After hearing her gossip, all the civil and military officials went crazy.

Chapter 29 Sisters turn against each other
The Crown Prince helped Fang Lingchu up.

He said, "Princess Ding'an, please get up quickly."

Then he let the others get up, glanced at the old woman on the ground and said, "Even if the princess had someone beat you to death, you should still be grateful, let alone if the princess only had someone beat you."

The crown prince exuded an aura of authority, radiating power without anger. He merely glanced at the woman, yet his words were icy cold.

Fang Lingchu stood calmly behind the Crown Prince, but inwardly thought to the system: [The Crown Prince is actually quite nice when he's not obsessed with love.]

The system chimed in: "As long as your nation's fortunes are favorable, the Crown Prince could actually become a wise ruler."

Then everyone heard a woman's voice, but with the Crown Prince present, no one dared to say anything.

At this time, the people from Yingtian Prefecture also arrived.

Lord Zhang of Yingtian Prefecture first bowed to the Crown Prince and Fang Lingchu before asking, "Who went to report to the official?"

Fang Lingchu raised her hand shyly and said, "It's me."

When Lord Zhang saw that it was Fang Lingchu, he glanced at the Crown Prince standing there, and beads of sweat streamed down his forehead.

He had just finished a case and was about to go back to rest when he heard someone say that a woman had drowned in the Feh River, so he had to rush over.

Right under the Crown Prince's nose, someone actually dared to drown a woman beside him.

Since His Majesty ascended the throne, there has been a decree that no matter what the circumstances, women should not be drowned at will.

He never expected that such a thing would happen right under the Crown Prince's nose; he felt that his official hat was about to be in jeopardy.

Although he did not attend court, he had heard some rumors about Fang Lingchu.

Now that His Highness the Crown Prince is involved, if he doesn't handle this matter well...

Lord Zhang looked at a kneeling woman and a young woman.

The woman's hair was wet, probably because she had just been tied up and thrown into the river, and her mouth was still trembling.

Another woman, adorned with gold and silver, was still there, vehemently protesting her innocence.

Lord Zhang could only set up a courtroom in the wilderness and ask, "Who is here? What grievance do you have? Tell me the truth."

At this moment, Fang Lingchu's voice rang out again: "Guagua, I've observed that Ma Caidie's eyes are lifeless; she seems to be contemplating death."

System reply: [That's right, she doesn't want to live anymore.]

Fang Lingyan asked in confusion, "What happened to her that made her lose all hope of survival?"

When Mrs. Ma heard that her daughter didn't want to live, she burst into tears.

Ma Caidie didn't react when she heard Fang Lingchu's inner thoughts. She wouldn't say anything when Lord Zhang asked her anything, looking like she wanted to die.

The woman said, “I am Wang Linshi, the mother of Scholar Wang. This Ma Caidie married into our Wang family a year ago and has not borne any children. Today was supposed to be my son taking a concubine, but who knew that this slut was having an affair in her room. In a fit of anger, I ordered her to be drowned. I did not do it on purpose. Please, Your Honor, investigate this matter.”

When Lord Zhang heard what Madam Wang said, he frowned and turned to ask the silent Ma Caidie, but she still didn't speak, looking like she was just letting things be.

At this moment, Fang Lingchu and the system's voices continued: [Ma Caidie married Wang Qi a year ago. Ma Caidie is, after all, the daughter of General Pingxi. Although she's only a concubine's daughter, her mother died early, and she's always been registered under her stepmother's name. How did things turn out like this?]

The system said, "Host, look at this..." Then everyone heard Fang Lingchu clicking her tongue.

Everyone: What did you see? Tell us quickly, we all want to hear it.

[Does Ma Caidie really think that Ma Xiuer was disfigured because of her?]

Everyone: General Pingxi's eldest daughter has been disfigured; no wonder she has never married.

Ma Caidie only reacted when she heard her elder sister's name.

But he only moved his eyes slightly, and life slowly returned to them.

The Crown Prince noticed that Ma Caidie reacted to her sister's name and gave a look to the person next to him.

Fang Lingchu continued flipping through the pages, saying, "So that's how it is. No wonder the misunderstanding between the two of them started."

Ma Caidie was a little confused. What misunderstanding? Was it between her and her elder sister?
As Ma Caidie was lost in her memories, Fang Lingchu continued, "Ma Caidie and Ma Xiuer have been very close sisters since childhood, and Ma Caidie has always liked to stick close to her older sister. Ma Xiuer is also very good to her younger sister, always letting Ma Caidie choose the best things first."

Later, a younger cousin came to visit. This cousin showed great interest in Ma Caidie and treated her very well. At first, the older sister, Ma Xiuer, didn't pay much attention, but later she found that the two were so close that Ma Caidie forgot her own birthday.

Ma Cai'er felt extremely sad. When she went out to clear her head, she encountered a group of refugees. She and her car overturned into a ditch. She landed face down and was dragged a few steps. Her face was severely abraded. Even if it heals, it will leave a large scar that she can never get rid of.

When Ma Xiuer woke up and realized her condition, she contemplated suicide. Her older cousin comforted her, and Ma Xiuer gradually recovered under her cousin's care.

Ma Caidie was beaten half to death by Madam Ma and left in the woodshed. Ma Xiuer was heartbroken to see that her injured sister didn't even come to visit her. The two sisters gradually drifted apart for various reasons, and Madam Ma played a significant role in this.

Ma Caidie discovered that her sister disliked her more and more, and the servants in the mansion were increasingly disregarding her. Her life was getting worse and worse, and at the same time, Madam Ma intentionally or unintentionally had the servants bully her, turning her into a weak and pitiful little thing. Even so, she still tried her best to live each day and prepared a birthday gift for her sister every year.

Ma Xiuer slowly opened up and prepared to talk to her sister, but all of this was disrupted by the appearance of Wang Qi.

Ma Caidie discovers that her sister has fallen in love with a scholar, but she finds that the scholar is all show and no substance and frequents brothels. She realizes that he is pursuing her sister only for her large dowry. Ma Caidie immediately tells Madam Ma about this, but Madam Ma's advice is ineffective. So, she tells Ma Caidie to seduce Wang Qi directly. Wang Qi immediately falls for it and marries Ma Caidie.

Betrayed by her lover and sister, Ma Xiuer fell seriously ill and, refusing to remarry, decided to become a nun.

When Fang Lingchu said this, everyone felt a mix of emotions.

But no one dared to voice their opinion; they just whispered among themselves: "No matter the reason, if she went and seduced her own brother-in-law, then it's understandable that she's now being accused of seducing others."

Netizen 1: That's right, I think she must have fallen for Scholar Wang and deliberately said that to get Madam Ma to marry her off to him.

Bystander 2: I think that's definitely it. Tsk tsk tsk, this kind of woman should be drowned. She deserves to die.

Bystander 3: Miss Ma treated her so well, yet she still went and stole her husband.

Bystander 4: A concubine's daughter is a concubine's daughter. She has the blood of a lowly person flowing in her veins. Even if she is educated in a large family, she is still the same.

Someone overheard her say this and asked: What do you know that we don't?

The man said, "I heard it from the maid of my maternal aunt's son, who works for General Pingxi. She said that the second young lady's mother used dishonest means to get into the general's bed."

Everyone was surprised, and then they saw him saying everything they knew.

(End of this chapter)