The Marquise’s pupils contracted.
The newcomer was her stepson, Xie Tingzhou, the Heir of the Zhongyong Hou Estate, who had opposed her since childhood and never once called her “Mother.”
He was an out-and-out scourge. Later, he joined the military camp and had not returned for years.
“Why are you back?”
The Marquis’s letter had not mentioned that this scourge would return to the capital.
She had assumed he would remain stationed at the border.
Xie Tingzhou strolled leisurely up to the Marquise and smiled. “The war is over, so naturally, I’ve returned. If I hadn’t come back, how could I have witnessed today’s spectacle?”
The Marquise, struck by a thought, hurriedly asked, “When did you return?”
“What do you mean by that, Marquise?” Xie Tingzhou narrowed his eyes. “Surely you’re not going to accuse me of killing Xie Yunzhou again?”
He sneered, “If I wanted him dead, I wouldn’t have gone to such trouble. He wouldn’t have lived long enough to marry.”
The words “marry” were laced with sarcasm.
The Marquise seethed with rage.
She had indeed suspected that Xie Tingzhou had helped Ye Zhen.
But on second thought, although Xie Tingzhou was arrogant and domineering, he was also straightforward and had never truly harmed Yun Zhou.
Nor would he resort to such methods that tarnished the Hou Estate’s reputation.
Moreover, he was notoriously difficult to deal with.
Not wanting to complicate matters, the Marquise adopted a sorrowful expression.
“Tingzhou, you’ve misunderstood. I only wanted to know when your father would return.”
“Your younger brother was murdered, and false accusations have been thrown around. I’m at a loss and hope he can return soon to take charge.”
Xie Tingzhou acted as if he hadn’t heard, toying with the whip in his hand.
Ye Zhen, now understanding the man’s identity, was inwardly surprised.
In her previous life, the Heir of the Zhongyong Hou Estate had never returned to the capital. Could it be that her rebirth had altered the course of events in this life?
But she had no time to ponder the connection between the two.
Ignored by her stepson, the Marquise wiped the corner of her eye and said to Old Madam Wang, “I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you. I must attend to some family matters now and will visit another day to apologize.”
Her intention to see them out was clear.
Old Madam Wang, advanced in years, had no desire to endure her attitude.
But the Marquis had called her “Aunt” for many years, and she regarded Xie Tingzhou as her own grandson. The military achievements and power of the Hou Estate had been earned by the father and son at the cost of their lives and must not be squandered by Liu Shi.
Xie Tingzhou was also of marriageable age. If word spread of a mother-in-law persecuting her daughter-in-law in the Hou Estate, it would undoubtedly affect his marriage prospects.
She took the Marquise’s hand. “I understand how you must feel about the Second Young Master’s misfortune. Please accept my condolences.”
“However, since this matter involves multiple lives, and Ye Shi is the Shaofuren of the Hou Estate, the current situation is unseemly.”
“Tingzhou has already sent word to the Marquis, urging him to return quickly. Why not wait for the Marquis to arrive and let him decide?”
The Marquise withdrew her hand.
Of course, that wouldn’t do.
The fact that Yun Zhou preferred men must not reach the Marquis’s ears. Moreover, she feared the Marquis might uncover other matters in the process.
She needed to settle this conclusively before the Marquis returned.
“Managing the inner household is the duty of the lady of the house. The Marquis is wholly devoted to serving the court—how can I burden him with trivial domestic affairs?”
She insisted it was an internal matter of the Hou Estate, reminding the Old Madam not to interfere.
Understanding the Marquise’s intentions, Ye Zhen spoke up, “Mother, you just accused your daughter-in-law of colluding with an outsider. May I ask who that outsider is?”
The Marquise’s eyes darkened. She could no longer publicly frame the County Magistrate.
Instead, she gripped Ye Zhen’s arm tightly. “You grew up without proper upbringing, devoid of manners and decency.”
“Now that you’ve committed such a grave mistake, though I resent you, I also bear responsibility for failing to guide you properly.”
“I will not send you to the authorities to pay with your life, but from now on, you must reflect and repent in the Buddha hall.”
She consciously took a step back, first luring the person inside.
Ye Zhen remained unmoved.
“If Mother cannot name anyone, then there is no such person, correct?”
“When you came to the Ye family to propose marriage back then, you praised Ye Zhen for being well-behaved and virtuous, saying she was the best candidate for a daughter-in-law.”
The Marquise had arranged Xie Yunzhou’s marriage to cover up his peculiar habits, thus she needed someone easy to control, which was why she chose the daughter of a minor fifth-rank official from the Ye family.
The match was ill-suited in status.
To avoid arousing suspicion, the Marquise personally went to propose, emphasizing that she did not value social standing but the girl herself, praising Ye Zhen extensively.
The Marquise herself had gained quite a reputation for this, being praised by society.
Earlier, in her eagerness to confirm Ye Zhen’s disgrace, she had spoken those words in a fit of anger, never expecting Ye Zhen to publicly refute her.
The onlookers murmured among themselves.
The Marquise’s face turned extremely unpleasant. Just as she was about to scold Ye Zhen, she saw Ye Zhen press her hairpin against her own throat again, declaring firmly, “Although Ye Zhen grew up in the countryside, she knows that a woman must not lose her integrity. If Mother insists on believing Ye Zhen is impure, Ye Zhen is willing to die to prove her innocence. After my death, the Hou Estate may take my body to the authorities for examination. The truth of my purity will be clear, and we can also have the coroner examine my husband’s cause of death.”
Before Xie Yunzhou died, he had been fooling around with Chi Heng. If the coroner examined him, everything would be exposed.
The Marquise hadn’t seen the body herself, but from her subordinates’ reports, she knew what her son and Chi Heng had been up to. She dared not let the coroner conduct an examination.
Unable to move Ye Zhen herself, she ordered her servants to assist, but as soon as they laid hands on her, Xie Tingzhou’s whip lashed out.
The Marquise was furious. “Tingzhou, I am your mother! This vile woman harmed your brother. How can you side with an outsider?”
“You could never have given birth to a son as righteous and outstanding as me.”
Xie Tingzhou’s eyes were calm as he said lightly, “The Zhongyong Hou Estate is not a bandit den. Xie Yunzhou was the old man’s own son. His death cannot be dismissed as mere domestic affairs. Wait and see.”
Such blatant oppression—did they really think the Zhongyong Hou Estate could control everything?
Wait!
Liu Shi, who had the old man wrapped around her finger, was no fool, yet her actions today were utterly foolish.
Could there be more to this?
Seeing this, the Marquise knew she had lost the upper hand.
Suddenly, she wailed to the sky, “Yun Zhou, you died so tragically! Yet your mother cannot avenge you. I have no face to meet you…
She fainted into the arms of her maids.
Ye Zhen knew she was feigning unconsciousness but did not expose her. After the maids carried the Marquise inside, she bowed to Old Madam Wang and Xie Tingzhou to express her thanks.
Xie Tingzhou gave her a deep look but said nothing.
It was Old Madam Wang who spoke. “Let’s wait until the Marquis returns to settle this. You are injured, so return to your room for now.”
The Marquise’s feigned faint was her way of backing down without losing face, ceasing her attacks on Ye Zhen.
However, Old Madam Wang did not know Ye Zhen well and could not be sure that Ye Zhen had no hand in the matter. Thus, she assigned a maid to attend to Ye Zhen.
It was also surveillance.
After returning to her room, the Marquise “woke up.”
“That meddling old crone and that ungrateful little beast…”
She gritted her teeth and cursed a few times before summoning a guard named Wu and giving him quiet instructions.
In the middle of the night, the County Magistrate tossed and turned until Guard Wu appeared at his bedside.
Startled, the Magistrate bolted upright. “What do you want?”
After the Marquise “woke up” from her faint, she had allowed him to leave.
But he had felt uneasy ever since. Now, seeing Guard Wu, his first thought was that the Marquise meant to harm him.
Unexpectedly, Guard Wu took out a thick stack of silver notes from his chest. “The Marquise wishes to make a deal with you. This money is merely the interest.”
“After the matter is accomplished, the Marquise will have the Marquis transfer you to a prosperous region in Jiangnan and promote you to a prefectural position.”
The County Magistrate swallowed hard.
This was a tremendous temptation for him.
But since the Marquise had just falsely accused him during the day, he dared not trust her easily. “What does the Marquise wish to do?”
“Find a strong, skilled man and have him confess to an adulterous affair with Shaofuren.”
The County Magistrate immediately understood his meaning.
With Old Madam Wang and Heir Xie’s intervention, the Marquise no longer dared to falsely accuse him at will.
But the Marquise needed to clear Xie Yunzhou’s name.
Therefore, they needed to find Ye Zhen a lover who could defeat Chi Heng and also help her kill Xie Yunzhou.
This was not difficult for the County Magistrate.
He even breathed a sigh of relief that the Marquise was finally no longer targeting him.
But he was still concerned. “Won’t the Marquis and the Heir notice?”
Guard Wu sneered, “What father would truly want his son to bear such disgrace after death?”
“The Marquis values the Marquis residence’s reputation most and dotes on the Marquise. With him keeping things under control, the Heir won’t act recklessly.”
The County Magistrate dreamed of promotion and felt the guard’s words made sense.
If he were Marquis Zhongyong, he would also wish to settle this matter quickly. What did sacrificing a daughter-in-law matter?
He accepted the silver notes.
Guard Wu then handed him a bellyband. “This belongs to Shaofuren. Additionally, there’s a faint scar on the back of her shoulder.”