Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands

Chapter 467 - 443 Mutual Exposures (2)

Miss Qian was so frightened that she fell to her knees with a thud, "Sir, it’s not true, it’s not like that, sir!"

The County Magistrate sat down on the chair, flicked his sleeve, and leisurely looked at the two, "One by one, let Qian the fourth speak first."

Qian the fourth glanced at the concubine with a grieving look, hardened his heart, and said, "Sir, this Mrs. Yue was arranged by my mother to warm the bed as a concubine. I always gave her birth control medicine and didn’t know she secretly stopped taking it."

"..."

"After Mrs. Zhao married in, she was ill. My mother was worried about the issue of offspring, so she asked me to write a divorce letter. After Mrs. Zhao left, Mrs. Yue claimed to have a child. Sir, I was completely unaware."

What a well-fabricated excuse, Fifth Miss Zhao gritted her teeth and sneered secretly.

Mrs. Zhao snorted coldly.

Miss Qian trembled with anger, "It’s not like that, sir, he’s lying."

"You speak." The County Magistrate turned to Miss Qian.

"Yes, sir." Miss Qian looked at Qian the fourth with resentment, "I was originally the daughter of a scholarly family. Due to my father’s early death, I was sent by my mother to serve the Qian family as a maid. I have been serving Old Mrs. Qian, and after her passing, during the mourning period last winter, I met Qian the fourth."

"..."

"Qian the fourth asked me to stay by his side as a maid, wanting me to be his concubine. I was unwilling to be a maid, and he said he would raise me to be a concubine in the future."

"..."

"I still disagreed and demanded he first take a concubine. He feared it would be scandalous to take a concubine during the mourning period, so he settled me in this small residence. As for the abortion soup, I never drank it."

Miss Qian kowtowed, "If sir doesn’t believe it, you can ask the nanny beside me."

"Ha—" Mrs. Zhao sneered, "No matter who the issue is, in any case, marry a wife not yet, take a concubine first, legitimate son not born, illegitimate son already born! According to the laws of this dynasty, isn’t this prohibited?"

Mrs. Zhao looked at the County Magistrate.

"Mrs. Zhao is right." The County Magistrate nodded, "Qian the fourth, you claim you are innocent, blaming Aunt Yue for deceiving you and secretly having the child. Then why, after knowing the situation, did you not apologize to Fifth Miss Zhao? Why did you hold back her dowry?"

Qian the fourth was taken aback, unsure how to respond.

Fifth Miss Zhao said, "Sir, he is lying, they are both lying! I have something to say!"

The County Magistrate said, "Fifth Miss Zhao, please speak."

Fifth Miss Zhao pointed at Miss Qian, "When I was divorced by the Zhao family, Qian the fourth personally told me. He said I was a rooster in the henhouse, unable to lay eggs, claimed I wasn’t a woman but a woman pretending to be a man, said Mrs. Yue had a child, how could Mrs. Yue’s child be illegitimate? He demanded I get out! So he divorced me."

"..."

"Qian the fourth knew all about Mrs. Yue’s matter! Mrs. Yue was not pregnant at the time, but had already given birth. The two conspired for Mrs. Yue to fake a pregnancy and, months later, pretended to have given birth to a child, presenting this illegitimate son as a legitimate one. After all, the child wouldn’t be shown closely to others. Whether two years old or one and a half years old, there wouldn’t be much difference!"

"..."

"Sir, they set a trap with the goal of elevating Mrs. Yue, who was born a maid, to a legitimate position, and found me to be the scapegoat! If not me, it would have been another girl deceived! Please, sir, investigate thoroughly!"

She spoke with clarity and evidence, stunning both Miss Qian and Qian the fourth.

The two accused Fifth Miss Zhao together, "You’re talking nonsense!"

"Silence!" The County Magistrate shouted at the two in anger.

Miss Qian and Qian the fourth stopped speaking.

The County Magistrate looked at the several maids standing inside and outside the house, "Who is Mrs. Yue’s maid?"

The tall woman who guarded the door in this residence was so frightened, she crawled and stumbled over, kneeling before the County Magistrate, "L... Lord, this humble woman is."

The County Magistrate asked her, "Regarding Mrs. Yue’s child, who is telling the truth?"

The tall woman glanced at Qian the fourth, then at Miss Qian, shaking with fear, she did not dare say.

"Not speaking, is it? Beat with the staff!" The County Magistrate waved at the government officials.

Instantly, two government officials holding thick rods in their arms came forward.

The old woman was terrified, immediately kowtowing, "L... Lord, this humble woman will speak, speak..."

"Speak quickly!" The County Magistrate shouted coldly.

"... Yes."

The tall woman then began to tell the truth in detail.

It turned out, Miss Qian was unwilling to be just a maid, and during Old Mrs. Qian’s mourning period last year, intentionally approached Qian the fourth, and in the mourning room, the two grew close.

Engaging in such acts in the room where the grandmother was resting, if word got out, they wouldn’t just be punished by the government, but faced with disdain from the clan.

Once he regained his senses, Qian the fourth gave a sum of money, asking Miss Qian to leave immediately and not to speak of what happened.

Miss Qian refused, insisting on becoming Qian the fourth’s concubine.

As Qian the fourth had yet to marry a wife, taking a concubine first would prevent him from marrying a good family’s daughter.

To be able to marry into a high status clan and not let Miss Qian reveal what happened, Qian the fourth placed Miss Qian in this small residence.

Miss Qian was unwilling to remain a mere canary, persistently requested Qian the fourth to stay overnight here.

The result was, early this year, Miss Qian became pregnant.

Qian the fourth panicked and sought out marriage proposals everywhere.

However, reputable families looked down on Qian the fourth for being the fourth son and not the eldest.

Qian the fourth looked down on girls from inferior families.

It’s unclear who told Qian the fourth that Fifth Miss Zhao was in poor health and would not live long.

Qian the fourth immediately sought marriage, proposing in March and marrying in May.

With astonishing speed, he arranged the marriage.

Fifth Miss Zhao was indeed as the rumors said, in poor health and unable to consummate the marriage.

Qian the fourth and Miss Qian were both pleased and looked for excuses to drive Fifth Miss Zhao away in due time.

But without fault from Fifth Miss Zhao, Qian the fourth purposely neglected her, forcing her to argue with him.

Qian the fourth openly claimed he would take a concubine.

After Miss Qian gave birth to a son, Qian the fourth brought her back home, saying she was a newly taken concubine already two months pregnant. While Fifth Miss Zhao was barren, unable to give birth, and had a bad temper, Qian the fourth smoothly divorced his wife.

Once the tall woman’s words finished, Fifth Miss Zhao’s face turned ashen white like paper, her entire body trembling.

Sister-in-law Chai supported her, "Fifth cousin?"

"You shameless people!" Fifth Miss Zhao rushed in front of Qian the fourth, raised her hand and slapped him, then slapped Miss Qian twice, "You filthy pair could have indulged elsewhere, why plot against me?"

Mrs. Zhao also loudly addressed the Housekeeper by her side, "Doesn’t Fifth Miss feel pain in her hands hitting? Why not go help?"

"Yes, Mrs. Zhao." The Zhao family Housekeeper pulled Fifth Miss Zhao away and raised her hand to hit both Qian the fourth and Miss Qian.

This Housekeeper was unlike Fifth Miss Zhao, thin and weak, palm soft and powerless; she was robust and had done heavy work, plus as a woman with strong arms, just one slap made one of Miss Qian’s ears swollen and red.

Because the County Magistrate was present, Qian the fourth dared not fight back, also receiving a harsh slap by the Zhao family Housekeeper, making half his hair unravel.

The County Magistrate did not intervene, just watched as the Zhao family hit the pair, Qian the fourth and Miss Qian.

Once the Zhao family had gotten their anger out, he spoke slowly, "Qian the fourth, you say nothing; so does that mean what this woman says is true?"

Qian the fourth did not say a word, only glared at Miss Qian with a cold and fierce gaze.

Miss Qian was frightened, fell down to kowtow before the County Magistrate, "Sir, the truth is, Qian the fourth assaulted me in his grandmother’s mourning room. It wasn’t me who seduced him, sir; I don’t have the guts."

"Nonsense, you vile woman!" Qian the fourth couldn’t hold back, swung his fist at Miss Qian.

Similarly, the County Magistrate didn’t intervene, just watched the commotion.

Until Miss Qian was beaten to tears and cries, and even the child was frightened to wails, the County Magistrate shouted for a halt.

The wet nurse holding the child went to pull Miss Qian away, only then did Qian the fourth stop, standing aside with a cold face staring at Miss Qian.

The County Magistrate chuckled, "The matter isn’t very complicated, Mrs. Zhao. The truth has been revealed. How does your family want to resolve this case?"

Mrs. Zhao had long been suppressing anger, and today she finally felt vindicated, knowing she wouldn’t feel satisfied unless she retaliated.

Thus, Mrs. Zhao said, "Sir, the Zhao family doesn’t want anything major done to the Qian family. We simply want the withheld dowry of one thousand taels of silver returned and compensate for my daughter’s reputation damage, that would suffice. The conspiracy by Qian the fourth and Mrs. Yue nearly caused my daughter to take her own life, nearly lost my daughter; surely our family asking for some compensation isn’t excessive, sir?"

The County Magistrate smiled, "Mrs. Zhao speaks sensibly; asking for compensation indeed isn’t excessive. So, how much compensation do you want?"

"Tenfold." Mrs. Zhao said.