Zhao Luoning gritted her teeth and walked into the ancestral hall. She bowed respectfully to the mistress and the concubine.
"Ning'er, you've been married into our Ji Mansion for some time, haven't you?" Ji's mistress put down the tea in her hand, looking as if she were about to scold someone.
Here comes the old scores. Zhao Luoning had a bad feeling.
"Yes, it's almost been a month."
"The expenses in the mansion have been quite high this month, especially in your Furong Courtyard." Before the mistress could say anything, the concubine couldn't wait to expose Zhao Luoning's flaws.
"Yes, I've implemented a system of more pay for more work in Furong Courtyard. But I've definitely not taken an extra cent from the mansion. I've recorded every account clearly in the ledger. If you, mother-in-law and concubine, think there's something wrong with the accounts, I can bring the ledger for you to check." Zhao Luoning had made up for the extra money with her dowry. So, if the mistress was only angry about this, she wasn't worried.
Ji's mistress stood up but didn't intend to let Zhao Luoning get the ledger. "Even so, you can't break the rules of the mansion. Of course, we can talk about this later. I'm actually curious about something else."
There's more? Zhao Luoning was unsure.
"I heard that you've never consummated your marriage with Shi Su since you got married." The mistress's face suddenly turned cold. Alarm bells rang in Zhao Luoning's heart. How could she forget about this?
Cai Xue saw something was wrong and quickly stood up to speak for Zhao Luoning. "Mistress, you saw the handkerchief with the stain of virginity with your own eyes. Isn't it a bit..."
"Shut up! When the masters are talking, it's not your place as a servant to butt in. I've already checked. Shi Su didn't return to the room on the wedding night at all." Ji's mistress said and slapped Cai Xue. Zhao Luoning quickly pulled Cai Xue aside and handed her a handkerchief because there was blood oozing from the corner of Cai Xue's mouth.
"Your husband didn't return to the room, yet you could present the stain of virginity. I'm afraid the stain is real, but the person you consummated the marriage with is fake." The concubine's words were hurtful, and every word pointed at Zhao Luoning.
Zhao Luoning bit her lip tightly. She knew very well that if she got into an argument with the concubine at this moment, with the label of "being shamed into anger" on her, her impression in the mistress's heart would only get worse.
Zhao Luoning bent down and knelt in front of the mistress. "I really haven't consummated the marriage with the second master. Please punish me, mistress." At this moment, being honest was the only way.
"As the saying goes, there are three forms of unfilial piety, and the greatest is to have no descendants. Since you've married into the Ji family, you should bear children for Shi Su. You've been married for over a month, yet you still haven't consummated the marriage. How can you be a good wife? How can you be worthy of the ancestors of the Ji family?" Ji's mistress was extremely angry. She threw the teacup on the ground, and it shattered into pieces.
"No matter what, it's all my fault, mother-in-law. You can punish me as you like. Please don't get angry and hurt your body because of me."
"Good. You said this yourself." Ji's mistress shouted. Immediately, several old women walked in. "Take the second young mistress down. Let the midwife check if she's still a virgin first. I don't want others to say that the second young mistress of our Ji family is an unchaste woman."
Cai Xue was anxious. Regardless of the bruise on her face, she quickly knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to the mistress. "Mistress, my lady is really innocent. You can't treat my lady like this." Cai Xue's forehead was bleeding from kowtowing, but Ji's mistress remained unmoved. She waved her hand, and the old women were about to take Zhao Luoning down.
Zhao Luoning knew that even if she could prove her innocence this way, it would be hard for her to stay in the Ji Mansion. She broke free from the two old women, took out her hairpin, and pointed the tip at her wrist. This action of Zhao Luoning scared everyone.
"Mother-in-law, I'm really innocent. Since you don't believe me, I have no choice but to prove my innocence with my death."
Ji's mistress's attitude showed signs of softening. At this moment, the unyielding concubine said something sarcastic. "You're probably afraid of being exposed. You're talking nicer than you can sing."
Cai Xue was already crying tears of fear. She knelt on the ground and kept begging Zhao Luoning not to do something stupid.
"Mother-in-law, even if the midwife proves my innocence, I won't have any face to manage the Ji Mansion. My loyalty to the Ji Mansion can be seen by heaven and earth. But a gentleman can be killed, not humiliated."
Before Ji's mistress could digest Zhao Luoning's words, Zhao Luoning had already cut her wrist at lightning speed. Blood gushed out from Zhao Luoning's hand. Cai Xue didn't care about the etiquette anymore. She rushed forward, snatched the hairpin from Zhao Luoning's hand. Due to excessive blood loss, Zhao Luoning gradually lost her strength and fell into Cai Xue's arms.
Although Ji's mistress wanted to teach Zhao Luoning a lesson, she didn't expect things to turn out like this. The concubine, who had been talking non - stop just now, was completely stunned. She didn't expect that the seemingly well - educated, gentle, and timid Zhao Luoning would do something so extreme.
"What are you standing there for? Come and help quickly." Ji's mistress was the first to come to her senses. She quickly asked someone to carry Zhao Luoning back to Furong Courtyard, and the doctor rushed over in a hurry. The entire Ji Mansion was in a complete mess for a while.
Ji Shisu was still busy dealing with the guests when he heard the servant report that something had happened at home. Without saying a word, he rushed home in a hurry. He never thought that Zhao Luoning would do something as stupid as proving her innocence with her death. Zhao Luoning was such a smart and strong woman. Since she was willing to prove her innocence with her death, one could imagine how cruel the person who forced her to this desperate situation was.
Ji Shisu rushed back to the Ji Mansion. Without even taking off his cloak, he went straight to Furong Courtyard. Furong Courtyard was already in a complete mess. Just outside Zhao Luoning's bedroom, there were piles of maids and servants. They were lying on the window, looking at Zhao Luoning's situation and constantly wiping their tears.
Ji Shisu pushed aside the people blocking the door and found that it was even more chaotic inside the room. A group of maids were kneeling in front of Zhao Luoning's bed, crying. The mistress and the concubine were sitting on one side with unhappy expressions. Zhao Luoning's bed curtain had been lowered. He couldn't see her situation, but he could see that blood was constantly flowing from the wrist that was exposed outside the curtain. The white cloths were dyed red, but it still didn't stop the bleeding.
"Get out of my way!" Ji Shisu's roar startled everyone. The maids kneeling on the ground automatically moved aside to make a way for Ji Shisu.
Ji Shisu rushed into the curtain, picked up the unconscious Zhao Luoning, and pressed a few acupoints on her body, which finally stopped the bleeding.
"Zhao Luoning, hold on. I won't allow you to die so unjustly. Do you hear me?" While asking the doctor to bandage the wound on Zhao Luoning's hand, Ji Shisu tried to wake up the unconscious Zhao Luoning. Ji Shisu didn't know what was wrong with his heart. Clearly, he had no feelings for Zhao Luoning, but at this moment, when she was weakly leaning in his arms, he felt as heart - broken as if he had lost the most precious treasure in his life.