Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Seeing that her conversation with Xiao Zhenwei was drifting further and further off-topic, Xiao Lan was startled and quickly said, "Grandpa, let's put aside the matter of me being Young Master Lan for now! I need to tell you about the Ding family. They agreed on a price of 100,000 taels of silver. But who would have thought that not long after, the male head of the household came to find the person I sent, claiming that the house was actually a gift from his brother-in-law. And his brother-in-law is currently residing in the south; he just hadn't had time to complete the deed. If we weren't in such a hurry..." "The house can be paid for with a deposit of ten thousand taels of silver. The transaction will be formally completed after he returns south after the New Year and obtains the deed. The uncle in charge of this matter was quite shrewd; he claimed he was only acting on behalf of the master and needed to consult with his superiors before making such a significant decision. Later, after some careful investigation, we were astonished to discover that the house was actually our family's ancestral home! This truly baffles me. Even if you, Grandfather, were unwilling to hand it over to my father, shouldn't it at least have been left to your own children? How could it have fallen into the hands of a concubine's sister-in-law?"

After hearing Xiao Lan's words, Xiao Zhenwei felt as if his chest had been struck by a heavy hammer. A surge of surging blood rushed up like a tidal wave, instantly filling his entire chest cavity. The suffocating feeling was like an invisible hand tightly gripping his throat, making him breathe rapidly and almost suffocating.

His previously mild eyes suddenly widened to their limit, his eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets. His face was filled with rage, like dark clouds gathering before a storm, so sinister it was chilling. He opened his mouth and roared hoarsely, "That house was meant for your father! That was an agreement our family made long ago, when your grandmother was still alive! How dare that little Jin woman be so audacious and trample on our family traditions and rules?"

Before he finished speaking, his hand, trembling with rage, was already raised high, then slammed heavily onto the solid table in front of him with overwhelming force. With a loud "bang," the entire room seemed to tremble, and even the neatly arranged exquisite tea set on the table shook slightly as if startled, making a crisp clinking sound.

Xiao Lan watched helplessly as Xiao Zhenwei was truly blinded by rage, her heart tightening and leaping into her throat. Without a moment's hesitation, she hurried forward, taking three steps at a time. Reaching Xiao Zhenwei's side, she gently placed her delicate, white hands on his broad back, stroking it softly. At the same time, she lowered her voice and soothed him in an incredibly gentle tone, "Grandpa, please don't let this little thing upset you. If you keep getting so angry, what if something bad happens? What will I do then? Besides, there are many things I need to report to you afterwards. If you can't calm down, I don't know how to explain everything to you in detail."

Hearing Xiao Lan's comforting words, Xiao Zhenwei took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Then, he picked up the teacup beside him and gulped down a large mouthful of tea to soothe his anger. Once his breathing had stabilized, he slowly put down the teacup, waved his hand at Xiao Lan, and said, "Good child, Grandpa is not angry anymore. Please continue."

"Then let me continue telling you about that house. Because I had some suspicions, I specifically sent someone to inquire around. And guess what? It turns out that Xiao Jin's younger brother has been living in that house for almost ten years! Even more outrageous, I heard that in the past ten years, he's been reselling all sorts of valuable paintings, calligraphy, and antiques to the aristocratic circles in the capital! I'm guessing that for a family like Xiao Jin's with their financial means, most of those treasures probably came from this house. Oh dear, what a pity! If I hadn't found out today, who would have thought it would be like this? But judging from the implication, those things were probably carefully arranged and displayed by you and my grandmother back then." It has to be said, Xiao Lan really knows how to rub salt into someone's wounds and stab them in the heart.

Previously, she had been kept in the dark, completely unaware that Madam Jin was Xiao Zhenwei's unrequited love and the one he cherished most. Now that she understood the situation, why not make good use of this "white moonlight" title?

As expected, after hearing these words, Xiao Zhenwei sneered and said, "Alright, good boy, what exactly did you find out yesterday? I'm getting old, and my eyesight is getting worse. Just stop beating around the bush and tell me straight. And by the way, tell me exactly how you plan to handle this matter."

"Alright!" Hearing Xiao Zhenwei say this, Xiao Lan was secretly delighted; she had finally waited for this moment. She quickly pulled out the prepared testimony from her sleeve, took a deep breath, and spoke without hesitation:

“The old nanny who used to serve Xiao Jin has revealed everything. It turns out that my poor father has been suffering inhumane abuse at the hands of Xiao Jin. That woman is truly treacherous and cunning. In front of you, she always pretends to care for and protect my father, but in reality, she is a completely different person behind your back!” At this point, Xiao Lan paused slightly, observing the changes in Xiao Zhenwei’s expression.

Seeing Xiao Zhenwei frown slightly, seemingly listening attentively, Xiao Lan continued, "Especially those so-called tonics and medicines for my father, Xiao Jin secretly added potent ingredients! The dosage in each tonic and medicine was increased to three to five times the normal adult dosage! As a result, if my father didn't eat them, he would starve; and if he did eat them, the consequences would be unimaginable! At best, he would suffer from severe diarrhea leading to dehydration; at worst, he even fainted on the spot once and almost lost his life! I'm sure you, Grandfather, have some recollection of this, right?" After finishing, Xiao Lan cautiously looked at Xiao Zhenwei again, observing his next reaction.

Xiao Zhenwei's face was now contorted with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, and his eyes wide open as if they were about to spit fire. However, Xiao Lan didn't stop there. Instead, she continued, "That old woman told me that right after the doctor diagnosed my father's health problems as a result of consuming excessive tonics, Xiao Jinshi actually ran to you, Grandfather, and tearfully complained! She said she was afraid others would criticize you, her stepmother, for not treating the Marquis's eldest son well enough, so she often went to great lengths to prepare various tonics for my father. But who would have thought that because of this complaint, you would so easily let Xiao Jinshi off the hook and not give her the punishment she deserved! From then on, with your tacit approval and indulgence, Xiao Jinshi became increasingly unscrupulous. After that, my father couldn't even drink a sip of those highly poisonous tonics, let alone normal ones! If it weren't for my mother secretly helping him out, my father would probably have become the first Marquis's heir in the history of the Great Xia to starve to death!"

After speaking, Xiao Lan's face was filled with a mixture of grief and helplessness. She glared fiercely at Xiao Zhenwei, her eyes filled with endless resentment and dissatisfaction.

Xiao Zhenwei listened silently to Xiao Lan recount the events, his face grim, but the anger in his heart burned ever brighter. He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, as if only in this way could he slightly alleviate his resentment and self-reproach.

On one hand, he felt deep self-loathing, regretting that he hadn't done his utmost to protect Madam Jin and their unborn child. Those warm and beautiful times had vanished, leaving only endless pain and remorse. On the other hand, he harbored an even stronger hatred for Madam Jin's younger sister. This seemingly weak, helpless, and pitiful woman was actually such a vicious and ruthless person! She had feigned innocence and kindness in front of him, yet behind his back she had committed such heinous acts!

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhenwei couldn't help but curse himself for being blind, having been deceived by Xiao Jin's appearance. Enraged, he turned to Xiao Lan, gritting his teeth, and said, "How do you intend to deal with Xiao Jin? If you want her life, I won't hesitate!"

However, to Xiao Zhenwei's surprise, Xiao Lan did not show any joy upon hearing this. Instead, she smiled slightly and said softly, "Death? Hmph, wouldn't that be too easy on her? I will demote her from a concubine to a maidservant, making her a servant again and restoring her slave status. Furthermore, all her property will belong to the Marquis's mansion, including everything she previously gave away that belonged to the mansion. However..." At this point, Xiao Lan hesitated slightly, a troubled look appearing on her face, and continued, "She has managed the internal affairs of the Marquis's mansion for nearly forty years. If we want to thoroughly investigate the accounts, I'm afraid we'll have to find some absolutely reliable confidants. According to my estimate, after this investigation is completed, the Marquis's mansion will be able to recover at least half of its assets."

In her past life, when Xiao Lan learned of Xiao Zhenwei's death, she was shocked to discover that not only had Xiao Jinshi not conducted a proper funeral, but she hadn't even made the matter public. Instead, she hastily buried Xiao Zhenwei in a random wasteland. Such behavior was truly perplexing, and Xiao Lan immediately became suspicious. Therefore, she decided to investigate the Marquis's household accounts. What she discovered left her speechless! It turned out that during the forty years that Xiao Jinshi had managed the Marquis's household affairs, she had been continuously channeling money into the Jin family.

This astonishing discovery filled Xiao Lan with suspicion; her intuition told her that a dark secret must be hidden within. As the investigation deepened, an even more shocking truth gradually surfaced—the beloved Xiao Jing'an was not Xiao Zhenwei's biological daughter, but rather the offspring of Xiao Jinshi and her lover! Xiao Jinshi's family was fully aware of this, but instead of exposing it, they secretly helped her conceal the truth and covered for her. Because of this, although Xiao Jinshi later wielded considerable power in the Marquis's mansion, she was always ultimately controlled by the Jin family.

Originally, Xiao Lan had high hopes that Dingding and the others would be able to successfully uncover the truth. However, unexpectedly, perhaps because Xiao Jin had concealed this scandal too well, even after a whole night of hard work, Dingding and the others still couldn't find out anything. But as the saying goes, "When you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up," although they couldn't uncover the mystery of Xiao Jing'an's background, they unexpectedly discovered something else quite interesting...

"My dear granddaughter, do you have someone in mind to check these accounts?" Xiao Zhenwei looked at Xiao Lan with loving eyes. Seeing her confident demeanor, he couldn't help but sigh that he was indeed getting old and weak, and now he could only rely on these younger generations for many things. Anyway, even if the embezzled money was eventually found and recovered, it would all be left to his children. How much could he possibly use at his age?

Xiao Lan blinked her bright eyes, then suddenly looked at Xiao Zhenwei with a serious expression and asked softly, "Grandpa, I want to ask you something. Do you... do you still want my father as your son?"

Xiao Zhenwei was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then frowned and said, "My dear granddaughter, what do you mean by that? Of course, we still want them! Although that little Jin committed such a serious crime, the children she bore are still my own flesh and blood! In the future, most of our Marquis's estate will be handed over to your father, and the rest will be distributed among the other children." As he said this, he couldn't help but sigh. Despite his resentment towards the little Jin, those three children were ultimately bound to him by blood.