The entire Marquis's mansion regrets it? Too late, their little one has become the darling of t

"What is it?" Shen Jinzhu asked curiously.

Jade took the small gold piece from the bottom of the pendant.

"Why did the First Madam send such a thing? It wasn't even properly set before she sent it," Jade couldn't help but complain.

The gold sheet was extremely soft; it deformed with the slightest movement.

Shen Jinzhu noticed the time engraved on it.

Furthermore, before Qiu Chan left, she repeatedly emphasized that she must visit Cui Ruixin.

She had a vague idea in her mind.

The eldest son's family is putting on a play and they need her to participate.

It just so happened that she didn't want Liu Ying'er to marry into the family, so she gladly decided to keep the appointment.

The appointed time arrived.

Shen Jinzhu went to the courtyard of the main house in person, and of course, Yu Ningyao followed along.

"Where is your sister-in-law? I'll go and talk to her."

The maid Chunying replied worriedly, "Madam is in a bad mood. She kicked us all out, saying she wanted to be alone. We haven't heard from her for a long time."

Shen Jinzhu said calmly, "Take me to see her."

"Yes." Chunying led her to the bedroom.

"Madam, the Third Madam has brought the Second Miss to see you."

After knocking twice and receiving no response, Chunying hurriedly pushed the door open.

Upon breaking open the door, they saw Cui Ruixin, who had hanged herself.

"Ah—" Chunying was so frightened that her face changed drastically and she screamed.

"Hurry up and save her!" Shen Jinzhu was also startled and immediately covered her daughter's eyes.

She regretted bringing her daughter along.

She never expected that Cui Ruixin would be so willing to go all out.

Holy crap, my mother is ruthless!

Yu Ningyao was stunned with fright.

Upon seeing this situation, the system skillfully investigated the cause and effect on its own.

After all, it has a gossipy host, and it has already trained itself.

A long welt was left on Cui Ruixin's neck. Her voice was hoarse as she said, "I don't want to live anymore, why did you save me..."

Shen Jinzhu admired her acting skills.

Aren't they afraid that the charade will become real and they'll ruin themselves?

"Sister-in-law, please don't worry. Father and Mother are not unreasonable people. You have managed the Marquis's mansion for many years, and your position is unshakeable." Shen Jinzhu quickly cooperated with her acting.

She understood Cui Ruixin's intention.

If she were to hang herself and be discovered by the people in her room, her parents-in-law and the Marquis would inevitably suspect that she was faking it.

Having her as the witness would be much more convincing.

[Host, Cui Ruixin did it on purpose.]

She specifically asked Shen Jinzhu to be her witness.

[Just as Shen Jinzhu arrived, right on time, she hanged herself.]

Yu Ningyao: [...Isn't she afraid that if my mother gets delayed at the door, she'll overact and it'll all be over?]

System: [Don't worry, Li is guarding the door. She's keeping track of the time; if anything seems wrong, she'll rush in to rescue them.]

Shen Jinzhu sent someone to inform her parents-in-law and Yu Kangping about the matter.

They were very angry, but they didn't dare to provoke Cui Ruixin.

After all, she wasn't from a poor family; she had her family backing her up.

If she makes a scene and prevents the taking of a concubine, one could say she is jealous.

But since she was leaving so quietly, they didn't know what to say.

Yu Kangping initially questioned whether she was deliberately putting on an act, but when he saw the ligature marks on her neck and remembered that Shen Jinzhu had only noticed them because she had come to see her on a whim, he dismissed his suspicions.

After all, her third sister-in-law had just taken away her control of the household, and she hated Shen Jinzhu. So why would Shen Jinzhu help her lie?

"Don't worry, we've been husband and wife for many years, I will give you an explanation for this." After saying this, he left dejectedly.

Shen Jinzhu also left with Yu Ningyao.

Having witnessed the entire process, Yu Ningyao was utterly amazed.

Her mother is truly cunning.

If Liu Ying'er really marries into the family, and the two of them clash, then the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion will definitely be filled with bloodshed and chaos, and there will be no peace.

……

Day two.

The British official paid a visit.

The old Marquis and his wife received him, while Yu Kangping stood silently to the side.

Zhao Zhengyue and Yu Kangping exchanged a glance; one looked disgusted, the other embarrassed.

The two are only five years apart in age, but if they become in-laws in the future, Yu Kangping will have to call him father-in-law.

Zhao Zhengyue suppressed his inner complaints and looked at the old Marquis and the old lady.

"I'm sure you two already know why I've come today. I just want to ask what plans you have for my daughter."

Yu Kangping hurriedly said, "I will take responsibility for them, mother and daughter, and take good care of them."

"So, is it a concubine or a secondary wife?" Zhao Zhengyue didn't want to hear his useless nonsense.

Yu Kangping immediately fell silent.

Although the old Marquis felt ashamed, he didn't want to fall out with the Duke of Yingguo, so he said in a deep voice, "We will marry your daughter into the family as a concubine. Her children will also be registered under the name of Cui and treated as legitimate daughters, but she will still have to raise them herself."

“No, how can my daughter be a concubine?” Zhao Zhengyue refused decisively.

“Mrs. Cui has given birth to children for our Marquis’s family; we cannot let her down,” the old lady chimed in.

It wasn't that she wanted to offend the Duke of England.

Instead, Cui Ruixin hanged herself yesterday, and her family members came to visit this morning.

The attitude was clear: if the Marquis's family wanted to take a concubine, then they would divorce.

The old lady couldn't bear to see her three grandsons with a divorced mother, so in the end she could only promise that at most one of them would be a concubine, and that a secondary wife was absolutely out of the question.

Zhao Zhengyue said angrily, "So you're going to break my daughter's heart? My daughter is only seventeen, while Yu Kangping is already thirty. If he hadn't used sweet words to seduce my daughter, how could she have fallen for an old man like him?"

Yu Kangping couldn't help but mutter, "You're five years older than me. If I'm an old man, then what are you?"

Zhao Zhengyue had sharp ears, and upon hearing this, he was so angry he nearly fell over.

After a heated exchange, Zhao Zhengyue was unable to persuade the Marquis's family and had to leave in a huff.

Liu Ying'er was waiting for her father to return home early in the morning.

Upon seeing Zhao Zhengyue, she hurriedly went to greet him.

"Father, how is it? Would the Marquis be willing to take me as his secondary wife?"

Zhao Zhengyue looked grim and shook his head: "They haven't given in yet. But don't worry, I'll find a way to persuade them."

"If they go too far, Father can ignore them. I can choose not to marry into the Marquis's mansion, but Father must not suffer their mistreatment for my sake." The redness and swelling on Liu Ying'er's face had subsided considerably, and one could vaguely make out the figure of her mother from back then.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhengyue felt even more guilty towards her.

"My dear daughter, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to make your wish come true."

The Marquis's residence knew that the Duke of Ying would not give up easily, and they were prepared for his visit again.

Unexpectedly, he did not show up for the next few days.

There was no news from the Duke's mansion either.

For a moment, the people of the Jing'an Marquis's residence were unsure of their intentions.

Yu Ningyao was also very curious. Could it be that the Duke of Yingguo had a big surprise up his sleeve?

Unable to contain herself, she urged the system to give her spoilers.

[Quickly investigate what's happening at the Duke of England's residence. Why haven't they come to urge Yu Kangping to marry Liu Ying'er yet?]