The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 65

The second family came out of the Discipline Courtyard, all looking unhappy.

The palace’s family rules clearly stated that if a woman secretly had an affair with a man other than her husband, she would be required to kneel in the Buddhist temple for a month, be confined to her house for a year, and be fined half a year’s salary. Wang Shuyi committed an even more serious crime by acting in the name of her sister-in-law, so the Third Madam took the initiative to have Wang Shuyi beaten with ten boards.

The Second Master loved his youngest daughter the most. Seeing his daughter being beaten with such a thick board, her skin torn and flesh exposed, he felt heartbroken.

Jiang was in a state of dullness when she came out of Liangyuan. She just watched her daughter kneeling before her and begging for mercy and watched the Third Madam giving orders to punish her daughter. She didn’t say a word and didn’t even raise her eyelids. Her face was pale and dull, as if she were stupid.

The Second Master chattered all the way from the Discipline Court to Ninghe Hall. When he saw that all the younger generations of the family were present, he suddenly stopped.

Below, Wang Shuhuai and Xie Yunchu sat at the lower left, the couple having expressionless faces.

The other two sons and their wives sat on the right, with their heads hung, not daring to say a word.

The Second Master returned to his own courtyard, and he no longer had any hesitation. He could not help but reprimand Xie Yunchu, “Huai’s wife, when something like this happens, you should discuss it with your mother-in-law first and let your mother-in-law decide whether to report it. After all, she is your only sister-in-law. She is young and went astray. As her sister-in-law, you should teach her. How can you…”

Wang Shuhuai couldn’t listen any longer, looked up at the Second Master coldly, and interrupted, “Father, is it my sister’s fault, or do you think it’s Xie’s fault?”

The Second Master was speechless after hearing his words. No matter how dumb he was, he understood that his son was supporting his wife. The Second Master gathered his sleeves and kept silent.

Wang Shuhuai said in a light, cold tone, “If Xie hadn’t discovered and stopped it in time, and let others know, what would the consequences be? Have you two elders thought about it?”

The Second Master was very concerned about his reputation, so he naturally knew what that meant. Wang Shuhuai had finally earned a place in the court, and he was afraid that he would be burdened by his relatives and seek advice from others.

The Second Master calmed down and said, “You’re right.”

He just felt that Xie Yunchu was too cold-blooded.

He waved his hand, signaling his son and daughter-in-law to leave. After they left, the Second Master anxiously glanced at Jiang, who was silent beside him, and said angrily, “What’s wrong with you today? You are like a piece of wood. You didn’t say a word and watched your daughter being beaten and bruised.”

Wang Shuyi was beaten and remained in the Discipline Court, being taken care of by the maids there. When she recovered, she went to the Buddhist temple to kneel and recite scriptures. The Wang family was usually very tolerant of the younger generation, almost pampering them, but once the bottom line was crossed, the Duke and the Princess would show no mercy, as could be seen from the family rules.

Jiang’s eyelids were drooping, and she hadn’t come back to her senses yet. Seeing that, the Second Master thought she was in a daze and pulled her arm to shake her, but Jiang refused and shook his arm away, saying, “That’s enough.”

It was a suppressed angry sound squeezed from her lungs.

The Second Master was usually a little afraid of his wife and would just look at her without saying a word.

Jiang’s lips curled up slightly, and at that moment, the cold and angry emotions intertwined in her eyes, creating an indescribable expression. “Do you know what I have been thinking about all this time?”

The Second Master said nothing.

Jiang placed her hands on the small table and laughed at herself. Her delicate body was like a dead leaf, trying to maintain composure. “This girl I have pampered so carefully, this darling I have spoiled so much. I thought that with her background and looks, the best man in the world would be a good match for her. But she is so despicable as to actively seduce a man…”

“No…” Whenever she thought of it, Jiang’s chest felt like a frying pan with water thrown onto it, and a raging fire burned in her heart. She covered her chest, and her eyes were filled with pain. “I can’t accept that my spoiled daughter would shamelessly beg a man to marry her…”

Although Jiang was confused and pretentious, she was very proud. She was born beautiful and grew up in a noble family. She had always been flattered by others. Except for the Eldest Princess and the Duke, she had never cared about anyone’s opinions.

Back then, there were countless men who had heard of her beauty and wanted to see her, but her daughter was groveling for a man.

Jiang couldn’t and wouldn’t accept it.

Her son was an outstanding person, and all the women in the capital envied her. However, her only daughter had displayed such despicable behavior. Jiang felt a rush of blood in her throat, her vision blurred, her head swelled, and she nearly fainted.

After hearing what Jiang said, the Second Master realized the gravity of his daughter’s mistake. He had originally thought it was no big deal for a girl to like any man and meet him once. But now, thinking carefully, he couldn’t tolerate his spoiled daughter trying to please another man. He hit his forehead hard a few times and sighed.

What worried him even more was that once the Duke got to know about this, he would be in great trouble.

Fortunately, the incident was discovered in time. The Second Master reflected, “It’s better to say that I wrongly blamed Xie than to let the whole city know about it. Then our whole family would have to live in fear and might even be driven back to our hometown. In the end, it would only implicate Shu Huai and the other children.”

Jiang sneered. It was not that she didn’t blame Xie Yunchu, but Xie Yunchu’s problem was nothing compared to Wang Shuyi’s self-deprecation.

Once the Second Master realized his mistake, he put aside his pride and was willing to apologize to Xie Yunchu. He asked someone to take out a Ruyi inkstone from his collection in his study and gave it to Xie Yunchu. When Xie Yunchu received the inkstone, She understood what her father-in-law meant.

The Second Master did not have time to have dinner, so he returned to his study and asked someone to call Wang Shuhuai.

“You go to the Xiao family in person, meet Xiao Huaijin, and tell him that this matter must not be spread to anyone else.”

Wang Shuhuai understood what his father meant and said, “Leave this to me.”

In fact, he had asked Xie Yunchu on the way back in the carriage. Xie Yunchu said that Xiao Huaijin was a smart man and would pretend that nothing had happened.

Wang Shuhuai returned to his study and thought about it. He felt that he had to meet Xiao Huaijin for both moral and logical reasons, so the next day he sent a letter to Xiao Huaijin, inviting him to have tea at Honghe Tower. It was another teahouse outside Donghuamen, facing Yingjiang Teahouse. The two teahouses often competed with each other.