The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Xiao Ling was dizzy from the slap, but her mind gradually cleared.

She is no longer the third young lady of the Duke's mansion, but a concubine of the Prince of Qi.

With just one extra word, their status became worlds apart.

And what followed was anger.

That vile woman, Song Wenjun, beat her in front of so many people; she deserves to die.

She cursed inwardly, but had to put on a show: "It was my fault for being out of line, Your Highness, please don't take offense."

Xiao Yin was deeply moved by Xiao Ling's initiative to admit her mistake, but his gaze toward Song Wenjun turned cold: "My people are not for the Chu Prince's mansion to teach them manners."

This concerns the reputation of the Prince Qi's residence, especially with so many people watching.

No matter what, we must fight to see who is better.

Xiao Ji stood in front of Song Wenjun, his voice not loud, but full of intimidation: "Then keep a close eye on your people from now on, and don't let her go around biting people."

Such humiliating words caused Xiao Ling's eyes to widen suddenly.

Almost instantly, tears welled up in her eyes.

Everyone in the capital knew that she liked Xiao Ji.

In order to marry Xiao Ji, she did many outrageous things.

She believed she was truly devoted to Xiao Ji and only wished for him to glance at her.

Just when she thought she was only one step away from becoming the Queen Consort of Chu, Song Wenjun suddenly appeared.

As if under a spell, Xiao Ji chased after Song Wenjun's figure without looking back.

Xiao Ling never expected that Xiao Ji would use such insulting words to describe her.

Tears streamed down my face like a burst dam.

Xiao Yin wanted to step forward to stand up for Xiao Ling, but Xiao Ji patted him heavily on the shoulder, his tone full of warning: "Brother, are you really going to get involved in today's mess? The time for court is almost here. Father has already given you permission to handle state affairs. Don't you know what that means?"

With just one sentence, Xiao Yin's desire to support the Earl's Mansion was dispelled.

Emperor Wen entrusted him with handling state affairs in order to lay the groundwork for making him the crown prince.

If the Prince of Qi's mansion were to get involved in the Earl's mansion's affairs at this time, it would inevitably anger Emperor Wen.

Almost instantly, the anger in Xiao Yin's eyes dissipated, and a smile returned to his face as he gently smiled at the Countess: "I have other important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After saying that, he pulled Xiao Ling and walked out.

The Countess wanted to chase after him, but Xiao Ji's men blocked her way.

With just a few words, he got his backer to leave, and the Earl's mansion was now in complete disarray.

When the Prince of Nanyang and his wife saw this, they knew that things were settled.

Behind her, Shangguan Yulan stood blankly, her eyes filled with lifelessness despite her bright red wedding dress.

He still had a wound on his forehead.

Princess Nanyang and Lady Lan supported her. Lady Lan's eyes were red and swollen as she bitterly denounced the Earl's Mansion's sordid behavior: "A mansion as prestigious as the Earl's Mansion has actually done such despicable things. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"You're making my daughter marry a cripple? This is marriage fraud! I'm taking Yulan away today, and let's see who dares to stop me."

The Countess remained calm, but still refused to budge: "What are you saying, my dear in-law? What do you mean by marriage fraud? It's just a misunderstanding. When we got engaged, we didn't say it was my second son."

Indeed, the engagement letter did not explicitly mention which young man it was.

However, the name on it was clearly and distinctly written.

The other party is clearly making unfounded arguments.

Upon hearing this, Song Wenjun finally understood that it had been a scam from the very beginning.

No wonder the Qi family was willing to give out so much dowry.

“Now that they have already gone through the wedding ceremony, they are already husband and wife. If this matter gets out, it will not be good for Yulan’s reputation. Although my Qihao is disabled, he is a kind and considerate man. Yulan will not suffer if she marries him.” The Countess said, wiping away her tears.

They acted as if they were the ones who had been wronged.

Song Wenjun couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up: "If you had told the truth back then, do you think the Prince of Nanyang's mansion would still have married the Second Miss into your family? You deliberately concealed the truth, and even dared to obstruct the Prince of Nanyang's mansion from coming to pick her up after the matter was exposed. Does your Earl's mansion really think that this capital city belongs to your Qi family?"

The sight of such a large hat being placed on her head nearly made the Countess collapse to the ground in fright.

Although she had the Duke of Zhenguo and the Empress backing her up, she wouldn't dare to be so blatant.

If these words were to reach the Emperor's ears, the Earl's Mansion would likely face a terrible disaster.

“Princess Consort Chu, you’ve gone too far with your words. Even if my Earl’s Mansion had the greatest audacity, we wouldn’t dare to disregard His Majesty. This is just a small misunderstanding, why make such a big deal out of it?”

The Countess smiled awkwardly, hoping to downplay the matter and make it disappear.

She turned to look at Shangguan Yulan, hoping to appeal to her emotions: "Yulan, now that you've already gone through the wedding ceremony, you're a member of the Qi family. After this incident, no one will dare to marry you again. Why don't you just bear with it and live a good life with my son?"

"As your mother-in-law, I will do whatever you say from now on, okay?"

As he spoke, he even knelt down: "Please, I'm begging you, just like an old man."

Song Wenjun quickly gave Xiao Tao a wink, and Xiao Tao stepped forward, grabbed the Countess's arm, and lifted her up.

She looked at Song Wenjun in surprise, only to see a cold smile on Song Wenjun's face: "Countess, you are really good at scheming. You ruined my sister's life and still want to trap her in your Qi family for the rest of her life. What are you up to?"

"How could you say something like that, asking my sister to marry a disabled man?"

The Countess's expression froze: "I just want the young couple to live a good life, what other thoughts could I possibly have?"

“That’s utter nonsense.” Song Wenjun interrupted her sharply, her words like a sharp dagger cutting through the Countess’s hypocrisy: “The eldest son of the Qi family has been recuperating in the mansion all these years and has never gone out to show himself. In fact, he is not paralyzed at all, but is not long for death.”

As soon as Song Wenjun finished speaking, everyone in the room showed surprise.

The Prince of Nanyang and his wife, along with Lady Lan, all changed their expressions: "What? He's not going to live much longer? Does that mean Yulan will become a widow after marrying into the family?"

"No wonder the Earl's mansion went to such lengths; they were up to this wicked scheme. You are all so ruthless."

Princess Nanyang could no longer contain herself. Pointing at the Countess's nose, she cursed, "How shameless! Today, even if it costs the reputation of my Nanyang Prince's Mansion, I will expose the true colors of your Earl's Mansion to the world. Not only will your eldest son be unable to find a wife, but your second son will also be unable to find a wife in the future."

The Countess turned pale with anger, but still stubbornly insisted, "That's not true. My son is in good health. How could he be dying? Princess Chu, how could you curse my son like that?"