Chapter 151: Chapter 151
Chapter 151
"Third Concubine, please calm your anger. I truly did not commit this act," Liu Sun, now the seventh concubine, spoke with a serious tone. Her eyes were defiant and unyielding. She knew when to be gentle and when to stand firm.
Being falsely accused like this, if she only relied on tears, things would only get worse. No one cares about the words of the weak! Especially in this den of beasts, if someone is seen as an easy target, they will only be pushed down further.
Originally, Liu Sun was the top choice that everyone believed would undoubtedly become the principal wife of the General’s household. Therefore, many people showed her considerable respect, and some even flattered and fawned over her. However, there were also many who did not accept this.
What was Liu Sun’s status? She was merely the daughter of a concubine from the Liu family, albeit with more exceptional abilities than others. No matter how skilled she was, there were many people more talented than even the grandmasters. However, the status of being a concubine’s daughter suppressed these individuals, preventing them from gaining acceptance. Ultimately, when they saw someone of equal status poised to succeed, how could they willingly accept it?
Some had married in as secondary wives to Young General, even though they were daughters of principal wives themselves. They agreed to this because the position of the principal wife had been reserved by ancestral arrangements. This third concubine was a follower of one such secondary wife, and she was displeased to see the position of Young General’s principal wife almost given to the daughter of a concubine, which had become the talk of the town.
For these women, if Yueqian actually married in, it would be better! At least her status was appropriate. Who would want a concubine’s daughter to surpass them?
This dissatisfaction made her a continual adversary. Seeing Liu Sun fall into the status of a concubine, despite receiving more attention than anyone else, she was still in a lowly position, making it easy for people to bully her.
However, no one anticipated what would happen. The third concubine was five months pregnant, but not long after Liu Sun arrived, her pregnancy was destroyed by poison. Upon investigation, the only person knowledgeable about medicine was Liu Sun. Moreover... there was evidence pointing to her quarters.
Given the preexisting animosity, the motivation was substantial. It was no surprise that the third concubine would want to deal with Liu Sun personally!
"You dare claim your innocence? All the evidence is before us, even the handkerchief found near my quarters is yours. How can you still be so stubborn?! Very well, if I don’t beat you to death today, don’t call me “Lan Meng!”" The third concubine’s furious voice made Liu Sun freeze in place.
Earlier, she had already been slapped hard. Now the other party was about to strike again! Liu Sun was neither particularly strong nor weak, but compared to a woman who had just lost her child and was filled with rage, how could she possibly fight back?
The third concubine’s foot stomped on Liu Sun’s body, leaving her bruised and in pain. Naturally, the third concubine had no intention of stopping her foot. Liu Xun’s hair was grabbed and forced to look up. Third Concubine’s palm slapped Liu Sun’s face again, causing blood to trickle out.
"What is going on here?" The resonant voice of a man caused both women to halt their fighting.
When the third concubine saw who had entered, she released Liu Sun’s hair and immediately began to cry, rushing to him as if her heart was breaking.
"Dear, you’re back. Child. Our child, our child is gone!" The grieving mother wept as if her heart would shatter, no longer showing the fierce demeanor she had moments ago.
Young General’s eyes softened considerably. He looked at his wife, who was in the throes of loss, stroked her hair twice, and then glanced at Liu Sun, who now kept her head bowed. Her clothes were covered in dust, and she looked extremely pitiful.
"Go rest, Meng’er. I will take over the investigation you started." Given these words, she had nothing to argue against.
The beautiful woman stepped back three paces, bowed once, and asked him to uncover the truth to bring justice for his blood-related child. Of course, Young General nodded in agreement, though how he would find someone to take responsibility was another matter entirely.
The third concubine seemed to understand Young General’s nature well. Even though she left, her anger remained unresolved. She knew how he was—indifferent to others except himself. Therefore, the women in the inner manor had to fight and outdo each other. He supported those with superior skills, regardless of how ruthless they were. If a woman could defeat others without leaving a trace, she was deemed suitable.
This time, she had been careless and lost her child before even seeing its face. She was furious at the thought that the real culprit might still be free. She had no idea that the wicked woman, who pretended to be innocent in front of everyone, had committed such vile acts behind their backs, even worse than those attributed to the Villainess Qin.
Since her arrival at the manor, power had shifted back and forth. Losing her child made her determined to deal with the other woman decisively. She hadn’t expected Young General to have such deep feelings for the other woman, enough to intervene and even tell her to stop pursuing the matter.
It was evident how much he cared!
"Hmph! Just wait, you vixen. One day, I will tear you apart," Lan Meng gritted her teeth, walking back to the manor with a gloomy mood.
She had no idea that, behind her back, a woman was sitting and sipping tea with a smile. Her maid, who had gone to gather information, reported with laughter. This woman was "Ru Nan," the secondary wife from the esteemed Ru family, whom Lan Meng respected highly and regarded as a sister.
"That vixen Liu Sun was slapped twice and stomped on. She’s probably severely bruised."
"Not only that, but Lan Meng is fully convinced that Liu Sun poisoned her child. She’ll surely plan to deal with her soon."
"You are indeed cleverer than anyone, Furen. Not only did you ruin Liu Sun’s reputation and make her a sworn enemy, but you also got rid of the “child” in the third concubine’s womb. This clears the path for the young master. It won’t be long before you take the position of the principal wife."
The two maids continued to flatter their mistress, revealing that all of this was Ru Nan’s scheme. The woman that Lan Meng thought was a good friend, in fact, she only saw her as a subordinate to use.
As for Liu Sun, after her body was battered and bruised, Young General didn’t care much for her. He returned home to show everyone that he cared for the household members. Losing a child and dealing with matters in the manor had made him request time off from his official duties. In truth, he just wanted to rest and keep an eye on matters that interested him at the manor.
"Dear, Sun’er didn’t do it. I will find the evidence to prove my innocence," Liu Sun, despite her weakened state, projected the image of a strong-willed woman.
Her current demeanor resembled that of a courageous woman standing up for her purity. To Young General’s followers, she was highly admired. Naturally, Young General paid more attention to Liu Sun than to others because she knew how to present herself in this way.
"I have always trusted you. However, someone must be at fault here. Otherwise, the third concubine’s child would not have passed away like this. So..."
"Sun’er understands. I will definitely prove that I am not the culprit," Liu Sun said confidently.
Young General’s words seemed to honor her, but in reality, he was implying that if she couldn’t prove her innocence, she should accept the blame.
Liu Sun once thought she knew Young General quite well, seeing him as a good man, albeit straightforward. This made her want to be in his household, become his wife, take care of him, and be under his protection. But now, everything she understood was completely wrong.
Only now did Liu Sun understand the true nature of Young General. He was neither straightforward nor did he admire capable and poised women. What he wanted was someone who could boost his reputation and, of course, not burden him.
If any woman became a nuisance and created problems for him, she would soon disappear from the manor, either locked away and forgotten or beaten to death. Therefore, in this household, if you were to be malicious, you had to be thoroughly so. If you were to be good, you had to perform appropriately. And of course, you had to always find a way to protect yourself, or else you would be easily discarded.
It seemed life in this manor was even more challenging than in the Liu family manor!
Liu Sun felt deeply pained, but there was nothing she could do. She had already stepped into this hell, and now she had to climb to the top. A person like Young General, who valued appearances, wouldn’t easily change the principal wife. So, once she reached that position, it would be her turn to live comfortably.
What she had to do now was to get through these crises, prove herself, and become the right person for the role!
Her goal now was to wait for an opportunity to gain merit. As long as she did good deeds for the royal family, she would be granted a noble title as a young miss, significantly elevating her status. However, the current moment was still a good opportunity. If she let it slip away and Young General took a principal wife into the manor, everything would become even more complicated.
Liu Sun wasn’t afraid of the petty schemes of the concubines slandering her. As long as she could catch whoever sneaked into her manor, she could prove she was being framed. Or, at worst, she could find someone to take the blame.
But the reason she hadn’t taken action earlier was to show everyone that she was currently being targeted. This would garner sympathy from many people.
Even though it might not have much impact within the manor of Young General since everyone knew how chaotic it was, in the eyes of outsiders, seeing her being falsely accused while innocent would make them more likely to side with her in future incidents.
Liu Sun requested permission from Young General to leave the manor, claiming she needed to gather evidence. She said she needed to verify if the handkerchief was truly hers or if someone else had bought a similar one. Naturally, her leaving had nothing to do with the investigation. It was merely to show her face, battered in the Young General’s manor.
"Miss Liu, no, Concubine Liu, why is your face like that?"
Liu Sun’s swollen red face was quite conspicuous, despite her attempts to conceal it with a thin veil. When the wind blew or someone looked closely, it was easily noticeable.
Liu Sun acted as if she wanted to hide her face, but this only made people more suspicious.
"N-no, it’s nothing. I just tripped and fell. By the way, have you seen anyone from the Young General’s manor buy a handkerchief like this?" Liu Sun denied, pretending to protect some secret of the manor, but her question subtly revealed part of the truth."Oh, Miss Liu. Oh! I’m still not used to it. Concubine Liu, how pitiful you are. In the Young General’s manor, you must be the one being bullied. If it weren’t for your kindness, traveling far to set up a soup kitchen for the poor, you wouldn’t have met Young General when he was poisoned. And if you didn’t have medical knowledge, you wouldn’t have had to care for Young General, thus losing your honor like that."
