What she didn't expect was that Ling Qingwan had already started to consider the overall situation and plan for the future as soon as she returned to the Marquis' Mansion.
No wonder Ling Qingwan had reminded her several times before that after she followed him, she should not tell Ling Xiao about the matter. Mingyue admired Ling Qingwan.
In addition to Cheng Man, Ling Qingwan was also worried about another thing.
It was sunny outside, Ling Qingwan took off her coat and sat on a stone bench in the yard, distracted. She held tightly in her hand the letter she had taken from Mr. Ling's room.
A few days passed, and Ling Qingwan did not open the letter. She felt that this letter was not written to her by Mr. Ling.
To Mr. Ling, Ling Qingwan was just a little girl. Even if she knew the inside story of his illness and the conspiracy of Ling Feng and Ye Yun, what could he do? Ling Qingwan was wondering, based on Mr. Ling's temperament, who would he turn to for help.
Ling Xiao? Madam Ling? Or General Shen
"Miss!" Qiao'er ran into the yard in a hurry.
She covered her chest and took several deep breaths.
"What's going on?" Ling Qingwan clenched the letter in her hand and hid it in her sleeve without making a sound.
“Fifth Miss… Fifth Miss was throwing a tantrum at the gate and saying a lot of nonsense!” Qiao’er was so tired that she couldn’t even speak clearly.
"Ling Long?" Ling Qingwan wondered.
The two had just met at Jiang Jiulou two days ago, and today Ling Long was making a scene at the gate of the Marquis' Mansion. Ling Qingwan could easily guess that this matter was probably related to her.
"Yes! She scolded you and said... and said..." Qiao'er hesitated for a long time. "She also said that the master had a concubine outside and that she had a child."
Ling Qingwan's eyes were slightly dim.
I'm afraid it was Cheng Man who caused this. She wanted to force Ling Feng to make a decision, either to break off contact with her or let her enter the Marquis' Mansion. Since Ling Feng was willing to secretly contact her for twenty years, he must have feelings for Cheng Man.
Cheng Man’s plan turned out to be quite good.
"Let's go and take a look." Ling Qingwan stood up and walked slowly towards the gate of the Marquis' Mansion.
What Ling Qingwan didn't expect was that when she was halfway there, she heard news from her servants that Ling Long was dead.
Beaten to death.
Ling Qingwan quickened her pace and when she arrived at the open space in front of the hall, she saw Ling Long lying on the ground, surrounded by blood. She had several wounds on her body, her eyes were wide open, and she died unwillingly.
"Miss." Qiao'er was a little worried that Ling Qingwan would be scared if she saw it.
Ye Yun walked to Ling Long, squatted down gently, and helped her close her eyes.
Ling Qingwan fell into deep thought.
Since it was Ye Yun who beat Ling Long to death, Ling Long's incident today was probably not discussed with Cheng Man and Ye Yun in advance.
What on earth did Linglong go through
"Long'er!"
Since Linglong was kicked out of the house, the Third Lady's temperament has changed drastically. She is no longer as arrogant as before, but is depressed and crying every day. After finally seeing her daughter again, she sees this scene.
The third lady staggered to Linglong's side.
"Third Madam." Ye Yun stood up and nodded respectfully to the Third Madam.
As soon as she finished speaking, the third lady slapped Ye Yun hard.
The slap sounded loud and crisp. The Third Madam used a lot of force, and a red mark appeared on Ye Yun's fair cheek.
"This is my daughter! In the past, you would bow and call her Fifth Miss when you saw her. How dare you beat her to death today? I ask you!"
The third lady could no longer hold back and burst into tears at Ye Yun.
Seeing the Third Madam's loss of her own flesh and blood, Ling Qingwan was slightly touched, but that was all. Ling Qingwan knew in her heart that the Third Madam and Ling Long were not worthy of sympathy.
If Ling Long had not been kicked out of the house, she, Ling Qingwan, would still be a soft persimmon. The person standing here crying today could not be her.
It's just that things have changed and it's her turn.
"Madam San, calm down." Ye Yun was calm. "The Fifth Miss has been expelled from the house by the old master. According to the rules, she is no longer the Fifth Miss of the Marquis' Mansion, nor is she my master. She made a scene at the door of the Marquis' Mansion, not only insulting the Second Miss, but also talking nonsense, making up rumors and slandering the old master. This is really treason. The old master is not here today. If he were here, he would allow me to do this."
Ye Yun did not think that what he did was wrong. The Third Madam was so angry that she stretched out her hand and wanted to vent her anger on Ye Yun. When she looked down and saw her daughter lying on the ground, the Third Madam collapsed and sat down next to Ling Long.
The smell of blood filled her nose, but the Third Madam was not annoyed at all. She picked up Ling Long and held her in her arms.
"Long'er! Wake up! I'm your mother! Wake up!"
The third lady screamed again and again until she was hoarse.
"Go back." Ling Qingwan glanced at Ling Long, then turned and went back to the backyard.
A lot of people gathered around, but no one noticed Ling Qingwan. Most of them were just watching the fun, with all kinds of expressions, some disgusted, some afraid.
Ling Long was once the most domineering young lady in the Marquis's Mansion, even more domineering than Ling Chuchu. Now, one was beaten to death, and the other became the future Crown Princess, enjoying unlimited glory. Such a scene was truly heartbreaking.
At night, Ling Xiao returned to the Marquis' Mansion. When he heard what happened during the day, his first thought was to worry about Ling Qingwan being scared, and he immediately headed straight to the Iris Pavilion.
Fortunately, Ling Qingwan was broad-minded and didn't think too much about it.
"Ye Yun's actions were too abrupt. How could he just beat a person to death?" Ling Xiao blamed Ye Yun.
Unfortunately, Ye Yun is close to Ling Feng, so Ling Xiao can't comment too much.
It's funny that he, the eldest master of the Ling family, is not as favored as a servant in front of Ling Feng.
"I heard that she said something she shouldn't have said. I'm afraid Ye Yun just wanted to shut her up." Ling Qingwan spoke while observing Ling Xiao's reaction.
It just so happened that she didn't know how to tell Ling Xiao about this matter, so she let Ling Long tell it today to save her from worrying about it.
"That's right. I don't know what Linglong was thinking. She came to the front door and said bad things about you for no reason. I think she really deserves a lesson." Ling Xiao said angrily. "It's really not worth losing her life for this."
Ling Qingwan was speechless.
It is no exaggeration to say that Ling Xiao is simple. He is just a man, and he has been practicing martial arts with his grandfather since he was a child. He has never experienced the intrigues and deceptions in the backyard, so he naturally cannot understand these things.
"Didn't they tell you that Ling Long not only talked about me today, but also about our father?" Ling Qingwan pointed out.
"Are you saying that she spread rumors that Dad had concubines outside?" Ling Xiao didn't care. "He has several wives in the backyard. If he wants to take another one, no one can say he is not right. Why would he need to keep someone outside secretly? Ling Long's lie is too absurd."
Ling Xiao's words reminded Ling Qingwan.
In the past, she only thought that Ling Feng loved Cheng Man too much, so he was reluctant to let Cheng Man enter the Marquis's mansion as a concubine. After all, Cheng Man's background was not as good as Ling Shen's.
Even if Ling Feng wanted to make Cheng Man his first wife, General Shen would be the first one to disagree.
But Ling Long had let the news slip, so I was afraid that the matter could not be concealed for too long. Ling Qingwan chose a day to go to Ling Shen's place and talked to her about the matter indirectly.
Similar to Ling Xiao’s reaction, Ling Shen didn’t believe in Cheng Man’s existence at all.
"I know your father best. He is a very busy person. He has so much time to deal with government affairs every day, how can he have time to tinker with those things?"