Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 317 A Poor Situation
Madam Chen's expression turned slightly cold. A male guest barging into the courtyard where the female guests were changing clothes could easily cause a scandal. At best, it could be said that the male guest had lustful thoughts; at worst, it could be said that the host had not made proper arrangements. This matter could be a big or small one. If it were to get out, the Chen family would lose all face. Fortunately, the Chen family was a military family and handled things very efficiently. They quickly blocked the news and even controlled the group of girls to prevent them from talking about it.

"Go and find out who he is!" Madam Chen was furious, and her heart was in her throat. All the guests invited today were from prominent clans, and it was not easy to offend any of them. A young member of her family had been killed in the Chen family, and the other side was the Regent's Consort. The matter was very thorny, and she might offend both sides if she was not careful.

The maidservant beside Madam Chen went to examine the body. She frowned and shook her head at Madam Chen. The maidservant was a young and capable girl. She remembered the names and faces of all the male and female guests invited today and could clearly state their identities. However, she was unfamiliar with the murdered man and did not recognize him. Moreover, he smelled of alcohol, but judging from his tongue and complexion, he did not seem to be drunk. It was more like he had alcohol on his body.

Madam Chen's anxiety subsided, as long as it wasn't one of the male guests invited today.

"Madam, it seems an outsider has broken into the manor. I will go and investigate immediately!"

"Investigate!" Madam Chen said in a deep voice. "Investigate behind closed doors. I want to see who dares to cause trouble in my mansion!"

Madam Chen glanced meaningfully at Miss Zhang, but Miss Zhang remained unmoved. The maidservant hurriedly left, and Su Qingwan asked, "Miss Zhang, you and these young ladies just happened to come to the backyard?"

Zhang Er Guniang was the niece of the Earl of Anping. She was very close to Li Xueying, but unlike Li Xueying, she wasn't arrogant or domineering and had many friends. She had a lot of good friends, and most of the girls around her were her closest confidantes.

Although Madam Chen did not invite anyone from the Li family, she did invite the Zhang family's daughters. Several Zhang family daughters also came, not just the second daughter. Many people were unaware of what was happening and were kept isolated at the polo field.

Zhang Er Guniang said, "Your Highness, we were tired from playing polo and came to the backyard to change our clothes. The first few rooms were occupied, so we went to the innermost room. But as soon as we pushed the door open, we saw that she had killed someone. We were all terrified."

The girls around Zhang Er Guniang nodded in agreement, saying that it had nothing to do with them and that they had only stumbled upon it by chance.

Su Qingwan chuckled, "Really? That's quite a coincidence."

Everyone around could hear the sarcasm in her voice, but dared not say anything. Zhang Er-guniang was confident, "Your Highness, we have been traveling together and do not know your maid. There is no need to slander her. We have witnessed everything. We do not know the person who was killed. This matter has nothing to do with us. On the contrary, it is your maid who killed someone and frightened us."

"You all look radiant, not like you've been frightened," Su Qingwan said calmly. "I haven't even said anything yet, so why are you all in such a hurry to defend yourselves?"

The group remained silent, exchanging bewildered glances.

Zhang Er Guniang said, "I'm afraid if I don't defend myself, the Princess will think we're deliberately framing her. It's a fact that your maid killed someone in General Chen's mansion. A mere maid, treating human life like dirt, isn't she just relying on your power? The Princess should also discipline her maid properly."

Su Qingwan narrowed her eyes and sneered, "How I discipline my maid is none of your business. Second Miss is also a woman, she should know how important a woman's reputation is. This person broke into the mansion and molested my maid. In a moment of anger, she accidentally killed her. And that is her fault. If it were Second Miss Zhang in the room today, how would you have handled it?"

"I……"

"Oh, I see. Miss Zhang is kind-hearted and doesn't think it's a big deal if a strange man enters while she's undressing, or if she's molested. You're kind-hearted and would forgive him, right?" Su Qingwan pressed on.

Zhang Er Guniang's face flushed red. "You're talking nonsense! I didn't think that way." "It's good that you didn't think that way. We're all women, and we value our reputation. You should sympathize with my maid, not that lecherous man!" Su Qingwan sneered, her eyes filled with daggers.

Zhang Er Guniang gritted her teeth, "Even so... she shouldn't have killed him. He was drunk and broke into the room; his crime didn't warrant death!"

How do you know he's drunk?

“I could smell the strong smell of alcohol too,” Zhang Er Guniang argued, as if she had found a breakthrough. “The person was drunk and didn’t mean to barge in. They just went into the wrong room. But your maid killed someone. She’s clearly a bully who abuses her power.”

Su Qingwan was furious, and Madam Chen hurriedly said, "Enough! This is a murder case that happened in my residence. I will naturally handle it. Second Miss, please say no more!"

Miss Zhang was indignant, but she didn't say anything more.

Su Qingwan was furious. In the end, it was the woman who suffered in this matter. If Li Yue hadn't happened to witness it, it would have been Lu Yunshu who was humiliated today, and Lu Yunshu was already engaged. If this had happened, the marriage would have been called off. This man was drunk and reckless, clearly a lecherous scoundrel with despicable character, greedy and unscrupulous. His chastity had been violated by her, and Lu Yunshu would have had no choice but to marry him or live a life of seclusion and Buddhism.

In reality, wealthy families would never allow someone to be forced to marry a commoner just because their chastity has been dishonored. Even if she were an illegitimate daughter, the Lu family would not do such a thing, and Lu Jing would not stand idly by.

If you really think that you can rise to the top by insulting a noblewoman from a high-ranking clan, you're dreaming. High-ranking clans have plenty of ways to make you disappear and die silently.

However, once her reputation is ruined, her life is over. Especially since Lu Yunshu had broken off her engagement before, if the man wanted to break off the engagement again, her marriage prospects would be very difficult. People value reputation, so unless she is married off to another place and never comes to the capital again, the news will eventually leak out. So no matter what, if this man succeeds, Lu Yunshu's life will be ruined.

This was a despicable and blatant scheme. It was obvious who in the capital hated her the most. She also didn't believe that Miss Zhang Er came to the backyard for no reason and just happened to barge into this room. Their goal from the beginning was to destroy Lu Yunshu.

Lady Anping had no way to deal with her, so she set her sights on Lu Yunshu and ruined the Lu family's daughter. This was something Su Qingwan hadn't expected. She would rather Lady Anping's target was her.

But rather...

Su Qingwan sneered. It seemed that she had been too lenient with the Lady of Anping, allowing her to act so recklessly and dare to target the people around her.

"I really don't know how to live or die!"

Su Qingwan originally planned to play along with Lady Anping slowly, forcing Lady Anping to lose her composure, just as she had done with Li Xueying.

Now she has lost patience.

Does Lady Anping really think she's easy to bully?