Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

After Cheng Nanzhi finished washing up, she only took Lianruo to Shou'an Hall, where the place was filled with laughter and joy.

"Mother, it's so lively here. What are you talking about?" Cheng Nanzhi went in and saw that not only Zhao Shize and Zhao Huaiyu, but also Ye Ruyue were there, chatting happily with the old lady Zhao.

After returning home, Cheng Nanzhi used illness as an excuse and never came to pay her respects.

Madam Zhao wanted to be considerate and caring, but she never made any demands. As time went by, she forgot about it and was somewhat taken aback when she suddenly saw Cheng Nanzhi greeting her.

"It's nothing, it's just that Zege'er and Yujie'er have been studying very hard these days, and I'm happy to hear them recite poems."

Zhao Shize and Zhao Huaiyu then bowed respectfully, but after not seeing each other for many days, they both looked at Cheng Nanzhi with longing eyes.

Cheng Nanzhi didn't mind putting on a show to provoke Ye Ruyue.

“Come over here and recite it for your mother.”

This was the first time Cheng Nanzhi had been close to him since she returned.

The two men's eyes lit up, and they immediately crowded around her, trying to impress her.

Cheng Nanzhi nodded: "That's right, you've made a lot of progress."

Zhao Shize pursed his lips, suppressing the upward curve of his smile. "This is nothing. In a few days, our son will be even more amazing!"

“Mother, I’ve started learning needlework too. I’ll give you the first purse I finish embroidering!” Zhao Huaiyu retorted, not to be outdone.

Cheng Nanzhi felt a pang of sadness and told Lianruo to go back and get the gifts she had prepared for them before returning home and deliver them to their lodgings.

The two were immediately overjoyed, making Ye Ruyue extremely jealous.

"Ze-ge and Yu-jie have behaved well and deserve a good reward. Sister-in-law, you haven't seen the children for the past few days; you must have forgotten them!"

The two paused slightly, remembering their previous grievances, and their enthusiasm for Cheng Nanzhi waned considerably.

Madam Zhao was also dissatisfied: "Nanzhi, you are the child's mother. Even if you are not feeling well, you should not neglect the upbringing of your child."

“Mother-in-law, what you are saying is true. I was really busy looking for a husband. Although I have found a suitable candidate for Ze’er, I haven’t decided on Yu’er yet. I’m still thinking about it.” Cheng Nanzhi looked sad. “If you think it’s not right, then I won’t bother. I’ll just focus on taking care of the children.”

Madam Zhao immediately said, "That's not what I meant. You still need to take care of the child!"

Cheng Nanzhi insisted, "You can't have your cake and eat it too. I'm focused on my child's future, but I've neglected spending time with him. Even my cousin, who's new here, thinks so. So you and your husband should worry about it. I want to spend more time with my child."

Madam Zhao was anxious. The people they could find were not on the same level as the people Cheng Nanzhi could find!

Although Zhao Shize and Zhao Huaiyu were still young, they had already vaguely understood the importance of their future.

"Aunt Ye, you can't misunderstand Mother like that! Apologize to her right now!"

Ye Ruyue looked at them in disbelief.

How could her own child speak to her like that?!

Old Madam Zhao's face also turned cold towards Ye Ruyue, "Yue'er!"

Ye Ruyue bit her lip, reminding herself that it was for the sake of the child, and forced herself to stand up and bow.

"Sister-in-law, please don't be offended. Yue'er didn't mean it."

Madam Zhao said, "Nanzhi, we know your heart perfectly well, so please don't refuse."

Cheng Nanzhi scoffed inwardly, "My daughter-in-law is so thrifty. Mother, I heard the flowers are already blooming in the backyard. Why don't we all go and take a look? It'll be a nice way to get some fresh air and go for a walk."

Madam Zhao dared not refuse her at this moment, and nodded without saying a word.

Granny Zhang went out and gave instructions, summoning many servants to set up some charcoal, tea, and snacks.

They had barely left when they saw Lan enter through the back door of the side courtyard.

A servant boy took the head; he was the person Qingdai had planted.

Seeing Lan ask who the servants were who served Ye Ruyue, Lan asked, "Sanmei? She's Miss Ye's head maid?"

The servant nodded.

Seeing Lan say, "Didn't Miss Ye plead for her? She's a new servant, after all. If we show her some kindness, Sanmei will be more loyal to her."

The servant said sympathetically, "Sanmei was just unlucky. I heard that Miss Ye was so frightened that she was completely disoriented and only cared about begging the master to make a decision, and didn't pay attention to her at all."

Lan's expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing this.

Why does the master seem so concerned about this young lady? I'll have to talk to her about being careful later.

A thought suddenly struck her. "Could you please take me to find Sanmei?"

The servant didn't ask any more questions and quickly took him away.

Sanmei had a small, separate room. Just as Lan was about to knock on the door, she suddenly heard several loud noises from inside.

She went in immediately and saw that the person on the bed had fallen off the bed, landing on their bottom, and was in so much pain that their vision was blurring.

Seeing that Lan quickly went over and helped her onto the bed, she asked, "Miss Sanmei, are you alright?"

Sanmei took a while to open her eyes.

"you are?"

She only entered the mansion a year ago and has been staying in Shou'an Hall, rarely going to the other courtyards.

“I am Jianlan, a servant of the Madam. I have a fellow villager in Shou'an Hall. This morning, when I came with the Madam to pay my respects, I asked for the Madam's grace to catch up with her, but I couldn't find her. When I asked, I learned that quite a few people in Shou'an Hall had been punished with caning and couldn't work. She was extremely busy.”

Seeing that her lips were chapped, Lan poured her a glass of water and fed it to her.

"She said that among those being punished was a woman named Sanmei, who had unintentionally received a favor from her, and asked me to come and see for her." After she finished speaking, she took out the medicine from her bosom.

Upon seeing the bottle, Sanmei knew it was good medicine and said gratefully, "Which one is it? I will definitely thank her after I get better."

Seeing Lan's troubled expression, she said, "I can't tell you that. I don't know why you were punished. If you offended the master and ended up in trouble, it might implicate you... I'm really sorry, you can understand, right?"

Sanmei understood that sending medicine was a way of repaying a favor, and it was normal for her to avoid getting involved and protect herself.

Sanmei felt extremely wronged: "What do you mean I offended my master! Sister Lan, to tell you the truth, I'm truly innocent!"

He pretended to be puzzled when he saw Lan.

Sanmei recounted what happened last night: "We don't know how the rat appeared. We checked it repeatedly! We're truly innocent!"

Seeing Lan's slightly raised tone, she asked, "Such a thing happened? Didn't Miss Biao plead for you?"

Sanmei felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about last night.

That young lady didn't care about them at all!

"Perhaps Miss Biao was too frightened to care. But this sounds like it was done on purpose. I saw a suspicious person just now. I didn't think much of it at first, but when I heard you say this..." Seeing Lan suddenly realize something, she immediately covered her mouth, looking like she had said something wrong.

"Miss Sanmei, you should rest now, I'll be going now."

Sanmei quickly grabbed her.

"Sister Lan, what did you see? Explain yourself before you leave!"

Seeing Lan's dilemma: "I don't want to get involved in Shou'an Hall's affairs, if it involves me..."

Sanmei said, "Good sister, you have done me a favor by bringing me medicine. I, Sanmei, am a person of honor and loyalty. I will not speak ill of you when the time comes. I just want to find out the truth and seek justice!"

Seeing Lan struggling and conflicted, she sighed after a long while, seeing Lan's pleading gaze.

"Alright, I'll tell you who I met!"