Without a word, Wu Caiwei went directly to her desk and began to draw. Two hours later, a painting identical to the one from years ago appeared before the Grand Princess. Her pupils involuntarily contracted. She dismissed Wu Caiwei with a flimsy excuse and took her painting into the palace.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor sighed. He thought more deeply. When his cousin disappeared back then, his hand was broken. Had they already prepared to deceive the Emperor at that time, only for it to remain undiscovered for so many years?
He quickly sent people to inquire from his former classmates and tutors about his actual painting skills.
If others had asked, they would have brushed it off. After all, Zhou Jiayang had become a驸马 (imperial son-in-law) and was part of the royal family. Even for the Emperor's sake, they would have offered some flattery. But this time, the Emperor's own men were asking, and they dared not conceal the truth. They told him everything. Although the Emperor had long anticipated this outcome, he couldn't help but tremble with rage. He never expected the Zhou family to be so audacious as to deceive the royal family.
Looking at his daughter, who stood before him with a smug look, the Emperor suddenly felt he had wronged her. If he had heeded her advice back then and allowed the engagement to be broken, would the outcome have been different? These past few years, his daughter and they had become almost strangers, her reputation ruined. He had been looking out for them all this time, but it felt like it had all been for nothing.
The Emperor hated the Zhou family with all his might, yet he still told his daughter not to make a scene. After all, this was not a glorious matter, and its public disclosure would tarnish the royal family's reputation. In the first place, a little investigation would have revealed the truth, but they had been deceived for so many years.
Returning to the princess's mansion, the Grand Princess could not suppress her anger. She led her retinue directly to the Zhou residence. Under the horrified gazes of everyone present, she gestured to her confidants to bring Zhou Jiayang's concubines before her.
She had wanted to cause trouble for them long ago, but she was in the wrong and had a bad reputation. Even if she had brought it before the Emperor, she would have been the one to suffer. But this time was different. Although her father hadn't explicitly said so, based on her understanding of him, he would absolutely not let the Zhou family off the hook. Old grudges and new hatred flared up together.
The Zhou family heard the commotion and rushed over. When Madam Zhou arrived, Zhou Jiayang's concubines were already being whipped. One of the maids was pregnant, and after a few blows, a lot of blood spilled onto the ground. If the whipping continued, she would surely lose her life.
"Why has the Princess graced the Zhou residence with her presence? If you must come, why cause such a scene? If you continue, she will be beaten to death by the Princess. It's too costly to damage the Grand Princess's reputation for a mere servant. Perhaps we should let them go for now?" Madam Zhou said with a forced smile. Although this daughter-in-law was married into their family through their own scheming, she regretted it endlessly these past few years.
Other people married wives to serve their elders, but hers was like an ancestor who couldn't even be served. What kind of a marriage was this? Every day, people mocked them behind their backs, and the Zhou family still had no heirs. When she heard that one of the concubines was pregnant, her joy then was matched only by her current sorrow. That was her grandchild!
"She can be dragged away and a doctor can be called to examine her. As for the others, continue the beating," Wu Caiwei said calmly to Madam Zhou, while pointing at the pregnant concubine.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that Madam Zhou was deliberately trying to elicit sympathy to make her let them off. The Grand Princess snorted, "When you married me, you promised the Emperor that you would only be devoted to me for life. And who are these women? You even allowed a concubine to become pregnant. Are you going to register it under my name? I don't have such a grown son, nor would I do the foolish thing of raising a child for someone else." Su Dan Novel Network
"What do you want? If you keep beating them, they'll die." Madam Zhou's face showed a hint of anxiety. Her son found so many concubines, wasn't it related to her? What? She could have affairs with men outside, but her son couldn't have concubines? This was too overbearing.
"It's even better if they die. Anyway, they were sold to us as dead-races. A straw mat thrown in the wilderness would be their best fate," the Grand Princess shrugged indifferently. She wished these women would vanish from the face of the earth immediately.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Jiayang, upon returning home, heard about the incident from his attendants. He rushed over, pushing aside the people who were administering the beatings, and shouted his questions.
"Princess, we mind our own business, you live your life, I live mine. I don't understand why you are targeting them today." Zhou Jiayang looked at her, confused, not understanding why all the issues that had been simmering for years were coming to a head today.
The Grand Princess had the words to loudly question them about deceiving her several times, but she swallowed them back. Ever since Wu Caiwei told her that someone else had painted the picture, she had immediately mobilized her informants within the Zhou family and compiled Zhou Jiayang's entire life experience from childhood. She had indeed discovered something very interesting.
It turned out that Madam Ouyang and Zhou Jiayang had a verbal engagement before the Emperor bestowed the marriage. Then why, when she asked him if he had an engagement, did he shake his head resolutely? If he had hesitated for even a second, she would have found someone else. She wasn't someone who couldn't get married.
But the Zhou family had concealed everything, clearly wanting to marry her to secure their family's wealth and prosperity.
She hadn't even been in the Zhou family for long, and despite her poor relationship with Zhou Jiayang, there were endless suitors proposing to his sister. Madam Zhou had ultimately chosen a young gentleman from the Li family, whose family was of superior status, his appearance was average, but his son was exceptionally promising, already a Jinshi at a young age. This would have been absolutely unthinkable in the past.
"Why? Don't you know? I forgot to tell you, your missing cousin visited the Princess's mansion. Guess what she told me?"
Seeing the Princess's nonchalant expression, Zhou Jiayang knew he was finished. She knew, which meant the Emperor also knew. He hadn't expected Wu Caiwei to be so fearless as to expose this matter directly. Didn't she know that by being in the middle, she also bore some responsibility? Besides, wasn't she afraid of the Emperor eradicating her for exposing such a scandal to the royal family?
"Princess, don't listen to outsiders. Every family has enemies. Their goal is to divide us and make us a laughingstock in the capital," Zhou Jiayang racked his brains to defend himself. Although he didn't know if the Princess would overlook it and let him off the hook, he absolutely could not admit it now.
"If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it. You are the laughingstock of the capital; I am not. I was blind to have chosen you back then." The Grand Princess deeply regretted it, her youthful impulsiveness and lack of thorough investigation.