Li Meilan raised her hand, "I swear today, this matter..."
Zhao Jiaqi interrupted her, looking down at her, a fierce glint in her apricot eyes, "Swear with your future generations and your daughter's death, do you dare?"
"I..."
At her pause, Zhao Jiaqi's guess was confirmed. She straightened up and swept her a contemptuous glance!
"If Murong Yongqing hadn't jumped into the river, who would have ruined her reputation! What if a servant from my household had saved her, would you still demand I champion your daughter?"
Li Meilan finally realized that Zhao Jiaqi would not spare her daughter's future out of respect for her husband!
She was truly impartial. She swayed as she got up, lifted her chin, and forced herself to remain calm, "If a servant had saved my daughter, how could I possibly let such a lowly person live?"
She let out a cold scoff and continued, "Besides, since I dared to plan this today, I was absolutely sure of success. Even if the Princess Consort doesn't lend her support and speak up, it doesn't matter. After all, there are quite a few people who saw the Prince Xiaoyao ruin my daughter's body!"
Zhao Jiaqi had to admit that in this kind of inner-court struggle, she was no match and would never stoop to such sordid deeds!
She had truly underestimated this woman!
"So you are certain that Murong Yongqing is the future Princess Consort Xiaoyao!"
Li Meilan stared intently at Zhao Jiaqi, saying nothing!
It wasn't that she didn't want to answer. If she hadn't asked her this question, then the position of Princess Consort Xiaoyao would undoubtedly have been her daughter's. But with this question, Li Meilan hesitated, not daring to jump to a conclusion, and thus remained silent.
See, the plan was so good, yet in the end, she had no idea if her daughter could become the principal wife!
Oh, no!
She had miscalculated Zhao Jiaqi's attitude. She thought that her relationship with Murong Sheng would lead to some favorable words, but呵呵... from the very beginning, she had been plotting against her!
Unfortunately, Li Meilan had misjudged her own character!
Zhao Jiaqi turned her gaze to Murong Yongqing, feeling quite pained for her, "Even if you marry into the prince's manor and become the princess consort using these tactics, this stain will remain with you forever. What man can tolerate a woman who schemes against him before marriage? You won't gain your husband's respect. Do you think you can flaunt your power with just the title of principal consort?"
"Prince Xiaoyao's fiefdom is over a thousand miles away. In the inner city, you might be able to live somewhat peacefully, but if you return to his fiefdom, do you really think you'll have good days? And you're still dreaming of using a child to tie down a man's heart?"
"Based on your scheming against him and making him take the blame, this stain is not something that can be easily resolved through quarrels?"
With each word Zhao Jiaqi spoke, it struck the hearts of mother and daughter. Murong Yongqing's face truly turned pale!
Raising her voice sharply, she retorted to Zhao Jiaqi, "Don't try to scare me! In the grand mansions of the capital, there are plenty of people who use any means to compete for favor and climb the ranks. Yet, those madams don't live poorly. On the contrary, they are all highly valued by their lords and live very comfortably!"
The capital!
Zhao Jiaqi suddenly realized that this girl must have lived in the capital years ago and learned these tactics from the concubines of those so-called 'grand families' who favored concubines over wives!
Grand families?
In the capital, if you threw a shoe, it might hit someone who was a capital official!
The capital had no shortage of officials, whether they were high-ranking or low-ranking. However, there was one thing: truly noble families would never stoop to associating with merchants!
Those noble ladies, considering themselves superior, would hold themselves in high esteem even if they had little money!
Not to mention, the legitimate daughters of noble families had no worries about marriage and had no need for such underhanded tactics. Those who resorted to such methods were almost always illegitimate daughters trying to climb high!
Zhao Jiaqi couldn't be bothered to say these things anymore. Judging by Murong Yongqing's sharp retorts, it was clear that this girl had no sense of shame!
"If you believe it's right, then it's right. The path you choose, you must walk yourself!"
After speaking, Zhao Jiaqi walked out of the room, not looking back at the mother and daughter again!
Outside, Murong Sheng's face was red with shame. He bowed to Zhao Jiaqi, clasping his hands in a salute, "This commoner has not disciplined his family well, and this embarrassing incident has occurred. I am truly ashamed to face anyone. In a moment, this commoner will have Murong Yongqing's head shaved and send her to a nunnery, where she will accompany the dim light and ancient Buddha for the rest of her life!"
Murong Sheng's words were heard clearly by the two inside. At this, they stopped pretending to be ashamed and were immediately terrified!
"Father, I did nothing wrong! Why should I become a nun? I don't want to be a nun! I don't want to!" Murong Yongqing knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, clinging to his hem and pleading!
Murong Sheng's old face was utterly disgraced by this mother and daughter. He kicked Murong Yongqing down, filled with disappointment, "Do you still not feel enough shame? Scram!"
Li Meilan had rarely seen Murong Sheng lose his temper. Today, seeing him curse like this, it seemed he was determined to truly send their daughter to a nunnery!
Becoming a nun was a world away from getting married.
She stepped forward to plead for her daughter, but Murong Sheng stopped her with a look, "If you dare to say another word, I will immediately divorce you!"
A wasteful thing, raising their daughter to go astray. Otherwise, why would a good girl know so many underhanded tactics!
Zhao Jiaqi and Fan Zehao exchanged a glance and then looked away. This matter was indeed difficult for them to intervene in!
Huangfu Xu knew of Murong Sheng's relationship with Fan Zehao, but it would not be good to strain the relationship between the two families so severely because of this incident.
He said, "Although I saved your daughter with good intentions, I did indeed ruin Miss Murong's reputation. This matter is not entirely Miss Murong's fault!"
Everyone turned to look at Huangfu Xu upon hearing this.
Hearing this, Murong Sheng knew in his heart that Huangfu Xu intended to take the blame.
Li Meilan and Murong Yongqing looked at Huangfu Xu expectantly, both waiting for his words!
Prince Xiaoyao did not keep them waiting. He then said, "I cannot give Miss Murong the position of principal consort, but a secondary consort is still possible. Since it is to take a concubine, it is better to choose a day than to delay, so let's bring her in through the back door with a pink sedan chair today!"
Huangfu Xu took a step back, but he also severely slapped Murong Sheng in the face.
According to the customs of the capital, a prince could hold a banquet when taking a secondary consort. Although it was not a formal wedding, the prince's manor had a side gate, and a secondary consort could enter through it!
Murong Yongqing, however, although nominally Prince Xiaoyao's secondary consort, was actually entering with the lowest possible standard for taking a concubine!
Wasn't this a case of lifting a rock only to drop it on her own feet? She refused to be a principal wife and eagerly sought to be a concubine!
Murong Yongqing, upon hearing she would be a secondary consort, was overjoyed. Not only would she not have to become a nun, but she could also enter the prince's manor as a secondary consort. Though not as good as the principal consort, she would still be in a high position and wouldn't have to face others' scrutiny!
"This concubine thanks Your Highness for your favor. I will surely serve Your Highness well in the future!"
Murong Sheng, who was about to refuse, was preempted by his own daughter's quick reply. This made him even more disgraced!