Returning to the carriage, Liang Zhe instructed the driver: “First send the First Young Madam back to the residence, then go to the Mighty General’s mansion.”
Qin Shuying knew he was going to find Zhao Zhengyuan to get to the bottom of things.
From the manor in the suburbs to the Mighty General’s mansion would take over an hour. By then, the sky would be completely dark. After going from the Mighty General’s mansion back to the Marquis Pingxi’s residence, everyone in the entire Marquis Pingxi’s residence would have already gone to sleep.
Having only been married for a few days, if Qin Shuying returned this late, it would easily attract others’ attention and suspicion. Even if she had gone out with Liang Zhe, it would still make people suspicious.
Fortunately, Liang Zhe still retained his rationality and knew to send her back to the Marquis Pingxi’s residence first before going to the Mighty General’s mansion himself.
It seemed that Liang Zhe had not been completely overwhelmed and lost his composure from the shock of what Nanny Luo had said.
Since it involved Liang Zhe’s mother, and was such a scandalous matter, as his wife, there were naturally some words that were not appropriate for her to bring up.
But at this moment, Qin Shuying actually forgot her identity as a wife, and only thought of her identity as an ally—she only wanted to solve problems for Liang Zhe.
Qin Shuying completely failed to consider the desolate killing intent on Liang Zhe’s face. She went through the matter over and over many times, then reminded him: “Ziyu, Uncle has not mentioned a single word about this for so many years. Either what Nanny Luo said was false and Uncle knows nothing about it, or it’s because it’s difficult to speak of. Ziyu, how do you plan to ask?”
Liang Zhe did not notice the impropriety in her words—”Uncle,” this was the tone of a master’s assistant or colleague, not a wife.
As his wife, she should have said “Uncle-in-law.”
After Liang Zhe got into the carriage, he had been immersed in deep thought for a long time. When Qin Shuying spoke up like this, he came back to his senses and realized he had neglected that Qin Shuying was still beside him.
He somewhat apologetically took Qin Shuying’s hand. Although she was very intelligent, she was still only a fourteen-year-old girl after all. Other families’ wives at this age were treasured and protected.
Only she had been dragged into this by him. On their first day of marriage, she had to endure various difficulties, and now she had to toil for this matter that was almost impossible to investigate clearly.
Liang Zhe lowered his voice, with a touch of gentleness: “Shuying, rest assured, I have my own plans.”
After a pause, he said: “Uncle never brought it up, first because I was at the frontier, and mentioning it in letters would not be safe. Second, after I returned, my conduct was quite steady, and they didn’t gain any advantage, so Uncle probably thought the past need not be mentioned again. Third, for Uncle, this is probably also a painful memory.”
“Shuying, rest assured, I will ask Uncle properly. This matter cannot be left like this. I absolutely refuse to believe that Mother was that kind of person, even though she passed away when I was only two years old. Rest assured, I know my limits.”
Qin Shuying nodded: “Ziyu, what the eyes see may not necessarily be real.”
Liang Zhe’s grave expression showed some relief, and his constantly tense face suddenly became animated as he smiled: “Shuying, only you believe in me, believe in Mother.”
This meant that even Zhao Zhengyuan actually didn’t believe in Zhao Wanniang anymore.
Qin Shuying fell silent.
She believed in Zhao Wanniang because clearly Qin Yaoyao had not had an affair with the steward, yet everyone had seen it with their own eyes, confirming Qin Yaoyao’s adultery.
Having experienced such pain firsthand, she naturally had more clarity and doubt than others.
When Zhao Wanniang died, she was twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and Prince Liang was thirty-three or thirty-four years old—one was heroic and spirited, the other elegant and refined. Moreover, Prince Liang was also a prince. In other families, such a story would have some romantic appeal.
But was Liang Yunshan inferior to Prince Liang? In fact, Liang Yunshan commanded heavy troops and was not someone who could be easily replaced.
Furthermore, Zhao Wanniang was also a daughter of a military family and not necessarily ignorant of court affairs. Having an affair with Prince Liang—the consequences were not something she could bear. How could she make such a foolish mistake?
“Ziyu, you said before that Mother’s death was related to the Old Madam. You didn’t know about today’s matter then, so why did you say that?”
“That was my intuition, without evidence. Before going to the frontier, once I accidentally overheard her say to Luo Meixiang, ‘Zhao Wanniang is already dead, why fear those two bastard children of hers?’ This remark made me very suspicious. I went back and told Uncle about it. Uncle neither denied nor confirmed it. But from that time on, I always believed Mother’s death was related to her.”
“Would Ziyu still think so today?”
Liang Zhe said: “Of course I would. What Nanny Luo saw, she believed to be fact. But the real situation may not have been like that. There are too many suspicious points here.”
Qin Shuying nodded: “Big Sister was treated exactly like this back then. Using the same old tricks would not be difficult for them at all.”
Liang Zhe caught the hidden meaning in Qin Shuying’s words: “Shuying, you think this matter was done by them?”
Qin Shuying said: “Less than a year after Mother passed away, Luo Meixiang entered the household. Moreover, Brothers Liang Jie were born after only seven months of pregnancy. Although they all said it was premature birth because of twins, I always feel something is suspicious. So…”
Liang Zhe’s eyes suddenly widened, his gaze turning cold: “Mother’s body was barely cold when the Marquis Pingxi got entangled with Luo Meixiang!”
Qin Shuying shook her head: “Ziyu, what if they were already entangled before Mother passed away?”
Liang Zhe’s gaze was like lightning, fixed on Qin Shuying’s face with some ferocity.
Qin Shuying looked back at him calmly.
Were such things rare in this world?
Wasn’t Lu Changxuan exactly like this back then?
He had gotten entangled with Qin Feifei, and Qin Yaoyao not only bore an undeserved accusation but also died in the fire!
It wasn’t that Qin Shuying was being malicious in viewing a great general so despicably, but based on her observations of Liang Yunshan these past days, no matter how commanding Liang Yunshan was on the battlefield, when it came to the inner quarters, wasn’t he still manipulated by Old Madam Liang and Luo Meixiang? No matter how deeply Liang Yunshan claimed to love Luo Meixiang, didn’t he still keep mistresses outside?
Qin Shuying did not hesitate to attribute the greatest malice to Liang Yunshan. Men who couldn’t control their lower halves never knew that their slightest action could cost innocent lives.
Just like Feng’er—how innocent he was, yet he died at the hands of those adulterous dogs!
Liang Zhe clenched his fists, his chest heaving violently: “Shuying, I never thought in that direction!”
Qin Shuying held his rigid fists with both hands, gently patting and comforting him.
Liang Zhe was a fierce general on the battlefield. Although he bore humiliation, he was still an upright and honorable good man. How could he have imagined there would be such sordid inner quarter struggles in the human world?
“Ziyu, white jade is flawless. Even if stained with ink, it remains white jade. We must seek justice for Big Sister, and we must also seek justice for Mother. No matter who it is, as long as she contributed to this matter, we will definitely make her repay the debt!”
Just like Nanny Yuan, who had contributed to harming Qin Yaoyao—the debt she owed could not be escaped. She had to stay with the Lu family, suffering hardship, toil, and terror, tormented bit by bit until the day she died!