Chapter 259 - Chapter 259: The Daughter-in-law Must Meet Her Parents-in-law
Chapter 259: The Daughter-in-law Must Meet Her Parents-in-law
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“When did this happen?”
“It happened when I was at the northern border, and she was in the Wei City.” “Did that Qiao family dare to harm my daughter?”
“Hmph, it was your daughter who went to their place and spoke impolitely. After I found out about it, I decided to turn a blind eye. Later, she said she had some business to take care of and asked me to return first. I didn’t expect she would be getting close to their son.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“My point is, the mistress of that household is mysterious. Let’s observe and wait. That young man will be taking the imperial examination next year. Whether he passes or not, I don’t think coming from a humble family is a bad thing. Our daughter can be with him for life. Marrying into a prominent family is not always the best choice. They might take multiple concubines. We shouldn’t be overly picky.”
The Duchess rolled her eyes. “You’re willing to accept it, but I’m not. I won’t let them have it all their way.”
“The daughter-in-law must meet the parents eventually. We’ll deal with it when the time comes.”
“Hmph!”
The Duke and the Duchess had different opinions. From that day on, Princess Mu was effectively confined at home by her family.
She had to report to her mother if she wanted to go out, and someone was assigned to follow her to prevent her from running away.
Princess Mu had made arrangements to meet with Yunfeng in the imperial capital after the New Year. He would be taking the imperial examination in the coming year.
So, the Duchess need not have worried so much.
Taking advantage of her daughter’s stay, she kept dragging her to various banquets in the hopes of finding another suitor to help her forget Yunfeng. Unfortunately, Princess Mu didn’t take an interest in anyone.
After staying in the capital for a few days, Qiao Mai nodded in approval of Princess Mu’s actions and mostly treated her as her daughter-in-law.
As for the rest, she was willing to help them if their fate allowed it.
Qiao Mai returned home soon, not expecting that on the same night, a group of black-clad figures would visit her.
It seemed that the Duchess was determined to secure a prominent future husband for her daughter.
If it weren’t for Qiao Mai’s warning, the two brothers could have been killed by these assassins. Yunfeng instructed his younger brothers to stay inside the house while he grabbed a large knife and kicked one of the intruders out the door.
Chuan’er and Fengyun hurriedly put on their clothes, each grabbing a large knife, and went to the doorway.
Qiao Mai stood on the rooftop. “Chuan’er, Yun’er, do not interfere. Leave it to your big brother.”
“Yes, Mother!”
At this moment, Yunfeng was entangled in a fight with the black-clad assailants. If it weren’t for his mother’s warning, he might have been killed in his sleep. He was determined to seek vengeance for this insult.
Even without Qiao Mai’s intervention, there would have been no issue. The three sheep had been secretly monitoring these black-clad individuals.
Yunfeng didn’t hold back; despite his lack of experience in killing, his mother’s teachings about dealing with enemies had made him ruthless when facing them. Having mercy on his enemies meant being cruel to himself.
With two younger brothers to protect, he couldn’t afford to let any of these assassins escape.
While fighting, Yunfeng couldn’t help but ponder the reasons behind this attack. It seemed these people were specifically targeting him. Perhaps they were sent by Princess Mu’s family to eliminate him because they disapproved of his relationship with her.
He realized that his desire to be with Princess Mu had brought calamity to his family, and his impulsive thoughts were being punished by fate.
Just as he was lost in thought, he narrowly avoided a fatal blow from one of the black-clad assailants. Qiao Mai shouted angrily from the rooftop.
“In a life-or-death battle like this, you still have time for wild thoughts? Finish off this group of attackers quickly!”
Yunfeng snapped back to reality, focusing all his energy on taking on the remaining three black-clad assailants.
Qiao Mai had noticed that these assassins were all highly skilled, and they showed no mercy when attacking Yunfeng.
The last of the assassins was brought down at the cost of some injuries. Yunfeng threw his knife to the ground and knelt.
“Mother, I brought trouble to our family. Please punish me!”
“It’s not your fault. There’s nothing wrong with liking someone. It’s just that the girl has too lofty a background. In their eyes, we are insignificant.” “If it weren’t for me, the three of us might… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” “Chuan’er, Fengyun, check your brother’s wounds and apply some medicine.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Qiao Mai tossed a bottle of medicine to Fengyun and collected the dead bodies of the assassins, putting them in her space. The sheep nodded at her.
Qiao Mai returned to the capital overnight and dumped all the bodies in the courtyard of the Duke’s wife.
Then, she triggered the Duke’s sleeping acupoint, pulled the Duchess out of the bed, and stripped her naked, throwing her onto the pile of corpses.
She spent half the night sleeping with the corpses. When she finally woke up, she was in a frenzy, standing on top of the dead bodies, screaming in terror. It was winter, and she was wearing only her undergarments.
The Duke got up and had the maids light torches and lanterns. They discovered the corpses of the black-clad men and the Duchess.
As soon as the Duke saw the corpses, he understood what had happened.
Fortunately, the backyard was filled with women, and no men had come over. The Duke had his servants dress his wife and helped her back into the room.
He ordered someone to clean up the bodies quickly.
The Duke had an ominous expression. He ordered all the people in the room to leave. “If my judgment is correct, those black-clad men were all our people, correct?”
His wife avoided eye contact, looking at him with a guilty expression.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and admitted, “Yes, they were our men. I sent them to kill that boy.”
The Duke was so furious that he slapped her across the face. “You! I’ve trained my men to fight for the country and the people. You sent them to kill the people of the Great Ming Dynasty? Our Mu family has been loyal through the generations, yet you dare commit such an act behind my back?”
“Humph, he had improper thoughts about someone he shouldn’t have. He deserved to die!”
“It was your daughter who provoked him. Why aren’t you being reasonable?”
“My daughter is a precious gem; they are not worthy of her. Even if my daughter provoked them, so what? They are not worthy, so they should stay far away.”
“Fine, it’s done. So many people have died now. Are you satisfied?”
“They could kill so many of our people without us noticing. They even stripped you naked and made you sleep with the corpses. If you continue to send people, do you expect your head to remain intact next time?”
“If you give me more, I dare to send them again.”
The Duke was trembling with anger. “I’ve trained my people diligently, not for your grudges, but for fighting on the battlefield, the country, and the people. From today onwards, you are not allowed to use my soldiers.”
“Humph, so be it. I have my forces.”
“You are too stubborn. You will regret this one day.”
At that moment, Princess Mu entered the room. She saw her parents were unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief.
“What happened? Why are there corpses of black-clad men?”
“It’s nothing. You can go back. It’s a private matter between your mother and me.”
Princess Mu didn’t think too much about it. After all, the capital was a ten-day journey from Tianshui Town. She thought the appearance of the black-clad men in their home had nothing to do with the Qiao family.
She left the room. Qiao Mai looked on with a cold sneer.
It seems like Fengyun’s marriage had to go through a bloody baptism. She doesn’t mind their ups and downs, but these assassins are not real killers. Killing them is rather boring.
She believes that her children’s marriage is a major event, and there’s no need to make it a life-or-death struggle. After dealing with this Duchess, everything can be sorted out.
Qiao Mai bought a type of poison on the platform and administered it to her.
She did it to prevent the Duchess from going insane and not valuing other people’s lives.
The next day, the Duchess was bedridden, unable to move, and requiring assistance for all her daily activities.
This put the National Duke in a difficult situation as he was deeply in love with his wife. His previous words had been out of anger. Seeing his wife in this state was distressing for him..