Xue Gui was completely caught off guard by this unexpected move and froze on the spot.
Old Madam Xue cursed, "You heartless, rotten beast! What could a mere seventh-rank official possibly have that my son would covet? Why would my son offer his own legitimate daughter to you?"
"It’s because of the Yan Family’s weapons back then—"
"Zhang Ji!!" Xue Gui suddenly roared. Zhang Ji flinched and immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Chu Ruoyan’s heart turned cold. "What about the Yan Family’s weapons?"
Yan Zheng had once told her that during the Battle of Hangu Pass, both the provisions from the Ministry of Revenue and the weapons from the Ministry of War had been compromised. Could Xue Gui have been involved in the weapon issue?
Xue Gui glared at Zhang Ji with a murderous gaze, but Zhang Ji only muttered, "Nothing. I misspoke."
Seeing his determination to stay silent, Chu Ruoyan nodded slowly. "Fine. You don’t have to speak."
She turned to Chu Jing. "Aunt, where are your maids?"
Maids?
Chu Jing was startled, only now realizing that since she regained consciousness, none of her attendants had been by her side.
"Call Zhu'er and the others here."
At Chu Jing’s order, the maids were soon brought forward.
Terrified by the scene before them, they immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness.
Chu Ruoyan spoke calmly. "Confess what you’ve done."
The maids exchanged uneasy glances until Zhu'er finally gathered her courage. "M-Miss, we were following the Marquis’s orders..."
Xue Gui bellowed, "Shut your mouth! This is the Marquis of Chengen's Mansion’s affair—how dare an outsider interfere!"
Chu Ruoyan looked at this disheveled yet blustering man, feeling that even the title of "uncle" was an insult to her.
Chu Jing then spoke firmly. "I am no outsider. As the Marquis’s wife, I have the right to know the truth. Speak, and I will pardon you."
With this assurance, Zhu'er quickly revealed, "It was the Madam! We were ordered by the Marquis to add ylang-ylang and tuberose to your incense these past days... and today, we were told to bring you to this room..."
Chu Ruoyan interjected, "Which room?"
"This one. The Marquis said he wanted to... share some marital intimacy with you..."
Gasps erupted across the room.
Everything fell into place.
Zhang Ji had been lured here under the pretense of meeting Xue Gui’s daughter, only to be ambushed.
Chu Jing, drugged and helpless, had also been brought here.
Had the switch not occurred, Chu Jing would have been ruined beyond redemption.
Chu Jing’s face turned ashen, as if she were finally seeing Xue Gui for who he truly was.
After a long silence, she whispered, "Was this all because I sent your mistress away?"
"What? He had a mistress?!" someone in the crowd blurted out.
Chu Jing ignored them, her gaze fixed on Xue Gui.
Cornered, Xue Gui sneered, "In my heart, you’re not even worth one of Yinghong’s fingers!" He then addressed the guests. "Since you’re all my relatives, I won’t hide it. I have a mistress named Yinghong, who bore me a son. I wanted to bring them into the mansion, but this jealous woman refused and exiled them from the capital, tearing my family apart! I had no choice but to resort to this!"
The crowd’s murmurs quieted.
Everyone knew Chu Jing had never borne a son, leaving the Marquis of Chengen's Mansion without an heir.
Some even began to sympathize with Xue Gui’s plight.
Only a few women pitied Chu Jing—being betrayed by her husband was worse than death.
Xue Ling cried out, "But Mother already adopted Baiqing!"
Xue Gui scoffed. "A son from the second branch can never compare to my own flesh and blood!"
Chu Jing trembled and closed her eyes.
Xue Ling pleaded, "Father, how could you become like this?"
"It’s not that he became this way—he was always like this," Chu Ruoyan cut in, her gaze sharp. "So, Marquis Xue, what do you intend to do now?"
Xue Gui remained silent.
Old Madam Xue declared, "What else can be done? My son has suffered greatly because of the Duke of Chu's Mansion! If you don’t want to be divorced, bring Yinghong and Guanglin back at once, honorably welcome them into the household, and register Guanglin as the legitimate heir! And don’t think of using today’s incident against us—everyone here is our kin. The Chu family are the outsiders!"
Before the words fully settled, an icy voice thundered from outside:
"Very well. If the Chu family are outsiders, then Xue Gui’s plot to ruin my sister’s virtue warrants castration under the law!"
The crowd stiffened as Chu Huaishan strode in, clad in court robes.
Lady Jiang the Younger exhaled in relief.
"Father!" Chu Ruoyan called.
Chu Huaishan gave her a slight nod before approaching Chu Jing. At the sight of him, her eyes reddened. "Brother..."
"No need to explain." He patted her shoulder, then turned to Xue Gui. "Marquis Xue, you’ve done well—keeping a mistress, fathering a bastard..."
Xue Gui, who had always feared his brother-in-law, stammered, "N-No, I—"
BAM!
A brutal kick sent Xue Gui crashing to the floor.
"My son!" Old Madam Xue rushed to help, but a glare from Chu Huaishan froze her in place.
"I wasn’t finished speaking. Who gave you permission to interrupt? Your affairs with the mistress and bastard are your business. But framing my sister and trying to destroy her honor?" Chu Huaishan’s voice dropped dangerously. "Xue Gui, what did you swear when you married her?"
Xue Gui shuddered as Chu Huaishan recited word for word:
"You said, ‘I will cherish her all my life. If I break this oath, may my line perish and my death be wretched!’"
Xue Gui scrambled up. "Duke Chu, let’s discuss this—I wronged your sister—"
BAM!
Another kick.
"I keep my promises. Choose: Do you want your line to perish, or your death to be wretched?"
Terror unlike anything he’d felt before seized Xue Gui.
He knew Chu Huaishan never made empty threats. Once, a third-rank official had crippled one of his minor clerks. The next day, Chu Huaishan dragged the man to the courts and had his legs broken in retribution.
His reputation for protecting his own was legendary.
Aunt Yuru finally spoke up. "Duke, please, for the sake of the Imperial Consort, calm your anger."
Chu Huaishan turned. "Ah, the Consort’s aunt. Then convey this to Her Highness: Our family is unworthy of this marriage."
Old Madam Xue shrieked, "What do you mean? Are you demanding a divorce?"
Lady Jiang the Younger tensed, but Chu Huaishan’s voice was steel.
"He doesn’t deserve a divorce. Only a severance of ties."
The hall erupted.
Never in the history of Great Xia had two noble houses dissolved a marriage so violently.
This was the birth of a blood feud.
Old Madam Xue finally panicked, shrieking, "Severing marital ties? How dare you sever marital ties? Everyone knows the Chu Family has already divorced one daughter. If you dare to do this again, aren’t you afraid no one will ever marry any of your girls?"
"Yes, my lord, I beg you—think of Ruoyin and Ruolan! Please reconsider!" Lady Jiang the Younger pleaded, nearly dropping to her knees. Chu Huaishan frowned, but just then, a voice—aged yet vigorous—rang out from the doorway:
"Who says Chu Jing won’t be wanted? If she severs ties today, tomorrow the Cao Family will send a grand procession to carry her through our gates!"
