A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

Qing Shu was inwardly groaning.

The second young master is arrogant and willful, and it's always those of us in power who suffer.

When they learned that Cen Shaoyuan's injuries were inflicted by the Zhou family.

Madam Cen immediately led a group of people to the Zhou family in a menacing manner.

……

Zhou Mingyi knew perfectly well what Madam Cen's purpose was, but pretended not to.

"Madam, what's wrong...?"

Madam Cen's people immediately squeezed into the Zhou family's residence.

The group was menacing, but once they entered the courtyard, a servant immediately closed the gate.

Madam Cen's personal maid immediately ordered a servant to bring a chair. Madam Cen sat in the courtyard, flanked by her maids and servants, looking every bit the part of someone who was taking over the role of hostess and interrogating others.

Madam Cen stared intently at Zhou Mingyi.

The fact that this woman wore a veil at home suggests that her claim of accidentally damaging her appearance in her childhood is true.

She couldn't help but relax her guard a little.

Even if an ugly woman uses some tricks to pique her son's interest for a moment, it certainly won't last long.

She came today with a bit of resentment in her heart.

When a mother sees her son covered in injuries, with hardly any unscathed spots, how can she sit still?

The fact that she didn't immediately punish the woman was already a great favor to her.

She gave the old woman beside her a wink.

The old woman immediately said, "Miss Zhou, our mistress has come today to ask you something."

Zhou Mingyi lowered her eyes and said softly, "What does Auntie want to ask?"

The old woman coughed lightly:

"Miss Zhou brought the marriage certificate and tokens; is it truly to dissolve the engagement?"

Zhou Mingyi replied sincerely, "Of course, I believe I am not worthy of your son, so I will not pester him."

Madam Cen's expression softened slightly.

The old woman continued, "Then why did you seduce our second young master?"

"And you beat him so badly he was seriously injured?"

Zhou Mingyi's face showed just the right amount of surprise.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Madam Cen had considered countless possibilities, but she never expected that Zhou Mingyi would deny it outright.

Her face suddenly turned cold.

I couldn't help but say, "My son is still in bed. Do you think I would joke about something like that, Miss Zhou?"

Madam Cen scrutinized Zhou Mingyi inch by inch, thread by thread, trying to find something unusual in her body.

Unfortunately, no.

The woman had excellent posture and stood tall and graceful. Even in her simple white dress, she exuded an air of unparalleled elegance.

vixen!

Zhou Mingyi seemed to sigh softly, her voice gentle, "Madam Cen, why don't you ask your son what happened? I truly don't know."

"you!"

Madam Cen considered many possibilities, but she never expected that Zhou Mingyi would completely deny it.

But she had already tortured Qing Shu, how could he possibly lie?

However, Zhou Mingyi was not a servant of the Cen family, so Madam Cen could not torture her.

Just then, the door was smashed open with a loud bang, and Cen Shaoyuan was carried in by several servants. "Mother, it has nothing to do with Sister Mingyi. I fell by accident."

It would have been better if Cen Shaoyuan hadn't come on purpose. He came despite being seriously injured, and even tried to defend this vixen.

This completely stepped on Madam Cen's sore spot.

"You, you wretched child! I told you to stay with your aunt and cousin, and you did this?"

"You and she have already broken off your engagement, yet she's still dragging you here. What else could it be but ill intentions?"

Mingyi's expression suddenly turned cold.

"What Madam Cen said makes no sense."

Her voice was soft and delicate, yet it possessed an undeniable power.

"Your son has his own legs, how dare you slander me as someone who instigated him to come here?"

"Madam is being far too unreasonable!"

"Although my Zhou family is not a prominent family, my elder brother has already achieved the third rank in the imperial examination and is now serving as an editor in the Hanlin Academy."

"Madam, this is blatant slander. Aren't you afraid I'll sue you?"

Madam Cen was taken aback, then remembered what her husband had said a few days ago about the Zhou family's son becoming the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination.

This means that the Zhou family has the potential to rise again.

Then the marriage agreement between A Yuan and the Zhou family can perhaps continue.

However, compared to the completely unfamiliar Zhou family girl, Madam Cen preferred her own niece.

She was naturally unwilling, but she didn't want to openly go against her husband's wishes.

A few days later, I heard that Zhou Mingchong had apparently offended His Majesty for some reason...

The affair between Zhou Mingchong and Princess Chaoyang involves a royal scandal. Zhou Mingchong is no ordinary man, but a top scholar in the imperial examination. Lord Cen is cautious and has not told his wife the truth.

Therefore, Madam Cen also believed that Zhou Mingchong had offended His Majesty.

She felt that Zhou Mingchong was ungrateful.

However, the fact that the Zhou family has no hope of recovery means that Zhou Mingyi will not marry into the family.

That suited her perfectly.

She just didn't expect that, according to Mingyi, Zhou Mingchong seemed to be alright.

Madam Cen couldn't help but feel a little more apprehensive.

Just then, Zhou Mingchong, dressed in a blue official robe, with a black horn belt and a lacquered gauze turban, walked in.

He saw that his courtyard was surrounded by people. Madam Cen had brought so many people, while Mingyi was all alone, with a little girl who was not even a year old blocking her way.

This girl is quite loyal to her master. Even though she was trembling with fear, she still firmly protected Mingyi behind her.

Zhou Mingchong's face had turned cold.

"I had no idea that someone would dare to bring a treacherous servant and forcibly break into my residence to humiliate my younger sister!"

These words were truly serious, and Madam Cen could barely maintain her composure.

She was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Nephew, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

Cen Shaoyuan quickly exclaimed, "Brother-in-law, it's a misunderstanding!"

Zhou Mingchong recognized him, his handsome brows furrowed sharply, and his aura darkened. "Who's your brother-in-law?"

Speaking of his "brother-in-law," Zhou Mingchong felt a lot of resentment.

That shameless old scoundrel forcibly took his sister in the temple, and naturally became his brother-in-law.

That old man...

On the day of the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations, Princess Chaoyang openly asked him if he would be willing to enter her residence to serve her. Later, she forcibly detained him in the palace, which made his colleagues laugh.

Although Zhou Mingchong was allowed to remain a compiler in the Hanlin Academy at the behest of the Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu, he was subjected to constant exclusion and ostracism.

But he was determined to make something of himself to support his sister, so he tried every possible way in private.

He tearfully complained to the head of the Hanlin Academy, using the pretext of "the princess humiliating the upright officials" to put pressure on the imperial family.

The "old scoundrel" merely "scolded the princess for being young and foolish"...

However, this move did relieve Zhou Mingchong's immediate crisis.

Since it's just "childish nonsense," it shouldn't be taken seriously.

Zhou Mingchong passed the imperial examination and ranked third among the successful candidates.

In fact, his scholarship was not necessarily inferior to that of the top two scholars; it was just that his appearance was the most outstanding.

Since ancient times, the "third-place scholar" has been a benchmark of good looks.

Therefore, the title of "Third Scholar" is well-deserved.

His colleagues in the Hanlin Academy, guessing the emperor's intentions, naturally dared not provoke him further.

Zhou Mingchong was still unhappy, when Madam Cen and Cen Shaoyuan bumped into him.

"Guards! I'm reporting this to the Military Command!"

Now Madam Cen dared not act pretentiously anymore. She hurriedly stood up, disregarding her status as an elder.

"Nephew, please stop! When your mother and mother were alive, the Zhou and Cen families were old friends. I only came to visit your sister and did not mistreat her."

"Nephew, don't misunderstand..."

"We're leaving now, we're leaving now!"