The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Chapter 41 This family is shameless!

"Please leave."

Jiang Guo'er's voice turned completely cold, and she couldn't be bothered to maintain any politeness on her face.

"The items have been delivered. There are rules in the manor that unauthorized personnel are not allowed to linger at the side gate."

Lotus Mother panicked and grabbed her wrist, her sharp nails digging into her flesh.

"Hey, we haven't finished asking yet! When exactly will the Prime Minister take a liking to Lianhua? You're sisters, you should put in a good word for her!"

Baozhu took the opportunity to move closer, and the smell of his sweat made Jiang Guo'er frown.

"That's right, that's right. My sister is so beautiful, she must be very favored by the Prime Minister and have a lot of influence—"

His sarcastic hand actually reached straight for Jiang Guo'er's waist!

Jiang Guo'er suddenly swung her arm, took two steps back, and raised her voice.

"Where is Granny Liu?!"

Granny Liu was eating her rice by the wall when she was startled by the shout and quickly put down her bowl and ran over.

"Miss Jiang, what happened?"

"These three are lingering at the side gate, refusing to leave, and even resorting to harassment. Show them off!"

Granny Liu waved her hand behind her and called over two rough-looking women who rolled up their sleeves and were about to go forward.

Lotus Maiden's expression suddenly changed, and she started yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Oh my god! She's hitting someone! How dare a bride-to-be lay a hand on her mother-in-law!"

She slapped the old woman's hand away and turned to look around.

"Everyone, be the judge! My son Baozhu and this Miss Jiang were matched by Lianhua herself!"

Baozhu immediately puffed out his chest and held his chin high.

"That's right, Sister Jiang is so gentle. She even said that as long as I treat her well, she'll listen to everything I say. After we get married—"

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his gaze lingering on Jiang Guo'er for a moment.

"I promise to make sure you treat me to a very comfortable state!"

The women and maids who were watching looked at each other in bewilderment, and all their work stopped.

Granny Liu turned to look at Jiang Guo'er, her face filled with disbelief.

Jiang Guo'er laughed in anger, her face darkening inch by inch as she glared coldly at Baozhu.

Do you know who I am?

"I know, my sister said you are the Prime Minister's concubine."

Baozhu shook his head nonchalantly.

"The Prime Minister only treats you like a plaything; he hasn't given you any official status."

"The legal wife will be entering the house soon; do you really expect to be elevated to the status of a concubine?"

Lotus's father chimed in from the side.

"Exactly! Our Baozhu is honest and kind; he'll definitely treat you well!"

Jiang Guo'er clenched her fingers tightly inside her sleeve.

This family is shameless!

Having failed to gain any advantage, they resorted to fabricating these filthy words to smear her.

"Lotus has never told me anything like this. If you continue to talk nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite."

"You're welcome?" Baozhu chuckled twice.

"Sister, if you didn't mean it that way, why did you go out of your way to see us?"

"Isn't it obvious—the Prime Minister doesn't care about you, and you want to find someone else?"

Lotus Maiden clapped her hands beside her, her voice booming.

"What's there to be picky about when you're just a concubine? It's already good enough that Baozhu doesn't look down on you!"

The onlookers whispered amongst themselves, their gazes piercing like needles.

Jiang Guo'er's brow twitched.

She took a deep breath, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar hem of clothing behind the moon gate—

The hem of the dark robe was embroidered with silver cloud patterns.

My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly calmed down.

"You say I have feelings for you, where's the proof?"

"This is the first time I've met any of you. How could there be any private dealings between us?"

Baozhu panicked, opened his mouth, and blurted out something that made Jiang Guo'er's blood run cold.

"You have two bodices! One is lotus-root pink with indigo, the other is moon white with emerald green, and both are decorated with mandarin ducks playing in the water!"

"If I weren't your lover, would I even know this?!"

Jiang Guo'er's face turned pale instantly.

Her undergarment... apart from the Prime Minister, the only other time Lotus saw it was when she changed it.

Lianhua jokingly teased her, saying that the pattern was unique and the material was good.

To my utter surprise, these words reached the ears of that scoundrel Lotus's younger brother!

Jiang Guo'er gritted her teeth, suppressing her surging anger.

"That's enough!"

"You're just making baseless accusations. If you can't produce concrete evidence, then you're slandering me!"

She took a step forward, her eyes sharp as knives.

"Those who falsely accuse a concubine of the Prime Minister's household shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane. If the matter is reported to the Shuntian Prefecture—"

She smiled coldly.

"Not only will you be punished, but Lianhua will also be expelled from the Pei household! She won't receive a single penny from now on!"

Lotus Father panicked immediately and tried to tug at Baozhu's sleeve.

Baozhu's arrogance vanished instantly, his lips trembling as he tried to remain defiant.

"I...I..."

Jiang Guo'er stared intently at him. "If you have evidence, produce it now. If you can't, get out!"

Baozhu shrank back, muttering as he backed away.

"Fine, I'll go. What's the big deal..."

Lotus Mother wanted to throw a tantrum, but Lotus Father covered her mouth and dragged her out of the alley.

When the onlookers realized there was no more to see, the old women and maids dispersed.

Before leaving, they glanced at Jiang Guo'er twice, their expressions varying.

Granny Liu came over, her face beaming with smiles.

"Miss Jiang, you've been wronged."

Jiang Guo'er waved her hand, her tone somewhat weary, "From now on, if they come again, there's no need to report them; just drive them away."

"Yes, yes, this old servant remembers."

Jiang Guo'er stood alone for a moment, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

My back was soaked with cold sweat.

Pei Yan arrived at some unknown time, and had been standing behind the moon gate for some time.

How much did he see, and how much did he hear?

Will he believe in himself, or in Baozhu?

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became, and her fragile composure was about to crumble.

Jiang Guo'er walked quickly towards the inner courtyard, her mind racing, trying to figure out how to apologize later.

The room was empty.

Parting the beaded curtain, I walked towards the clean room.

Inside the screen, steam rose, and the outline of a bathtub was faintly visible.

Jiang Guo'er knelt down with a thud. "Prime Minister, this servant is guilty."

"This servant should not have entangled with such idle people, thus tarnishing the reputation of the Prime Minister's residence. Please punish me, Your Excellency!"

There was no response from inside.

It was eerily quiet.

Jiang Guo'er's heart jumped into her throat.

What's with his silence? Is he going to punish him or not?

She hesitated, then got up and went around to the inside of the screen.

The moment I saw Pei Yan's cold face, the world spun before my eyes!

The next moment, she was pulled into a warm bathtub.

Water splashed everywhere, filling my mouth and nose.

"Cough cough—!"

Jiang Guo'er coughed and choked, clinging awkwardly to the smooth edge of the bucket.

Her hair was wet and clung to her cheeks, and her jacket and skirt were soaked through.

The water rippled and lapped against her heaving chest.