coobybook Chapter 69 The Duchess
Chapter 69 The Duchess
Jiang Zhi returned to the courtyard.
Today, my father and brother have seen Liu Shi clearly, which has already fulfilled one of my wishes.
Jiang Zhi knew that only by knowing Jiang Luan's true identity could he deliver a fatal blow to the Liu family.
My father's marriage to Lady Liu was ordered by His Majesty. Tomorrow, people from the Duke's mansion may come.
If the Duchess comes, she will definitely go to Lady Liu's courtyard, and then we should find out more about their conversation.
A chessboard was set up in the room, and Jiang Zhi sat in front of it, examining it closely.
She took the small bottle that Yu Cigui had on him to Jiu Xia for identification and learned that it was a type of insect gu that could make people lose consciousness and obey commands. She had Jiu Xia write an identification report.
Then, at noon, he instructed that two letters be delivered in the name of the King of Liang to the residences of the Minister of Works and the Vice Minister of Revenue, respectively.
If it is sent in the name of the King of Liang, they will not disbelieve it.
The title of "King of Liang" is still quite useful.
She reached for a white chess piece on the table and placed it on the board. Her face darkened, and her eyes turned fierce. "Next, it's your turn, Gu Yuan."
As the white piece in his hand fell, faint footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by the sound of noon.
"princess."
Jiang Zhi put down the chess piece in his hand and prepared to get up from the chair when he saw Wu Shi enter.
She walked to Jiang Zhi's side and whispered, "Your Highness, I have been observing Miss Jiang's maid, Qi Yun, from time to time. She usually goes to the dog hole in Liuli Garden to retrieve the letters at 9 PM."
"However, these letters were all delivered at 7 PM."
Jiang Zhi looked up. "There was a period of time in between."
"Take the opportunity tomorrow to retrieve the letter from the dog hole."
"I'll write another letter, and you can deliver it to the dog hole later."
Noon nodded, then handed a slip of paper to Jiang Zhi from his sleeve.
"Your Highness, I have arranged for someone to follow Xiangyi. She went to Jizhou to find someone to repair Wen Guzhu's tomb and should return to Lantiao City in a few days."
Jiang Zhi nodded and destroyed the letter in his hand over the candle flame.
She said in a low voice, "She came here today with no intention of leaving unscathed."
"Xiangyi herself knew that as a courtesan, how could she let Liu die? However, her father did not pursue the matter further, which gave her a way out."
Jiang Zhi picked up a candied fruit. "She's a smart person too, otherwise she wouldn't have kept so much evidence against Liu. It's all thanks to Wen Guzhuyu that she was able to expose so much evidence against Liu."
Jiang Zhi swallowed the candied fruit in her mouth, her expression turning cold.
The high-ranking families in Yanjing all knew about what had happened at the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence, but their knowledge was incomplete.
All I know is that Madam Liu treated the children in the mansion badly and colluded with courtesans to swindle the late Madam's dowry, earning their contempt.
The morning light is clear.
A carriage was parked in front of the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence.
Several neatly dressed maids helped a dignified and elegant woman walk angrily toward the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence.
She was Lady Liu, the wife of the Duke of Huguo.
As soon as Liu entered the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence, her maids and servants went to report to her.
Marquis Zhenyuan sat in the inner hall, watching Liu Shi storm in without changing his expression.
On the table lay a divorce agreement he had written overnight.
How could he swallow this insult, having been so cruelly killed by Liu Shi, with his two children with Lu Shi being driven to the brink of extinction?
It was an imperial marriage arranged by the emperor, and he had no way to refuse.
The late Madam Lu treated her well, but I never expected her to use such despicable means to harm her own child.
He's not a fool, and he's not going to let this go so easily.
After the Duchess entered the mansion, Old Madam Jiang led a group of maids and servants into the inner hall.
Seeing the Marquis of Zhenyuan's ashen face, she simply asked coldly, "Is there some misunderstanding between you and Huizhi?"
"I've never seen anything like it before, with just a prostitute causing such chaos in your Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion."
Marquis Zhenyuan suppressed his anger and forced a smile.
He slowly stood up and handed the letter of divorce to the Duchess.
"Since you've come all this way, I suppose you've already heard about what happened yesterday."
"This is the divorce agreement I wrote. I've already signed it. Take it and have Liu Shi in the side courtyard sign it too."
"My original intention was to get a letter of divorce from her, but now that I've taken the initiative to propose a divorce, it's also to save face for her."
He snorted coldly, "If she stays in the manor for even a day, I don't know what kind of disaster will befall my children."
"I will definitely explain this to His Majesty."
"As for Luan'er, she has now come of age and is considered a young lady. Before she got married, she was raised in our Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion."
The Duchess took the divorce papers and looked calmly at Marquis Zhenyuan.
She said coldly, "You don't need to go to His Majesty's side. I just returned from the palace this morning. You don't need to get a divorce either."
She tore the divorce papers to shreds in front of the Marquis of Zhenyuan.
Marquis Zhenyuan angrily asked, "What is this all about?"
The Duchess placed the paper she was about to tear up on the table.
"There are many suspicious points in this matter. I don't believe that Huizhi is such a vicious person, and neither do His Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort."
"The matter is not yet clear, how can we discuss divorce? If that doesn't work, then let's give her another chance."
“I will naturally teach her a lesson for what she did wrong. I can’t just divorce her based on what a courtesan says.”
Marquis Zhenyuan was furious and criticized, "Even her personal maid has confessed, so how could it be false?"
"Chunming was brought out of your Duke of Huguo's mansion, how could she possibly betray you?"
"The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue's Vice Minister personally delivered the evidence. Could all of this be fake?"
"Give her another chance? That's laughable!"
"If yesterday's events hadn't been exposed, I, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, would probably have become the laughingstock of the entire Yanjing!"
Everyone in the hall could clearly feel the anger of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and they all lowered their heads and dared not speak.
Jiang Zhi sat in the chair, her eyes flickering.
She knew that her father's divorce from Liu was going to be difficult today.
After all, this marriage was bestowed by His Majesty, and any attempt to divorce must take His Majesty into consideration.
The Imperial Noble Consort and Prince Jing also wanted to get involved in this matter.
She put down the candied fruit in her hand, lost in thought.
Seeing the Marquis of Zhenyuan's anger, the Duchess's face darkened, and she calmly said, "Even if Chunming confesses, she can't say anything."
"Why don't you think about it carefully? How could Huizhi be so stupid as to write a letter to Lanqiao himself?"
"What a coincidence that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue sent evidence on that day! Don't you have any doubts?"
"His Majesty and the Empress also thought there were many suspicious points in this matter after hearing about it yesterday."
"I have come here today with a message from His Majesty and the Empress: a divorce is possible, but we still need to be more cautious."
"After all, it was a marriage bestowed by His Majesty, and you two have had a relationship for over a decade. At least consider Luan'er's feelings."
"She also has deep feelings for Huizhi. Won't what you're doing hurt Luan'er's feelings?"
The anger on the Marquis of Zhenyuan's face had not subsided. He put down the teacup in his hand and lowered his eyes.