Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

"Snapped!"

A clear and loud sound of the gavel suddenly rang out, and everyone in the hall was startled.

The baby was frightened by the sudden sound, and his heart-wrenching cry echoed in the empty court.

The woman turned pale with fear and pleaded in panic, "Please forgive me, sir!"

She frantically tried to coax the baby in her arms, but the little body kept struggling and twisting, and no matter how she tried to comfort it, the crying did not subside at all.

The originally majestic court was now in a state of chaos, and the solemn atmosphere was shattered by the annoying crying.

Lu Xiuzhang's face was gloomy, and he felt a little irritated. The other yamen runners looked at each other, all at a loss. Only Han Jue, standing at the head of the yamen runners, curled his lips slightly, watching the scene with interest.

After a long time, with the woman's strenuous comfort, the baby's crying finally subsided, though it would still sob occasionally.

Lu Xiu Zhang no longer dared to speak loudly. He lowered his voice and said solemnly, "Who is here? Tell me your name!"

The woman hugged the child tightly, her voice as soft as a mosquito: "My Lord, I... I am the most popular courtesan in Xunzhou, and my name is Meiying."

Lu Xiuzhang was filled with suspicion. Why would the courtesan from Xunzhou travel all the way to Jiazhou to beat the drum and complain? His expression was slightly stern as he demanded, "What are you suing for?"

A hint of hesitation flashed through Meiying's eyes. She bit her red lip, as if making a final struggle. After a moment, she trembled and said, "I...I will sue Master Lu's son-in-law, Shen He. He...he is treacherous and wants to kill us, mother and son."

"Who are you going to sue?" Lu Xiuzhan's voice couldn't help but rise a few notches. He was shocked and couldn't believe his ears.

Meiying's expression was filled with resentment and determination. She shouted, "I will sue Shen He."

"At first, he loved me dearly, spent a fortune to redeem me, and tricked me into giving birth to his child. He also promised me that after he married Miss Lu, he would bring my son and me into the Shen Mansion and give us a legitimate identity. I thought I had found my true love."

Meiying looked up at Lu Xiuzhang, a flicker of unspeakable resentment in her eyes. "Who could have imagined that Lord Lu would be suddenly promoted to the prefect of Jiazhou, instantly wielding immense power. Shen He was worried that if Lord Lu learned of his absurd deeds, the Shen family would lose this 'god-given marriage,' so she planned to eliminate us mother and son to prevent future trouble."

Tears welled up in her eyes, like beads from a broken string, sliding down her fair face. "Fortunately, I had already noticed Shen He's abnormality and was on guard against him, so I was able to escape. With the help of my friends, I escaped Xunzhou, but Shen He was relentless and repeatedly sent people to hunt us down."

She looked down at the baby in her arms, her eyes full of love and tenderness, her voice filled with helplessness: "I wanted to die, but I couldn't let this child go. He was already born into my womb with a miserable fate. If I abandon him, he will have no hope of survival."

Meiying looked up at Lu Xiuzhang again and pleaded, "I am truly desperate and have come to you, Lord Lu, for help. I swear that from now on, my mother and I will never again have anything to do with Shen He, and will not affect Miss Lu's marriage with the Shen family. Please, Lord Lu, give me and my mother a way out..."

At this point, Meiying was already sobbing uncontrollably. She held the child tightly in one hand and supported herself on the ground with the other, and kowtowed "dong dong dong", each kowtow seeming to use up all her strength.

The more Lu Xiu Zhang listened, the darker his face became. At this moment, it had completely turned the color of a pot bottom. He was ashamed and angry. He thought that his good reputation had been completely tarnished by Shen He, a prospective son-in-law.

He looked up at everyone in the hall. There is no wall that is impenetrable. Probably within half a day, this matter will spread throughout Jiazhou City.

All the achievements he had worked so hard to accumulate over the past few months, all the praise he had earned through his hard work, would vanish into thin air. He and his daughter, Lu Li, would become the butt of public ridicule. Rumors can melt metal, and I wonder if Li'er can bear it all.

Lu Xiuzhang felt dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning before his eyes. He took a deep breath, tried to calm himself, and slowly said, "Meiying, I will send someone to investigate the truth. If what you say is true, I will never shield Shen He and will definitely give you justice."

He waved his hand dejectedly, his voice tinged with fatigue: "Adjourn!"

Lu Xiuzhan no longer had the heart to handle official business. He walked back to the backyard of the government office with heavy steps and summoned Mao and Lu Li. He slowly spoke and told them everything that had just happened in the court.

Mao couldn't help but curl her lips and complained, "Cousin, how can you actually arrange such a marriage for Li'er? For such a big deal, you should have carefully inquired about Shen He's character. Li'er's life is ruined now!"

She said this, but inwardly she was delighted. She had coveted this marriage for years and had even plotted how to help Qianqian snatch it away. Now, she didn't need to do anything. Lu Li's reputation was ruined, and he would definitely not marry anyone better than Qianqian in the future.

Lu Li frowned slightly and retorted, "Aunt, you're wrong. When we arranged this marriage, Shen He was still very young. How could Mother have predicted that he would grow up to be such a playboy?"

Lu Xiuzhang couldn't stand Mao's harsh criticism of his deceased wife. He scolded her, "Stop saying those useless things! The most urgent thing is to come up with a solution." He turned to look at Lu Li and asked in a deep voice, "Li'er, what do you want?"

Lu Li's face was calm as she said calmly, "Marriage has always been a matter of great importance, decided by parents and matchmakers. Li'er will follow my father's arrangements."

She paused slightly, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "Father can handle it however he wants. You don't have to worry about Li'er. Marriage is insignificant to Li'er. There's no difference between marrying Shen He and marrying anyone else."

Lu Xiu Zhang's brows knitted tightly together, as if they could pinch a fly to death. He scolded lightly, "How can that be? Marriage is more important to a woman than a man. It's a woman's lifelong support and destination. How can you treat it so lightly?"

His eyes were blazing with fire as he shouted angrily, "Shen He is a scumbag, worse than an animal. How dare he bully us like this! I will immediately send someone to Xunzhou to investigate. If the situation is true, I will cancel this marriage no matter what..."

"You're lying, you're all lying!" Before Lu Xiuzhang finished speaking, Lu Qian, who was hiding behind the door and eavesdropping, could no longer hold back. She pushed the door open and pointed at Lu Xiuzhang and Lu Li, shouting angrily, "Brother Shen is not that kind of person. He can't possibly like another woman."

Her voice was sharp, like an enraged little beast, and she glared at Lu Li and said, "It must be you! You only like those books and paintings, and don't like Brother Shen at all, so you found a dirty woman to slander him, just to avoid marrying him, right?"

Lu Xiuzhang slammed the table and shouted angrily, "That's enough! Lu Qian, have you had enough? What kind of magic potion did Shen He give you to make you lose your sense of right and wrong?"

Lu Qian suddenly smiled smugly. She looked at Lu Li, her eyes full of provocation and jealousy. "When we were in Xunzhou, every time Big Brother Shen came to our house, he would talk to Qianqian alone. The person he liked wasn't me, but Qianqian. When he comes to propose, he will definitely marry Qianqian, not you."

The room instantly fell into a dead silence. The three of them were stunned. Qianqian was still so young, and Shen He, that beast, had the audacity to deceive her...