Even though the Marquis's wife had long known that Marquis Dingyuan didn't care much about his daughter, even though she had long guessed that her daughter's accident was due to his deliberate indulgence, even though she had long understood that he was not a good man.
But how could he, how could he, how could he be so cruel
This is his biological daughter, with the blood of his Wen family flowing in her veins. How could he have the heart to do this to her
No wonder Liu Shangzhi went out of the house in tattered clothes a few days ago. It turned out that he went to murder her daughter.
The marquis's wife held the embroidered handkerchief tighter and tighter. She didn't even dare to look into her daughter's eyes, for fear that she might be disappointed in her. She was even more afraid that her daughter hated her as a mother.
Mingyue seemed not to notice her embarrassment and instead mentioned Wen Pengfei:
"It's not just the Marquis, but also Master Wen. Not only did he have someone seduce my husband, causing me to be divorced, but he also chased me all the way to Wangnan City, as if he had to kill me. If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet a noble man, I'm afraid the grass on my grave would be ten feet high by now. Madam, would you be willing to tell me why this happened?"
"Why? Why? It's all for the title." The Marquis's wife murmured absentmindedly, but her eyes showed her determination.
She should have taken action long ago. Even though her daughter is safe now, it cannot offset the wrong things that Marquis Dingyuan did.
But she was reluctant to let her daughter go. After all, she would be guilty of deceiving the emperor and she would never have the chance to compensate her daughter.
Thinking of this, the Marquis's wife looked at Mingyue and burst into tears: "Mingyue, you should know your identity, right? In fact, they did that for the title. You are my biological daughter, but daughters are not eligible to inherit the title, so when you were just born, your cold-blooded father replaced you with someone else's child. I am sorry for you. If I had known this earlier, you wouldn't have suffered so many years."
Mingyue paused, but asked her seriously: "If you were asked to choose between the title and your daughter, what would you choose?"
"Of course I choose you." The Marquis's wife said without hesitation, then wiped her tears and laughed at herself, "Mingyue, my mother's eyesight is not good, and I chose the wrong person. But you have to know that if a man is useful, he can earn his title back even if he loses it. Only a useless man would think of stealing to keep the title. And these crooked ways will not last long after all."
Mingyue didn't expect that the Marquis's wife was so aware. It was such a pity that such a smart person like her was paired with Marquis Dingyuan.
Seeing Mingyue not speaking, the Marquis's wife felt very upset, but she still smiled: "Mother knows you won't forgive me, but it doesn't matter, Mingyue, even if mother is not by your side in the future, you have to live well like you do now. As long as you are well, mother will be at ease."
Mingyue frowned slightly, feeling that her words were a little ominous, as if she was making arrangements for her funeral.
Afterwards, the marquis's wife chatted with Mingyue while looking at Mingyue for a long time as if she couldn't get enough.
It was not until the waiter from the tea shop came up to serve tea that she reluctantly withdrew her gaze and said goodbye to Mingyue.
What made the Marquis's wife feel regretful was that Mingyue never called her "mother" until she left.
She was afraid that she would never hear the word "mother" again in her life.
The Marquis's wife closed her eyes but a tenacious smile appeared on her face.
Fortunately, she saw her daughter and she was alive and well, which was enough.
After Madam Hou returned home, she asked Steward Du to pack up her precious jewelry and the deeds to the farm and shop, and asked him to deliver them to Mingyue, saying that they were gifts from her grandmother to Mingmei.
Afterwards, she found a skilled doctor and went to Mingyue's place to ask him to check Mingmei's stuttering.
The Marquis’s wife had asked Mingyue before. Her granddaughter was called Mingmei. She was very cute and well-behaved, but because she was a premature baby, she was always sickly and had problems with her speech.
Thinking of how the Zhou family had harmed Mingmei, Madam Hou felt that the punishment for this family was too light. However, after thinking about the next plan, Madam Hou still sent someone to secretly bring the Zhou and Chen families back, and specially brought them back to the manor outside the capital to be detained.
Just when Mingyue saw the things sent by the Marquis's wife and had a bad feeling in her heart, the Marquis's wife took action.
On this day, a special person came to Jingzhao Prefecture to seek justice. She turned out to be the wife of Marquis Dingyuan, who was granted the first rank of imperial decree.
The petition handed over by the Marquis's wife made Jingzhao Yin swallow his saliva uncontrollably, and excitement began to emerge in his eyes.
It was because the person she was suing was actually her husband, Marquis Dingyuan Wen Siyuan. She wanted to sue Marquis Dingyuan for passing off a fake child as her own, and even letting the son of a scholar obtain the title of crown prince. She said that what she gave birth to was clearly a daughter.
She also wanted to sue Dingyuan Hou and Wen Pengfei for repeatedly harming her daughter.
This is clearly the crime of deceiving the emperor and hiring a killer.
Of course, compared to the former, the latter is less important.
Today, not only did the Marquis's wife come with her own people, she also had servants escort the Zhou and Chen families to the hall together. Among them was the prince she mentioned, oh no, Wen Pengfei's biological parents.
Jingzhao Yin had met Wen Pengfei before, and they were old acquaintances.
It was because Wen Pengfei was too troublesome. If it weren't for the Shangshu Mansion and the Hou Mansion to clean up the mess for him, he would have been imprisoned in the Jingzhao Prefecture for life. That's why the Jingzhao Yin had a headache whenever he saw him.
But now, when he saw Mr. Chen and his wife, Jingzhao Yin's eyes lit up instantly.
The reason is simple, it's because Chen Xiucai and Wen Pengfei look so similar.
No wonder people in the capital always say that Prince Wen doesn't look alike Marquis Dingyuan or his wife at all. Now it's clear that the person Wen Pengfei looks like is his biological father!
Jingzhao Yin was a staunch royalist, so he naturally knew that the emperor was most troubled by these princes and dukes, especially the scheming Marquis Dingyuan, an old fox who was hard to find any handle on. Now was a good opportunity to take action against Marquis Dingyuan.
A gleam of light flashed in Jingzhao Yin's eyes, and he immediately sent for Marquis Dingyuan to come.
Since they were to examine a first-rank official like Yuan Hou, Jingzhao Yin, a third-rank official, was certainly not qualified, so Jingzhao Yin immediately asked the guards in the yamen to invite the officials from the Ministry of Personnel to come.
It was a coincidence that when the guards came to Marquis Dingyuan's mansion, the marquis was drinking and having fun with others outside. It took a long time to find him, so he was the last to get the news.
By that time, people from the Ministry of Personnel had already arrived in Jingzhao Prefecture.
The gossip-loving people in the capital had already surrounded the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture. The story of the child-swapping incident at Dingyuan Marquis Mansion had spread throughout the capital.
At this time, Mingyue finally understood what the Marquis's wife wanted to do.
(End of this chapter)