Chapter 1508: Mu Qinglian Side Story (Part 2)
Days passed leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, another half year had gone by.
Mu Qinglian was contemplating how to deal with Lianlian, when a maid came to report: "Madam, Lianlian is dead."
Mu Qinglian’s face changed dramatically: "How did she die?" Shao Wen cherished Lianlian like a precious treasure, and the novelty of it hadn’t even worn off yet. Now that she’s dead, how could Shao Wen be at ease?
Mu Qinglian ordered a thorough investigation, and it was discovered that the person who killed Lianlian was Lady Mei, a concubine who had borne two sons for Ning Shaowen. The reason Lady Mei wanted Lianlian dead was simple; the Second Master used to favor her alone, but ever since Lianlian entered the mansion, Lianlian hadn’t visited her room anymore.
Unfortunately, Ning Shaowen did not accept the result Mu Qinglian found, stubbornly believing that the mastermind was Lady Min, and that the poisoning Maternal Aunt Mei must have been instructed by Lady Min, acting as an accomplice.
Lady Min looked at the enraged Ning Shaowen and sneered: "The Second Master accuses me of poisoning; then I ask the Second Master to provide evidence." Without evidence, how could she accept being falsely accused?
Ning Shaowen coldly said, "People do what they do, and heaven watches over them. The sins you’ve committed will be repaid someday."
Lady Min’s face showed a smile, full of mockery: "Indeed, good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds punished, it’s not that they won’t be rewarded, it’s just that the time hasn’t come yet." If she really wanted to make a move, should she not get rid of Lady Mei and her two sons? Yet, now Lady Min disdained to explain herself to Ning Shaowen.
Upon hearing this, Mu Qinglian had no desire to speak for Lady Min anymore.
Because of Lianlian’s death, Lady Min and Ning Shaowen were completely estranged. Thereafter, Lady Min only cared about her two children, treating Ning Shaowen as if he were air. Ning Shaowen, for his part, was utterly disgusted with Lady Min and no longer entered her chambers.
Madam Cui saw the chaos in the second branch but did not gloat; instead, she felt particularly distressed. It was true that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: "My sister-in-law has really gotten herself into a bind." Causing such a rift with the Second Master, in the end, she would still suffer.
Nanny Chen whispered, "Indeed, the Second Young Madam will suffer." The Second Master had seemed deeply in love when Lianlian died, yet within not even two months, the Second Master was again infatuated with a beautiful maid in the mansion. Such a person truly disgusted people. However, speaking of which, the family values in Duke Ning’s Mansion were lacking; not only was the Second Master promiscuous, but even the Heir Apparent was the same way.
Madam Cui gave a bitter smile and whispered, "In this world, how many men are there who don’t stray?"
The Inner Courtyard of Duke Ning’s Mansion was in turmoil, and the Earl of Pingyang’s Mansion was no less chaotic. Because An Yang was the youngest son, he was somewhat soft in character. It was precisely because of this that he was led astray. Ever since admitting Wu Qi into the mansion, incidents had occurred repeatedly at the Earl of Pingyang’s Mansion. It used to be minor troubles, but now lives were at stake. Wu Qi had an accidental miscarriage; she lost a nearly seven-month-old fetus, which was a male.
Learning that she miscarried a formed male fetus, Wu Qi was hysterical with grief.
Men think differently from women; on the day An Zhichen agreed to allow Wu Qi into the door, it was primarily to preserve An Yang’s reputation, lest the Imperial Censor impeach and An Yang lose his position; secondly, An Zhichen felt that his son taking a concubine wasn’t a big deal.
As soon as An Zhichen returned to the mansion, he heard that Wu Qi miscarried, and the fetus was a male. Upon hearing that it was the Li family responsible for the poisoning, An Zhichen’s face turned a bit dark, but the matters of his son’s inner quarters were not something he should interfere with: "Let Yangyang handle this himself."
Steward Hong responded and left.
An Zhichen then summoned someone and asked, "Send someone to the dock to see, Madam will be home in these two days." The last letter said they’d be home within three months; it had been over half a year now, and they still hadn’t arrived. An Zhichen was nearly fuming, but fortunately, he received news a few days ago that Yueyao would be home within the next couple of days.
The attendant hurried to the dock to wait.
Hearing that his father wanted him to handle this himself, An Yang immediately felt overwhelmed. Wu Qi insisted that the culprit was the Li family, yet she couldn’t produce any evidence.
Ultimately, An Yang was still inclined toward the Li family, since the Li family was his legal wife, and they already had two children together. Wu Qi’s child was conceived through her schemes, and An Yang ultimately didn’t like it. An Yang only instructed the maid and old nanny to take good care of Wu Qi, and nothing more.
Wu Qi was gnashing her teeth in hatred. It was at this moment that the Li family came to see her. Wu Qi coldly said, "No need for you to pretend to be concerned."
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