Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 3

"We need to clean house first before we can do that."

Upon hearing this, Granny Cao immediately looked at Qinghe, "Qinghe, you were on night duty taking care of Madam last night, do you have anything to say?"

Qinghe was already kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, "Madam, I know I was wrong, I had no choice..."

He wanted to make excuses, but the handkerchief in Yunxiyue's hand was hers, and it had the powder of the bewitching incense on it.

Yun Xiyue already knew everything. No wonder she escaped this calamity; she had been tricked. The old lady would never save her.

"Qinghe, I've treated you well, yet you dare betray me!" Yun Xiyue sneered. "Is it because my monthly allowance isn't enough, or is the benefit the old lady is offering you more tempting?"

Qinghe's face turned ashen, and she cried, "The old lady promised me that when the Marquis returns, I will become his concubine... I'm sorry, madam, I love the Marquis."

"You bitch!" Qingmei was furious and couldn't help but slap her. The two had grown up together, and she really didn't expect Qinghe to be this kind of person.

He actually tried to seduce the Marquis!

"Someone like you should take a good look in the mirror!"

Yun Xiyue's eyes darkened slightly. No wonder Qinghe didn't die in her past life; it turned out she had climbed into his bed.

Granny Cao closed her eyes, unable to accept it for a moment, and ordered someone to drag her away and lock her up. "What does Madam intend to do with Qinghe?"

"Just lock me up for now! I still have a use for you."

"Everyone in Zizhu Garden needs to be thoroughly investigated." Yun Xiyue didn't know if there were any traitors around her. If she wanted to leave the Shen family, she had to do it cleanly and get back the money she had invested before she could leave. She couldn't let them get away with it.

As she spoke, she suddenly felt her legs go weak and quickly asked Qingmei to help her into the house.

Murong Yu had someone escort him back.

She was exhausted last night and her whole body ached. It's amazing that she's managed to hold on this long.

After soaking in the bathtub, Yun Xiyue felt a little more comfortable, but the thought of the current situation gave her a headache. Although she had been reborn, she was still weak and alone.

The Yun family were merchants, and in the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, they were at the bottom of the social hierarchy and were never a match for the Shen family. Moreover, Shen Yue had just returned from a great battle, with outstanding military achievements and military power.

She wanted to curry favor with Murong Yu, but he was too powerful to be relied upon. The man saw through her intentions and was unwilling to be used by her.

Sending her back and helping to cover it up was his last line of defense.

......

Shen Yue wants a divorce.

Li did not agree.

"Mother, Yun Shi and I never had any feelings for each other. Now that she's asking for a divorce, why shouldn't I agree?"

Madam Li said, "Yue'er, you don't know that for so many years our Marquis's mansion has relied entirely on her for support. If we get divorced, who will provide for the whole family's food and clothing?"

The reason they insisted on their son marrying into the Yun family was because they were rich!

"Yue'er, living is not like leading an army to fight a war. You need money to live. Without money, you can't move an inch, especially in the capital. For a wealthy family like ours, we can't live without money."

“Your marriage to Yun was arranged by the old master. Don’t you understand his intentions? The old master passed away two years ago, and she observed mourning for him. You cannot divorce her.”

“If we divorce, the Yun family will pursue the matter, which will not benefit us. Listen to your mother, go and coax Princess Nanqiang. She has been with you for so many years and you even have a child. Ask her to be more magnanimous and make her your second wife.”

"And now that you're back, you should consummate your marriage with Yun as soon as possible. Having a child will make it easier to control her."

Shen Yue frowned slightly, having taken his words to heart, but he decided against consummating the marriage; he wouldn't touch a woman he didn't like.

"Don't bring up the matter of consummating the marriage again. I can refuse to divorce."

Madam Li understood that her son was now a high-ranking general, wielding great power and influence, and would no longer listen to a woman confined to the inner quarters. "Fine, if we don't consummate the marriage, then we won't, but you still need to appease her. Now that you've just returned, your expenses are even greater. If Madam Yun doesn't provide financial support, who will pay for the child's food, clothing, and other necessities? Madam Lin is a princess; she can't possibly suffer with you!"

"We can't let the child suffer, can we?"

Shen Yue doesn't manage the household affairs, but he understands that everything from food and clothing to daily necessities requires money, which makes him even more agitated.

......

"Madam, the Marquis has arrived."

Yun Xiyue had just finished taking a bath, and her hair was still wet. She was sitting in a chair while her maid helped her dry it.

"Is there something you need, my lord?"

She did not get up to bow, which was quite bold and presumptuous.

After a bath, the woman's skin was as white and tender as a lotus emerging from water, her eyes were bright and sparkling like talking stars, and her lips were luscious and alluring.

Shen Yue's expression faltered slightly, but his eyes quickly regained their coldness: "Bao'er is a princess, and she is here for the sake of peace between the two countries through a marriage alliance. As a citizen of Great Xia, even if she doesn't have to go to the battlefield to defend the country, she should still do what she can."

Yun Xiyue smiled and said, "Then I'm sorry to have wronged you, Marquis. In order to protect your country, you sacrificed yourself and had three children with the princess of the enemy country."

"Yun Xiyue, can't you speak properly?" Shen Yue was immediately displeased, feeling that she was too unruly and had no manners whatsoever.

"I was speaking to the Marquis properly, but the Marquis wasn't explaining himself to me properly. What exactly do you want to say?"

Shen Yue frowned slightly. He had heard that she loved him very much, but she didn't seem to.

“I think you should give up your position as the principal wife to Bao’er and become her secondary wife. She is a princess of the Southern Qiang and has a noble status.”

He lowered his stance to speak to her, but Yun Xiyue scoffed in response, "While you were fighting, you had three children with the Southern Qiang princess. Everyone says you're a traitor. Have you thought about how you're going to explain this to everyone?"

“She was injured and lost her memory at the time, forgetting her identity. I didn’t know she was the princess of Nanqiang at first.”

"Hmm, that's a pretty reasonable reason."

"The Southern Qiang princess is of noble birth, yet she still went to the battlefield?"

Shen Yue said, "After she lost her memory, she went to the battlefield with me to fight the enemy. She killed the soldiers of the Southern Qiang. She can never go back to the Southern Qiang. From now on, she can only stay in the Great Xia."

“I have already made her suffer a lot, I can’t make her suffer any more.”

So that's how it is; he had already come up with the perfect excuse for that woman.

They committed adultery, yet they were still lauded as defenders of the country; no wonder he was so fearless.

Yun Xiyue sneered, "That's ridiculous. If she went to the battlefield and faced off with weapons, would the soldiers of Nanqiang not recognize her?"

“Bao’er is a girl disguised as a boy, and she always wears a mask when she goes to the battlefield.” Shen Yue didn’t want to explain too much to her. “You don’t need to worry about this. Just do your job.”

“I have no feelings for you, but we have been husband and wife for many years. I am very grateful to you for taking care of the Marquis’s mansion for so many years, so even though you are a secondary wife, you are still my wife.”

"I will not treat you unfairly."

Seeing his entitled and condescending expression, Yun Xiyue couldn't help but pick up the teacup on the table and throw it at him. "Shen Yue, do you have any shame?"

"I'm telling you, it's impossible."

"Either you divorce me and pay me back, or you make that woman your concubine, and she'll come over every day to serve me tea and water."

Shen Yue said angrily, "Shut up! Don't you dare bully Bao'er, or else..."

"Otherwise what? Are you going to say you want a divorce?" Yun Xiyue stood up, her bare feet stepping on the carpet as she walked step by step to him, raising her slender fingers to point at the man's chest.

“I have been married to you for five years, and I have been dutiful and obedient, serving my mother-in-law and observing two years of mourning for my father-in-law. The reason we don’t have children is because we haven’t consummated our marriage. It’s your fault, and I have done nothing wrong.”

"You dare to divorce me? Can you even do it?"