Although the back corner gate of the Duke’s mansion was rarely frequented, at this moment, the Bai family’s funeral procession had returned and was passing by the alley entrance ahead of this deep lane. Tong Ji’s loud shout attracted quite a few people to stop and look into the deep alley.

Nanny Tong clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen, her already solemn face dark and gloomy. She looked at Chun Yan and said, “Chun Yan, what great audacity you have! Have you forgotten why you were beaten with the board last time? You truly forget the pain once the scar heals! Not only do you dare to secretly associate with Prince Liang’s servant, but you even attempt to falsely use the Duke’s name… using these letters to force First Miss to have no choice but to marry Prince Liang. What great audacity you have, what great capability!”

Chun Yan, pressed to kneel on the ground by the rough servant women, trembled all over in fear: “Nanny! Nanny, I didn’t! I didn’t!”

“With both witness and evidence present, you still dare to deny it! Do you think my old eyes are dim?” Nanny Tong was so angry that her voice rose high. “I should have beaten you to death last time!”

“Nanny, spare my life! I did this for First Miss, Nanny…” Chun Yan cried and begged.

Nanny Tong snorted coldly: “This matter is grave! It involves a prince and our First Miss. We should go before Grand Princess to settle this properly!”

Nanny Tong’s sharp gaze swept over Chun Yan like a blade, then fell on Tong Ji: “Escort them! Go around through this alley to the main gate… hand them over to Grand Princess for punishment!”

After Nanny Tong finished speaking, she led the way ahead. Bai family guards escorted Chun Yan, Tong Ji, and Prince Liang’s coachman, leading Prince Liang’s carriage toward the main gate.

“Let go of me! I’m a servant of Prince Liang’s mansion—it’s not the Duke’s mansion’s place to arrest me! Let go of me!”

Tong Ji shouted as he was escorted forward.

Chun Yan’s legs went weak. Thinking of the fate of Mingyu, who had served Second Miss, she was so frightened she could only cry and admit her mistakes: “Nanny Tong, this servant was wrong! Please spare me! I’ll never dare again! Please let me go, don’t take me before the Grand Princess. If Grand Princess finds out, this servant will lose her life! Nanny Tong, you watched me grow up from childhood… please spare this servant’s life!”

But Nanny Tong seemed to have a heart of iron and stone, leading the guards and rough servant women out of the alley, walking straight toward the main gate of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion under everyone’s gaze.

Grand Princess had just been helped down from the carriage by Nanny Jiang when she saw Nanny Tong suddenly hurrying forward and kneeling straight before Grand Princess, crying out loudly: “Grand Princess must uphold justice for First Miss!”

Grand Princess was startled and turned to look at Bai Qingyan, who had also gotten off the carriage. She saw that Bai Qingyan also looked bewildered, hurrying toward Nanny Tong: “Nanny Tong, what has happened?!”

The common people who had escorted the Bai family widows back had not yet left. Seeing that the Bai family had just buried their heroic martyrs and now faced new turmoil, they all stopped and craned their necks, wanting to know the reason.

“First Miss! First Miss, save me!” Chun Yan saw Bai Qingyan and struggled violently trying to rush out, but was held down by the rough servant women. Watching Bai Qingyan walk forward without looking back, she felt despair and called out to Chun Tao who was supporting Bai Qingyan: “Chun Tao… save me! Please save me! I once saved your life… please save me too!”

Hearing Chun Yan’s cries, Chun Tao’s eyes filled with tears, but she hardened her heart and didn’t look back.

Chun Tao knew how difficult First Miss’s path had been. As a maid who had grown up with the young lady from childhood, Chun Yan not only failed to help but repeatedly caused trouble for First Miss, attempting to ruin First Miss’s reputation and force her to marry Prince Liang—this was simply unforgivable.

Nanny Tong kowtowed heavily toward Bai Qingyan’s direction, then kowtowed to Grand Princess before saying: “Last time, this Chun Yan secretly associated with Prince Liang’s servant behind First Miss’s back… asking First Miss to meet Prince Liang privately. Madam, therefore, reorganized the inner courtyard and sold off five families of servants. First Miss, thinking of how Chun Yan had served since childhood, showed mercy and spared Chun Yan’s life! Who would have thought this despicable wretch didn’t know gratitude and secretly met with Prince Liang’s servant again! By coincidence, the little maid Yin Shuang discovered this and reported it to me!”

Grand Princess had long heard about this matter and had thought A’Bao was too soft-hearted toward servants. But since they were servants in A’Bao’s Qinghui Courtyard, she hadn’t felt it appropriate to interfere. Now it seemed that slaves were just slaves… one must never indulge them out of soft-heartedness!

“This old servant brought guards and rough servant women to the corner gate and heard Prince Liang’s servant tell Chun Yan to take advantage of the Duke’s mansion holding the funeral and the resulting chaos to place several love letters Prince Liang had written to First Miss in the Duke’s study. He even carefully instructed Chun Yan not to open the letters… knowing that with Duke’s character, he wouldn’t privately open junior family members’ letters. When the time came, Prince Liang would arrange for someone to discover these love letters and make a big fuss about it!”

Grand Princess was shocked and widened her eyes—this was meant to ruin A’Bao’s reputation!

Nanny Tong spoke quickly and steadily: “Prince Liang’s servant said that Prince Liang would lie to Madam… claiming that Duke had long discovered his admiration for First Miss and had withheld the letters he wrote to First Miss, saying that after the southern border war was settled and he returned, he would arrange the marriage between Prince Liang and First Miss! He also said that when these letters came to light and First Miss’s reputation was ruined, he would stand up to take responsibility and marry First Miss, and once First Miss entered the household, he would take this despicable wretch as a concubine! This despicable wretch agreed! She even took the letters—those letters are still clutched in that wretch’s hands. This old servant hasn’t had time to take them yet!”

Although Bai Jinzhi had already been instructed by Bai Qingyan in the carriage, hearing Prince Liang’s sinister plan still made her unable to restrain herself. She walked over and kicked Chun Yan to the ground, then kicked Tong Ji down as well.

“What great dog’s audacity! How dare you scheme against my elder sister!” Bai Jinzhi looked around for a handy weapon, planning to beat Tong Ji first before saying anything else.

So that was it—in her previous life… this was how Prince Liang had convinced Chun Yan, promising her the position of concubine, so Chun Yan had helped Prince Liang with this deed, causing the Duke’s mansion full of loyal martyrs… to die with grievances while bearing the crime of treason.

Bai Qingyan’s gaze swept over the letters clutched tightly in Chun Yan’s palm, then looked at Tong Ji, who had been gritting his teeth and enduring pain without making a sound. She deliberately spoke to provoke Tong Ji: “First, he had Chun Yan pass along a message… claiming he wanted to borrow military books personally annotated by my grandfather, using this as an excuse to invite me to meet! Since men and women should be separate, I wouldn’t meet him. Considering both our reputations, I only had Chun Yan give Prince Liang military books annotated by Emperor Gaozu, hoping Prince Liang would understand my unwillingness to associate with him and stop pestering me! Unfortunately… Prince Liang didn’t comprehend my meaning!”

“After just a few days, Prince Liang came requesting to meet again. My mother therefore punished over ten families of the Bai family servants! When one scheme failed, Prince Liang devised another, actually arranging for Prince Liang’s mansion female servant to come to our mansion gate to slander me as having dealings with him! Today, he even takes advantage of my Bai family’s funeral, plotting with deliberate calculation to use such despicable methods, completely shameless, wanting to falsely use my deceased grandfather’s name to commit marriage fraud! Is this not so?!”