Since she was someone the young master had taken an interest in on the street, Steward Qin, being a loyal servant, naturally did not dare neglect the matter.
Rather than handing the task off to someone else, he personally led two attendants to secretly follow behind Zhu Xinyan, intending to investigate her background.
From Qiao’er being bullied, to Zhu Xinyan hitting people, all the way to her nearly burning her backside on the stone stool—everything was witnessed by Steward Qin and the others.
The two attendants, who had seen plenty of the world, were visibly petrified at this moment.
Clicking their tongues, they sucked in cold breaths.
This little lady’s behavior was way too… unrestrained. She didn’t seem compatible with their master at all!
Even if she was as beautiful as a celestial fairy, she definitely wouldn’t catch Steward Qin’s eye.
The two of them were still lamenting that Zhu Xinyan would never be able to enter the residence when they suddenly turned and saw Steward Qin’s eyes glowing strangely. Stroking his goat beard, he nodded repeatedly in admiration.
Huh? What was this supposed to mean?
Could it be that Steward Qin’s long-suppressed nerves had somehow been awakened by the young lady’s absurd antics?
Of course, they had no idea what Steward Qin was actually thinking.
Their master had always been cold and unsmiling. Despite his young age, he constantly wore a deadpan face.
And with the heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, he buried all his thoughts deep inside.
Steward Qin had watched anxiously from the sidelines for years, afraid that one day his master would bottle things up until he fell ill—or worse, suddenly die from the stress.
Today, he had practically dragged his master out for tea to lighten his mood, and who would’ve thought the master would fall in love with Zhu Xinyan at first sight?
That was why Steward Qin had shamelessly stepped forward earlier to strike up a conversation.
Now, seeing Zhu Xinyan calmly lose her mind while maintaining composure, he was even more satisfied. He felt she was the perfect candidate for a concubine.
After all, a concubine wasn’t like a proper wife. She didn’t need to be dignified and reserved. As long as she was beautiful and entertaining enough to make the master happy, that was enough.
Steward Qin called over the two utterly confused attendants, whispered instructions to each of them, then turned back to continue watching the show.
During the past few days of funeral arrangements, nearly every member of the Jiang family had appeared before Zhu Xinyan, so she had become familiar with all their faces.
When she had been verbally battling the crowd earlier, she had already noticed Steward Qin and the other two standing among them from the corner of her eye. She also noticed that the attendants beside him were similarly dressed in fine clothing.
At that point, Zhu Xinyan came to a conclusion.
Since they had followed her all the way here and were casually standing around watching the drama unfold, it was enough to show that she held some importance in their eyes.
Setting aside the possibility that they were scammers for the moment, why shouldn’t she borrow someone else’s power to escape this crisis?
Only after calculating this in her heart did Zhu Xinyan dare speak so boldly against the clan leader.
Otherwise, even if she had a hundred times more courage, she wouldn’t have dared. Her life was still the most important thing.
Zhu Xinyan stood up openly and pulled out the calling card from her lantern sleeve, holding it up before everyone.
Jiang Sixth, who stood nearest, stretched his neck and squinted with his tiny bean-like eyes before blurting out,
“Ghost scribbles!”
Zhu Xinyan curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“You old fool, and at your age you still can’t even recognize words!”
After ridiculing him, she flipped the card around to look at it herself. Her eyes gradually widened, and an unreadable expression appeared on her face.
Earlier, she had only focused on the gold powder decorating it and hadn’t paid attention to the writing. Who could have guessed the script was written in seal script?
Out of the four large characters shining brightly before her, she recognized only one vaguely resembling the character “Prince.”
She had just mocked someone else for being illiterate, only to immediately slap herself in the face.
But Zhu Xinyan, stubborn as a dead duck refusing to admit defeat, would never allow such a thing to happen.
Her eyes darted around as she forcibly improvised. Clearing her throat, she pointed at the calling card and introduced it confidently.
“To be honest, my second uncle works as a steward in the Prince’s residence and has an excellent relationship with the Prince himself. So… you understand.”
“Understand my ass!”
Jiang Fourth snatched the card away in one motion, threw it to the ground, stomped on it several times, and spat a thick wad of phlegm onto it.
Baring his large yellow teeth viciously, he sneered,
“Don’t think we don’t know. Your maternal family is practically wiped out. Where’d this second uncle suddenly come from? Otherwise, how could we dare act so openly?”
Jiang Fourth believed Zhu Xinyan had already reached a dead end, so he no longer bothered hiding anything and openly admitted their actions on the spot.
The clan leader, who had remained silent for some time, had at least studied for a few years. But with the surface of the card now smeared and damaged, he couldn’t make out what was written on it either.
Besides, according to Jiang Fourth, they had indeed investigated the Zhu family earlier and discovered no surviving direct relatives.
The clan leader gave a sinister smile.
“Seventh Brother’s wife, I’m not entirely unreasonable. As long as you sign over your property to us, I can spare both you and your son. Buying your lives with money—not a bad deal, right?”
Before Zhu Xinyan could answer, little Jiang Li wriggled free from Qiao’er’s arms. Standing firmly on the ground, he clenched his tiny fists and fiercely shouted at the crowd in a childish voice.
“Hmph! You bad people! If Steward Qin finds out you bullied my mother, he’ll definitely have someone beat the crap out of you!”
“Hahaha! The brat even dares threaten me. What a little bastard. He already exposed his mother’s lover himself!”
The clan leader reached out to pinch Jiang Li’s face, only for his wrist to suddenly be grabbed.
Looking up, he saw an unfamiliar old man and frowned.
“And who are you?”
“Steward Qin!”
Jiang Li ran over and tightly hugged the man’s leg.
“What Steward Qin?” The clan leader still hadn’t processed things when a cane suddenly struck his backside hard.
“So this is the kind of man I handed the clan leader position to? Jiang Huairen, I never imagined you’d become such a scoundrel!”
Zhu Xinyan burst out laughing.
“Your name really suits you perfectly!”
Recognizing the elder’s voice, the clan leader’s heart tightened. He glared back at Zhu Xinyan before clutching his aching backside, spinning around, and respectfully bowing.
“Elder… why have you come?”
The clan elder was so angry his beard trembled.
“If I hadn’t come, I’d never have known you were here abusing your power, oppressing others, and acting tyrannically!”
“Well said!” Zhu Xinyan clapped enthusiastically and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Though you look like you’re about to fall apart, your mind is still sharp! Tossing out three idioms in one breath—truly vigorous despite your age!”
The clan elder was immediately flattered by the rainbow praise and floated with delight.
“You flatter me, you flatter me.”
Then he quickly put away his smug expression, lifted his cane again, and jabbed the clan leader sharply in the waist.
At this point, the clan leader was so enraged by Zhu Xinyan that he nearly ground his rotten teeth to dust, but he still had to suppress the fury surging inside him and patiently explain to the elder.
“You must have been misled by slander! It’s Zhu who lacks womanly virtue. Seventh Brother’s body isn’t even cold yet, and she’s already seducing outside men and engaging in immoral behavior. That’s why I invoked the Jiang family rules to punish her as a warning to others.”
“What nonsense! How dare you slander her!”
The elder trembled as he pulled a piece of paper from his robes and slapped it directly onto the clan leader’s forehead.
“You little brat, take a good look at this!”
The clan leader tore it down and stared.
A divorce document.
Signed personally by Jiang Yihan.
“This… this can’t be fake, can it?”
“Fake your big-headed ghost!”
The elder jumped up and smacked him across the face again.
At the same moment, the Prefect of Jingzhao squeezed through the crowd from behind. He first bowed and greeted Steward Qin respectfully before turning sternly toward the clan leader.
“The document is written in black and white. It bears both the parties’ signatures and the official government seal. How dare a common troublemaker like you question it?”
After speaking, his gaze suddenly fell upon the calling card on the ground. His expression changed dramatically.
“Who dares deface the calling card of Prince Rui’s residence?!”
Hearing this, everyone’s hearts trembled in shock. Afraid of being implicated, the crowd immediately pointed in unison toward Jiang Fourth.
“My lord, it was him!”