Marrying a treacherous official

Seeing that the First Madam was stopping the old woman from taking Chunying away, Granny Kong was afraid that she would interfere in the matter, so she hurriedly tried to dissuade her:

"The First Madam is pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to interfere in the affairs of Minghe Hall. Besides, with the Marquis and his wife present, it is not her place to intervene in this matter."

"Granny has misunderstood."

Yun Ji said with a resolute gaze:

"The master left Physician Li at the mansion to examine my pulse. Why not let Physician Li go and take a look? Perhaps there is still hope for Concubine Li. After all, it is a matter of two lives lost, and if word gets out, it will damage the reputation of the Marquis's mansion."

Granny Kong was slightly relieved, but she still dared not be careless and remained vigilant to prevent the First Madam from leaving the house.

Hua Chao immediately went to the side room of the detached courtyard and invited Physician Li over.

Yunji looked at Chunying kneeling on the ground and said in a stern voice:

"What is Aunt Li's current condition?"

"The midwife said the baby's head was too big and was stuck in the urinal. If this continued, Aunt Li would bleed to death. In the worst-case scenario..."

Chunying was horrified, trembling all over as she said, "The midwife will deliver the baby while Aunt Li is still clinging to life..."

"Let's see who dares to challenge us!"

Yunji's resounding words dispelled the surrounding demons and monsters: "I implore Physician Li to lend a helping hand and see if you can save Aunt Li."

"Even if the First Madam doesn't say so, I will still go and save them."

Physician Li never discriminates between the noble and the lowly, nor between the good and the evil; saving lives and healing the wounded is her sacred duty.

She hesitated and said, "I don't know that aunt at all. Even if I wanted to save her, I would need the approval of the person in charge."

Yunji asked Granny Kong without showing any emotion:

"Granny, could you persuade the Marquis and his wife to allow Physician Li into the delivery room?"

"This...I'm afraid..."

"I can."

Before Granny Kong could try to dissuade her, Yunji stopped her, saying, "I'm just introducing Physician Li. I won't have any disputes with the people from Minghe Hall. Granny, you can rest assured."

How could Granny Kong let the First Madam put herself in danger? "Has the First Madam forgotten how Aunt Li bullied her back then?"

"It is precisely because she hasn't forgotten that we must save her life."

Yunji feigned indifference and said, "If Aunt Li dies, it will actually be a relief for her. The biggest sin she committed in her life was becoming the Second Master's concubine. The only reason she's alive is to let her suffer for the rest of her life."

She led Physician Li quickly toward Minghe Hall.

Almost instantly, all the servants of Qinghui Courtyard were mobilized.

Hua Chao and Xi Kui hurried forward, each supporting the First Madam's arm to prevent her from falling while walking at night.

Granny Kong instructed the maids to carry lanterns and follow along, illuminating the way for the First Madam.

As the group stepped out into the outer courtyard, Li Xiuji immediately led his guards to surround them.

Upon learning that the First Madam was determined to go to Minghe Hall, he immediately ordered his guards to be armed with knives and swords and to protect her at all times.

Ever since the First Madam threatened the General with a sword to force him to release Liang Qingze, he has never dared to disobey her wishes again.

Therefore, when the First Madam rushed to Minghe Hall, he dared to draw his sword and confront anyone who offended her, not even the Marquis.

Yunji led her maids and guards into Minghe Hall in a grand procession.

She walked steadily toward Cui Tingyan, who was standing in the center of the courtyard, curtsied in greeting, and explained her purpose:

"Father, I heard that Aunt Li is having a difficult labor. Luckily, the eldest master left a female physician for me to prepare for childbirth. Why don't we let her go in and take a look? Perhaps she can be of some help."

"No need."

Dressed in a plain-colored robe, Madam You stood coldly and disdainfully at the door of the west wing, calmly refuting her request:

"The Marquis has invited the imperial physicians to examine Consort Li, but even they are helpless against this uterine hemorrhage. How can the camp's medical officers possibly treat it?"

"Who gave Mother permission to come out of the ancestral hall?"

Yun Ji hadn't paid any attention to Madam You since he entered, and said in a low, forceful voice, "Who forgot to send Mother back to the You family this time?"

Granny Kong stepped forward alertly and readily admitted her mistake:

"Forgive this old servant for being confused, but after the Second Master and the Eldest Miss got engaged, this old servant should have written a letter to the Uncle Master and asked him to send someone to bring the Lady of the Marquis back to the You Mansion."

Yunji didn't rush to scold Granny Kong, but instead gave Physician Li a wink. Taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Physician Li picked up his medicine box and went into the delivery room.

"The eldest daughter's wedding is imminent. If we don't send her mother out of the mansion soon, it will only make the young master Chen of the Pingyang Marquis's mansion laugh at us. After all, family scandals should not be aired in public."

She shut up all the words that Cui Tingyan was about to say.

Even though Cui Lizhu's heart was with her mother, she dared not say a word when she thought that the Pingyang Marquis's family had agreed to the marriage in order to curry favor with her elder brother. She was afraid that the Prince Chen would ruin the marriage and make it difficult for her to marry into a better family in the future.

Unable to bear seeing his mother so embarrassed, Cui Gongquan sneered and said sarcastically:

"Did my elder sister-in-law come here just to drive my mother out of the mansion?"

"I'm worried that the Marquis's reputation will be ruined, and we'll be criticized and insulted behind our backs whenever we go out."

Yunji's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of murderous intent, threatening the people of Minghetang.

"Killing the mother to take the child—this one act alone could ruin the Second Master's future, and even the Marquis would be implicated and dismissed from his post. Who came up with this idea? How could they be so vicious as to want to kill Consort Li?"

"Shut up!"

Cui Tingyan angrily rebuked her, "Don't believe everything you hear and spout nonsense here."

Li Xiuji raised his hand and struck, and the guards immediately stepped in front of the First Madam, their swords slightly unsheathed.

Looking at the "forceful suppression" in front of him, Yunji was surprised that Li Xiuji actually dared to "attack" the Marquis.

She glanced at Li Xiuji and said:

Where is the spring oriole?

"My subordinates took him into the woodshed and assigned guards to keep a close watch at the door."

"Immediately hand Chunying over to the Dali Temple and have Zhou Tuicheng, the Right Judge of the Prison, handle the case."

Yunji said slowly, "Father, you can misunderstand me, but you cannot misunderstand this matter. Only by transferring this scandal to the Dali Temple for trial can we verify whether such an unforgivable crime as killing a mother to take a child has actually occurred."

Cui Tingyan stumbled back two steps, only regaining his balance after the butler supported his arm.

"Don't spread this around, don't spread it around—"

"Father, I know it wasn't your idea."

Yunji, in a particularly "heartwarming" gesture, came to his rescue, saying, "Father even invited a royal physician from the palace to examine Consort Li, so how could he possibly harm her?"

Cui Tingyan lowered his eyes dejectedly, his previous arrogance gone.

Yunji wanted to make Lady You experience the bitterness of being betrayed and abandoned by everyone, so she deliberately said:

"Only Mother stopped me from having a physician examine Consort Li. Back then, it was Mother who insisted on not allowing Consort Li to enter the house. As for killing the mother to take the child, who else but Mother would have come up with such an idea? What do you think, Second Master?"

Cui Gongquan considered his precarious future and, after much deliberation, tacitly admitted that it was all the work of You Shi.

Seeing Lady You betrayed by her closest and most trusted husband and children, standing there with a deathly pale face, Yunji gave her a final ultimatum.

"Granny Kong, send someone to tell Uncle Master first thing tomorrow morning that he must send someone to bring Mother back to the You residence. This matter must not be handled poorly in the slightest."

The maternal uncle was the late maternal lady's brother. He had witnessed firsthand how Madam You had betrayed her family's principles after gaining power, driving Cui Zeming step by step into madness. For more than ten years, he had been at odds with the Marquis's mansion, so how could he easily let Madam You go?

If Lady You falls into his hands, she will only suffer a fate worse than death.