Chapter 3: Demoted to a Concubine

These words, uttered by the old lady, were met with an unpleasant frown. She turned to her son, who stood beside her, and instructed, “Xiuyuan, you two are husband and wife, you talk to her yourself.”

“Yes, Mother!”

An Xiuyuan nodded, took the hand of the woman beside him, and said to Yunzhi, “Yunzhi, this is Zhen’er, my cousin and the mother of my child. From today onwards, she is my wife.”

“Cousin, what are you saying?” Wang Yuzhen feigned displeasure, “Why don’t you apologize to your sister? She must be angry.”

Then, she turned to Yunzhi and said, “Sister, Brother Xiuyuan is just talking nonsense, don’t be angry. I did give him a child, but it was just an accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident, we were deeply in love, Ming’er is the fruit of our love. And in my heart, there is only one wife, and that is you.”

“But, but…” Wang Yuzhen pretended to be troubled, but inside, she was overjoyed. She watched Yunzhi, wanting to see her reaction.

“She is your wife, then what am I?” Yunzhi looked at An Xiuyuan coldly, her expression a mix of shock and disdain. Since he claimed Wang Yuzhen was his only wife, why did he get married in the first place?

He could have stayed single until he found Wang Yuzhen, couldn’t he?

And Wang Yuzhen, her tactics were impressive, using a retreat to advance.

Before An Xiuyuan could speak, the old lady sneered, “You, a woman raised by a merchant, have no real marital relationship with Yuan’er. It’s a favor to make you a concubine, and yet you dare to cling to the position of the main wife, what are you dreaming of?”

“Old Madam, your words are quite amusing. You and your son have no real marital relationship, it wasn’t my fault. Now you despise me for being raised by a merchant, why didn’t you say so when you were seeking my hand in marriage? What, you want to cross the river and demolish the bridge now? I tell you, it’s too late!”

“Yuan’er, look at the woman you married, she dares to speak to me like this, she’s gone mad! Come here, slap her mouth for me!”

The old lady yelled, and immediately two elderly female servants stepped forward, raising their hands to strike Yunzhi. But their hands were caught halfway by Yunzhi.

Then, she slapped them back, one after another. After doing so, she coldly said, “A mere servant, daring to disrespect this Madam, who gave you the courage?”

“Yunzhi, you?” The old lady stared at Yunzhi in shock, never expecting her to resist.

Ever since Yunzhi married into the Marquis’ Mansion, she had never dared to disobey her words. But today, she dared to slap her servants in front of her.

They say even when beating a dog, one must look at the owner. Yunzhi wasn’t just slapping servants, she was slapping the old lady’s face.

“What’s wrong with me? Is this the rule of the Marquis’ Mansion, where servants can beat their masters?”

Yunzhi then turned to An Xiuyuan, and said coldly, “I don’t care if you’re divorcing your wife and remarrying, or demoting her to a concubine, but as long as I am the Madam of this Marquis’ Mansion, I will not allow a servant to step over my head, understand?”

An Xiuyuan looked at Yunzhi, who was full of imposing aura, and couldn’t believe his eyes. The reason he married Yunzhi was firstly because his beloved woman had disappeared without a trace, he couldn’t find her, and coupled with his advancing age, he had to marry. Secondly, the Yun family was wealthy, Yunzhi was beautiful, and her personality was meek.

He thought such a woman would be easy to manipulate. Once she entered the Marquis’ Mansion, he could do whatever he wanted with her.