Chapter 66

After watching the events at Ning Garden today, Liu couldn’t calm down after returning home. When her husband, Bao, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, arrived, she told him everything about the flower-viewing banquet at Ning Garden.

When Lord Bao heard this, he became excited. Recently, a killer organization had been committing repeated crimes, and their headquarters was suspected to be in the capital. He had some suspicions that Lady Shen Ruojin of the Duke Ling’s Mansion might be involved.

Liu was shocked: “What are the origins of these people? How can they be so lawless?”

“It’s still unclear,” Lord Bao said. “Some say they were secret guards of the rebellious King Liang. Because they worked in secret, the court didn’t know about them when they dealt with King Liang’s people. So, they were never caught. These individuals have martial skills, which makes it easy for them to commit murder and robbery.”

It’s not surprising that a new generation of killers emerged.

Liu frowned: “I didn’t expect the young lady of Duke Ling’s Mansion to be so bold. If this involves Duke Ling’s Mansion, it’s hard to say what side the emperor will take.”

“I’ve already sent people to investigate. I think there will be clues soon,” Lord Bao replied. “If Duke Ling is smart, he’ll know how to distance himself from his son and daughter-in-law.”

Duke Ling’s Mansion

As soon as Shen Ruojin returned home, she became so sick she couldn’t walk and remained unconscious in bed.

Duke Ling and his wife were at a loss on how to handle their bedridden daughter-in-law, Shen Ruojin.

They prided themselves on being a respectable family, so they wouldn’t pull their sick daughter-in-law out of bed to confront her. They were unsure how to deal with the situation and could only scold their son.

Guan Muyun, who worked in the Ministry of Works, had accompanied the emperor to Shanglin Garden for two days and returned home the following day.

But when he got home, instead of being greeted by Shen Ruojin’s smile, his mother questioned him: “Look at your good choice for a wife. Not only does she have a poor character, but she’s also a fake.”

“A fake?” Guan Muyun frowned, “What do you mean, mother?”

“She’s not the biological daughter of Wenyuan Houfu, did you know?”

“I’ve known for a long time,” Guan Muyun said. “But that was a mistake by the household. They switched the children, but it wasn’t her fault. Where did you hear that she has bad character?”

Madam Guan was furious. Her son knew all along that Shen Ruojin wasn’t the real daughter, yet he still married her. No wonder Luo Xin didn’t prepare a dowry for her.

Guan Muyun had kept this a secret from the family. Madam Guan couldn’t understand how Shen Ruojin had captivated him.

Duke Ling added: “Muyun, you really went too far this time. Listen to your mother about what happened today, and you’ll see how wrong you were.”

Madam Guan told Guan Muyun everything about the flower-viewing banquet.

Guan Muyun was shocked: “Jin’er wouldn’t do such a thing. Is someone framing her?”

“I saw the testimonies^[1]refer to signed statements confirming what happened. myself,” Madam Guan said. “Every princess gave their statement. It’s undeniable.” 

Guan Muyun frowned: “Could it have been the servants? Did they investigate properly?”

Madam Guan replied angrily: “You can use that excuse to protect the family’s reputation, but as the master, you should know who’s trying to cover things up the most.”

As they spoke, someone informed them that Lord Bao from Jingzhao Prefecture was here and wished to ask questions about the young lady.

Jingzhao Prefecture Yin was an important position in the capital, so Duke Ling said: “Don’t make him wait. Please invite him in.”

When Lord Bao arrived, Duke Ling exchanged pleasantries with him. Then, Bao asked about Shen Ruojin.

Guan Muyun apologized: “Ruojin hasn’t been well and is resting in bed. She’s unable to meet anyone.”

Lord Bao suspected she was faking illness again. But since Shen Ruojin was still the wife of the prince of Duke Ling’s Mansion, he couldn’t arrest her yet.

Knowing the case was ongoing, Bao remained polite and said: “These killers might be linked to former subordinates of King Liang. If Lady Shen wakes up and provides any information, please inform us immediately.”

After Bao left, Madam Guan angrily smashed a teacup and yelled at Guan Muyun: “If you insist on keeping Shen as your wife, it’s either her or me!”

At that moment, Fang entered.

Madam Guan was displeased with her daughter-in-law: “Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Why are you here now?”

Fang immediately knelt in front of her stepmother.

Duke Ling said to Madam Guan: “Do you have to be so harsh? Are you trying to keep everything a secret and ruin the whole family?”

Madam Guan said, “She revealed this in public at the princess’s banquet. Doesn’t the master know what she wants?”

Duke Ling thought that although his eldest daughter-in-law had her faults, they were nothing compared to the second daughter-in-law. However, he still found Mrs. Guan’s behavior to be unfair.

He said calmly to his first wife, “Don’t blame anyone yet. Let’s ask the eldest brother’s wife what’s going on first.”

Fang spoke up, “Father, mother, I know you’re both busy, so we wouldn’t disturb you unless it was important. Today, an elderly couple came to our home claiming to work for Lord Xue’s family, a military official. They heard the second young lady talk about what happened at the princess’s banquet and rushed to our home to claim kinship.”

At this, Mrs. Guan became angry and said, “I warned you not to mention this at such an event! Now the whole city is in an uproar. Even the Xue family’s servants know, so how could anyone in the capital not know? Now everyone knows that the wives in Duke Ling’s family are fighting. This is a disgrace.”

Duke Ling stayed focused and asked Fang, “What kind of relationship are they trying to claim?”