Chapter 31 Frame-up: You Committed Adultery—Do You Know Your Crime?

Chapter 31: Frame-Up "You committed adultery, do you admit your guilt?"

Jiang Yueyi had been kneeling for nearly two or three hours, her lower body no longer feeling like her own, alternating between chills and fever. She gritted her teeth and held on, determined to see this through to the end today, whether good or bad.

At first, she saw Feng Shi walking toward her, but she didn't expect to be suddenly slapped by Feng Shi.

Jiang Yueyi was stunned senseless.

She had imagined countless humiliating things Qi Hao might say in his letter, but she never expected Feng Shi to react like this. Didn't Feng Shi know everything about her situation?

Yet after the slap, Feng Shi said nothing, simply returning to her seat as if drained, leaning on a maid and rubbing her chest repeatedly.

The clan elder finally caught his breath and spoke tremblingly, "Jiang, you committed adultery, do you admit your guilt?"

Jiang Yueyi immediately closed her eyes, but felt a sense of relief as she bowed to the ground, not getting up for a long time.

She should have known this day would come long ago.

Those past moments of luck were nothing but her own delusion.

She thought she had planned everything properly. If she were exposed or, as today, turned on, her daughter was still a blood descendant of the Qi family, and she could always beg Qi Yuan for help.

But only today did Jiang Yueyi understand that thinking something and actually doing it were two different things.

She didn't want to become a person with no dignity left.

To grovel to another man after Qi Hao had abandoned her.

She didn't want to live like that anymore.

A commotion erupted around her.

Xing An then spoke up, "The master means that the lady over there is currently at death's door. Now that the mistress has forced them out, the master must give the other lady a proper title. So the mistress must be divorced. As for the rest, the lords may decide as they see fit—sending her back to her family will suffice."

The clan elder who had read the letter said, "Not so fast, the matter must first be clarified."

He suddenly looked at Zhou Congshen, who had been standing aside and reluctant to interrupt, and said, "The baron's letter identifies you as the man who committed adultery with Jiang. What do you have to say?"

Zhou Congshen's eyes widened, and his face flushed red instantly, as if his throat were being squeezed, leaving him speechless.

Jiang Yueyi also lifted her head abruptly, her gaze meeting Zhou Congshen's as he looked over. Both saw shock and fear in each other's eyes.

Why did Qi Hao say this?

Jiang Yueyi blurted out first, "I did not!"

The clan elder slammed the table in anger, "You just admitted it, and now you deny it? If I name the adulterer, who would believe you? The baron was driven to leave—who knows if it wasn't because he was enraged by your whorish behavior!"

Jiang Yueyi turned to Feng Shi, who knew the truth but remained silent. Jiang Yueyi collapsed to the ground, realizing why Feng Shi had come over to slap her after reading the letter.

She also understood why Qi Hao had done this.

Qi Hao was furious that Zhou Congshen had revealed the truth to her. Whether it was out of impulse or genuine misunderstanding between the two, Qi Hao didn't want either of them to have an easy time.

As for Feng Shi, her greatest desire was for Qi Hao to return. She would agree to anything Qi Hao said or did now, rather than push her son away.

Moreover, Feng Shi was afraid that if the truth came out, she would be implicated as well, so it was better to cut off all possibilities entirely.

And Qi Hao and Feng Shi's actions had cast Jiang Yueyi and Zhou Congshen into irredeemable ruin.

They both found it impossible to defend themselves. Even if they spoke the truth, no one would believe them; instead, they would be accused of dragging others down with them to escape punishment.

Large beads of sweat formed on Zhou Congshen's forehead as he shouted, "It wasn't me! Get Qi Hao here—I want to confront him face to face. What does he mean by this..."

"Congshen, shut up!" Feng Shi rose and walked over to Zhou Congshen and addressed the others in the hall, "Congshen is my nephew. I cannot shirk responsibility for his wrongdoing. But if no one had seduced him, he would have been of upright character. Spreading this news would reflect badly on everyone—on Hao'er's face, on the Feng family, and the Zhou family. We are all relatives... In my opinion, Hao'er only intends to divorce her and send her back home. Let's follow Hao'er's wishes. They can sort out the rest themselves."

As the dowager of the Chengping Baron Manor, Feng Shi's words carried weight. Besides, this was a family matter of the manor. The clan elders had only come as witnesses. Since Feng Shi had spoken thus, they could hardly insist further, and they all nodded.

Zhou Congshen felt utterly wronged and wanted to argue more, but Feng Shi ordered his mouth covered, and he was dragged away.

Qi Yuan, who had been watching the spectacle, then said, "Take the mistress back as well."

He saw that her hair bun had come loose, the jade hairpin she had worn since daytime nearly falling off, strands of hair hanging down, half-covering her face.

Qi Yuan blinked hard, momentarily dazed.

The serving women approached Jiang Yueyi, about to grab her arms on both sides, but she forcefully broke free from their grip and cried out hoarsely, "Wait! I still have something to say!"

Feng Shi quickly pointed at her and said, "Gag her mouth!"

But Jiang Yueyi was prepared. As the serving women reached out, she bit down hard on one hand. Seizing the moment, she said, "You accuse me of adultery—I have nothing to say to that. But one thing hasn't been made clear yet. Xing An, everyone already knows that the master never died. So, can you tell me why you framed me?"

Xing An had been shrinking in the corner like a quail, but never expected Jiang Yueyi to call him out. His face turned ashen as he waved his hands frantically, "No, no! Why would I frame you, mistress? Don't slander me with empty words! You've gotten yourself into trouble—don't drag us servants down with you!"

Xing An was Qi Hao's most trusted servant, sharp-tongued and bolder than other servants. He now squared off with Jiang Yueyi.

"Then how did the arsenic end up in my room? Only you and Zhou Congshen knew that the corpse was killed by arsenic! If you didn't plant it, who did?" Jiang Yueyi's voice grew hoarse, but she continued shouting, "And back then, you kept pointing the finger at me, leaving me with no way to defend myself. You knew all along that he wasn't dead!"

Qi Yuan frowned deeply upon hearing this. He immediately ordered the serving women to step back, then approached Xing An and said in a low voice, "Did someone put you up to this?"

"How could anyone have put Xing An up to anything?" Feng Shi stepped forward as well. "Perhaps he had a personal grudge against Jiang. Enough—take them all away. No more talking. We'll deal with Xing An tomorrow."

Qi Yuan seemed to ignore Feng Shi's words entirely, and before she could show displeasure, he continued to Xing An, "The old madam is kind-hearted, but the crime of framing your master is punishable by death by flogging at the very least."

Xing An had been emboldened, thinking that since he was Qi Hao's man and Qi Hao had returned, nothing serious could happen to him. But when Qi Yuan said "death by flogging," his hair stood on end and his scalp tingled.

"Speak quickly!" Qi Yuan commanded again.

Xing An collapsed to the ground, looking from Qi Yuan to Jiang Yueyi. Even if he harbored vicious thoughts, he didn't dare drag them down with him now.

He swallowed back any mention of Qi Yuan and Jiang Yueyi, took a deep breath, and immediately put on a crying face. "The arsenic... I did plant it, but I had no choice! The lady from the other side told me to do it. She said that since the master was burned to death, if the manor held anyone accountable, I'd be the first to suffer. This way, I could get myself off the hook, since the killing was the mistress's doing. At first, the manor didn't investigate the master's death, just assumed it was an accident. But when the second master returned, he saw right away that something was wrong with the master's death, and the arsenic was found. Afraid of being implicated, I took the chance to plant the arsenic in the mistress's room. The second master indeed found it. And since the master and mistress were known to be at odds, I added a bit more exaggeration... It really wasn't my fault! The other lady wanted to make trouble for the mistress; I was just trying to save myself. Please, second master, spare me!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yueyi bit hard on the inside of her cheek. The taste of blood surged into her mouth, but a smile curled on her lips.

"Good. So Su Hengniang set me up," Jiang Yueyi gritted her teeth till they almost cracked. "Qi Hao wanted me to pay with my life for hers, and I was ready to accept it. It was my fault, and I'd take responsibility. But what's this now? It was Su Hengniang's own doing! If she hadn't ordered Xing An to frame me, the second master wouldn't have caught me, and I wouldn't have forced them to show up. What does it have to do with me?"

She turned and swept her gaze over the clan elders seated in the hall, then said sharply, "Elders, this isn't about my jealousy. How do you weigh the master's and the new wife's wrongdoing?"

The elders exchanged glances, sighing and shaking their heads, but they did not answer Jiang Yueyi's question. Instead, they rose from their seats one by one, and as they passed Qi Yuan, they said, "This is a family matter—handle it yourselves."

After the clan elders left, the hall felt even more spacious and empty. The candle flames flickered, as if countless ghostly shadows lurked in the rafters above, making everyone uneasy.

Feng Shi sat down weakly in a corner, pressing her temple, saying nothing more.

Qi Yuan ordered Xing An to be taken away. After a long silence, he said to Jiang Yueyi, "I am also at fault."

Large tears rolled down Jiang Yueyi's eyes. Because her head was bowed, it was hard for anyone to notice. Qi Yuan could only see the front of her robe and skirt quickly become wet, as if raindrops had fallen.

She sniffled, and unlike her earlier fierceness, her voice was now thick with tears. "When the second master investigates a case, others naturally believe it. But I wonder—how many injustices have been buried in the cases you've solved?"

Qi Yuan's face darkened further, but he did not argue with her.

At that time, he had been solely focused on clearing Qi Hao's name; now, looking back, it had been rash and careless.

After she finished scolding Qi Yuan, Jiang Yueyi turned to Feng Shi, who was sitting to the side resting, and said, "Mother, don't you have anything to say?"

Feng Shi raised her eyes, her face slightly flushed, as if with a mix of shame and annoyance. She said, "What can I say? Don't make a scene anymore. You weren't wronged anyway. And my own nephew..."

She paused thoughtfully before continuing, "Let's just let this matter drop. Hao'er will surely protect Su Hengniang regarding the arsenic. As for talk about her paying with her life, that was just him being impulsive. Now we're even. I don't want to ruin my own nephew. You should return to your home. The clan elders were invited by Hao'er out of anger. Tomorrow I'll go explain and smooth things over. Let's keep this family matter within the family; there's no need to pursue it further."

"Return home..." Jiang Yueyi murmured, then nodded. "And what about my daughter?"

Feng Shi glanced covertly at the silent Qi Yuan, took a breath, and said, "If you want your daughter, take her with you."

To Feng Shi, the day had been exhausting, yet it was hard to say whether it was joy or sorrow. Originally, Jiang Yueyi was useless, having only given birth to a daughter, and the future was uncertain. But now that Qi Hao had returned, Feng Shi learned that his health was fine, and Su Hengniang's delivery was imminent. Having gone through the loss of a son, accepting Su Hengniang was trivial. The joy outweighed the trouble; the only trouble was dealing with Jiang Yueyi.

Just as she finished speaking, someone rushed in from the wide-open doorway, and before reaching them, said to Feng Shi, "The master sends good news—congratulations, madam! You have a grandson!"

Joy instantly burst across Feng Shi's face. She said, "Good, good! Reward everyone, the whole household!"

Jiang Yueyi gave a mocking laugh.

Feng Shi shot her a disapproving look, but Jiang Yueyi had already started walking out.

"I'll leave tonight. Even one more minute in your house makes me sick."