There was an uproar outside the Wen Mansion.
"I didn't expect Lady Wen to be so jealous. After all, this is her husband's child!"
"Exactly! Usually, Lady Wen appears so dignified and elegant. Who would have thought she'd be so overbearing in private? And this Peilan seems so gentle. Why doesn't Lady Wen agree to let her into the mansion?"
"She even had Peilan driven out. How vicious!"
"Lady Wen and Lord Wen are the most loving couple in the Great Ye. Since she loves her husband, she should love his children as well out of love for him!"
After all, the Great Ye was a dynasty where men were superior to women. People were quite tolerant of men having children or taking concubines outside.
The legal wife had the right to refuse to accept a certain woman into the mansion, but she couldn't let her husband's children stay outside.
Especially since Peilan was acting so weak and pitiful at the moment.
Peilan covered the smug smile on her lips and continued to kneel at the door, wailing loudly.
Lan Jinqin, if you try to stop me from entering the mansion, just wait to be disgraced!
At this moment, Lady Lin of the Wen family was sitting in the main hall of the mansion. Even the fanning of the maids couldn't dispel her uneasiness. She complained to Lan Jinqin irritably,
"What should we do now? I said we should bring Peilan in, but my daughter - in - law just wouldn't agree. Now look! Lord Zilong's reputation and their marital reputation are all going to be ruined by her!"
Granny Gui, standing beside her, wiped the sweat off her brow. "In the past, this old servant thought Peilan was a reasonable girl. Who would have thought that this time she wouldn't care about Lord Wen's future at all? She sneaked out and caused such a ruckus without a word. It was really this old servant's negligence that let her out. Who would have thought she'd be such a person, not giving any face to her husband or listening to the old madam's words."
Lady Lin fell silent.
She had been blaming Lan Jinqin for being too stubborn, which had led to the current situation.
But after Granny Gui's words, she thought it made sense.
This Peilan was really so petty.
She didn't even care about Wen Zilong's reputation. She was just obsessed with getting into the mansion and couldn't wait for a moment.
She was really not presentable.
Thinking this way, she didn't seem so eager to let Peilan into the mansion anymore.
"But now she's kneeling at the door, and there are so many people outside. It's not good for me to have her arrested or forcibly driven away..." Lady Lin was extremely worried. "Or, should we still let her into the mansion?"
Granny Gui hesitated. "But Lord Wen just gave his instructions the other day... Moreover, the madam isn't at home. If we let someone in and then send her away, won't it cause an even bigger ruckus?"
"This won't work, and that won't work either! It's really driving me crazy!" Lady Lin was so anxious that blisters almost formed on her lips.
The noise outside the Wen Mansion was still as loud as ever.
At this moment, a soft and puzzled voice came from behind the crowd. "What's going on? Why is everyone gathered in front of the mansion?"
Everyone quickly turned around and saw Lan Jinqin with Liuli standing behind them. The carriage beside them was quietly waiting.
The air after the rain was still damp, gently lifting the woman's soft black hair and leaving behind the lingering mist of the rain.
What a beauty!
The people who had just been passionately denouncing suddenly fell silent.
Such a beauty was not to be desecrated.
Peilan pushed through the crowd and stumbled out. She knelt in front of Lan Jinqin. "Madam, please don't drive me away. For the sake of the child in my womb, be merciful and let me into the mansion!"
"I promise I'll behave myself after entering the mansion. I'll never fight with you for the husband."
"In the future, when the child is born, I'll make him call you mother. I just want to stay by my husband's side, and I'll be satisfied."
When Lan Jinqin returned to the mansion, she saw a crowd gathered outside and had already heard about Peilan's ruckus.
It turned out that Wen Zilong had changed his attitude that night and listened to her words, refusing to let Peilan into the mansion immediately.
This woman was afraid that things would change over time, so she came to cause trouble regardless of everything.
But this woman didn't blame the man for his heartlessness or Lady Lin for her fickleness. Instead, she always targeted her and wanted to ruin her reputation.
What an insensible woman.
The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. Her eyebrows and eyes were gentle, but her eyes were as cold as frost.
A look of surprise appeared on Lan Jinqin's face. "Miss, who are you?"
Everyone:??
Lady Wen didn't recognize this Peilan?
But just now, Peilan was crying and accusing Lan Jinqin of driving her out...
Peilan was shocked and looked at Lan Jinqin in disbelief.
Although she hadn't had many encounters with Lan Jinqin, and each time she had secretly come to the Wen Mansion to cause trouble, they had definitely met before.
Lan Jinqin had known about her existence for a long time, okay?
"Madam, I'm Peilan!"
Peilan originally wanted to rely on her pitiful appearance to make everyone stand on her side, but Lan Jinqin's reaction caught her off guard.
She had no choice but to repeat herself. "Peilan. I'm Lord Wen's mistress. There's already a child of the lord in my womb!"
"Mistress?"
"Child?"
Lan Jinqin was struck like by lightning. Looking at the woman kneeling on the ground, she swayed, as if she was about to faint at any moment from this sudden news.
"My husband... actually has a mistress?"
"He even has a child outside?"
Lan Jinqin's expression instantly became blank. Her feet unconsciously took several steps back.
Her frail body trembled constantly. Her face instantly turned as pale as frost. Scalding tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked extremely broken.
The onlookers were both confused and heart - broken.
Could it be that Lady Wen had been kept in the dark all along and didn't know that her husband had a mistress outside?
It turned out that it wasn't Lady Wen who was jealous, but Wen Zilong and Peilan who were having an affair. And this Peilan even had the nerve to come to the Wen Mansion to cause trouble.
Lan Jinqin lowered her eyes, hiding the cold light in them.
If someone was to be disgraced, it should be Wen Zilong and Peilan.
Why should she, Lan Jinqin, bear the bad name of a jealous woman?
Liuli quickly supported Lan Jinqin. "Madam! You're not in good health. Be careful. Don't get angry."
Liuli pointed at Peilan and scolded. "Where did you come from, you wild woman? How dare you impersonate the lord's mistress in front of the Wen Mansion? My lord and madam are deeply in love. How could he secretly keep a mistress outside and have a child? You must be crazy about the Wen family's property!"
Peilan was angry at being accused. "Madam, don't play dumb. You clearly recognize me. Just now, when I wanted to enter the mansion, you had someone drive me out."
Lan Jinqin leaned on Liuli and replied weakly. "What are you talking about? I just came back from outside. How could I have ordered someone to drive you out just now... You must be a liar. I guess it was the old madam who saw you lying and had you beaten out."
That's right!
Lan Jinqin had clearly just come back from outside, but this Peilan said that she had been driven out of the Wen Mansion by Lan Jinqin's order.
Her repeated lies had already left an image of a liar in everyone's minds.
People's looks towards Peilan instantly turned unfriendly.
Peilan panicked.
She had indeed been driven out just now.
But she had assumed that the person who drove her out couldn't be Lady Lin, who had always been kind to her, and certainly not Wen Zilong.
So she was sure that the culprit was Lan Jinqin.
But Lan Jinqin hadn't been at the mansion...
Peilan had nothing to say in defense. She just covered her stomach, gritted her teeth, and cried while avoiding the main issue.
"Maybe it was the old madam who had me driven out. I didn't even step into the Wen Mansion. That's why I thought it was your order, madam... But I'm really Lord Wen's mistress. Madam, you can't deny it!"
"I've been with my husband for four years. How many four - year periods does a woman have? Madam, please, for the sake of the child, let me into the mansion, okay?"
Lan Jinqin tightened her lips and was just about to speak when a cold male voice sounded.
"Miss Peilan, when Lord Wen, the Minister of War, was still a poor scholar, he once swore in front of all the people in the capital city that he would only have Lan Jinqin as his woman in this lifetime. But now you suddenly appear and claim to be Lord Wen's mistress..."
Lan Jinqin suddenly looked up and saw Xiao Rencheng standing in the crowd.
He was still wearing his dark purple official robe from the court. His tall and slender figure looked majestic and solemn. His gaze towards Lan Jinqin carried a touch of gentle focus.
He nodded slightly towards Lan Jinqin and then turned to look at Peilan. "Miss Peilan, do you have any tokens to prove your relationship with Lord Wen?"