Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

The next morning, Xiao Lan, carrying the visiting card and accompanied by Dingding, arrived at the General's Mansion in a carriage driven by Li Yuan. After presenting the card, she was quickly led into the courtyard. However, after walking for a while, Xiao Lan realized something was amiss. In her previous life, because Wu Yuyu had injured her leg and didn't want to see anyone, she often visited the Wu Mansion to keep her company. Therefore, she was quite familiar with the inner courtyard of the Wu Mansion. Now, the maid was clearly leading her the wrong way. She asked, "Miss, why are you leading us further and further off course? It doesn't seem to be the way to the main courtyard."

The maid didn't say anything, but continued to lead Xiao Lan forward. Xiao Lan quickly said, "Dingding, hold her down."

After Dingding captured the person, Xiao Lan was about to tell Dingding to make her move when she heard a female voice say: Stop.

Then a woman of about forty years old came over with several maids. As soon as she got close, she angrily cursed at Xiao Lan: "Where did this wretch come from, running wild in the General's Mansion?"

"Oh, who are you calling a 'bitch'?" Xiao Lan asked.

The woman had just finished replying, "You slut!" when she suddenly saw the smile on Xiao Lan's lips. She realized what was happening and reached out to hit Xiao Lan, but Dingding blocked her.

At this moment, Xiao Lan recognized the woman as Chen, Wu De's concubine. While she was called Wu De's concubine, it wasn't entirely accurate. Chen had been involved with Wu De before he joined the army, but their relationship was short-lived. Before they could marry, Wu De joined the army, and he was gone for three years. During those three years, Chen not only cared for Wu De's elderly mother but also handled all the funeral arrangements. Three years later, Chen heard that Wu De had died in battle, so she remarried, taking their child with her. No one knew exactly where she married. Less than six months later, Wu De returned alive, having achieved military merit, and wanted to return to marry Chen. However, she had already remarried. Later, Wu De fell in love with Jiang Xiuzhi, a noblewoman, at a flower-viewing banquet. They married, but less than a year later, Chen heard that Wu De had become a high-ranking official and returned with her son to find him. She became Wu De's concubine, but it's said that because Chen had been remarried, Wu De never slept with her. However, Chen had a son and constantly lured Wu De to her place. At the same time, Jiang Xiuzhi was pregnant, and within a few months, Chen became pregnant with Wu De's child as well. This caused Jiang Xiuzhi excessive worry during her pregnancy, leading to a difficult childbirth and miscarriage. Chen, on the other hand, gave birth to a daughter a few months later. Because of this, Wu De and Jiang Xiuzhi's relationship soured. Over the years, they maintained a respectful distance, but in reality, they were like strangers. Later, if Chen hadn't drugged Wu De, somehow transforming him into Jiang Xiuzhi and resulting in Wu Yuyu, Jiang Xiuzhi would probably have been preparing for a divorce.

Although Xiao Lan recognized Chen Shi, it was a memory from her past life. This was the first time she had seen Wu De's concubine in this life, so she shouted, "Stop! If you're going to make a move, state your name first. That way, when I go to the Prefect of the Capital, I'll know who to sue. How dare you lay a hand on the Marquis's grandson! Your General's Mansion is quite something!" Although she disliked the Xiao family, the Marquis's title was still useful. Regardless of official rank, a Marquis was equivalent to a first-rank official.

"I am Madam Chen, the wife of the general." Upon hearing that Xiao Lan was from the Marquis's mansion, Madam Chen was somewhat wary, but since everyone around her was from the general's mansion, she still wanted to appear assertive.

"How dare you! The General's wife is from the Jiang family of Shaozhou, my own cousin. How dare you, a mere concubine, call yourself the General's wife? Who gave you the audacity? Is this the family tradition of the General's mansion?" Since her rebirth, Xiao Lan had reviewed the cause of Jiang Xiuzhi's death and always felt that the women in the inner quarters were involved. Seeing Chen Shi just now, and thinking of her cousin who had died at birth, she became even more suspicious. So now that Chen Shi had jumped in front of her, it would be a disservice to Jiang Xiuzhi not to teach her a lesson.

Chen stopped speaking, and after holding back for a long time, she wanted to attack Xiao Lan again. Taking advantage of the moment when Dingding grabbed Chen's hand, Xiao Lan slapped Chen across the face. Chen wanted to go crazy and scratch Xiao Lan, but Dingding blocked her. She then shouted to the maids beside her, "Are you all dead?" Seeing that the surrounding maids were about to surround her, she and Dingding were the only two left.

Seeing that things were not going well, Xiao Lan immediately shouted: "To catch a thief, first catch the king!"

Dingding immediately pulled a dagger from her boots, grabbed Chen, and held it to her neck.

Xiao Lan also spoke up: "My aunt is the mistress of the General's Mansion. You all listen to her, a mere concubine, and dare to lay a hand on me? Do you all have a death wish?" After saying that, she pointed to a young maid in the distance: "You, go and invite the General over. If the General is not here, send someone to find the steward." Xiao Lan remembered that the steward of the General's Mansion at this time was surnamed Nie, and was Jiang Xiuzhi's man.

Before long, not only did the steward arrive, but Wu De was also brought back. As soon as Xiao Lan saw Wu De, she quickly pinched her arm hard, and tears welled up in her eyes from the pain. She was also trembling all over, which stunned Chen Shi, who forgot that she still had a knife to her neck.

As Wu De approached, Xiao Lan cried and said, "Uncle, if you hadn't come, Lan Lan would have died in your general's mansion." After saying that, she started sobbing again with her head down. Xiao Lan had no choice; she didn't have enough tears left. If she didn't lower her head, Xiao Lan was afraid she would give herself away.

Wu De was shocked upon hearing this and comforted her, "Lanlan, don't cry." He then turned to Dingding and asked, "Who are you? Why are you hurting people in my General's Mansion?" He was about to attack when Xiao Lan saw the situation was getting out of hand and quickly stepped in to stop Wu De. "Uncle, Yu Yu broke her leg and won't be able to return to the capital for half a month. She really misses you, so she asked me to bring a message. I delivered the visiting card to the mansion, but I didn't expect to be led to this side courtyard by a maid. This person even claims to be General's wife, Madam Chen. I told her that my aunt is the real General's wife, and she started yelling at me to kill me. I was scared, so I told her that I am the legitimate grandson of the Marquis's family, but she called me a slut. If this gets back to my grandfather and maternal grandfather, I'm afraid the two old men will come to the capital to confront the Emperor. After all..." As she said this, Xiao Lan wiped away her tears, and her eyes instantly turned cold. "After all, both my grandmother and maternal grandmother held official titles. If their granddaughters could be called 'vile' like this, it wouldn't just be the Xiao and Jiang families who were being insulted. It would likely have been a sign of disloyalty to the late emperor."

After listening to Xiao Lan's words, Wu De was at his wit's end. Firstly, this Chen Shi was a troublemaker, but she had given him a son and a daughter. Secondly, Wu De feared Jiang Chunlai the most in the Jiang family, followed by Jiang Nihuang. His sister-in-law truly lived up to her name, a dragon among women. Her mouth could talk the dead back to life. Because of his fear of Jiang Nihuang, he was also somewhat wary of her daughter.

So he said to Xiao Lan, "Lanlan, don't talk nonsense. We're all family. Why don't you have your people put down their knives first? Otherwise, it won't look good."

Xiao Lan sneered, looking at Wu De and saying, "General Wu, don't be afraid. This is just a last resort. Your so-called general's wife is yelling at me to kill, and a dozen of you are going to come and beat me up. If you hurt me, wouldn't that be like stabbing my grandfather and maternal grandfather in the heart? It's alright. If you don't give me an explanation today, even if you call the Prefect of the Capital, I'm not afraid. After all, I've never seen a niece deliver a letter written by her aunt to her uncle and then be beaten to death by her uncle's concubine. This must be the first time in the capital. After all, favoring a concubine over one's wife is a crime in our Great Xia. Don't you agree, Uncle?"

Wu De knew that if he didn't give Xiao Lan an explanation for what happened today, she might really dare to make a scene at the Jingzhao Yin. At that time, being fined would be a small matter; if the censors found out, they might impeach him, and he would be finished.

Since Chen was simply stupid, he smiled at Xiao Lan and said, "Lanlan, how about I punish Chen by making her kneel in the ancestral hall and also deducting half a year's allowance from her allowance? What do you think?"

“General, her kneeling in the ancestral hall as punishment is a matter for later. Let’s address this one point at a time. First, I presented my invitation according to the rules. As a concubine, she has no right to receive guests. She didn’t inform you, General, but came out on her own. This is overstepping her bounds. Ten strokes of the cane wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?” Seeing Wu De nod, Xiao Lan continued, “Second, instead of leading me to the main hall, she deliberately had her maid lead me to this side courtyard. I don’t know what she was up to. If my maid hadn’t known some martial arts, I probably wouldn’t even know how I died today. She plotted against the Marquis’s grandson. Twenty strokes of the cane wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?” Seeing that Wu De still wanted to argue, Xiao Lan continued, “If the Prefect of the Capital had come today, I’m afraid even Chen’s life wouldn’t be enough to compensate for this.”

“Sanming knew my identity, yet he still threatened to kill me and verbally abused me. Ten strokes of the cane wouldn’t be too much, would it?”

Wu De knew that Xiao Lan could say a lot more, so he said, "Just tell her to give her a few lashes."

"Not much, including her impersonating the matriarch and committing crimes within the household. Eighty strokes of the cane in total."

"Eighty strokes of the cane can be fatal, Lanlan. After all, this Chen family has a son and a daughter, who are Yuyu's own siblings." Wu De began to use Wu Yuyu as a shield. Unfortunately, Xiao Lan was not stupid.

"Yes, yes, we can't beat her to death. Since that's how it is with my uncle, I'll only give her the forty strokes she gave me for bullying me today. As for her impersonating my grandmother and overstepping her bounds, we'll punish her when my aunt comes back. This is my biggest concession. My uncle wouldn't want to make a child like me suffer any more, would he?"

Wu De immediately waved his hand, ordering the steward to drag Chen Shi away to receive the forty lashes. While Chen Shi was still begging Wu De for mercy, and the steward was about to send someone to pull her away, Xiao Lan said again: "Uncle, too many people saw Chen Shi yelling at me to kill me today. If this is exaggerated and reaches His Majesty's ears, wouldn't it affect your career? To be safe, have someone drag her to the door and beat her. This way, the people will know that you not only discipline your army strictly, but also have an excellent family tradition."

Xiao Lan knew Wu De was a man who loved flattery; a few compliments and he'd be completely swayed. Sure enough, Wu De immediately ordered the steward to drag Chen Shi to the front gate and beat her, ignoring her desperate cries.

Xiao Lan, under the pretext of watching Chen Shi finish her execution, handed Jiang Xiuzhi and Wu Yuyu's letters to Wu De, saying she was going to Minglu Academy. She then took Dingding with her and left. After getting into the carriage, she told Li Yuan to hurry up, thinking that if Wu De, that pig-brain, came to his senses later, he would cause trouble for Dingding.

Li Yuan accepted the order, left the bustling city, and began to whip the carriage to speed up, heading towards Minglu Academy in the suburbs.