benefactor who saved her that day was Wei Tanhua’s ex-wife.
She didn’t understand why Wei Tanhua would abandon Jiang’s beautiful and kind sister, and even let her mother bully her.
After wiping away her tears, Mu Jiaojiao ordered someone to chase after Jiang Lanyue and the others.
News of this scene reached the palace, and Junyao, who was engrossed in handling state affairs, frowned and felt a pang in his heart.
He could almost see how much pain she was in at that moment.
“Guards, Wei Tanhua is morally flawed and unfit for the task. His Tanhua title is revoked, and he is demoted to a regular Jinshi.”