Before long, the younger Mrs. Wen came in with the baby in her arms.
Anxiety was hard to hide on her pale face.
"Sister-in-law, please save my husband," the younger Mrs. Wen threw herself at Song Zhaoyang.
Seeing this, Xi Que and Nanny Xia beside her quickly reached out to support the younger Mrs. Wen.
Supported by them, the younger Mrs. Wen looked at Song Zhaoyang pleadingly.
"Sister-in-law, do you know that my husband has been thrown into prison?"
Song Zhaoyang nodded. "I know. This matter is related to Mother."
Song Zhaoyang slowly told the whole story.
As the younger Mrs. Wen listened, anger was hard to hide on her face.
It turned out that Nanny Shi beside Aunt had impersonated her and committed the crime.
Aunt had failed to recognize people clearly and had harmed her own son!
Song Zhaoyang watched the ever - changing expressions on the younger Mrs. Wen's face, which were as changeable as the water in a dye vat.
She then advised, "Sister-in-law, just now Lord Luo, the magistrate of the capital, just left. He will report the matter fairly to His Majesty. His Majesty will make his own judgment. We can only wait for the result."
The younger Mrs. Wen said discontentedly, "Sister-in-law, isn't His Majesty your cousin? You should go into the palace and plead with the Empress Dowager to release my husband first."
Song Zhaoyang's face darkened. "Nonsense! How can a woman interfere in court affairs? Do you want our Xue family to be impeached by the censors?"
This scolding made the younger Mrs. Wen's expression freeze. She subconsciously tightened her hold on the baby in her arms.
The baby seemed uncomfortable and started to cry.
Hearing the cry, the younger Mrs. Wen lowered her head and looked at the baby in her arms fiercely. Suddenly, she put the baby on the ground.
"Elder sister-in-law, for the sake of the child, please save my husband!"
Song Zhaoyang subconsciously looked at the baby lying on the ground.
On such a cold day, the baby's swaddle was so thin. Moreover, there was no flesh on the baby's face.
Compared with her Yaoyao, this baby seemed much thinner.
There was an unnatural flush on the baby's face.
Looking at the baby, Song Zhaoyang's expression became a bit complicated.
In her previous life, she had doted on this child like a precious treasure, but in this life, the child had ended up like this.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the younger Mrs. Wen. "Sister-in-law, I'll say it one more time. As a woman, I can't interfere in court affairs. You should take the child back and take good care of yourself during the confinement period."
Hearing Song Zhaoyang's repeated rejections, the younger Mrs. Wen got angry.
She roughly picked up the baby. Her face was ferocious and full of madness. "Fine, just you wait! You'll regret this!"
After saying that, she left angrily.
——
In the imperial study, Lord Luo truthfully reported the results of the investigation of the Xue Mansion.
The cabinet ministers and Song Yibin were standing in the imperial study.
After listening, Qi Yuzhen slightly raised his eyebrows. His voice was so calm that it was hard to tell his emotions.
"When will General Xue Chucheng of the upper army return to the capital after his victorious return?"
Grand Secretary Du stepped forward and said to Qi Yuzhen, "Your Majesty, he should be back in the capital in five days."
Qi Yuzhen gave a faint "hmm" and said, "The magistrate of the capital should issue a wanted order to arrest the criminal, Nanny Shi."
"Old Mrs. Xue failed to recognize people clearly and is guilty of negligence. Considering that her legitimate son, Xue Chuzhong, has made military contributions, her title of third - rank imperial - bestowed lady will be revoked."
"Although Xue Chuzhong was framed, he failed to handle the disturbance properly during the porridge - giving event, which aroused public indignation. Therefore, his official position will be dismissed. At the same time, the Xue family is ordered to give out porridge for ten days as a warning."
Soon, the chief eunuch personally came to the Xue Mansion to announce the imperial edict.
Hearing this result, Song Zhaoyang felt extremely regretful.
She had originally thought she could bring down Mrs. Wen, but unexpectedly, it had been ruined by Nanny Shi.
However, fortunately, Mrs. Wen had been deprived of her title of imperial - bestowed lady, and Xue Chuzhong had also been dismissed.
Thinking of this, Song Zhaoyang subconsciously looked at Mrs. Wen kneeling beside her.
Mrs. Wen was completely stunned on the spot.
She had escaped the disaster of being arrested, but she had been deprived of her title of imperial - bestowed lady.
Moreover, even her son's official position was gone.
For a moment, a rush of blood surged up.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood spurted out of her mouth, and she fainted.
"Mother!" The younger Mrs. Wen shouted in shock when she saw Mrs. Wen spitting blood and fainting.
Song Zhaoyang didn't expect Mrs. Wen to spit blood. It seemed that she had been too stimulated.
Considering that the eunuch from the palace was still here, she didn't dare to show her schadenfreude. Concern was hard to hide on her face.
"I, your humble subject's wife, accept the imperial edict!"
Supported by Xi Que, Song Zhaoyang stood up.
"I'm sorry to make Eunuch Wang laugh. My mother - in - law is just too emotional."
Eunuch Wang nodded with a smile. "I understand. Madam Xue, you'd better send the old madam back first."
Song Zhaoyang nodded and immediately sent someone to carry Mrs. Wen back to the backyard. The younger Mrs. Wen followed closely behind.
Nanny Xia handed a full bag of gold leaves to Eunuch Wang.
Eunuch Wang happily put it into his sleeve. "Thank you, Madam Xue. Before leaving the palace, His Majesty asked me to tell you that if you have any grievances, don't hold them in. You can go into the palace to find the Queen and the Empress Dowager."
Hearing this, Song Zhaoyang's lips curled up in a faint smile.
"Thank you for His Majesty's concern."
"Also," Eunuch Wang continued, "General Xue will return to the capital in about five days after his victorious return."
Joy flashed in Song Zhaoyang's eyes. She said gratefully, "Thank you, Eunuch Wang, for telling me."
Eunuch Wang didn't stay any longer and left for the palace after saying goodbye.
Nanny Xia supported Song Zhaoyang. "Great! The general will be back soon! Now you'll have someone to rely on, Madam."
Hearing this, Song Zhaoyang thought of her husband who had died a tragic death in her previous life. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing Song Zhaoyang crying, Nanny Xia said in a hurry, "Madam, why are you crying?"
Song Zhaoyang choked with sobs. "I just suddenly felt like crying."
Hearing this, Nanny Xia felt extremely distressed.
Song Zhaoyang had been pregnant for ten months, but Xue Chucheng had not been by her side. She had also been tricked by her in - laws into giving birth prematurely, and she hadn't been able to rest well during the confinement period.
Thinking of this, Nanny Xia complained, "This time, the old madam actually managed to escape. When the master comes back, this old servant must tell him what the old madam has done during this period and let the master judge."
Song Zhaoyang took the handkerchief Nanny Xia handed her and wiped away her tears. She said hoarsely, "Although we didn't manage to bring her down this time, she has lost her title of imperial - bestowed lady, and her second son has been dismissed. This is also a heavy loss for her."
Speaking of this, her eyebrows frowned.
Nanny Shi still hadn't been caught. This was a major hidden danger!
There were still too few people she could trust around her.
——
The younger Mrs. Wen returned to her own courtyard. Thinking of how miserable her life was, the tears just wouldn't stop.
Just as she was feeling sad, she heard the crying sound of a baby.
The younger Mrs. Wen angrily shouted, "Throw that stinky girl far away! I never want to see her again! She's a jinx! She's just a jinx!"
At this moment, the younger Mrs. Wen vented her anger on her own daughter.
She felt that since the children had been switched, nothing good had happened to her.
First, she had suffered a major hemorrhage, which had made it difficult for her to have children in the future. Now, her husband had been dismissed from his official position.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Could it be that the child her sister - in - law gave birth to was a jinx, and she had just brought the jinx back?
The nanny beside her saw the angry look on the younger Mrs. Wen's face and immediately dismissed the servants in the room.
"Madam, please calm down."
The younger Mrs. Wen said fiercely, "Calm down? Calm down about what? I've been ruined by this stinky girl!"
Just as she finished speaking, a maid timidly called out at the door, "M... Madam, this servant has something to report."