Chapter 1

At my grandson's birthday banquet, my useless son brought back a pitiful girl who sold herself to bury her father.

He insisted that she's a girl from a good family and wants to divorce his wife to marry her.

So I killed him off and arranged for my grandson to inherit the title.

Ridiculous! My daughter-in-law is my own flesh and blood, whatever!

1

Back in those years when I gave birth, I had massive hemorrhaging and couldn't have children again.

To prevent the position of Marquis Zhen Nan's heir from falling to others, I found an abandoned baby boy at the Charitable Hall to replace my daughter.

As for my daughter Anle, I raised her as my heir in the name of master and apprentice.

The two children grew up together, and at some point, developed feelings for each other.

When Xie Yu knelt in front of me to ask Anle's hand in marriage, I thought it was fate and prepared the grandest wedding for them to withstand external criticism.

But now, only seven years later, everything has changed.

At my little grandson's fifth birthday, although we didn't hold a large affair, a large group of relatives and in-laws were invited.

Xie Yu, the father, not only showed up late to greet the guests but came trailing a girl in mourning clothes.

Their abrupt entrance immediately silenced all the guests in the garden, and all eyes were on them.

The girl cowered behind Xie Yu, peeking at us nervously, with teary eyes before anyone even spoke.

"Yu Lang..." the girl timidly tugged Xie Yu's sleeve.

"Don't be afraid." Xie Yu held her hand and comforted her softly.

Anle frowned and looked at me, troubled.

I shook my head slightly, indicating I knew nothing about this.

"Oh, which family's young lady is this?" My sister-in-law stretched her words, casting a mocking glance at Anle.

Hearing her speak suddenly, I thought this was bad, fearing the worst.

Sure enough, Xie Yu seemed like a switch had been flipped, and he hurriedly said, "Mother, I want to marry Lian'er!"

Anle nearly overturned the table, glaring at these two despicable people without saying a word for a long time.

Infuriated, I laughed instead: "Marry her? Your wife is sitting right here, who else do you want to marry!"

If today's events spread, the entire Marquis Zhen Nan Mansion would become a laughingstock!

Xie Yu's face flushed, and he stubbornly said, "Mother, I simply don't love Mrs. An! We can never be happy together!"

Anle almost fainted from anger; she had borne and raised children for him and managed household affairs since marrying into the mansion, yet now she was hearing such humiliating words.

"Don't love?" Anle's eyes reddened: "Xie Yu, you were the one who begged me to marry you!"

"I was young and naive, deceived by you!" Xie Yu said through gritted teeth, "Only after meeting Lian'er did I know what love is!"

"Didn't know love?" I felt like I heard the biggest joke: "Xie Yu, do you know your legitimate son is already five years old?"

My little grandson huddled in his wet nurse's arms, watching this scene fearfully.

Upon hearing us mention him, he timidly asked, "Does father not want Brother Jue anymore?"

Xie Yu at last showed some conscience and turned his gaze away, unable to look his son in the eye.

"Mother, although Mrs. An was raised by your side, she's just an abandoned girl with no parents! How can she be worthy of the role of main wife in Marquis Zhen Nan Mansion?" Xie Yu retorted rigidly: "And her child, how can he be considered my legitimate son?"

At these words, everyone at the table couldn't remain seated.

"Xie Yu, have you no shame?" I stared into his eyes, trying to calm down out of anger.

"Mother, please fulfill my wish to be with Lian'er!" Xie Yu pulled the pitiful girl down to kowtow, eyes flushed with red.

"Fulfill you? What about me?" Anle looked incredulously at this man she had shared a bed with for years, feeling it was unbelievable.

"You're... you're just a servant attending to my mother; if you behave, for her sake, I might keep you as a concubine." Xie Yu became increasingly stern: "Though Brother Jue cannot be the legitimate heir, he is still the eldest son, and I won't mistreat him."

The pitiful girl lifted her head, pitifully and sympathetically saying: "Sister, don't worry, I will treat Brother Jue as my own..."

"Who do you think you are! You have no place to speak here!"

Anle and I shouted simultaneously, stopping short, increasingly disliking these two despicable people.

The pitiful girl pouted, immediately frightened into tears.

"Yu Lang…"

"Mother, I know you favor Mrs. An, but Lian'er is innocent! How can you take it out on her?"

Unyielding, Xie Yu grabbed the pitiful girl and yelled at me.

"Clearly, I am your real son!"

"I'd rather you weren't." I stared coldly at him, only feeling that this son I had raised myself was laughably foolish.

Especially with my sister-in-law adding fuel: "I said back then, Mrs. An's status was too low to be a proper wife. Sister-in-law, look, wasn't I right?"

"Marry a virtuous woman; if Mrs. An were the daughter of a high noble family, how could today's absurdity ever happen?" someone chimed in.

"Dear aunt, I recall your daughter should be getting betrothed, right? Third brother, I heard your youngest son is planning to take the imperial exams this year?" I looked at the two making sarcastic remarks.

"What do you mean?" My sister-in-law immediately scowled, watching me tensely.

"Today we only have Xie Family here, so I won't speak as if to outsiders." I pressed against the table, slowly getting up, scanning the room calmly.

"One cannot write Xie twice in a single stroke, if today's matters spread, only Xie Family would be despised," I coldly said, looking at them: "Whether marrying off our children or securing positions, others only care about the Xie Family's standing!"

If they wish to mock, they should reconsider how much they can afford to mock!

My sister-in-law instantly froze, returning to her senses with difficulty, awkwardly saying: "Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? We're just speaking frankly here because it's all family."

"Exactly, once outside this door, we won't speak of this again!"

Amidst the chorus of agreement, Xie Yu's face darkened gradually.

"Mother, I said I want to marry—" Xie Yu protested.

"Shut up!" I cut him off, then turned to the pitiful girl: "What sort of thing are you, thinking you can enter my Xie Family's house?"

The pitiful girl's face turned pale, and she swayed, nearly fainting.

"Mother, don't target Lian'er!" Xie Yu protested, shielding the girl in his arms.

"Lian'er is innocent!"

The pitiful girl's eyes welled with tears: "The matriarch favors sister, being angry is understandable; Lian'er is willing to bear it for Yu Lang, Yu Lang, don't go against the matriarch for Lian'er..."

"Mother, you see how sensible Lian'er is, how can you bear to be harsh on her?" Xie Yu, predictably unable to resist, became assertive.

I couldn't help but find it amusing; I've watched these kinds of characters in his father's backyard, how could I be unwilling?

Yet now he has become the Marquis, he seems to have forgotten how my mother and I were once framed and humiliated by this Little White Flower!

"You certainly have a tender heart for beauties." I looked at him, feeling only irony.

"I—"

"Someone, please escort the Marquis to the ancestral hall!" I didn't look at him, just instructed the servants.

2

Xie Yu was always obedient from a young age. It's rare for me to open the ancestral hall for family punishment.

Moreover, since Old Marquis died by my hand, I always felt a chill in this place, so I seldom came except for ancestor worship.

This time, it's an exception.

I ordered someone to place Xie Yu on the long bench, and the servants stood by with wide sticks.

Little White Flower pitifully flung herself onto Xie Yu, crying and pleading: "Old Madam, Yu Lang is the Marquis! How can you do this to him!"

"Lian'er, don't be afraid, they won't dare to really hit me!" Xie Yu comforted Little White Flower, then turned to angrily shout at the servants holding him: "Are you rebelling? I am the master of this Marquis Zhen Nan Mansion!"

The servants looked at Xie Yu with difficulty, not daring to loosen their grip even slightly.

In this mansion, the servants' contracts were in my hands, so they wouldn't dare to defy me under my watch.

Marquis Zhen Nan Mansion is a large family. The tablets are stacked high, numbering in the hundreds, looking like dark clouds spreading from the eaves to me.

I sighed, turning to look at this despicable pair.

"Even if you are the Marquis, aren't you still a beast unaware of propriety and shame?"

My words held no formality, Little White Flower shuddered, looking at me in astonishment.

"Old Madam, how can you say that about Yu Lang! Do you want to ruin his future?" Little White Flower spoke each word with a bleeding heart, her voice mournful as if she was dying.

Xie Yu's face changed dramatically. This dynasty valued filial piety greatly; if this got out, he wouldn't know how much disdain and embarrassment he'd face.

"Mother, is your heart really this cruel?" Xie Yu growled with red eyes: "For the sake of an orphan girl, you're ignoring your own son?"

"Am I wrong?" I snorted coldly at him: "Regardless of Anle marrying into the mansion to bear your children and manage the household, even if she has not accomplished much, she has labored hard. Even if she were guilty of all evils, she is still your wife!"

"If you're truly dissatisfied with her and want to divorce and remarry, you could bring it privately, in a way that preserves everyone's dignity!"

I continued: "Yet you chose to humiliate her at the heir's birthday banquet!"

"You have studied the sages' words since childhood; which sage taught you to insult your wife like this?"

Xie Yu was left speechless by my questions.

I waved my hand: "Do it! Beat him until he knows he was wrong!"

The servants followed the order, their strikes precise and steady, causing Xie Yu to scream in pain incessantly.

"Yu Lang! Old Madam! Yu Lang is your flesh and blood! How can you be so cruel!"

I saw her crying pitifully and kindly said: "No need to stop!"

I want to see how many blows this Little White Flower can take for Xie Yu!

"Lian'er!" Xie Yu yelled movingly: "Don't!"

Just as the maid loosened her grip, Little White Flower rolled her eyes and fainted.

Ridiculous, she didn't take even one blow for him.

"Mother." Anle pleaded with red eyes: "We should wait until it's clear before hitting again."

Her words always carried weight in the mansion, the servant who was hitting looked at me and indeed stopped.

Xie Yu crawled to Little White Flower's side, holding her in his arms, glaring at me angrily.

"Mrs. An! This Marquis doesn't need your false kindness here! You think I don't know the things you've done?"

Xie Yu shouted angrily: "Lian'er pitied mother's age, and some things she wouldn't let me tell you! But now I can't care anymore!"

Anle looked at this man with disappointment: "I am open and upright, what can't be let mother know?"

"Fine!" Xie Yu sneered: "You said it!"

He turned to me: "Mother! Don't be fooled by her virtuous appearance! Mrs. An is a venomous woman! She even forced Lian'er's father and brothers to death!"

I frowned, knowing that Anle would never do such a thing without reason. Could it be someone else's scheme?

This mansion's large size and wealth make it susceptible to enmity; could someone be deliberately plotting?

Sure enough, Anle retorted: "Before today, I didn't even know who she was! How could I force her father and brothers to death?"

"You still dare to deny it!" Xie Yu said disdainfully: "Let me ask you, is Huichun Hall managed by you now?"

Anle, not understanding, nodded immediately.

The Huichun Hall was originally part of my dowry, with everyone from attending doctors to apprentices carefully selected by my maiden family.

Back then, through Huichun Hall, I could discreetly exchange babies and kill my husband.

After Anle's hairpin ceremony, I handed over the shops in my dowry for her management, both as practice and support.

"Mother long established the rule that for impoverished people, Huichun Hall offers free consultations, without charging medical fees, correct?" Xie Yu asked again.

This time, both Anle and I looked at Xie Yu differently, asking in unison: "When was such a rule established at Huichun Hall?"

Anle paused, then asked: "Huichun Hall isn't a charitable hall, how could it not charge for medicine?"

"But..." Xie Yu tensed up: "The shopkeeper of Huichun Hall mentioned free diagnoses…"

"Every first and fifteenth of the month, Huichun Hall indeed provides free consultations, gives out cold medicines in winter, and offers summer heat relief in summer. But for other medicines… who said there's no charge?"

Anle shook her head: "For poor families, there is no consultation fee, but medicine is charged at cost. If they can't pay, they can write an IOU to pay back slowly…"

I glanced at Little White Flower and said slowly: "If you want free medicine, go to the Charitable Hall outside the city!"

Xie Yu retorted: "The Charitable Hall is filthy and smelly, how could it be a place to seek medical help?"

Anle rolled her eyes, too lazy to engage with this spoiled young master.

"If things have come to the point of needing to seek help from the Charitable Hall, who would still care about sitting on a yellow pear wood bench or the ground?" Anle retorted sarcastically.

Moreover, though the Charitable Halls in our dynasty are somewhat dilapidated, they are still fairly clean.

I looked closely at Little White Flower again, suddenly feeling that her face seemed familiar.

Xie Yu realized he had misspoken, awkwardly saying: "Even if there's no free medicine, Huichun Hall shouldn't turn away patients!"

"Lian'er's brother was critically ill, and Huichun Hall's doctor refused to treat him, causing his death!" Xie Yu glared at Mrs. An, growing more confident as he spoke.

"His father came to seek justice and was thrown out by the hands!" Xie Yu was indignant: "Dare you say this wasn't your order!"

With this said, Anle and I did recall something.

After all, the Ministry of Justice did come to inquire about the situation, and Anle had recounted it to me as a joke.

Now, hearing Xie Yu mention it, Anle was trembling with anger: "Why don't you ask what her father and brothers did!"