The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

Chen Mengyao leaned against Madam Zheng's chest and said in a choked voice, "Thank you, Grandmother."

Madam Zheng smiled and ruffled her hair, her voice full of affection: "Good child, don't cry. With your grandmother here, no one can bully you. In the future, your grandmother will definitely find you a good husband and let you get married in style. I will never let that Ding woman laugh at us."

Chen Mengyao immediately straightened up from her embrace, twisted her body, and said reproachfully, "Grandmother, you're making fun of me too!"

Everyone in the warm room was amused.

Madam Wang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed, "Yao'er, your maternal grandmother is right. From now on, we will protect you, and no one will be able to wrong you. As for that Ding woman, she won't even be able to enter the Zheng family's door from now on."

Madam Li chimed in, "Yes, Yao'er, your aunt is right. Just stay here in the mansion and make yourself at home. This is your home. It's not up to an outsider to tell us what to do about the girls of the Zheng family."

Yun Jin sat beside her, watching the Zheng family members all protecting Chen Mengyao, and a smile involuntarily curved her lips. She said softly, "Sister Mengyao, I really envy you. So many people love you."

Chen Mengyao wiped away her tears, turned around, took her hand, and said earnestly, "You don't need to envy me. Your maternal grandparents love you very much too."

Yun Jin nodded vigorously: "Yes, we all have our maternal grandparents who love us, and our uncles and aunts who love us too."

As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Wang and Li, winked, and said playfully, "Isn't that right, Godmother, Second Aunt?"

Madam Wang repeatedly said, "Yes, yes, yes! Jin'er's mouth is so sharp, it's impossible to get enough of it."

Madam Li smiled and shook her head, pointing at Yun Jin and saying to Old Madam Zheng, "Mother, look at this girl, she's so good at sweet-talking people."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, and the unpleasantness caused by Chen Qinghe and Ding Zisu earlier vanished completely in the laughter.

After laughing, Madam Zheng clapped her hands and said, "Alright, alright, that's enough. Shall we eat?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the maid lifted the curtain, and Grand Tutor Zheng Hong and Zheng Guodong walked in one after the other.

After Zheng Hong entered, he sat down to the left of Old Madam Zheng, took a sip of the hot tea handed to him by a maid, and then asked, "I could hear you laughing from afar. What were you talking about that made you so happy?"

Madam Zheng smiled and pointed at Chen Mengyao and Yun Jin: "It's all because of these two girls. Just now, Jin'er called you 'godmother' and 'second aunt' so sweetly that your eldest and second sisters-in-law couldn't stop smiling."

Zheng Guodong sat down next to Li Shi, took the teacup handed to him by the maid, and casually said, "I ran into Chen Qinghe at the door just now. His second wife was climbing onto the carriage at the door. I took a peek from afar, and she's not a well-behaved woman."

Old Madam Zheng snorted coldly: "More than just restless?"

Then the old lady recounted Ding Zisu's words and actions in detail, and added at the end, "I had Chen Qinghe send all of Zhi Ning's dowry to Yao'er. Why should my daughter's things be given to that Ding woman?"

Fearing his wife's anger, Zheng Hong quickly advised, "You're right, it should be given to Yao'er. However, that Ding woman is a despicable person; you don't need to bother with her."

Zheng Guodong frowned, then suddenly asked, "Father, I heard that Chen Qinghe wants to stay in the capital and has even moved the whole family here. He seems so certain; does he already have connections?"

Zheng Hong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "Yes. He must have gotten in through the Third Prince's connections. The Third Prince is currently very influential in the court, and many people are trying to curry favor with him. I don't know how Chen Qinghe managed to get in."

Zheng Guodong snorted coldly: "He's certainly good at scheming. On one hand, he wants to curry favor with the Third Prince, but on the other hand, he's afraid that the Third Prince doesn't value him enough, so he wants us to speak on his behalf in court and raise his status. He's dreaming."

"What did he say when he married Zhi Ning? He said he would treat her well for the rest of his life, but what happened? If he could have protected Zhi Ning, how could she have died so young? And now he has the nerve to come and beg us for help?"

Zheng Guoliang walked in from outside and happened to hear this. He then said, "Father, elder brother, you are right. He mentioned to me at the door just now that he wanted us to say a few words for him in court."

Mrs. Li frowned and immediately asked, "You didn't agree to him, did you?"

He walked to a chair and sat down, taking the tea offered by the maid before saying, "How could that be? Zhi Ning is gone, what relationship does he have with our Zheng family? If it weren't for Yao'er's sake, we wouldn't even let him into the house. I only told him not to bring his second wife to us again."

Yun Jin had been listening quietly, and when she heard this, she suddenly spoke up: "Actually, I can help too."

As soon as she said that, everyone in the room looked at her.

Zheng Hong looked at her thoughtfully, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Girl, tell me your thoughts."

Yun Jin sat up straight, her tone calm and composed: "Grandfather, he wants to stay in the capital. Even if you don't help him, he will find other ways to stay. He has already made contact with the Third Prince. Whether the Zheng family intervenes or not, there's no way to stop him from staying in the capital."

Since we can't stop him, we might as well go with the flow and help him, but the extent of the help is up to you.

She paused, then continued, "He wants a substantive position, so you can give him a nominal one. He'll stay in the capital, which will make things easier."

Zheng Hong's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he pressed on, "What's convenient now?"

Yun Jin's gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally landing on Chen Mengyao. She said softly, "Last time, Sister Mengyao mentioned Aunt Zhining to me, saying that she passed away suddenly. At that time, Jin'er was thinking, how could Aunt Zhining, who was in the prime of her life, suddenly be gone?"

Later, Lord Chen remarried, and Aunt Zhining's dowry naturally fell into her hands. Was there anything we didn't know about this?

These words sent a chill down everyone's spines, and their gazes became serious. Yun Jin continued...

"Before, when Lord Chen was in Guangping Prefecture, far from the emperor's reach, it was difficult for him to investigate anything. Now that they've arrived in the capital, it's much easier for them to investigate and ask whatever they want. Even if they can't find concrete evidence, at least they'll have a general idea."

Yun Jin didn't elaborate on what she was about to say, but the Zheng family members all understood.

Zheng Guodong remained silent for a long time, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes slightly red: "Jin'er is right. We were only focused on grieving before. Yao'er was too young then, and she couldn't explain things clearly when asked. Chen Qinghe also explained everything so meticulously, so we never considered anything else. Now that I think about it, Zhi Ning had always been healthy, how could she just suddenly be gone?"

Grand Tutor Zheng slowly put down his teacup, turned his gaze to Zheng Guodong and Zheng Guoliang, and said, word by word, "Investigate this matter! Do not make a fuss, investigate secretly. Start with the maids and servants who served Zhi Ning back then, and search them one by one. Whatever you find, report it to me first."

Zheng Guodong and Zheng Guoliang stood up at the same time and said solemnly, "Yes, Father."