She has got both the judge and the victim.
Aunt Xiang had been standing there thoughtfully, but when she saw Qu Moying turning his head to look at her, his movement was so large that it startled her and she reacted immediately.
She took two steps forward and knelt down in front of Yue Wenhan with a plop. "Master Yue, I am the concubine of General Jianwei, so I can be the victim. The Third Miss died in an unclear way, and the rumors outside are even more confusing. Please find out the truth about the Third Miss and give her a clean name."
What she meant, of course, was that she didn't believe Qu Yanyue had eloped.
Several elders nodded repeatedly, and their eyes towards Aunt Xiang became a little kinder.
"Master Yue, she is indeed Ling Anbo's concubine, and she married in with Ling Anbo's wife."
"Yes, she is right. The daughter of the Ji family will not do anything out of line."
“Lord Yue, please speak clearly for our daughter of the Ji family and clear her name…” The elders had very convincing reasons, and they spoke righteously one after another.
They didn't necessarily have to investigate anything, but just wanted to prevent anyone from spreading the news that Ji's daughter was not following the rules.
Otherwise, the entire Ji family would be implicated.
Xiao was so angry that she could hardly control herself. She clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly and tried hard to resist the urge to slap Concubine Xiang in the face.
"Lord Yue, the Third Miss would never do anything dishonorable. Please, Lord Yue, investigate this matter thoroughly for our Third Miss." Aunt Xiang said loudly again.
Seeing that she was doing her best to protect the reputation of Ji's daughter, the elders nodded repeatedly and felt that this concubine was a good one and a loyal servant.
They had also heard about the story of Miss Ji San. At first, they said that she died of illness. Later, when the Ji family members came to ask about it, they vaguely stated that Ji Yanyue's death was unclear and that she was not dead, but had eloped with someone. The Ling'an Marquis's Mansion could do nothing about it, so they came up with the idea of saying that she was dead. But in fact, there was nothing wrong. It was just a cover-up for the fact that Ji Yanyue eloped.
When they heard that it was an elopement, the Ji family members immediately dared not ask any questions. The more they asked, the more people would know, and their own granddaughter would also be implicated. It was best for them to know nothing.
Now that Qu Moying had uncovered her secret, Aunt Xiang stepped forward and said with a serious face that she believed Ji Yanyue was fine and would never do anything to bring disgrace to the family. The elders were very relieved.
"Madam Xiang, you are just a concubine, how dare you call yourself the victim." Xiao was furious and said harshly.
"I am indeed just a concubine, and the only concubine who has a say in the first house. If I don't speak up for the Third Miss, she would have died unjustly. Could it be that Second Madam is unwilling to investigate the Third Miss's affairs?" Concubine Xiang said, pointing at several elders, "Second Madam, even if you don't care about the Third Miss, please consider the Ji family's daughters and let Lord Yue investigate this matter!"
Her words caused several elders to nod their heads, and a few looked at Xiao with unfriendly eyes.
Of course, they don't want to see their daughter's reputation ruined.
"Okay, okay, just investigate!" Xiao was so angry that her face turned blue. She turned around and looked at Madam Ji. Seeing her leaning weakly on the chair with a frightened look, she became even more angry.
This matter was handled cleanly, and it was divided into two lines, open and secret. She didn't believe that Yue Wenhan could find out the truth. Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was also involved, and it was not a small matter.
The Shaoqing of Dali Temple can handle it.
"Let's... let's go!" After saying this, Xiao turned around to help Madam Ji, intending to deal with it calmly. There were many people around, so it was not the time to talk.
The next moment, her hand stopped beside Madam Ji's hand, and she was stunned. When she heard what Aunt Xiang said to the elders, her scalp almost exploded.
"My dear uncles, you are all elders of the Ji family. I am here to beg you for our uncle." Aunt Xiang knelt on the ground, wiping her tears.
"What's the matter?" Several elders looked at each other.
"Our master was a soldier, loyal to his country, and had only two daughters. But now the Crown Princess has passed away, and the third daughter must have also died. It's a pity that our master lived a lonely life, and in the end there was no one to guard his body and visit his grave..."
"Aunt Xiang, what are you talking about? Aren't Yuanxing and Yuanhai both descendants of the uncle? Could it be that they will not burn incense to the uncle in the future?" Xiao suddenly turned around and shouted.
Xiang Yi Niang seemed not to have heard what Xiao said, and kowtowed to the elders again: "Please, elders, adopt a son for our uncle."
With just one sentence, everyone in the mourning hall was stunned.
Ji Yongming's son can be adopted at will. If he is adopted, it means that he will be the next Earl of Ling An. Even if he is not old enough, he is still the eldest son of Earl of Ling An, right
In this way, the title that was originally bound to fall into the hands of the second house returned to the hands of the first house.
Even if the adopted child is from the second wife, only the first wife can worship him from now on.
Everyone understands what this means.
"Aunt Xiang, what nonsense are you talking about? Did you get possessed by some kind of demon in the Buddhist temple? How dare you say such things?" Xiao shouted angrily.
Two old women came up from behind her and were about to grab Concubine Xiang with vicious looks.
"I'm here, let's see who dares to take action." Yue Wenhan snorted coldly, his face darkened. The two old women didn't dare to move forward anymore, they stopped and peeked at Xiao.
Xiao was so angry that she almost vomited blood. At this moment, something happened to Concubine Xiang. If she had known this, she would have had someone put a belt around Concubine Xiang and strangled her to death. There would not have been so many troubles.
Things were about to succeed, but at the final touch, things took a turn for the worse. Xiao was willing to accept that.
"Second Madam, the temple has always been filled with gods and Buddhas, why do you think I am insane? My uncle is gone, and I have no children. Shouldn't I have an heir to carry on the family line? Could it be that Second Madam thinks the first wife's family line should be cut off?"
The elders of the clan were all there, with Yue Wenhan and Qu Moying standing by. Aunt Xiang was of a risk-taking nature, so of course she would say whatever she wanted at this time. She raised her eyes and looked towards Xiao without any fear.
Several elders looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Logically, Ji Yongming should have one heir, but the people in the mansion did not bring it up, and the elders did not dare to do so. After all, the Ji family was mainly based in the Ling'anbo Mansion. If the people in the Ling'anbo Mansion did not say anything, they would be happy to be idle and pretend that they knew nothing. After all, who would offend the second house, which might have unlimited future, just for the sake of the first house where one person died.
Hearing that Concubine Ji is now the only female master in the Eastern Palace, for this reason, the elders dare not offend the second branch of the Ji Mansion unless it is absolutely necessary.
Leave a few points
Kindness, so that we can meet again in the future.
Although the eldest branch of the Ji family was very powerful in the past, it has no one left now and there is no mercy to be shown. The world is indifferent and cold, and when people leave, the tea gets cold. This is exactly the current situation.
But if this matter is really brought up in person and heard by outsiders, they cannot ignore it.
"My son didn't tell me about this before he left. He just said that since we have my nephew, there's no need to adopt another child." Mrs. Ji, who was sitting upstairs, finally spoke. She took Xiao's hand, raised her eyes tremblingly, and her eyes were slightly red.
"Madam, the uncle was only concerned about the second master at that time, but did you, Madam and the second master, really not care about the uncle? Besides, the uncle should not know that something happened to the third lady, and he thought that the third lady was there." Aunt Xiang cried.
Mrs. Ji choked and looked at Xiao helplessly, but saw Xiao shaking her head vigorously. She could only say, "Madam Xiang, you are just a concubine and cannot make decisions for my son. Considering your loyalty to the master, please step aside!"
“Madam, the master has devoted himself to the mansion, but now... now he has ended up like this, without even an heir. Madam... Madam, can you really bear it?” Concubine Xiang cried even more sadly, kneeling on the ground, motionless, tears falling down in strings.
Mrs. Ji was at a loss again and went to see Mrs. Xiao.
Xiao went forward and personally took Xiang Yiniang's hand, trying to make herself look kind: "Xiang Yiniang, please don't make a fuss. Don't worry, you will be taken care of in the mansion from now on, and you will not be allowed to wander outside. You are the uncle's aunt, and you will always be. Even if there are only a few concubines in the main house now, you are still the most important aunt."
Qu Moying sneered in his heart. Xiao was really good at talking. With these few words, it sounded like Concubine Xiang was in such a mess mainly because she was selfish and was afraid that the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion would not give her a concubine in the future, so she was making such a fuss now.
It completely wiped out the sad atmosphere created by Concubine Xiang's victory, and even made people doubt Concubine Xiang's intentions.
Xiao's calculation was very good. Even with the presence of the elders, Concubine Xiang was still in a weak position because she was just a concubine. Unfortunately, Xiao still forgot about Yue Wenhan.
Although he and Yue Wenhan were not the victims, and had no relationship with his father, they were still cousins after all. Just for this reason, with the addition of Aunt Xiang, they could barely fight against the Xiao family and the Ji family, and even Ji Youran behind them.
Revenge for a blood feud is never an easy task.
She even gave up the idea of starting with her father's coffin and instead started investigating from her most inconspicuous sister.
Originally, the Ji family didn't say anything, and no one in the court would say anything either, thinking that the Ji family had already discussed it. But now it's different. It's not so easy for Ji Yongan to get the title of Earl of Ling'an.
Seeing that Xiao had taken the words back, Yue Wenhan said coldly: "Since Ling Anbo's concubine feels that a child should be adopted by Ling Anbo, I will submit a memorial to the emperor."
Qu Moying's eyes narrowed slightly. This was exactly what she had imagined before. Yue Wenhan was indeed a smart man!
Even if you can't intervene directly, you're going to stir up trouble!
Once the memorial is submitted to the court, it will inevitably cause controversy. The final outcome of the dispute in the court is not something that Xiao can control. It may even lead to many unexpected events, such as the death of Crown Prince Pei Luoan...