When the female supporting role has a beauty system

Chapter 1446 Jin Yue 47
Cheng Qian stared at the lonely little grave on the screen, a complex feeling welling up inside him. He wanted to plead for Wei Shi, his own mother. But how could he say it? A deep-seated hatred, a blood feud that could never be overcome.

The thought of the two living people beside him who ended up as two lonely graves, and who were not even buried in the Cheng family's ancestral graves, weighed heavily on his heart.

Wei rushed over and grabbed Lin Jinyue's skirt: "I apologize to you. I was blinded by greed and only thought about my own family."

"It was my fault, I'll kowtow to you and apologize."

She kowtowed repeatedly as she spoke, and blood soon seeped from her forehead. She dared not beg Tan You, for Tan You was always a woman of her word, and now the Wei family's hopes rested entirely on Lin Jinyue.

As for Cheng Sui, she never even considered him. Cheng Sui was trained by Tan You, and he would have preferred her and Cheng Qian to die long ago. Why would he stand by her side?
Lin Jinyue moved her legs but couldn't break free. She looked to Tan You for help.

Tan You said in a deep voice, "Get up and speak."

Wei cried out, "Girl, I really know I was wrong, I don't want to die..."

Tan You stared at her: "Your tantrums and rolling on the ground won't work. Get up and talk, don't make me repeat myself."

Wei stood up, sobbing, now regretting her past actions. She had only thought of her family, but now that she was in trouble, who from her family had stood up for her?

Thinking of how her family had ignored her all these years and how she had lived under Tan You's care, Wei was overcome with grief and cried so hard that it gave anyone a headache.

Tan You's head was throbbing from her howling. She picked up her teacup and said, "If you dare to make another sound, I'll cut out your tongue."

Wei immediately gritted her teeth and lowered her head, silently shedding tears.

Cheng Qian lifted his robe and knelt down in front of Tan You: "Miss, my mother has made a terrible mistake, hurting... Jin Yue and Yun Ge'er."

He glanced at Lin Jinyue and Cheng Sui, then clenched his jaw: "The mistake has been made, and we acknowledge it. But she is, after all, my mother. You, young lady, are full of good deeds, so why bother with someone like her?"

"That's all she ever saw in her life. She only knew how to stay in the inner quarters of the house, scheming for her husband and her family."

Tan You asked meaningfully, "What are you trying to say?"

Cheng Qian kowtowed three times: "Miss, I will exchange the Duke of Zhenguo's private treasury for a chance to save my mother's life. I will send her to the estate and let her live a hard life there."

"I only beg you to show mercy and spare her life."

Tan You: "Cheng Qian, do you think I'm a fool? The Zhenguo Duke's mansion's internal treasury? The Zhenguo Duke's mansion has been subsidized by Wei's dowry all these years. Putting aside everything else, she is indeed very good at managing things."

"The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion sounds impressive, but inside it's so poor it's practically begging for food. If I were to take over the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion's internal treasury, I would be asking for trouble."

Cheng Sui lowered his head. This occasion was clearly not suitable for laughing, but when he thought of how poor the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was, he felt that military officers really did burn money.

Cheng Qian was startled. He usually led troops into battle, so how could he know that the mansion was like this?
Tan You was too lazy to listen to the mother and son's pleas, and simply announced her decision: "I do want to kill you, but Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, so I will give you a chance."

Wei rushed over to grab Tan You's hand, but her fingers touched nothing. She then grabbed the leg of Tan You's armchair and said, "Miss, just say what you want. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me."

Tan You chuckled: "You promised this yourself."

“That manor…you should live the same kind of life that Jin Yue and Yun Ge’er lived in there.”

“I will not arrange for wicked servants to torment you, but it is clearly not possible to live a peaceful and stable life as the Duchess of the State as you are now. If you want to atone for your sins, you must have the attitude of atonement.”

"You have to do everything yourself: boiling water, chopping wood, cooking, and farming."

"At the same time, give me a Buddhist scripture every month, which I will enshrine in the White Horse Temple." "If Cheng Qian or your family wants to support you, I have no objection, as long as I don't catch them."

Madam Wei collapsed to the ground, looking up at Tan You: "Miss, I didn't do those things. Isn't that... isn't that something only servants do?"

Tan You stared at her intently: "Either live or die, the choice is yours."

A look of despair crossed Wei's eyes. To be forced to live like a servant was worse than death.

Tan You saw through her desire to die: "Have you thought this through? Your husband, Cheng Kun, has been on the frontier all these years and has had two more children born out of wedlock. If you die, Cheng Kun can remarry. By then, who will remember you as the Duchess?"

“If you go to the manor, you can say to others that you are devoted to cultivation, but once you die, no one will remember you. Your son, Cheng Qian, is just as cold-hearted as you are; he will only turn to Cheng Kun quickly.”

Wei clutched the hem of her skirt, her eyes filled with despair and death for the first time: "Miss, you are truly cruel. You have never shown me any kindness."

Tan You sneered: "The worst thing a person can do is waver between two sides. I accepted Lin Jinyue's commission, so I will only stand on her side."

"Even if you were obedient before, were you really obedient? You were just afraid of me and had no choice but to obey."

"If it weren't for your interference, Lin Jinyue wouldn't have married into the Cheng family."

"To be honest, you and Lin Jinyue, you narrowed your own path first."

"Over the years, apart from Cheng Qian, Cheng Kun has not had a single illegitimate child in the capital. How many lives have you taken? Can you even say for sure?"

Wei looked down at her hands, speechless.

Tan You: "You may not know, but I do. They are all etched on your face. I can see at least ten of them."

"Cheng Kun, you're really still going strong for your age."

"I'll give you an hour to think it over. To me, whether you live or die is not important."

Madam Wei gripped her handkerchief tightly: "No need to think about it anymore, I'll go to the estate."

"Girl, you are really...very cruel to me."

Tan You smiled but remained silent. She had already restrained herself; someone as stupid and vicious as Wei Shi would have made her want to kill her on the spot. But she couldn't, Cheng Sui was still there.

We can't let Cheng Sui carry such a heavy burden.

That afternoon, a horse-drawn carriage with a green canopy carried Wei to her estate on the outskirts of the capital. Cheng Qian personally drove the carriage, and as they left the city gate, Wei lifted a corner of the curtain to look back at the gate.

"I don't know when I'll be able to come back."

Cheng Qian felt a lump in his throat: "Your son will visit you often."

Wei smirked: "You're a military officer, how much time a year can you spend in the capital?"

"Going to the village is good too, so I don't have to be on edge all the time."

Cheng Qian tried to comfort Wei: "The border is at peace. My son will join the Imperial Guard after the New Year and will be stationed at the Western Suburbs of the Capital for the next few years. The estate is on the way to the camp, and I will visit you when I have time."