Chapter 133: Protection

Jiang Zhanwei sneered, “At this stage, you dare to fabricate lies. I ask Lady Chen, where did you get your five thousand taels of silver from? Furthermore, who did my mother-in-law entrust to deal with you? With such a large amount of money involved, there must be a middleman. And who might that middleman be…” He turned to the Manager and asked, “Is that forged deed still available?”

Manager Li hastily bowed and replied, “I have it with me.”

Jiang Zhanwei then instructed Liu Xin, “I’m tired of dealing with these uncultured upstarts. Go to the Imperial Court with the Princess’s seal and have them arrest these individuals, including the woman who stole the deed. Considering our family relationship, they shouldn’t be subjected to severe punishment, just a flogging will do.”

Liu Xin bowed and said, “Yes, I will handle it. Even with just a flogging, they won’t be able to endure and will confess.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Xiao Chen grew fearful. It turned out they were not afraid to escalate the matter. She raised her voice and cried, “This is outrageous! How can a son-in-law order someone to arrest his mother-in-law?”

Lu Fangming quickly interjected, “Mr. Jiang, let’s resolve family matters privately.”

Old lady Lu added, “If this matter becomes public, it will bring shame upon our Lu family. It will also impact our grandson-in-law and Man. Let’s handle this privately.”

With a cold expression, Jiang Zhanwei stated, “If this matter becomes public, it will certainly impact your family but not mine. As for Man, she’s already married into my family. With my protection, as well as the love and care of my grandparents, she won’t be wronged. As for her reputation for filial piety, I know the hardships she has endured, so I no longer care.”

Lu Fangrong understood. Xiao Chen had secretly arranged for the theft of the deed for Renhe Hall, changing it to her name, and claimed it was sold to her by the He family for five thousand taels of silver. He suspected that the so-called woman involved was one of Lu Fangming’s concubines.

Enraged, he stood up, grabbed Mrs. Xiao Chen, and slapped her hard across the face, scolding, “You shameless person, how could you do such an outrageous thing, how could you treat my daughter like this!”

Mrs. Xiao Chen fell to the ground, blood trickling from her mouth. She spat out not only blood but also two teeth. Spitting at Lu Fangrong, she cried out, “Man is your daughter, and you’ve never cared for her in over a decade. Why should I treat her well?”

Then she crawled to the old lady, clutching her legs, and begged, “Mother-in-law, save me. I did what I did because I couldn’t contain my anger. You deceived me into the Lu family. The men don’t respect me, they left after the marriage, and you want to bring in a vixen to make him happy. I’m just so furious. And if it weren’t for that vixen taking the initiative…”

Before Mrs. Xiao Chen could finish speaking, old lady Lu loudly interrupted, “If it’s your fault, admit it promptly. Who allowed you to be greedy and lose your conscience? No more fussing, no biting back. I’ll still leave you a way out, otherwise, I’ll send you directly to become a nun.”

Lu Man chuckled, unabashedly saying to Jiang Zhanwei, “Third Young Master, did you hear that? The old lady is very clever, she wants Mrs. Xiao Chen to take the fall for everything.”

Jiang Zhanwei looked at Lu Man, his previously gloomy face hinting at a slight smile. He said, “Lady Chen’s own misdeeds are enough to put her life in danger, taking the blame for others would lead to even more dire consequences. Man, you’ve been wronged all these years…”

Lu Fangrong hurriedly reassured, “Man, General Jiang, I will divorce Xiao Chen, I won’t let you suffer in vain. It was my fault for not being around to care for her, allowing her to endure the wicked woman’s abuse for so many years. Rest assured, I will make this wicked woman hand over Renhe Hall.”

Feeling undermined, he couldn’t even bring himself to say “son-in-law”. He had also noticed that Jiang Zhanwei referred to Lady He as “mother-in-law.” In other words, he acknowledged that Lady He, whom the Lu family had divorced him for, was his mother-in-law but seemingly refused to acknowledge his role as a father-in-law in the Lu family.

Upon hearing that Lu Fangrong intended to divorce her, Mrs. Xiao Chen protested loudly, “Lu Fangrong, you have no conscience. You want to drive me away to make room for that vixen, but I won’t allow it! This matter, that vixen, Bao Qin…”

Enraged, Lu Fangrong believed Xiao Chen was trying to implicate Bao Qin as well. He shouted, “You shameless person, you dare speak nonsense even when faced with the truth. You think others are fools who will believe your lies. Quiet down, at this stage, even if you want to create some good karma for yourself, stop biting back.”

Old lady Lu also didn’t want Bao Qin to be implicated. Her second son’s two sons were Bao Qin’s biological children, and he doted on her immensely. She scolded, “Shut up! You caused this mess yourself, now bear the consequences. Even if you’re divorced, in consideration of Yuan’s face, our Lu family will still support you. If you dare to bite back indiscriminately and involve unrelated people, you’ll be sent back to your maternal home.”

Realizing her family’s love for money, Xiao Chen knew she wouldn’t have an easy time if the Lu family sent her back. With even the old lady no longer on her side, she understood her situation was dire. She had no choice but to follow the old lady’s instructions, hoping she could arrange things in her favor. Although she was extremely unwilling, she sat down as the old lady helped her onto a chair, covering her face with a handkerchief and crying, unable to say more.

Jiang Zhanwei smirked and remarked to Lu Man, “In other families, it’s a case of ‘lose the chariot to protect the general,’ or ‘survival of the fittest.’ But in this family, it’s the opposite—divorcing such a good mother-in-law and marrying a commoner. Now, to protect the more despicable woman, they make the commoner take all the blame. The ways of this family are truly unexpected, I just can’t comprehend it.”

Lu Man sighed, “It’s no wonder Third Young Master can’t comprehend. It took me over a decade and a near-death experience to understand.”

Nearly exasperated, Lu Fangrong sternly said, “Son-in-law, what do you mean by that? Today, you and Man returned to discuss the matter of Renhe Hall. We are willing to return Renhe Hall to you, divorce the misdeed-doer Xiao Chen. Your unreasonable behavior is putting us in a difficult position. No matter how high your rank, you shouldn’t bully others like this!” He turned to Lu Fangming and added, “Big brother, it was which concubine who helped Xiao Chen. Don’t shield her anymore, let’s handle this together.”

Lu Fangming’s face flushed with anger as he retorted, “Second brother, what do you mean? Whether to protect your own woman is up to you, why ask me?”

Seeing Lu Fangrong still viewing Bao Qin as an innocent flower, Lu Man chuckled lightly.

The old lady glared at her sons and softly said to Lu Man, “Man, this matter has wronged you in our Lu family. I’ll have Xiao Chen bring out the deed and have it changed to your name at the court. As for the profits from the textile workshop…” she paused, then continued, “I’ll allocate half to you. Your mother arranged it this way before, saying half of the profits from that shop belong to you. I’ve decided to have your father divorce Xiao Chen as well. Please don’t make a fuss anymore, and let’s keep this matter private. Don’t tell your in-laws either, it would be embarrassing for you, wouldn’t it?”