They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 501 Rumors
It is said that back then, the wife of the Marquis of Rong'an deliberately bribed the servants and colluded with them to successfully eliminate the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Rong'an.

When Lady An gave birth to her eldest daughter, she nearly died. After that, her health was poor. It is said that she was bedridden for half a year before she could barely get out of bed, but she had to take medicine all year round.

Since then, the current Lady Rong'an, being a relative of the Marquis's family, has been frequently visiting the Marquis's residence. It's likely that she was already in cahoots with the Marquis of Rong'an back then.

“Mrs. An is clearly so ill, she has to take medicine with her all the time, and she looks like she’s barely breathing, but she’s just hanging on to her life. How can Mrs. Bai not be worried?”

"I think so too. Otherwise, Bai Shi wouldn't have been young back then, right? She must have been at least eighteen, yet she wasn't betrothed."

"She's not eighteen, she's twenty! She's the same age as my second daughter, who was already married three years ago."

"Tsk tsk, isn't that right!"

"Bai must have been impatient. If she waited any longer, no excuse would be able to cover it up, and she couldn't bear the shame. So she used her wicked schemes to harm the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family. An couldn't bear the blow and soon passed away."

"It seems like it's been less than a hundred days since Madam An passed away, and Madam Bai has already married into the family?"

"I wonder how many days the Rong'an Marquis's family searched for their eldest daughter back then. Thinking about it, that girl was quite pitiful."

"Ugh!"

"So that's what happened. It's been so long, hardly anyone knows about it anymore! It's a miracle, really. The Bai family lived a peaceful life for half their lives, but who knew their eldest daughter would come back? No wonder she wouldn't acknowledge her as her father. Having a father and stepmother like that is just bad luck!"

"Exactly, ptooey!"

"Well, that's not quite right. This is all speculation. Who knows if it's true or false? Maybe it's all fake? Maybe Madam Bai is innocent. Besides, parents are never wrong. Even Marquis Rong'an pleaded like that. If Madam Liang is really the eldest daughter of Marquis Rong'an's family, she's already saved enough face. How can she really blame her own father? That's unfilial."

"Yes, yes, they're still young and acted too impulsively! They can't just refuse to acknowledge their ancestors. That's outrageous."

"Yes."

"Those of you who say this are talking without understanding the situation. What's the point of acknowledging a father like that? To continue supporting him? To help the disgraced Xue family in the palace turn things around? If you ask me, if the Rong'an Marquis's family hadn't been implicated by Xue's family in the palace and desperately needed support, they might not have wanted to acknowledge their daughter. Madam Liang has already gone to the capital, so why didn't she mention it before? Now, she's putting so much pressure on him. This father not only shows no remorse for his lost daughter, but he's practically pushing her to the brink of death."

"I also overheard some rumors, I don't know if they're true or not, but that the Bai family had already confirmed Madam Liang's whereabouts and identity, and sent people to kill her adoptive parents. If Madam Liang hadn't been lucky, she probably would have died before she even got to the capital."

"My God, is this for real?! If it's true, no wonder she hates me so much."

"How can you not hate someone when you're about to die?"

"The Bai family is too ruthless."

"Heh, her sister and nephew are both so vicious, how could she be any good?"

"Too."

"They killed the An family and their daughter, and now that the woman is lucky to be alive, they can't stand it and are determined to kill her."

"That's too cruel!"

"That's ruthless enough."

"."

Rumors spread like wildfire, becoming common knowledge.

Aunt Bai and her daughter were both stunned.

How can there still be such rumors?

Is it true? Aunt Bai subconsciously thought it was true, because she never thought her sister was an easy person to deal with.

But she never expected that such a thing would happen.

Lady Rong'an was furious and enraged.

"Nonsense! Slander! It's all slander! I didn't do it at all, not at all!"

"Where did these rumors come from? Investigate them thoroughly! I will not let them get away with this!"

"They're all snobbish scoundrels, snobs. Seeing that our Rong'an Marquis's Mansion is in trouble now, they're all kicking us when we're down, saying whatever comes to mind! If Her Highness were still in power, let's see who dares to do that!"

Lady Rong'an was furious and cursed, then gritted her teeth, "It must be that bitch Xu! She must be spreading rumors! My lord, I'm innocent! You must stand up for me! That little slut is riding roughshod over me!"

Marquis Rong's face was contorted with rage and twisted expression.

What can he do?
He was desperate too.

It's one thing if others don't know, but what don't these two know? Everyone knows perfectly well. They're just equally shameless and equally driven by self-interest.

So they pretended to be ignorant, only cursing Xu Zhichun and pinning all the blame on her, as if only in this way could they appear innocent and demonstrate their dignity as elders and their inviolability.

These rumors are spread so convincingly that they seem like the truth, with all sorts of details and seemingly logical explanations, that anyone would believe them at first glance.

In situations like this, evidence becomes less important.

Once the seed of doubt takes root and sprouts, no one can stop it from growing into a towering tree.

Rong Anbo also suspected that Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang were behind it, but what good was suspicion?
They can't do anything based on mere suspicion.

If he were to go and confront them, he would only be humiliating himself.

Marquis Rong could only wave his hand and said irritably, "The innocent are innocent, why bother with these nonsense? If we ignore them, they will naturally disappear in a few days. If we come forward now and treat it as a serious matter, wouldn't that just make us look like we're trying to hide something?"

Lady Rong'an said resentfully, "So it wasn't you who was being talked about, Your Excellency. You could have just remained calm and collected!"

"shut up!"

Enraged, Rong Anbo dropped the pretense and sneered coldly, "Whether I wronged you or not, you know perfectly well! I don't blame you for implicating me, yet you're questioning me instead? You should be glad that it's been so long, and there are no witnesses or evidence left, otherwise, hmph, it probably wouldn't just be a rumor!"

Given Xu Zhichun's personality, if she had any evidence, she would definitely cause a huge uproar.

That is indeed the case.

Xu Zhichun has no evidence whatsoever.

It's been so long, so long that everything has been swallowed up.

Moreover, she absolutely refuses to acknowledge her ancestors, so it's even less likely that she would claim her identity and stand up to demand justice.

But it doesn't matter, there are many ways to get revenge.

Lady Rong'an was so angry that her face turned purple and she burst into tears.

Didn't he tacitly approve of it back then? She didn't believe he knew nothing about it, so why was it all her fault! Why was it all her fault!