After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 149 Zhu Shi's Outburst
Cuilan was so frightened that she trembled like a leaf, and could only cry and cry, saying nothing.

Zhu's patience had finally run out. She slowly lowered her eyes and said, "Since you can't do it, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll have a servant take Cuilan away in a bit. I can't keep her here."

"Young mistress, spare my life!" Cuilan frantically kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Bai Feng strode into the courtyard, his eyes burning with rage. "Enough! Isn't it chaotic enough already?"

Madam Zhu scoffed, "Chaos? Where is it chaotic? I was merely dealing with my own dowry maid, how is that chaotic? My husband has already taken care of everything outside."

Bai Feng choked, suppressing his anger as he sat down beside her and reasoned with Zhu Shi in a gentle voice, "I know why you're angry. Regardless of whether those rumors are true or false, you are now a member of the Bai family. You should be thinking about how to protect the Bai family's reputation and expose those who harbor malicious intentions, instead of being fooled and used as a pawn!"

“My son is absolutely right!” Madam Bai followed with a group of servants and said seriously, “Right now we should be thinking about how to suppress the rumors outside.”

Zhu burst into laughter as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Suppress rumors? False rumors are just rumors; true rumors are scandals!"

Madam Bai's face darkened.

Bai Feng, enraged, snapped, "Zhu! Is this never going to end? She's just a maid; is she really worth making such a fuss about?"

"So what if I'm being stubborn?" Madam Zhu suddenly stood up and roared hysterically, "Bai Feng! Remember this! No matter how lowly or despicable Cui Lan is, she's still my dowry! My property! My dowry! No one is allowed to touch her without my permission! I can beat her to death and sell her off, and nobody can stop me!"

Enraged, Madam Zhu's eyes were wide open like copper bells, bloodshot and resembling a demon from hell, which truly frightened Madam Bai and her son.

Madam Bai immediately changed her tone and gently comforted her, "Daughter-in-law, we are all family. Let's sit down and talk things over. Whether it's rumors or scandals, it's all our family's business."

If you are unhappy, we can compensate you however we want. The most important thing right now is to suppress the rumors. It's almost the end of the year, and all the shops are doing booming business, but our business has been greatly affected by this.

"It's not that our shop is deserted, but nobody wants to come in and buy anything. Do you really think you can just stand by and do nothing if this continues?"

Her words really hit Zhu's sore spot.

Zhu calmed down a bit, but still stared at Cuilan with jealousy. After a long silence, she said expressionlessly, "I can let it go, but I want to punish Cuilan severely and sell her back into a brothel so she can suffer a fate worse than death. What do you say?"

Madam Bai and Bai Feng looked very unhappy, but they didn't say anything to object.

Cuilan's last shred of hope shattered at that moment, and she frantically kowtowed, begging for mercy, "Young Madam, I know I was wrong! Please forgive me this time! I will be loyal to you from now on. If you say go east, I will never go west. Please spare my life!"

Zhu turned a deaf ear.

Bai Feng couldn't stand it anymore and got up to leave, but as he passed by Cui Lan, she suddenly grabbed him.

"Young Master, Young Master! Save me! Save me! I don't want to go to a brothel, Young Master, please save me!"

Bai Feng frowned, trying to break free, but found that Cuilan was holding on tightly and he couldn't get away at all. At Madam Bai's signal, Granny Li stepped forward and stomped hard on Cuilan's hand.

Cuilan cried out in pain and let go of his hand.

Bai Feng immediately ran away.

A short while later, Cuilan's shrill screams echoed through the courtyard. The sound lasted for almost half an hour, and even the maids and servants who passed by were frightened into taking a detour.

Zhu was still not satisfied after dealing with Cuilan, so she took Rulan back to her parents' home.

Madam Bai was so angry at the news that her heart ached. She scolded Li Mama, "She's already dealt with Cuilan, what more does she want? Is she trying to give me a hard time? What kind of daughter-in-law is so arrogant and domineering! She's gone too far!"

"You still dare to talk back! If you hadn't spoiled your son, he wouldn't have turned into such a good-for-nothing!" Old Master Bai stormed into the main courtyard.

Madam Bai was already unhappy, and upon hearing this, she completely exploded, "Blame me? It's all my fault! You've been the one who raised our son since he was little. I was just in charge of things in his courtyard. Now that there's trouble, it's all my responsibility. You, as his father, have no problem at all!"

"You spoil your son!" Master Bai cursed angrily, arguing with Madam Bai, "Do you dare say you knew nothing about Cuilan's affairs? You knew perfectly well why our family and the Zhu family were allied through marriage, yet you allowed him to covet your daughter-in-law's dowry maid!"
That would have been bad enough, but afterwards, not only was the situation unfairly handled, but you also married Cuilan off to a servant, trying to find a fig leaf for your son. What kind of mother are you?

Madam Bai felt wronged and resentful, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She cried and said, "Master, you only blame me? I only did this because I wanted to maintain the relationship between the Bai and Zhu families! If the matter between my son and Cuilan were reported, with my daughter-in-law's temper, I'm afraid she would have already caused a huge uproar!"

Now that our daughter-in-law has been married for two years and still hasn't conceived, we don't need to be afraid if the truth comes out. It's her fault for not having a baby; she's in the wrong! This is a perfect opportunity to find two proper concubines for our son.”

Madam Bai had already planned everything out, even having candidates for concubines.

Mr. Bai was initially very angry, but upon hearing this, he calmed down a bit. "So this matter isn't entirely a bad thing."

Madam Bai nodded vigorously. "Before, I was more lenient with Cuilan because she was pregnant with our son's child. Now that she has miscarried and damaged her health, she will have difficulty conceiving in the future. My daughter-in-law needs someone to vent her anger on, so it's a good opportunity to push Cuilan out."

"Once our daughter-in-law calms down, we can bring up the matter of taking a concubine again. She'll surely understand. Even if she doesn't, we can talk to the Zhu family about it; they certainly won't stand idly by."

Before the rumors outside had been resolved, the two were already plotting how to get more people into their son's yard.

Zhu, who had returned to her parents' home, was completely unaware of the situation.

As soon as she entered the door, she burst into tears and cried to Madam Zhu, "Mother, that heartless man Bai Feng is just too much!"

Madam Zhu had already heard the rumors outside and was prepared for her daughter to come home crying and complaining, but she didn't expect the person to arrive so quickly.

Seeing her daughter's lack of manners, she frowned subconsciously and patiently waited for Zhu to finish crying before asking seriously, "Tell me honestly, have you consulted a doctor or taken any medicine in the past two years? Did the doctor say what was wrong?"

Madam Zhu didn't say it explicitly, but Madam Zhu understood. Her face turned pale, and she felt somewhat embarrassed. "Mother, I saw a doctor two months after I entered the family. The doctor only said that my body is a bit cold and that I need to adjust my condition slowly if I want to have a child. I have been taking the medicine on time, but my belly just won't move. I don't know what to do."