Ling Xiao had just come back from outside and probably heard the gossip about him.
Such a scandal happened in the mansion, and almost everyone in the mansion became a joke, including Ling Qingwan. Ling Qingwan understood Ling Xiao's feelings, but she didn't understand why he didn't blame Ling Feng when something went wrong, but blamed her instead.
Thinking of this, Ling Qingwan felt a little aggrieved.
"Yes, it is indeed shameful for a marquis to keep a lover outside." Ling Qingwan nodded, as if she had not heard the previous words, and echoed Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao wanted to say something but stopped himself, unable to speak.
"Mom is ill. Now that you're back home, go and see her." After saying that, Ling Qingwan passed by Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao was stunned and stood there for a long time without coming to his senses.
After an unknown amount of time, the bright moon appeared behind Ling Xiao.
"Young Master, I have a few words to say, but I don't know whether I should say them or not." Mingyue looked at Lingxiao's back with a firm tone.
Ling Xiao was feeling annoyed and responded lightly, motioning Ming Yue to continue.
"The Marquis has been keeping a lover for twenty years and has never taken Madam seriously. Miss is doing this to seek justice for Madam. I think Miss has done nothing wrong."
Ling Xiao was surprised.
Rather than saying Mingyue is a maid, she is more like a guard. Since following Ling Xiao, she has done whatever her master tells her to do, and never says a word more. It is rare that Mingyue actually speaks for Ling Qingwan today.
"Madam has a weak character. If she were not the only daughter of the general's mansion, she would not be able to become the first lady of this mansion. Even if she did, there would be many concubines in the mansion who would step on her head at will. You don't know this, but the young lady sees it all. How could she not feel sorry for Madam?"
Mingyue frowned, looking at Lingxiao with helplessness in her eyes.
Ling Xiao listened to Ming Yue's words carefully, feeling mixed emotions.
"I know that my status is humble and I cannot criticize the prince. If you think what I said is right, I will be very grateful. If you think what I said is wrong, you just need to listen to it and don't take it to heart." Mingyue stopped there and didn't tell Lingxiao too much.
She always kept Ling Qingwan's instructions in mind. Following Ling Qingwan, she had to obey Ling Qingwan's instructions, and Mingyue couldn't reveal her affairs to others.
It was because his master cared about his elder brother, and Ling Xiao misunderstood Ling Qingwan. Mingyue couldn't stand it anymore, so she said a few more words today.
"Regarding the Marquis's affair, it was actually General Shen who spread it, not the young lady. Prince, you misunderstood her."
What? Ling Xiao was shocked. My grandfather was actually involved in this matter.
Ling Xiao wanted to ask Mingyue again, but Mingyue had already left.
He suddenly realized that he had wrongly blamed Ling Qingwan. Ling Xiao turned around and rushed to Iris Pavilion without stopping.
At this time, Ling Qingwan had already received the message from Shen Chengzhou and went to the general's mansion.
Shen Chengzhou only asked Ling Qingwan to come over and didn't say much about anything. Ling Qingwan always felt that something big had happened, so she didn't dare to delay and went to the general's mansion.
As soon as she got off the car, Ling Qingwan went straight to the lobby.
Shen Chengzhou invited Ling Qingwan to sit down and told her the news he had just heard in the palace.
"Cheng Man is the daughter of a traitor?" Ling Qingwan pretended to be surprised.
She had not told Shen Chengzhou that after she found out that Cheng Man was not right, she privately asked Mingyue to check Cheng Man's background. Ling Qingwan knew something vaguely.
"Yes." Shen Chengzhou replied. "The entire Cheng family was executed. Cheng Man, as the eldest daughter of the Cheng family, should have died on the stage. I didn't expect her to escape."
"After all these years, the court still hasn't found Cheng Man?" Ling Qingwan wondered.
Cheng Man was right at the foot of the imperial city, so it would be easy to find her. If the imperial court was interested in finding her, how could there be no trace of her for twenty years
"The night before the Cheng family was executed, a fire broke out and all 370 people in the Cheng family died." Shen Chengzhou answered Ling Qingwan's question. "When they counted the heads, there was not one more, not one less, and they all died in the fire. No one expected that the eldest daughter of the Cheng family would run away."
Calculating the time, Ye Yun is a few years older than her, Ling Feng and Cheng Man must have reconnected not long after the Cheng family was convicted. From privately raising a lover to sheltering the daughter of a criminal, Ling Feng's crimes suddenly became serious.
If the former only involves personal morality, the emperor will not impose any other punishment except a few words of reprimand. If the latter is confirmed, Ling Feng can be convicted.
Ling Qingwan felt inexplicably happy.
This was just right, so she wouldn't have to deal with Ling Feng in the future. It would be better to completely suppress Ling Feng this time, so that she would have less trouble.
"I mean Ling Feng could have taken a concubine, but he had to hide and keep a woman outside. It turned out to be because of this." Shen Chengzhou snorted. "I think he is so bold that he doesn't care about the law for the sake of women."
"What did the emperor say?" Ling Qingwan was a little curious.
According to this crime, if the Cheng family had just encountered an incident and the fact that Ling Feng and Cheng Man had a private relationship was exposed, the entire Marquisate would also be implicated. Ling Qingwan was worried that the emperor would be angry and punish the Marquisate as well.
She doesn't care about others, Ling Qingwan only wants to protect the people she wants to protect.
"I know what you're worried about." Shen Chengzhou patted Ling Qingwan's shoulder. "Don't worry, the Cheng family incident happened 20 years ago, and it wasn't Cheng Man who did the evil. Over the years, Cheng Man has been living like a rat in the capital, and she is no longer as glorious as before, so she is punished."
"Plus, with me here, this matter won't implicate you and your two children anyway."
Ling Qingwan felt a warmth in her chest and immediately felt at ease.
"But Ling Feng will definitely lose his official position. It depends on whether the emperor will take into account Ling Feng's contributions in the court over the years and let him serve as a minor official."
In the end, Ling Shenshi would still be wronged. The more Ling Qingwan thought about it, the angrier she became, and she wanted to teach Ling Feng a lesson.
"After something like this happened, Cheng Man will inevitably be affected. I guess my father will send Cheng Man and his son out of the capital." Ling Qingwan chuckled. "The person you miss can only look at from afar in this life. For my father and Cheng Man, this should be more painful than death."
Ling Feng risked his head to protect her, treated her well for ten years, raised her for twenty years, and kept their own flesh and blood by his side. This shows how deep Ling Feng's feelings for Cheng Man were.
Although Ling Qingwan didn't know how much affection Cheng Man had for Ling Feng, but seeing that Cheng Man was no longer under the protection of the Cheng family, yet was still bold enough to deal with those noble ladies in the capital and blend into their circle, she knew that Cheng Man must be vain and competitive, the type of person who could not endure hardship.
Now Lingfeng is in a difficult situation, and he can't even protect himself, so what can he give Cheng Man? When he leaves Dongjing City, Cheng Man will be in trouble.
For her, being an ordinary citizen would be tantamount to death.