After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Madam, you've just woken up, don't think about anything. Leave everything to Lord Zhao to handle," Rong Yingluo quickly advised when she saw the anger on her face.

Madam Zhao's mind is very fragile now, and she cannot withstand the slightest emotional ups and downs.

"Madam, please rest well. Xian'er, you stay here with your mother. I will go and find out what happened."

Zhao Xianshan opened the door and went out, first inviting Du Zhong in to examine Old Madam Zhao.

He then went to sit down in the main hall.

Rong Yingluo, who loved watching a good show, naturally followed along without any hesitation. Gu Ce followed closely behind, also wanting to know who had angered the old lady to the point of death.

If it weren't for Liuli's intervention today, the old lady's birthday banquet would have turned into a funeral banquet.

As soon as Zhao Xianshan sat down, his second daughter-in-law, Liang, knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Father, you must stand up for your daughter-in-law! My husband has actually taken a mistress, and their son is already ten years old."

"What did you say?" Zhao Xianshan thought he had misheard, his gray beard trembling slightly.

He has two legitimate sons. His eldest son, Zhao Mingyan, is his greatest hope, and he has been carefully nurtured. He is now serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and is considered a promising young man among the six ministries.

Although the second son was somewhat more relaxed, he didn't let himself go unchecked. He had a solid foundation in learning and passed the imperial examination that year, becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Although his score was last, he didn't disgrace the family and even rose to the rank of a fifth-grade official. How could he possibly make such a foolish mistake?

Officials who keep mistresses are considered morally deficient. If someone reports such a case, the consequences range from a salary reduction and demotion to dismissal and permanent ban from office.

The censors have noses that are sharper than dogs; if they get hold of something like this, it's like handing a knife to someone.

With so many guests here today, it's a foregone conclusion that the matter will be decided.

Madam Liang knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face: "Father..."

While crying, Madam Liang recounted what had happened.

Let's go back to before Rong Yingluo went to see the feng shui master.

After Zhao Xing'er led Rong Yingluo and the others to meet the old lady, they received several more guests.

Gu Qingya, Yuwen Xiangyi, and Zhao Xing'er are good friends.

When Rong Yingluo was playing shuttlecock in the garden, the three of them did not come to watch. Instead, they found a quiet place to talk privately.

"Xing'er, has your mother already arranged a marriage for you?" Princess Xiangyi hadn't seen her friend for quite some time and couldn't wait to know the situation.

"Don't say anymore. My mother originally favored the eldest son of the Fu family, the Minister of Rites. I have met the eldest son of the Fu family a few times. He is handsome and dashing, just the ideal husband for me. Who knew that my second aunt was shameless and beat me to it. She found Madam Fu in advance and gave my cousin's birth date and time to the Fu family."

"The Fu family calculated that our horoscopes were a match made in heaven, so they rejected my mother." Zhao Xing'er looked resentful.

She had already secretly fallen for him, but someone else intercepted her. Because of this, she and her mother often spoke ill of the second wife in private.

But with their grandparents still alive, they couldn't cause any unrest in the family, so the eldest branch of the family had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.

In fact, Zhao Xing'er had privately approached Young Master Fu to ask him why he agreed to the marriage with Zhao Ling'er.

A single sentence from Young Master Fu made her so angry that she couldn't eat for days.

"Miss Ling'er is prettier than you."

These days, those words torment her like a curse.

The moment she saw Zhao Ling'er from the second wife's side, she wanted to tear that foxy face apart.

How could the daughter of the second wife compare to that of the first wife?

After their grandparents passed away, they had to divide the family property. The second son of the second wife could only inherit 30% of the family business and would become a collateral branch. The eldest son's wife was the legitimate branch.

She lost such a good marriage because she was not as pretty as Zhao Ling'er, and she hated Zhao Ling'er to the core.

"Your second aunt went too far in this matter," Gu Qingya said, speaking up for Zhao Xing'er.

"Things have come to this, and my mother can't do anything about it." Zhao Xing'er acted generously and appropriately in front of her two friends, as if she didn't care and was just expressing her feelings.

"Xing'er, you're too easygoing. If anyone tries to steal my marriage, I'll make that woman pay a terrible price." Princess Xiangyi gritted her teeth. She had been here for so long today but hadn't seen Rong Yingluo.

I don't know where she went.

"We're all family, sisters, we can't make things too awkward. We're all the same Zhao." Zhao Xing'er pressed a handkerchief to her eyes, looking pitiful.

"If you ask me, you should slash Zhao Ling'er's face and see if that young master Fu still looks at her." Gu Qingya was still as domineering as ever.

"Qingya, you can't have such thoughts. If you go too far, it will ruin our reputation as women and make it even harder to find a good marriage partner." Zhao Xing'er disagreed with Gu Qingya's statement.

Although she hated Zhao Ling'er from the second wife's family, she knew that the sisters in the family shared the same fate, and that they would rise and fall together.

After they get married, they will become relatives and should help each other.

Grandmother repeatedly taught her sisters that even after a woman marries, her sisters from her childhood are still her family and one of her supports.

"Alright, alright, I misspoke. I was just saying that it was unfair of Zhao Ling'er to steal your marriage." Gu Qingya realized that her thoughts had gone a bit too far.

Gu Qingwan, the second wife of the Gu family, was very sensible and never competed with her for anything.

Her mother is the Duchess of the State; who would dare disrespect her?

Just as the three were having a private conversation, an old woman from the back door walked past them with a strange expression.

Zhao Xing'er recognized the old woman; she was the same old woman her mother had sent to guard the back gate a few days ago.

"Granny Lin, why aren't you guarding the back door properly? What are you going to do?" Zhao Ling'er called out to her.

The old woman called Granny Lin, seeing that it was the eldest daughter of the main branch, dared not be negligent and hesitated for a few moments before coming over.

"Greetings, Miss, Princess, Miss Gu," said Granny Lin.

"Tell me, what are you going to do?" Zhao Ling'er asked again.

"Young Miss, I have something to report to the Madam."

The "Madam" mentioned by Granny Lin is naturally Zhao Xing'er's mother, Madam Zhu, the First Madam of Zhao.

"What is it? Tell me. Mother is too busy, so you don't need to bother her." Zhao Xing'er thought that her mother was very busy today and might not have time to deal with this old woman. If she could handle it, there was no need to disturb her mother.

"This..." Granny Lin hesitated.

"Just say it, don't beat around the bush like I'm telling you to." Zhao Xing'er snapped.

"Please calm down, Miss." Lin Mama immediately knelt down after being scolded by Zhao Xing'er. "A mother and son came through the back door. They said they came to wish the old lady a happy birthday and wanted to kowtow to her."

"What kind of family is my Zhao family? The guests who came today are all respectable people, and they all entered through the main gate. What kind of family can someone who only dares to enter through the back gate be? You are also an elder of my Zhao family, and you have to report this little thing to Mother. How can you be a good employee?" Zhao Xing'er scolded Lin Mama severely. She was too tactless.

"Young Miss, it's not that I'm being ignorant, but that child looks too much like the Second Master. I suspect that the child is very likely a child of the Zhao family." Granny Lin was a servant of the Zhao family and had spent most of her life there, having heard and seen a lot.

Once Lin Mama saw the child's appearance and heard the woman's explanation, she understood everything.

"What did you say?" Zhao Xing'er wasn't stupid; she immediately understood the meaning behind Lin Mama's words.

The three girls looked at each other.

"Xing'er, you can finally vent your anger." Gu Qingya revealed a sly smile.

Princess Xiangyi also showed the same expression.