Jiang Zhao, Jiang Zhong, and Jiang Yunxi all followed the Marquis of Ningyuan to Lady He's courtyard.
Lady He was utterly bewildered when she saw the Marquis of Ningyuan with a displeased look on his face.
What on earth had happened?
"Ouch, it hurts so much!" Jiang Zhong, supported by Jiang Yunxi, let out a wail that caught Lady He's attention.
Lady He was shocked to see Jiang Zhong limping: "Zhong'er, what's wrong with you!"
The Marquis of Ningyuan quickly grabbed Lady He, who was about to rush towards Jiang Zhong, and said coldly, "Sit down."
Lady He had always been a bit in awe of the Marquis of Ningyuan. Seeing him like this, she could only sit down obediently.
However, her eyes kept darting towards Jiang Zhong.
The Marquis of Ningyuan's gaze fell on the juniors sitting below, and his eyebrows knitted into a frown: "Look at all of you. What kind of behavior is this!"
"The elder brother doesn't act like an elder brother, and the younger sister doesn't act like a younger sister. Do you want to turn the world upside down?!"
Jiang Zhong, supported by Jiang Yunxi, had a distorted face and a hint of defiance.
Jiang Zhao's belt was twisted to one side, her hairpin had come loose, and her hair was messily plastered on her face.
Jiang Yunxi noticed sharply that there was a bright red handprint on her face and winked at her.
"Tell me, why did the two of you fight?" The Marquis of Ningyuan's voice was heavy, and his face was solemn.
Lady He's eyes widened. She had only told Zhong'er to look for Jiang Zhao. How did the two of them end up fighting?
Compared to Jiang Zhong's sorry state, Jiang Zhao was relatively okay.
But could Jiang Zhao, with her small build, have beaten Jiang Zhong?
Jiang Zhong didn't care about the pain anymore and stepped forward to speak first: "Father! It's all Jiang Zhao's fault!"
"I saw with my own eyes that Jiang Zhao was alone in a room with Chen Huainan, who came from a merchant family. You must know what kind of reputation Chen Huainan has! I told Mother to prevent Jiang Zhao from bringing shame to our Marquis's Mansion. Who would have thought that Jiang Zhao not only refused to listen but also defied Mother and attacked me!"
Jiang Zhong glared at Jiang Zhao fiercely: "It doesn't matter if I get hurt. What's important is that she shows no respect for her elders and defies them! She brings shame to our Marquis's Mansion. If this continues, where will our Marquis's Mansion's face be!"
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Mother!"
Jiang Yunxi:!!!
He believed that Jiang Zhao had defied Lady He.
But wasn't it elder brother who had attacked first?
Moreover, Jiang Zhao hadn't been alone in a room with Chen Huainan. Didn't elder brother consider him and Jiang Qingrong as being there?
Where did his one - track - minded elder brother hear such rumors?
Even though Jiang Yunxi was a bit muddle - headed, he could tell that Jiang Zhong was deliberately targeting Jiang Zhao.
He was even more puzzled.
The Marquis of Ningyuan turned to look at Lady He.
Lady He's expression changed slightly, and she didn't deny Jiang Zhong's words: "Husband, Zhong'er is right."
"It's only natural for your elder brother to discipline you. It's fine that you don't repent, but you even dared to attack your elder brother!" Lady He, who was心疼 her son, immediately scolded Jiang Zhao: "You are really lawless. Do you have any respect for your elders in your eyes!"
Jiang Zhao snorted. She had long expected Lady He's reaction.
However, she just couldn't figure out why Lady He could be kind to the concubine - born Jiang Qingrong but couldn't tolerate her alone?
The Marquis of Ningyuan wasn't like Lady He, who only believed Jiang Zhong's words: "Zhao'er, tell me what happened."
"Father..." Jiang Zhong was about to speak when the Marquis of Ningyuan shot him a sharp look.
Jiang Zhong had no choice but to shut up angrily.
Jiang Zhao fearlessly met Lady He's gaze: "Mother, if you dislike me, you might as well just say so."
"At that time, you only believed elder brother's words. Whatever elder brother said, you believed. When I tried to defend myself, you said that I refused to be disciplined. What wrong did I do?"
"You didn't even bother to ask me a single question before directly condemning me. You are so partial. How can you not allow others to say so?"
"Presumptuous!" Lady He felt a bit flustered when she noticed the Marquis of Ningyuan looking at her.
Seeing Lady He like this, the Marquis of Ningyuan had a general idea in his mind. His wife was good in many aspects, but she spoiled these children too much.
She was too stupid and had no brains.
It was the first time Jiang Yunxi had seen Lady He being publicly defied. He couldn't help but give Jiang Zhao a thumbs - up.
Jiang Zhao ignored Lady He and turned to look at the Marquis of Ningyuan. Her voice was neither overbearing nor humble: "Father, I know that you have been in charge of the family for many years. You are clear - eyed, sensible, and definitely won't be as one - sided as Mother."
"Jiang Zhong said that I was having an affair with Chen Huainan. If he can slander my innocence with just his bare words, then all the cases in the Ministry of Justice don't need to be judged."
"Since Jiang Zhong said that he saw it with his own eyes, fourth brother and younger brother were also there at that time. Father can just ask them."
Everyone looked at Jiang Yunxi, who had been watching the show.
If Jiang Yunxi dared to lie on Jiang Zhong's side, she wouldn't mind making Jiang Yunxi know what real bad luck was.
Jiang Yunxi swallowed hard. Compared to offending Jiang Zhao, he would rather offend Jiang Zhong, who only had brute force.
He really couldn't afford to offend Jiang Zhao. Just thinking about the kick Jiang Zhao had given Jiang Zhong earlier made his scalp tingle.
Moreover, Jiang Zhong was clearly lying.
"Uncle, I was indeed with younger sister today. There weren't only Chen Huainan and younger sister in the private room. I and Qingrong were also there. It was I who invited Chen Huainan out. Uncle, if you don't believe me, you can go and ask the waiter in Qianwei Restaurant."
"As for what elder brother said, maybe elder brother just misread." At the end, Jiang Yunxi didn't forget to make an excuse for Jiang Zhong.
Jiang Zhong squinted at Jiang Yunxi. When had he colluded with Jiang Zhao!
He had just treated all his instructions as fart!
Jiang Zhong gritted his teeth so hard that they creaked: "Even if this is a misunderstanding, Jiang Zhao shouldn't have attacked me! She could have just explained it clearly! I'm her elder brother, and she was so cruel to me!"
Jiang Yunxi scratched his head. He had seen that elder brother hadn't shown any mercy when attacking Jiang Zhao either.
Lady He glared at Jiang Zhong, signaling him to shut up. She said softly, "Husband, since it's all a misunderstanding, now that it's been cleared up, let's just let it go."
"It's not worth ruining the relationship between them just because of such a small matter."
A misunderstanding?
Lady He wanted to make a big thing small and a small thing nothing, but she wouldn't agree.
Jiang Zhao gave Jiang Zhong a strange smile and looked fixedly at the Marquis of Ningyuan: "Father, I still have something to say."
"The reason why Jiang Zhong saw me so coincidentally was that he had just come out of the gambling house."
As soon as the words fell, the expressions on everyone's faces changed one after another. It was truly a wonderful sight.
Jiang Yunxi believed Jiang Zhao's words without a second thought. He just didn't expect that Jiang Zhong would have the audacity to go gambling.
Even though he was a bit of a scoundrel, he didn't dare to set foot in the gambling house. He still wanted to live a few more years.
It seemed to him that Jiang Zhong was doomed this time.
"You're talking nonsense!" Jiang Zhong jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and immediately refuted loudly. His heart was about to jump out.
Jiang Zhao's eyes curved slightly, and she squinted: "Elder brother is so sure that I'm talking nonsense. Then, dare you swear to heaven that you've never stepped into a gambling house even once."
"If it's true, may you be struck by lightning and die without a burial place."
"As long as you dare, I'll send someone to invite the people from the gambling house here."