My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Just then, Granny Yun hurried over.

Granny Yun was usually very composed, and she had experienced many battles on the border with Old Madam Chu.

But today, her steps were unsteady, and even her expression was dazed.

Seeing this, Old Madam Chu's heart leaped into her throat.

"What happened?" she asked hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Granny Yun's voice wavered: "It's not a big deal, but... but this old servant discovered... that Zhang Shi... seems to be having an affair with an outsider."

"What?" Old Madam Chu asked in disbelief.

Realizing that her voice had startled passersby, she quickly calmed down and asked seriously, "Are you really having an affair with someone else? You're not mistaken?"

Granny Yun said with lingering fear, "I saw her enter the back gate of a house. I was careful and didn't follow her. Instead, I climbed over the courtyard wall and found that there were quite a few people patrolling inside."

“That atmosphere…” Granny Yun frowned, “is even more imposing than the Duke of Wen’s mansion.”

"That man's identity is not simple," Old Madam Chu asserted. "Did you see what he looked like?"

Granny Yun shook her head: "This old servant only saw her and a man enter a room in a very intimate manner. The man was very vigilant and never showed his face."

“However…” Granny Yun said with certainty, “With the keen eye I’ve developed over the years, that man must be her lover outside the marriage.”

Madam Chu was still processing the shocking news brought by Granny Yun and couldn't come to her senses for a long time.

Wen Shuyao kept her head down obediently, secretly relieved.

—This can be considered as exposing Madam Wen's biggest secret to Old Madam Chu.

She discovered this secret by chance at a banquet in her previous life.

At that time, the Duke of Wen's mansion was already showing signs of decline. In the circle of powerful and wealthy people who were most fond of flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak, it could no longer enjoy the honor it once had. Naturally, its seats at the banquet were arranged in the lowest rank.

At that time, she was already a highly sought-after first-rank imperial consort, sitting at the head of the table with her host.

Over the years, she never forgot her mother's injustice, nor did she forget Madam Wen's ruthless methods. Seeing Madam Wen in a cold and desolate situation, she thought of kicking her while she was down.

Little did she know that just as she and her men caught up with Madam Wen, they stumbled upon Madam Wen having a secret rendezvous with a man.

Moreover, from their conversation, it was clear that Madam Wen had been having an affair with a man long before her marriage.

For some unknown reason, the two did not end up getting married.

On the contrary, the magistrate had a wife, and Luo Fu had a husband.

After that, she deliberately tried to find out the man's identity.

However, this man was extremely well hidden. Even though she had already gathered a considerable force at the time, she was still unable to find out his true identity.

All she knew was that this man owned a jewelry shop in Cuiwei Lane, and that Madam Wen would use the pretext of buying jewelry to have an affair with him.

Having just been reborn, she had no one she could rely on, so she could only entrust this secret to Old Madam Chu. The Chu family's power now far surpassed hers back then, and they would likely be able to uncover much more.

Nearby, Granny Yun continued to chatter on: "I saw that after Madam Wen and that man went in, the number of guards at the door decreased."

"I mustered up my courage and went to take a look, and I heard something coming from inside..." Granny Yun spoke frankly, but then she heard Old Madam Chu cough suddenly.

Upon hearing the voice, she immediately fell silent.

The young lady is still here, so we can't say anything carelessly.

Wen Shuyao blushed and lowered her head, pretending to be innocent and unaware of anything, while listening carefully to the conversation between the two.

“Madam, what do you think…” Granny Yun reminded her, “What should we do? Should we inform Duke Wen about this… or…”

"No rush." ​​Old Madam Chu raised her hand, her expression indifferent. "Let's keep it from Duke Wen for now and pretend we don't know anything about this."

"As for that man's identity..." A glint flashed in Old Madam Chu's eyes, "You should first send someone to investigate secretly, but remember not to alert him."

"As for the direction of the investigation..." Old Madam Chu snorted coldly, "we will start from when Zhang was still a young woman waiting to be married."

Old Madam Chu was very capable and had already noticed something strange about it.

but……

She glanced at Wen Shuyao, who was still pretending to be clueless, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know about this or not?"

Wen Shuyao kept her head down and said in a voice barely audible, "How could I possibly know such a secret matter?"

Despite this, Old Madam Chu did not completely believe Wen Shuyao.

"Yaoyao, if anything happens to you in the future, you must tell your grandmother," she whispered. "Only in this way can your grandmother stand up for you and make decisions for you, understand?"

“You are your maternal grandmother’s only granddaughter, and your maternal grandmother would never harm you.” She gently stroked Wen Shuyao’s soft hair and emphasized, word by word, “No matter the cost, your maternal grandmother will make sure that those who harm you receive the punishment they deserve.”

Wen Shuyao's eyes were red, but to avoid arousing suspicion from Old Madam Chu, she kept her head down and stuck to her original statement: "I really don't know anything."

“Grandmother.” She looked up, tugged at Old Madam Chu’s sleeve, and said softly, “I also consider Grandmother to be the most important person in my life. Grandmother, you must take good care of yourself.”

Madam Chu was taken aback at first, then smiled with relief: "Of course, I haven't held my great-grandson yet, so of course I have to live well and wait for the day when my Yaoyao is happy and fulfilled."

As she spoke, she voiced her inner hesitation: "Yaoyao, you may not have met Prince Jing yet. Why don't you come with me to see him?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyao looked up in surprise.

With a serious expression, Old Madam Chu said in a low voice, "Our Chu family and Prince Jing have some connections."

"Although this marriage was personally arranged by His Majesty, if Prince Jing refuses the marriage, His Majesty will certainly not make things difficult for you."

“Yaoyao, your maternal grandfather and I will stay in the capital from now on. No one can force you to marry someone you don’t like.”

Old Madam Chu's expression was extremely firm as she spoke to Wen Shuyao, word by word.

Her eyes were gentle, and her voice was exceptionally soft.

Wen Shuyao was taken aback; she hadn't expected that Old Madam Chu would still be concerned about this matter.

But after a moment, she shook her head: "Grandmother, you don't need to worry. I think there is no better man in the world than His Highness Prince Jing."

“I’m willing,” she whispered. “From the very beginning, I’ve been willing to participate in this arranged marriage.”

A woman's marriage has never been her own decision.

The Chu family can protect her for a while, but not forever.

In this world, in the end, you can only rely on yourself.

Therefore, she must become fully capable; only in this way can she protect herself and those she wants to protect.