I just got divorced, and this cold, ruthless, and powerful minister is begging for a third child eve

She had just learned from Jianlan that the woman who died while eating dumplings was not a serious offender, but a widow who fought desperately to protect her child and injured someone, which landed her in jail.

She had been starving for many days, and her strong will to survive only came from the fact that there was a child waiting for her outside!

But those dumplings ruined her life!

Meng's face turned deathly pale as she listened to Gu Mingshuang's uncompromising words.

"Gu Mingshuang, are you determined to oppose my Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion?! What good will it do you to bring down the Marquis's Mansion? I was your mother-in-law, after all! Is this how you treat your elders?"

Meng was about to continue her tirade when a hand stopped her.

Old Madam Song stepped forward, blocking Madam Meng, and said in a deep voice:

"Shut up! Madam Meng, do you even have the slightest bit of the demeanor of a matriarch?"

Meng was interrupted by Old Madam Song and reluctantly took a step back.

Old Madam Song looked at Gu Mingshuang and said in a deep voice:

"Mingshuang, although you are no longer a member of the Marquis's mansion, you left the mansion amicably with a divorce agreement, and the Marquis's mansion has not mistreated you."

"If you were to make an enemy of the entire Marquis's mansion because of a single audacious and wicked servant, it would be disrespectful to everyone. Now that you have just divorced, you should at least consider your reputation."

As she spoke, Old Madam Song glanced at Granny Yan, who was carrying out the torture.

"This old woman held a grudge and poisoned you. Now that the Dali Temple has investigated this matter, the Marquis's mansion will certainly not cover it up."

Upon hearing this, Madam Meng understood that the old lady intended to abandon Granny Yan. She hurriedly stepped forward, but was stopped by a look from the old lady.

She was helped up with a pale face, and was also pressed to the spot by the old lady's servants.

Madam Song turned to look at Qin Mo.

"My lord, this wicked servant has committed such a cruel and vicious act. Even if she were beaten to death now, it would be too lenient for her! Let her be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review, and my manor will not interfere with how she is punished."

"As for this maid..." Old Madam Song looked at Green Lotus.

"Those who cause trouble and sow discord in my Ningyuan Marquis's residence, falsely accusing the Marquis's mistress, should not be let off lightly! According to the law, they should be strangled immediately!"

Green Lotus said urgently:

"I didn't commit any crime! She poisoned me... ugh..."

Before Lühe could finish speaking, she was silenced by the old woman beside Madam Song.

Old Madam Song looked at Qin Mo again and said slowly:

"I have made a fool of myself in front of the Duke today, so I will not trouble the Duke with the rest of the matter."

Qin Mo stroked his sword, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

"Madam, this is the Dali Temple, not the Marquis's residence."

Madam Song's expression hardened slightly. She had spoken so frankly and even brought out Granny Yan, who was by Madam Meng's side, to give an explanation. She never expected that the Duke of Anguo would still be dissatisfied.

Her eyes darkened slightly.

"Your Excellency, this is a family scandal of my Marquis's mansion. I hope Your Excellency will give me some face."

Qin Mo slightly raised his eyelids and spoke in a clear, cool voice:

"Everyone else can leave, but she... stays."

Seeing Qin Mo's sword pointing directly at the Meng family, everyone turned pale.

Isn't it obvious? Duke Anguo is deliberately causing trouble for the Meng family.

When Madam Meng saw the sword, she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she lost all her previous momentum. She reached out and grabbed Old Madam Song's sleeve.

"Mother-in-law!"

Madam Song's expression was also not very good. Although the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion was gradually declining, she was still a descendant of a military family. Her family had been loyal and righteous officials in the court for generations and had a lot of influence in the capital. But now she had been humiliated many times.

She sized up Qin Mo and saw that he stood silently in front of Gu Mingshuang, clearly determined to vent his anger on her behalf.

"Lord Duke, Lady Meng is, after all, the mistress of my Marquis's mansion. Even if there is no evidence to convict her today, she is still a first-rank noblewoman, and the decision should be made by the Imperial Censorate."

Gu Mingshuang lowered her eyes. She roughly understood that although Madam Song was indeed angry with Meng Shi when she came, she must want to settle things now.

After all, she was the old lady of the Marquis's mansion. Given the circumstances, the Dali Temple would give her some face. If Qin Mo still refused to release her, it would be truly unreasonable.

Qin Mo didn't speak, but he kept his sword at the ready.

Gu Mingshuang looked at Qin Mo in surprise, but before she could speak, he reached out and blocked her behind him.

Seeing the solemnity in Qin Mo's eyes, she bit her lip, feeling a mix of emotions.

Qin Mo had no reason to offend Old Madam Song over a single word from her.

Gu Mingshuang suddenly thought of the infamy that Qin Mo wanted.

She pursed her lips, thinking that Qin Mo wanted to take this opportunity to make things even bigger.

Thinking of this, Gu Mingshuang's tense nerves relaxed a little.

At this stalemate, Yin Zhao couldn't afford to offend either side, so he could only keep wiping his sweat.

Pointing a sword at her, Meng was so frightened that she collapsed onto the old woman.

She still can't understand how the dignified Duke Anguo and she ended up clashing.

She glanced at Gu Mingshuang beside her; her face was grim. Could it be because of Gu Mingshuang?

This thought made her eyes widen suddenly.

Suddenly, many things seemed to connect, and she even thought of the Duke of Anguo's visit to the Marquis's residence for a short stay.

At that time, she thought that Duke Anguo only thought highly of the Marquis's family because of Xie Lanyu's talent.

Now that everything was coming to light, Meng's face grew even paler.

Madam Song frowned and spoke in a deep voice.

"Is the Duke determined not to release them? Then this old woman will go to the Emperor to find out who is truly in charge of the Court of Judicial Review!"

Just as Madam Song turned to leave, footsteps sounded at the door.

The next moment, Old Madam Qin's voice came.

"Young people are hot-tempered and lack self-control. Why should Madam Song bother arguing with the younger generation?"

Upon seeing Madam Qin arrive, Madam Song stopped and greeted her, though her expression remained somber.

"If Old Madam Qin doesn't come soon, I'm afraid the matriarch of my Ningyuan Marquis's mansion will be publicly executed by the Duke of Anguo!"

Madam Qin looked around, but only chuckled softly.

"My grandson only knows how to lead troops into battle; he doesn't understand the etiquette of the capital and is quite reckless. Please excuse his behavior."

Madam Song's face was grim. This old lady of the Qin family was still so shrewd. With just a few words, she managed to shirk all responsibility. Today, such a big incident happened at the Dali Temple, and in the end, she even said it was a matter of etiquette.

At this moment, Yin Zhao saw another old lady arrive and hurriedly stepped forward to greet her.

"Madam Qin, you've arrived!"

He was really having a headache right now. Just because he took on the case of the Marquis's mansion and imprisoned Madam Gu, so many important figures from the Dali Temple came over in one night. He couldn't afford to offend any of them!

He's now filled with deep regret!

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter, even if I had offended the Marquis of Ningyuan's mansion and the Meng family!

At this moment, Old Madam Qin glanced at Qin Mo and said reproachfully:

"Qin Mo, you're still so reckless even after returning to the capital. This isn't your military camp. If someone commits a crime or poisons someone, it's the authorities who should handle it!"

Qin Mo casually put away the accessories, his brows furrowed with a roguish air.

"Grandson thinks the Dali Temple is useless. They can't even handle such a small matter. If this were in the army, I would have already killed all the criminals."

Old Madam Qin gave him a playful glare.

"Nonsense."

After the grandmother and grandson made these veiled remarks, Old Madam Song's face turned even uglier.

This is clearly implying that someone in the Ningyuan Marquis's household has committed crimes!

Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she forced herself to step forward and say:

"Madam Qin, it's just a misunderstanding. Let's settle this matter as soon as possible, so as not to make things difficult for the Dali Temple and to avoid damaging the reputation of both our families."

Meng hurriedly stepped forward and nodded.

"Yes, with Madam Qin in charge, I'm relieved. Today's incident was all a misunderstanding. It was my former daughter-in-law who harbored some resentment towards me, which caused such a big fuss. It's all a family matter."

Madam Qin looked at Madam Meng, her eyes calm and composed.

"I have heard a little about the family affairs of the Lady Hou. Everyone in the capital praised the Lady Hou for treating her benefactor's daughter well. But it has turned out like this. It is really regrettable that such a happy event has ended like this."

Upon hearing this, Madam Meng's face flushed red, a surge of anger welling up within her, and she blurted out:

"Madam Qin, you don't know, our Marquis's mansion has treated her with the utmost kindness and righteousness. With her social standing, which noble family could she possibly become the principal wife of? Even being a concubine would be a great honor for her!"

"But she's insatiable, turning the Marquis's mansion into chaos, and even trying to monopolize Yuan'er. She disrespects me, her mother-in-law, and causes trouble every day. How can my Marquis's mansion have such a woman as a daughter-in-law?"

Madam Qin's expression turned cold.

"Today I have witnessed firsthand the family traditions of the Marquis of Ningyuan."

"If it weren't for the Gu family rescuing the Marquis's legitimate son who had been living in exile, how could the Marquis's mansion have any male heirs to support it now?"

"Lady Hou has been doing well lately, and she must have forgotten the days when she spent every day in tears."

Meng's face stiffened, and she gritted her teeth and said:

"When have I ever said I wouldn't acknowledge the great kindness shown to the Gu family? Gu has been the heir apparent's wife in my Marquis's mansion for so long, and everyone in the mansion has treated her as their future mistress. I even entrusted her with the household management seal! And yet, she's made a complete mess of the mansion!"

Old Madam Qin sneered:

"The Lady of the Marquis of Ningyuan entrusted her daughter-in-law with the family's embezzled funds, and then blamed her for not managing them well. Does she think that selling her dowry to make up for the shortfall isn't enough? What else is considered filial piety?"

Meng blurted out:

"She's been married for so long and hasn't gotten pregnant yet; that alone is enough for the Marquis's mansion to divorce her!"

Old Madam Qin was amused by such remarks and directly said:

"Lady Hou hastily sent carriages to bring her son back to the capital, leaving her daughter-in-law stranded in Qingzhou for three months. After finally bringing her to the capital, she had her kept waiting in an inn for another three months. How could she possibly conceive under such circumstances?"

"As for that cousin of yours, so many people saw you going to great lengths to match her with the young master. The moment Madam Gu received the divorce papers, the Marquis's mansion started preparing for the wedding. Such blatant betrayal is truly an eye-opener!"

Immediately, the officials and jailers in the courtyard began to discuss it. Who would have thought that such a glamorous lady of the Marquis would scheme against her daughter-in-law who came from an ordinary background?

Hearing the surrounding whispers and disdain, Meng's face flushed red.

"I……"

"Shut up!" Old Madam Song glared at Meng Shi reprimandingly. She had heard of the absurd things Meng Shi had done before, but now she was becoming more and more foolish!

Now that they've offended the Qin family, does Madam Meng still not learn her lesson? She insists on forcing Old Madam Qin to tear off all the fig leaves of the Marquis's mansion in public. What face will the Song family have left then?