Marrying a treacherous official

Before coming to Qinghui Courtyard, Madam You had already dealt with Granny Liu.

Whether it was Zheng or Granny Liu, they were nothing more than stepping stones for her to climb the social ladder. Regardless of whether things succeeded or failed, they all wanted to implicate her and bring her to justice.

This deep scheming only came about after Granny Wang was expelled from the mansion.

"Perhaps Granny Liu was afraid that the truth would be exposed and the old man would take his anger out on her, so she chose to commit suicide out of fear of punishment."

"My aunt didn't even question Granny Liu, so how could she so quickly convict her and say she died out of fear of punishment?"

Cui Zemin sat back in his armchair and retorted, "What if he killed Granny Liu?"

Madam You's face turned pale, but there was not a trace of fear in her voice.

"I implore you, sir, to investigate this thoroughly and find out who the murderer is, so that this matter doesn't get out and cause panic in the manor."

"That's the end of it."

Lord Hou did not want the Cui family to be burdened with a murder case, which would arouse suspicion from outsiders. "Old Lady Liu committed suicide out of fear of punishment. He told her family to come to the mansion immediately to take her back for burial."

The steward immediately accepted the order.

Seeing that the farce at the Cui family had come to an end, Madam Gu the Second did not forget the purpose of her visit: to take Yunji away. She took the initiative to mention it:

"May I ask, sir, where is my daughter Ji'er now?"

"The lady is resting peacefully in the backyard."

Cui Zemin replied with a smile, but that smile looked even more terrifying to Madam Gu than the three-foot-long sword.

"I heard that my son-in-law has detained my daughter, Ji'er. Is that true?"

"May I ask, Second Aunt, what is confinement?"

Cui Zemin's patience ran out, and he showed a fierce face to everyone.

"The doorway is right there; Madam can come and go as she pleases. I haven't tied her hands or feet. Now she insists on staying in that cold courtyard, and my second aunt comes to complain that I locked her up. What kind of logic is that?"

Madam Gu was refuted in this way, and a look of panic appeared on her face. She did not dare to ask any further questions for a moment.

Madam Cui's expression turned serious, and she stepped forward to ask further questions:

"What's wrong between you and the First Madam? What did you two argue about this time?"

Cui Zemin remained silent with a cold expression.

Yu sat idly to one side, making sarcastic remarks with vivid detail.

"I heard from the servants that the master forbids maids and servants from getting close to the first wife. Now that I am still in charge of the affairs of the entire Marquis's mansion, I must inquire about what mistake the first wife has made to anger the master so much?"

"Why are you asking me?"

Cui Zemin could easily tell that she was questioning Yun Ji, and he retorted in a huff, "Aunt, you're so nosy about other people's private affairs, why don't you go ask her? What's the point of chasing after me to ask?"

Madam You was utterly humiliated by his retort and snapped at Granny Tong:

"Summon the First Madam for questioning."

"Yes, Madam Hou."

When Tong Mama arrived at the inner courtyard gate, Li Xiuji ordered the guards to let her through. She searched all the way there and finally saw the figure outside the accounting room window.

Yunji was copying historical materials from the books spread out on the table when she heard the noise. She looked outside in surprise, as if she did not recognize Granny Tong.

"The Lady of the Marquis requests that the First Lady come to the front hall for questioning."

"The old woman may not know, but the master has confined me to the inner courtyard and forbids me from going out."

Yunji picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and continued copying historical materials onto the Xuan paper. "If the Lady of the Marquis wants to ask questions, she needs the Master's permission to enter the inner courtyard. By the way, how did the nanny get in?"

"Lieutenant General Li let us in."

Granny Tong's smile remained unchanged as she continued to gesture towards her:

"Besides the Lady of the Marquis in the front hall, the Marquis has also come to Qinghui Courtyard. The eldest master is here, the old lady is here, and even the second lady of the first lady's family, Madam Gu, has come to visit. How long is the first lady going to hide in the inner courtyard before she finally comes out?"

Yunji's flowing handwriting has become distorted, lacking any sense of composition or elegance, making it the biggest flaw in the entire piece.

She knew that this time, going out to play chess with that person would only result in a complete defeat.

She could have escaped from the Marquis's mansion if she had just held on a little longer, so why wouldn't he let her go?

"The First Madam?"

Seeing that she had been standing there for a long time with her pen in hand, Granny Tong guessed that she must have done something wrong and was afraid to face the Cui family's questioning. Thinking this, she became even more determined to ask her to leave.

"If the First Madam doesn't go over there soon, she'll be showing disrespect to the Lady of the Marquis."

Yunji inserted the purple-tipped brush into the brush washer, washed her hands, and went out with her.

She gracefully entered the front hall and greeted each of the elders present.

"Greetings to my grandmother, father, mother, aunt, and husband."

When Cui Zemin saw her again a few days later, her high bun was devoid of pearls, jade, or gold hairpins. She wore a high-waisted dress with peony and osmanthus patterns on a green jade plate, which gave her a somewhat elegant and otherworldly air. However, she didn't even bother to give him a proper look.

As soon as Madam You opened her mouth, she placed all the blame on her.

"Why can't you and the master discuss things privately? Why do you have to make such a fuss in the mansion, even having your aunt come to the door and ask the old lady to stand up for you?"

She angrily retorted, "Now that the whole family has been invited here, I want to hear what grievances you have."

When Madam Gu heard Madam You speak like this, she was blaming Yunji without even distinguishing right from wrong, which was simply too much.

"Don't be afraid, Ji'er. No matter what happens, your aunt and second uncle will support you."

What can Yunji say?

Is it true that Cui Zemin accepted 10,000 taels of silver from the three major merchant groups as a bribe, or that she secretly arranged for the entire sum to be made public?

Or perhaps they were blaming and insulting each other, one being called a bloodthirsty madman and the other a haughty orphan.

She said nothing in the end, tears streaming down her face. In front of everyone, she turned her head away, sobbing uncontrollably, and poured out her grievances through her tears.

Seeing her like this, even though Cui Zeming knew she was putting on an act, he still felt a pang of heartache, wondering if he had bullied her too much.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Old Madam Cui reached out her hand, warmly protecting her and saying:

"Come to your grandmother. Don't stoop to that wretch's level. From now on, your grandmother will protect you."

Yunji buried her face in Old Madam Cui's arms and whispered only one sentence:

"I don't want to be with him anymore."

"If seeing him makes me angry, I'll move to Cishou Hall another day and spend a few peaceful days with my grandmother."

Before Yun Ji could respond, Cui Zeming explained in detail the reason for their argument.

"After my second uncle proposed lending grain to the refugees in the court, my wife insisted on supporting him. She withdrew some money from the treasury for disaster relief and also lent grain from the estate to the refugees."

Cui Zemin resolved her predicament, and as she cried until she fell silent, he continued his lie:

"I wasn't being kind; I just called her a spendthrift woman, and she made such a scene."

Despite the large entourage that Lady You had come all this way, she couldn't reclaim Yunji's position as head of the academy. She coldly remarked:

"The First Madam is really pampered. The Master only said a few harsh words, and yet she has caused such a commotion in the mansion."

"That's right."

Cui Zemin continued, his words laced with threat, "Aunt, don't say anything harsh to her, she can't take the blame."